Album of the Week - Vol.13

The Division Bell PINK FLOYD (1994)
Week: 29th June to 5th July 2019
Format: Vinyl (25th anniversary reissue)
Producer(s): Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour
Track listing:
SIDE A:
1. Cluster One *
2. What Do You Want From Me
3. Poles Apart *
SIDE B:
4. Marooned
5. A Great Day for Freedom
6. Wearing The Inside Out
SIDE C:
7. Take It Back *
8. Coming Back To Life *
9. Keep Talking
SIDE D:
10. Lost for Words
11. High Hopes *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 66:23

I got into Pink Floyd pretty late. While guys in high school were already praising The Wall and Dark Side of The Moon, I was still burying my head in The Beatles. I was away of some songs like Another Brick In The Wall (pt 2) and Wish You Were Here, but it wasn't until I went to Bali with my family in early 1990 that I ventured into the cave a little.
Back then, you could buy a cassette (old school album, kids) for around five Australian dollars in Bali. So, since there were no streaming services available on the internet  back then (what are those things??), I set about delving into some musical artists' back catalog. I bought tapes of David Bowie, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and took a punt on Pink Floyd's The Wall and Wish You Were Here albums. 

I still remember turning up my Walkman-like device as In The Flesh kicked off The Wall, struggling to hear the music, until the first chord thundered through my skull like a lightning bolt. Although my nearly-fourteen-year-old self didn't quite get all the nuances of the narrative, I did enjoy the journey of the album. I was slightly more familiar with Wish You Were Here, particularly the title track and sections of Shine On You Crazy Diamond. As I listened, I started to understand what some kids at my school were on about. Yeah, this was pretty awesome music. 

Once we were back home, which was Albany at this point in time, I slowly set about listening to all of the existing Pink Floyd albums. Again, this was before streaming services were around, so I couldn't just hop online. I found friends with vinyl records and began swapping taped copies of albums back and forth with other like-minded Floyd enthusiasts. I remember finding a cassette copy of the Relics compilation in a roadhouse while on a school trip to Perth. 

Anyway, as the years went by, I became quite the fan. When news broke that they were releasing a brand new studio album in 1994, I was quite excited. This was the first time that I had anticipated a new Pink Floyd release. I went down to my favourite local music store, Southern Sound, and pre-ordered a copy on CD. I would have been eighteen years old at the time. Possibly seventeen, but I don't think I would have pre-ordered it any earlier than a month or two from the March release date.

Listening to the 25th anniversary reissue has brought back a lot of memories. Before I even put the first record on the player, I was struck by the amazing scent of the set. It's that lovely glossy photo feel that smells like a pack of collector's cards, namely Batman, I think. I collected cards from Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns movies, and I'm almost positive they smelled the same. The blue coloured vinyl is just divine as well. So pretty. The artwork incorporates all the different versions of the album covers too. They look amazing at vinyl size.

When I dropped the needle onto the first side of the first album, I remembered that feeling of excitement when I put the CD into my stereo system at home when I was eighteen, some twenty five years ago. It was cool to hear the crackle of vinyl before the white noise sound effects kicked in though.

The Division Bell is an album that gets stronger as it reaches its end. Opening instrumental track Cluster One is wonderful, and quite reminiscent of Signs of Life that kicked off 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason. I think that it works better than the album's other instrumental Marooned, which would bizarrely go on to win Best Rock Instrumental Performance Grammy award. Marooned just feels out of place and may have worked better later in the album.

What Do You Want From Me has some classic Floyd musical motifs, but comes off a little toothless. The first great song of the album, Poles Apart, sees David Gilmour singing to former bandmates Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. I'd forgotten how much I liked this one, and as that dual-guitar line ripped through the speakers I was suddenly eighteen again.

The album's two weakest points for me, close the first record's second side. A Great Day For Freedom is fairly listenable, but a little meandering, whereas Wearing The Inside Out just feels like being stuck in pool of honey. It's a shame because the latter has the only lead vocal contribution from keyboardist Richard Wright, and even features Dick Parry on saxophone.

Once the second record begins, it's all great stuff. Take It Back was the album's first single and was unfairly criticised by some as being derivative of their more radio-friendly work. I think it's one of the highlights of the album, and an obvious choice for a single. It's followed by the excellent Coming Back to Life, which gives Gilmour a chance to offer up a couple of lovely, melodic guitar solos. The menacing Keep Talking closes Side C, and I think it's my favourite slice of the album. It's a difference experience listening to The Division Bell on double vinyl, rather than a CD or streaming service. You have to get up and flip the record, or change it. As such, each quarter of the album gets the chance to hang around inside your head for a spell. 

The last two songs are very good too, with High Hopes crossing over the line into excellent. The former, Lost For Words, could be directed at ol' mate Roger again, and it's a very pleasant melody with some great acoustic work from Gilmour. High Hopes is full of The Wall-era atmosphere and contains the album's title in the lyrics (Yay! I love that). Eclipsing eight and a half minutes, the closing track is also the longest offering, but doesn't outstay its welcome. Considering the average song on The Division Bell is between five and six minutes, it's quite an achievement to have the longest one feel like one of the rest. 

Anyway, it's been brilliant spinning this album again, and on vinyl. I'm tempted to get out the CD and rip it onto the iPod for more portable listening. It's been a good years since I listened to the album in full. I must have spun it around five or six times since I got the vinyl copy. Hmmm...might be time to give P.U.L.S.E. another spin too!

Album of the Week - Vol. 12

Wildflowers TOM PETTY (1994)
Week: Mon 13th to 19th May 2019
Format: CD
Producer(s): Rick Rubin, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell
Track listing:
1. Wildflowers *
2. You Don't Know How It Feels *
3. Time to Move On
4. You Wreck Me
5. It's Good to Be King *
6. Only a Broken Heart
7. Honey Bee
8. Don't Fade on Me
9. Hard on Me
10. Cabin Down Below
11. To Find a Friend *
12. A Higher Place 
13. House in the Woods
14. Crawling Back to You
15. Wake Up Time *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 62:48


Tom Petty's second solo effort is a classic 90's album full of his trademark drawled vocals and melodic pop/rock tunes. Although it's touted as Petty working solo, all the Heartbreakers play on the record, except for drummer Stan Lynch. Steve Ferrone handles most of the drum work here and would join the Heartbreakers officially in 1995. His first whole album with the band would be 1999's excellent Echo. The only drum part not performed by Ferrone is on To Find a Friend, which features old mate Ringo Starr.

As the project wasn't a Hearbtreakers affair, Petty was free to focus on his own creative desires and arrangements. Recorded at the legendary Sound City studio in L.A., the album took over two years to get in the can. Which is bizarre, because it sounds like the record was done over a weekend. The tone and feel of Wildflowers remain consistent, even when the genres shift. Rockers like You Wreck Me and Honey Bee sit comfortably alongside stripped-back ballads Don't Fade on Me and the title track.

Picking my five favourite songs here was quite tough, as everything is so good.  As much as Full Moon Fever is highly revered as THE Tom Petty solo record to have, I'm a bigger fan of this album. Not only is it nearly twice the running time, but the songs are stronger, in my humble opinion. While Full Moon Fever has classic Petty tracks like Free Fallin', Runnin' Down a Dream and I Won't Back Down it runs out of steam by the end. Can't say I'm the biggest fan of Zombie Zoo, for instance. Wildflowers is a joy to listen to from beginning to end, and it almost flies by. 

When Wildflowers was released, I was right in the middle of an age of Petty discovery. I had bought 1993's Greatest Hits album the year before and gained knowledge of more of his earlier hits. I think my earliest memory of Petty is Don't Come Around Here No More, which I'm sure I watched on Countdown as a young six or seven year old. Or it could have been the group's duet with Stevie Nicks, Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, from some various artists compilation LP. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers provided the soundtrack to the 1996 Edward Burns film She's The One and I bought that based on the strength of the excellent Walls (Circus) single. I still haven't seen the film, but I feel the soundtrack is quite solid. Apparently some of the Wildflowers outtakes were added to fill the record out a bit. Not sure which particular tracks they are though.

There's so much to love on this album. The title track is a wonderfully jaunty ballad with heart and a nice bouncy feel. I still remember seeing the video clip for the album's first single, You Don't Know How It Feels, and wondering if there was something wrong with the audio. He he he...turns out the video edit reversed the end of the couplet "Let me get to the point/Let's roll another joint". I wonder if that lyric would be so controversial today. The wonderful mini-epic It's Good To Be King has lush production without sounding overdone, and the fable-like To Find a Friend benefits from a playful but sparse arrangement.

One of my highlights, closing track Wake Up Time, has become a little tinged with sadness for me in recent years. When news of Tom Petty's heart attack broke in early October 2017, his death was falsely reported numerous times. I remember going for a walk after hearing that Petty had been hospitalised, but he was unconscious, not dead. I dialed up some of his music on my iPod and hoped for good news. Wake Up Time came on after a few tunes and it really hit me, although the lyrics weren't hugely pertinent. It was the chorus: "And it's wake up time/Time to open up your eyes/And rise/And shine..." that gave me a lump in my throat. I was almost filled with a sense that he would be okay, but it turned out to be a sinister omen when Petty's passing was confirmed at the day's end. 

If you've not heard this album, I recommend it to anyone who likes rootsy rock and pop. If you're familiar with Tom Petty, you kinda know what you're in for. Seeing as it's celebrating its 25th birthday this year, maybe a fancy anniversary edition is on the way soon? 

That'd be nice.