Nick Mason was(is) a great drummer.....

[basic channel]

Blasphemer !

Waters, Wright, Mason, Gilmour = Floyd

Some would say Barrett had more than a little to do with it too!

I will (may)be controversial here but SB contributed nothing to the best PF albums (Meddle, DSOTM, WYWH).

I'm afraid I find the early PF too "late 60s" and amusingly like the "flower power" Spinal Tap era.

See Emily Play....puurrllease

He was an over-rated influence on the band.

In fact the best thing about him was the fact he inspired Shine On You....

[basic channel]

Guys like Nick Mason are proof that feel beats chops time and time again - and would you rather listen to PF's Meddle, or some 70's prog wankage, or perhaps 'Dream Theatre'? Feel baby, f**k chops. Chops with no feel is a million times worse than feel with no chops.

This is why, although I certainly am in awe of his skills, I derive no pleasure from Neal Peart (heresy from a canadian drummer like me, I know). You can program a drum machine to do exactly what he does. Give me Stewart Copeland, Manu Katche, Nick Mason, Tony Williams (yes most of these guys have chops galore, but even more feel) any day over mechanical Neil.

Abso- fuckin- lutely.

Give me a 4 note spine-tingling Gilmour solo (e.g Time) over a soulless 5000 note widdly-widdly-widdle wanky "solo" by Eddie "Fingers" Flash Knob Cock Rock Bouffant anyday

BC

[redhanded97]

PF was very much a result of the sum not the individuals in my opinion. Yes PF changed when SB left (for the better IMHO) and again after RW left. I think neither RW's gigs or the remainder of Floyd were ever quite as good as when they were all together. For that reason alone I think NMs contribution should not be minimised or ridiculed. He was a significant part of the Floyd sound and feel. It would not have been the same without him.

[basic channel]

PF was very much a result of the sum not the individuals in my opinion. Yes PF changed when SB left (for the better IMHO) and again after RW left. I think neither RW's gigs or the remainder of Floyd were ever quite as good as when they were all together. For that reason alone I think NMs contribution should not be minimised or ridiculed. He was a significant part of the Floyd sound and feel. It would not have been the same without him.

Agree.

Actually they were at their best IMHO when Waters lyrics and the band's song writing really melded (Meddle, DSOTM, WYWH).

It annoys me when people lump PF of this era with loads of other awful pomp-rock from this time (Genesis, Yes, ELP etc. - this raison d'etre,as we all know, for punk). Roger Waters's lyrics were as brilliant, incisive and nasty as anyone's and certainly not pretentious (well, not much anyway )

Things started to slide with Animals as RW began to dominate with his pseudo-Orwellian thing. It still has some good stuff on though.

I am probably in the minority here never really liking The Wall.

I mean I've got it and it's alright but too overblown, pompous and Waters-dominated for my taste.

Anything after this is just not worth listening to when compared to the "glory" years.

[wrench45us]

this may be a heretical view, but none of these guys ever had exactly blazing technical chops. they played within their technical skills, usually less is more and relatively simple, but very effective for a very long productive career.

the early stuff of Astronomy Domine and 'Set the Controls...' there's not that many layers, but really well layered -- lots of space -- not afraid to go quiet -- I think that's one of the reasons their music has remained accessible (for lack of a better word)

[Scot Solida]

this may be a heretical view, but none of these guys ever had exactly blazing technical chops. they played within their technical skills, usually less is more and relatively simple, but very effective for a very long productive career.

Actually Rick Wright was classically trained. Helluva keyboardist, but unlike many of his 70s contemporaries, he knew when not to play...

[Sicklecell666]

this may be a heretical view, but none of these guys ever had exactly blazing technical chops. they played within their technical skills, usually less is more and relatively simple, but very effective for a very long productive career.

Actually Rick Wright was classically trained. Helluva keyboardist, but unlike many of his 70s contemporaries, he knew when not to play...

[kuniklo]

I will (may)be controversial here but SB contributed nothing to the best PF albums (Meddle, DSOTM, WYWH).

I'm afraid I find the early PF too "late 60s" and amusingly like the "flower power" Spinal Tap era.

See Emily Play....puurrllease

I think your head has to be in the right place to realize the genius of Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

I like all the 68-73 era Floyd but Piper is probably my favorite record of all time. I'd take Atom Heart Mother over anything that came after it.

[mister bunko]

this may be a heretical view, but none of these guys ever had exactly blazing technical chops. they played within their technical skills, usually less is more and relatively simple, but very effective for a very long productive career.

Actually Rick Wright was classically trained. Helluva keyboardist, but unlike many of his 70s contemporaries, he knew when not to play...

Actually, ROGER knew when Rick shouldn't play.


Kidding aside, RW was a better-than average Hammond player. But I don't buy people dismissing SB just cause he didnt last that long. His only contemporary was Brian Wilson for sheer sonic reepresentation of someone falling apart on the inside.


RW only wrote what he THOUGHT it MIGHT be like.

The best thing, to me, a big fan, a bout PF was the three vocalists. They blended together VERY well. I'm not knocking NM because he isnt a fast or flashy drummer. He's dull.

To me.

[Scot Solida]

Actually, ROGER knew when Rick shouldn't play.

[duncanparsons]

let's take one of the classic 'the band kicks in'-moments: The quasi-chorus on 'us and them' - imagine how e.g. Bill Bruford would have destroyed the feel of the track...

ah, now then..

BB was the wrong choice there! To quote him 'I have loads of 4/4 ready to play, but no-one ever asks me'.. Go listen to his playing on Roy Harper's HQ LP. It's true that his snare sound would be out of place on TDSOTM, but that sound have been engineered away (Alan Parsons can engineer anything away..) - his playing however would have been inplace - listen to how he handled the 'dream' sections of 'And You And I'..

Anyway, NM is great for the band, he is part of the sound and feel, I wouldn't have it any other way (yeah, 'cos PF always come and ask me before they commit themselves to anything... ).

wrt to Gilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright = PF, what happened in 1987 and 1994, with associated world tours, then? Waters is something of a bitter bucket with whom they have done perfectly well without. Gilmour's contributions to the writing has always been patchy, but tbh, it's those patches which I have always enjoyed the most. Waters lyrics got rather lost and nihilistic, and whilst I understand the lack of a father thing, thanks rog, but can we talk about something else now?

Syd was special, and without him the band would never have got the recognition it did, and would have been another R&B also ran from the mid60s. He was completely toasted even before Piper was finished, but his legacy is that of launching a phenomenal band.. Indeed (according to Q) they are nor the biggest band in the world! [There I was reading their article, carefully doing it in the proper 50->1 order, and got to reading #3 thinking 'what about PF?', then saw the full page of them @#1...slow or what?]

They are the most overblown blues band ever, but heck, I've always liked them like that..!

DSP

[redhanded97]

I didn't know Rick Wright was classically trained I remember reading that Roger Waters kicked him out of Floyd after "The Wall" because he said he couldn't play! I think anyone who has ever listened to the cool intro to "sheep" knows thats not true!

As to Nick Mason's drumming, funny I never considered it dull at all. I always felt that he played to the song...a lot of drummers I know often overplay IMHO. Just as with Keyboards, knowing when not to play too much is an important skill with drumming!

[Sicklecell666]

I always considered his style a pleasant drone, which was exactly what worked best for PF..

[redhanded97]

this may be a heretical view, but none of these guys ever had exactly blazing technical chops. they played within their technical skills,

What are you talking about? For me at least, Dave Gilmour is a phenomenal guitarist. His melodic solos display both compositional talent and technical skill rarely matched even today.

Even my 5 year old son can rip out a solo of 5000 notes in 30 seconds by bashing the strings on my guitar ...it just sounds like rubbish The skill is in making it sound like a melody! Just my humble opinion.

[Chickenman]

this may be a heretical view, but none of these guys ever had exactly blazing technical chops. they played within their technical skills,

What are you talking about? For me at least, Dave Gilmour is a phenomenal guitarist. His melodic solos display both compositional talent and technical skill rarely matched even today.

Even my 5 year old son can rip out a solo of 5000 notes in 30 seconds by bashing the strings on my guitar ...it just sounds like rubbish The skill is in making it sound like a melody! Just my humble opinion.

Well, I love the older Gilmour. The new one isn't the same... If you listen to pulse you can here he's let the newer players touch him technically... not as pure imvho.


Roger Waters is amazing, after Floyd, Amused to death is one of the best produced collections of music I've ever heard (and Jeff Beck totally rules on it.)

Back to Nick Mason, I think you would be hard pressed to find a drummer as inherently musical as Nick, I can imagine him playing with anyone and doing what he does would make it sound... better. I wish I could find someone that wasn't all about "chops".