I should've mentioned my sources for the information in this video. Apologies. -A Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey by Nicholas Schaffner -Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd by Mark Blake -Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd -Pink Floyd: The Inside Story by David Fricke -The Real Reason Pink Floyd Fired Richard Wright by Felix Behr -Behind the Wall video documentary - various interviews with Pink Floyd bandmembers throughout the years, both in print (e.g. Rolling Stone magazine) and on video (e.g. John Edgington interviews) Thanks for watching everyone.
Oh my God, I feel sorry for Rick, he was one of the most pivotal members of Floyd's sound (which was all of 'em), seriously the rest of the band (Rick included) didn't deserve the abuse they took from Roger.
Yep, just listen to his absolutely mesmerizing keyboard at the beginning of In The Flesh, that's 100% musicianship right there, it completely sets the pace at the beginning and gets you wound up for what's coming, and in the movie it's just perfect for the teenagers busting open the gate at the concert venue and storming the place. He's even under appreciated with most fans much less that douchenugget Waters.
Roger Waters is a petty little man. When he left in a huff, they didn't accept his return. They did a one-off with him and forever parted ways, thankfully.
@@heftosprodI wouldn't say he got lazy, but more distracted. He was going thru a brutal divorce around the time of the wall recordings. He was focused more on trying to shield his kids from it all.
It’s incredible… you see it in their faces… richard wright had such a gentle face and eyes, even before I knew anything about Richard, I could have bet that he was a kind, true, beautiful soul. And you just need to listen to understand the truth about his contribution in the band.
Yes he was and Roger took advantage of this and bullied him. You just have to read Nick Mason's book for proof of this. At college Roger used standover tactics to bum cigarettes from Rick and even annoyed Rick by returning the packet with the bottom cellophane rapper removed when he knew completely that Rick was a bit OCD about leaving it on.
Yeah, after they'd told Waters waters to take a walk! Five years later. However, I also believe that Gilmour also said Wright wasn't pulling his weight and so backed his dismissal.
As a great side note, Wright, arguably the best musician in the band, at the very least tied with Gilmore, was the only person to profit from The Wall tour. He was hired as a session artist and was therefore not liable for any losses the band incurred for the tour. RIP Mr. Wright!
I agree that Rick was incredibly talented and really made the Pink Floyd sound, but David is one of the greatest guitarists in history and immensely talented as a musician and songwriter. I'd put him slightly above Rick in that regard.
@@rft2001 While Dave definitely has an iconic sound, much of it is personified with gear setup and blues stylings, while Rick had those traits as a keyboardist as well as a fair understanding of jazz and classical. I would say that Dave's placement on greatest guitarist lists has at least as much to do with how he sounded so singular with his rig setup as his actual playing because it would technically be a mistake to call him a virtuoso like, say, Jeff Beck. The argument over "best musician" really should involve overall musicality in the breadth of all music forms. Just because Dave is the guy who comes out front and plays the tuneful, memorable solos doesn't automatically make him the most talented.
@@fmellish71 You make some good points but I wouldn't call anyone in Pink Floyd a virtuoso like Jeff Beck. I would say that Dave's place as one of the greatest guitarists of all time is based on his feel and the unique sound that he brought to psychedelic guitar playing. While Hendrix could blow you head off with speed and intensity, David chooses his notes very carefully, plus he has the good taste to play acoustic and, his steel guitar playing is beyond compare in terms of psychedelic rock. No other guitarist came up with the otherworldly sounds that he did on those 60's and early 70's albums. I'd say that no one, other than Trower, has such sensitivity, feel, tasty note selection and ability to create a psychedelic experience from a guitar solo. Yes, Rick understood mid-eastern, jazz, blues and classical and also created the most psychedelic keyboard sound in the scene but he was never a truly great keyboardist technically, and I'm glad for that as that would not fit in the Pink Floyd Sound.
@@rft2001 Good point on no one from Pink Floyd being a virtuoso. I wouldn't say that either - nor did I - and Dave indeed has great feel, like any blues-styled player should (he emotes much like Eric Clapton, but Eric had a deeper understanding of the blues style and I personally favor Steve Howe's steel playing, but that doesn't dismiss Dave's talents) and his otherworldly sounds were very new at the time and influenced a great deal of guitarists to come. I'm also glad that Floyd excelled with sound over technicality. The masses tend to favor a sound that's identifiable and relatable songwriting, which are the two ingredients that made Pink Floyd the most commercially successful prog band (in fact, their lack of technicality is what makes many a prog geek question their worth of that genre title).
Richard Wright was very prominent as a songwriter and performer in the early Pink Floyd days up through "Wish You Were Here." His contributions as a performer/arranger on "Animals, " along with Gilmour and Mason, are among his best work. I was very pleased when Gilmour helped reinstate him fully into the band again for "The Division Bell" album, which was the best post-Waters Pink Floyd album. As much as I admire Roger Waters' creativity and humanitarianism, it saddens me to hear him diss his former band mates, especially Wright, for unsubstantial contributions and ideas.
I wish Gilmour had reinstated him fully at the point of making Momentary Lapse already, and gave him some creative space on the album (otherwise, it's basically a Gilmour solo album). Also, it's a pity he didn't welcome Rick's idea to play Saucerful of Secrets live. As much as DG seems like a great guy, it was a little sad to see Rick in the role of Gilmour's sideman on solo tours - as if he was a lesser musician somehow - while in fact it was Wright who was primarily responsible for PF's early-to-mid style (up to and including the classic albums like DSOTM and WYWH) and should be honoured as the genius he was
I thought Animals was dismal. I had followed the band from Piper, but Wish You Were Here was to me their last cohesive offering, so Animals became the tenth and last Floyd album I ever bought.
@@rjlchristie Fair enough, but "Sheep" is a classic Floyd rocker. It may have Roger's name on the songwriting, but the performance is full on Pink Floyd.
@@georgesonm1774 David Gilmour asked Rick Wright to re-join the band during the recordings of "A Momentary...", but Wright decided not to join the band as an official member after consulting with the band's lawyers due to the legal conflict with Roger Waters. That is why his name appears on the list of guest musicians on the album (although his name appears first on the list). However, Rick was accredited as a full member of Pink Floyd in the live album "Delicate Sound of Thunder".
Rick was Pink Floyd’s secret weapon. Especially, when Syd was in the band. Rick made Syds songs beautiful and melodic and added musical greatness to everything after Syd. Roger was also very cruel to Syd when he started losing it
Why was he fired? Because Waters is a megalomaniac. Even after Ricks passing Waters still tries to diminish Rick's contribution. Roger is the most insecure man in music history.
he is literally a crazy person (no offense to anyone dealing with mental health problems). Yes, talented, but delusional and antisocial, perpetually at war with somebody (that is, other PF members - he even keeps talking about Rick in present tense, as if he was still there, alive and threatening him somehow... sad, really
@@heftosprod He thinks somehow his contribution to the band won’t be recognised unless he belittles his band mates. He’s constantly reminding us of what he wrote.
@@movieman4710 I think your comment is true, but Gilmour did it under the threat of Waters saying he would withdraw The Wall album and make it a solo record. At that point the band was in financial trouble due to being ripped off by their accountants. At least David would try and and make it right by bringing Rick back into the band and have him on his solo tours as well.As for Roger, he continues to belittle the other 3’s contributions.
A side tidbit was Richard complained about what Roger was writing about. He exclaimed that Roger's lyrics only dealt with 3 themes, insanity, war and death. What ever happened to good old spaced-out rock'n'roll?
I think that was his stab at waters. I think it’s more justifiable thag roger was more obsessed about writing about syd indirectly and as that became worn out he wrote about increasingly political subjects. Pink Floyd isn’t about the main themes of rock it would take away from it
Main themes of rock, especially in the 80s was pretty much about narcissism, partying, drugs and sex. 70s was a lot more thoughtful and especially Pink Floyd
@@splitzerx570 Fame was ruinous for the band. They had something special, but once their live shows attracted the lowest common denominator of youth culture, it must have been quite demotivating.
I'd also read that Roger was mocked by Wright for his socialist views, whilst acting like a complete capitalist within the band. As an example, Roger would write a track like 'Pigs' in one take, then split the song up into three pieces so that on the album he would get 3 times the writing credit, as it would appear as if he'd written 3 different songs. Wright would then dub him a fake socialist.
Waters was already pushing his agenda on DTotM and WYWH. Animals is the first album on which you can hear what happens when the other members are frozen out; the best song by far is Dogs, on which you can hear every member's contribution equally. The rest were test runs for a Waters dictatorship, which was nearly in full effect for The Wall, and complete in The Final Cut, the worst Pink Floyd album musically. Momentary Lapse was largely a Gilmour solo project, but he did try mightily to resurrect the pre-Animals Floyd sound, and did so even more with Wright back in the band for Division Bell. However, the songs never recovered lyrically from Waters' departure. In short, Roger failed to recognize that the magic of Pink Floyd was the synergy of all their talents, and so his ego ruined it. I don't love the post-Waters albums, but sometimes I listen to them just to enjoy the sound of three great musicians doing their thing without that other a-hole getting in the way.
Those post waters albums are drivel. I mean I loved it at the time, as a late teen/ early 20s... But now.. my god.. it's so dated and woeful.. In nearly every respect.
@@freeherenow52 ha. But perhaps more like a prolonged lapse in writing talent... "Here darling, can you supply me with some more of that lyrical whimsey to accompany my long guitar solo that more or less apes other solos from the glory years. Cheers love."
If Gilmour was trying to resurrect the pre animals sound then that was a dismal failure, as it sounds squat like it. And of course waters was pushing his agenda, he was from the moment Barrett departed. Do you honestly thing we'd be talking about this band had the songs about marmalade on crumpets and what not had continued? No. It was the vision Waters had set to that music was all love that did the trick. I also don't think he failed to recognise that synergy. He knew, quite rightly, calling anything Pink Floyd that didn't feature a cohesive application to that synergy would be a farce and thus opposed the use of the name PF on anything Gilmour put out as such. He knew full well what they would do musically. I certainly don't call that MOR rubbish Pink Floyd.
Firing Wright was a sound financial decision, they re-hired Wright as a session musician and his wages were tax deductible from the band. During the Wall tour most of the band lost money because of the elaborate expensive stage show except for Wright who received a wage.
True. The actual firing, however, was likely due to a few things- Wright had issues with addiction around this era. He also tended to be less involved as time went on, and by the time the Wall was underway, it appears Roger was ( as he himself admitted ), somewhat neurotic about the outcome of the record, and subsequent presentation. The combo of Gilmour/Wright is one of those one in a billion perfect musical blends. Grew up listening to floyd obsessively, and I still love that sound.
They paradoxically became "the machine" they were singing about at about the time of the wall, biggest irony ever. Just using people like meat and throwing them away when they became less useful .
richard wright was the main composer of the band when it comes to the harmonies, he re-arranged the chords from many of roger waters's initial basic 2 chords idea into highly sophisticated, jazzy music, though largely went uncredited (ie welcome to the machine, wright harmonized it from a 1 chord guitar strumming idea from roger), he is the absolute unsung hero of pink floyd.. of course, david gilmour was the main composer, melodically, of the band, but he was being much in the spotlight for his godly note choices and technical skill on the guitar, unlike richard. apart from being the band's main harmonies composer/arranger who composed the majority of pink floyd's chord progressions, he did also come up with some of the band's most signature pieces: the great gig in the sky, us and them, breathe (with david), echoes, the coda for shine one you crazy diamond (not surprising as he composed the piece's chord progressions, which was used throughout the piece), etc.. if the contents, the concepts and its poetry quality of pink floyd is what amazed you, then roger is probably your hero; if the melodic and yearning notes generated via guitar solos are what you love from pink floyd, then you probably idolize david gilmour; but if youre like me, caring about the composition itself, study the sophisticated harmonizations of the backing music to understand what connects every other elements together creating a masterpiece, then you probably would adore richard wright
Without the concepts, lyrics, the ideas then you have a very skillful coverband. I never liked bands with 5 min guitarsolos but tyhe brilliance of the wall concept won me over, in a genre of music I never liked before. Then on also liking everything from darksida to animals. Not the final cut nor the later pink floyd album. Final cut too much political rant and Monentary/division bell are too weak conceptwise for me. In any case the Wall live showed good Wright input compared to the studio album.
@@SuperHammaren I completely respect Roger fans for Roger’s concepts are brilliant, but at the same time, I’m sure that there are also fans like me: who doesn’t care much about lyrics no matter how good it is.. what I said was, Richard was the main composer, but hardly a writer, he often compose the chords while Roger write the words I also disagree that bands who have only music without much conceptions are “good cover band”, but I don’t want to fight about your personal perspective, because I do understand how lyrics mean a lot to people (not as much of an impact for me personally, I’m a jazz fan so I guess that speaks volumes) Of course, most fans would love the balance for words and music, that seems to be the perfect ground for me too But Roger recently discredited other members, and acting like concepts are all that matters when in reality, good words without good musics are just poems, to read but not to listen to Regardless, all are geniuses in their field Cheers
@@barnabarinludocratique6262 How so? What BeeGees song has Richard Wright's pedal point with changing chords, mostly Major but one minor Major 7? What Bee Gees song has Waters's universally united message against war? What Bee Gees song has a fraction of the depth of beauty and emotion this song has? Also, Why are you sorry? Who are you sorry for? Certainly not anyone who likes Us and Them. I'm pretty sure that for me and everyone on this thread: you're the only person we have and ever will ever come across that thinks Us and Them reminds them of the Bee Gees. But at least that person has enough self awareness to know how whack that take is, or else they wouldn't say "Sorry," 'cause I can't think of any other reason you'd apologize for having an opinion unless he was aware if how stupid it comes across as. 😆🙄
Yes, it's a great album. It didn't do well because it wasn't aiming for the mainstream pop charts. It was great music by a great musician. There is no question of Roger Waters talent but his ego is greater than his talent.
@@NorsePJ Never listened to it before but was just checking it out and one can hear how important Richard was to their greatest works. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here are totally infused with Wright. He was clearly an essential part to their greatness and later albums suffered from his absence, clearly. Waters is so disingenuous.
@@distantthunder12ck55 I would even say that the most beautiful and engaging pieces on DSOTM were composed by Wright. On WYWH, he composed half of Shine On - including the amazing intro and whole beautiful final part, which they neglected to play live in the later years.
Because Roger Waters had essentially demoralized the rest of the band and pushed them out of the songwriting process. Musically, the strength of the band was always Wright and Gilmour.
I was never a Roger Waters fan. He produced some good lyrics, but David and Richard produced the sound. I have tried to listen to The Final Cut and Waters’ solo music and I don’t get it. I was so glad to hear A Moment Lapse of Reason come out with the rest of band. I like the port Waters Floyd. Roger’s ego got the best of him and he thought the rest of the band couldn’t go in without him. Bad decision on his part 😊
amlor was a gilmour solo, with pink floyds name on it, even gilmour said many years later that it was a mistake to have so little on it from wright and mason so he did a remix with them on it more
Such nonsense. "He produced some good lyrics" is perhaps the biggest understatement ever made. Here's the unfortunate truth: Roger Waters wrote most of the music from 1973 to 1979 and came up with the concepts and structures of the albums. Gilmour didn't even want Wish You Were Here to be a concept album and wanted Dogs and Sheep to be included. But hey, if you think AMLOR is a good album let alone a good Pink Floyd album then there's no point trying to convince you.
@@nectarinedreams7208 Why do people like you always act so pretentious and superior? The 2019 remix of AMLOR is a big improvement over the original release and worth a listen imo. As an album, I would far rather listen to the 2019 version than The Final Cut or Roger's solo albums, personally. Though it is obviously nowhere near the league of their greatest works from the mid seventies it has its moments.
Waters was the main reason Pink Floyd fell apart. He was convinced he was superior to all the other band members. This situation was doomed in the end.
I saw an interview, David and Rick, circa late-80’s, where subtle mention of the depth of musicianship and the resentments it fostered was made. Rick was likely the bands best pure musician, and his parts in their heyday were massive contributions.
Rick's keyboard parts are, in my opinion, a major part of the success of PF in the 70s. The keyboard part of "Pigs" and his intro to "Sheep" are iconic, not to mention all of "Wish You Were Here".
To me, The Wall without Wright's input represented a marked drop in quality of the band's music. They lost a lot of their trademark ethereal sound and vibe. The album was basically a political stage musical production. Roger did some great things but his ego got the better of him. I understand that he has mellowed with age, as most of us do. Never mind, PF ended up with an awesome body of work. One of my favourites.
Totally agree…I hated The Wall when it came out, and still only like some of the tracks. It didn’t sound like Pink Floyd to me except where Roger and David collaborated on the songwriting. All the people around me were so psyched to be going to see the concerts, but I had no interest. Even on Animals, one of my favorite PF albums despite the fact that it was becoming more Roger’s show, you can still hear Rick’s ethereal influence especially in his brilliant signature Fender Rhodes intro to “Sheep.” David’s guitar playing and Nick’s drumming round out the PF sound, and despite Roger’s Nazism the chemistry and synergy of their individual talents can still be heard.
@@jamestcallahanphotographer Yes, there was a synergy with the four of them that was lost when any of the members were missing. The later Floyd albums without Roger lacked his creative edge although they were easier on the ears than The Wall and The Final Cut.
The Wall side A and side D are great, but the middle two are bogged down by a bunch of samey tracks uplifted that lean too heavily on 'Comfortably Numb' to reinject some life into the record.
Rick has always been my favorite member of the band. Such a talent. As great a vocalist as Gilmour. And a hell of a better vocalist than Waters. RIP Rick.
I knew about some of this stuff, but you have filled in a few gaps in my knowledge (and I have been listening to their music since A Saucerful of Secrets in 1968) and saw them live twice. I do know that I always felt that Richard Wright was more important to the part of the PF sound that I particularly liked (Dark Side of the Moon) than Roger Waters. In recent times Roger Waters has been very vocal in his political views and I must say that he comes across as a thoroughly obnoxious character. He would do far better in my opinion to keep his odious opinions to himself. RIP Rick Wright… thoroughly missed.
words of David Gilmour: "after WYWH we all felt disengaged from work, after the big success we were focused on what to do in the weekend. all of us but Roger, whose pushing urge to compose new stuff was frustrated by other's demotivation." Rick ♥️ was not fired, leaved the band because of Waters.
One of Waters main complaints with the band at the time was that it seemed the rest of the group was disengaged and getting lazy. And Rich. I think he was right.
Wright was an extremely important contributor to all Pink Floyd music. Truth be told, nobody missed Roger Waters at all, when Pink Floyd moved on without him.
Rubbish . Waters conceived the ideas and wrote the songs , exclusively , from Dark Side until his departure . A difficult man ? Perhaps . But I could live without Saucerful of Secrets better than without The Wall . AND I could live without ALL post-Waters , Floyd , better than without DSotM , OR Animals , OR Wish You Were Here . Bottom line , though , is that they were better as a unit (Waters has certainly not topped his own Floyd work , either) , BUT I just can't one sidedly bash the guy who is , at core , responsible for some of the greatest , most meaningful , music ever made .
I never knew Rick Wright was sacked from the Floyd, as I have not been a particularly avid follower of the band post Syd. I do find it extraordinary though… Rick’s superb keyboard playing was such an essential, integral part of the band’s sound that it’s inconceivable to me that they would effectively decide to junk it. I’ve read all sorts of things about Waters (most recently regarding his apparent support for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine) that suggest he’s more than a little unhinged, but these tales of him bullying the late Rick Wright (if true) show him to be utterly repugnant.
I've seen video of Roger belittling Nick too so obviously him and Rick just let it continue without confronting it, with those two placed in the pecking order I suspect Roger saw Dave as more of a challenge and a threat. Basically an unhappy man
I always felt that Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part IX, the coda to the album, was somehow Richard Wright’s own coda too. It’s definitely sad, melancholy…almost as if his time in the band was truly coming to an end. Which of course it wasn’t. Yet. But the Animals album was pure Roger Waters anger and venom, to which Gilmour and Mason went along with and (certainly Gilmour) added their best work to. And despite his own brilliant keyboard work, Wright was being left behind by this album, and in Waters’ authoritarian version of Pink Floyd, there was no room for someone like Wright.
The members of Pink Floyd,like those of all great bands,were all absolutely indispensable. Too bad that Roger--who was such an integral part of their brilliance--was unable to accept that fact. But Richard had the last laugh as the only one who didn't lose money on the tour for The Wall.
Fascinating how so much of this behind-the-scenes intrigue stayed out of the contemporary music press. We only know this now because so many of the participants revealed bits and pieces well after the fact.
There's a touching moment during the 'Pulse' concert vid, where they are doing 'great gig' w/ David on the pedal steel. He looks over at Rick and they both smile, seeming to say.......yeah man....this was the coolest thing ever. I've watched that dozens of times. (the stage production on that show was way over the top.....bordering on Spinal Tap territory, but great playing)
For me the sound of the classic Pink Floyd was always mostly about Gilmour and Wright. I never thought much of The Wall which imo only had a couple of good songs on it. It always felt like an indulgent Waters project, which carried commercially because of Pink Floyd's reputation and loyal following. Pink Floyd survived perfectly well without Waters.
He was the glue to Floyd’s sound, he created the mood/landscape on which everything else sat. His hammond sound was iconic. Without him PF would be an ordinary rock band.
In the vocabulary of polite people, there is no word disgusting enough with which I could describe Roger...! I actually love "Wet Dream", and have the vinyl in my collection.
The real reason that Roger Waters was so incredibly jealous of Rick Wright is because it was common knowledge that Rick Wright was way more well endowed than Roger Waters. I mean everyone knew about it.
Yeah sure, a rock star with groupies lined up at the door had penis envy. EVERYBODY hears somebody else do something and goes 'I wish I could do that". Thats I guess the definition of jealously but its SO benign that its everywhere.
@@mikearchibald744 Though Waters has grown into his face and is now good looking for a man his age ,when the Gilmour period began,he was decidedly an ugly duckling and Gilmour and Wright were almost surreally good looking and while Waters surely had admirers, Dave and Rick got the hot chicks,which I'm sure added to Waters already simmering resentment at their superior musical abilities,You shouldn't doubt the power of adolescent jealousy to linger and fester in a group situation- --this is the same dynamic at play when David Crosby and Roger McGuinn forced Gene Clark out of the Byrds.
@@garyyarago2096 I don't know about that. My best friend was far handsomer than I was. When I didn't have a girlfriend or much in the way of prospects, I was pretty envious, not really jealous, he was, after all, my friend. Once I got some success with women I certainly didn't give a tinkers dam about it, I like women, I certainly didn't register complaints about not getting as much attention as he did from women when I had PLENTY. As for ugly ducklings, this is the sixties and seventies we're talking about. Mick Jagger got girls BECAUSE he was ugly, and Roger had that same kind of look. He had the big teeth and stringy hair, but he was far from 'ugly'. And then of course is the fact that from 1969 to 1975 he was married anyway. I'm married now, I couldn't give a sweet shiny *&^% about what friends may be handsome or not or how much tail they are getting. You do realize we aren't talking about teenagers right? Dark Side of the Moon was released when he was 30 years old. So this isn't adolescent ANYTHING we're talking about. Considering The Wall partly recounts his AND her infidelities, then I kind of think "i'm not as good looking as dave and not getting the choicest groupies" is really an issue. MAYBE in the sixties, but if you've seen pictures from the sixties, they had very different ideas of 'good looking'.
I used to say Pink Floyd ended with the departure of Syd Barrett. I'm older now and have mellowed. But... when Rodger the Codger took control it was absolutely over. As Syd said when asked about Wish you were here, "it seems rather old".
@@LicoriceLain perhaps yes. Anyone who's been in any kind of long term band will understand these dynamics. Add piles of money and other expectations... Things really heat up.
I always felt that Guy Pratt should have been named as an official member. Perhaps there were legal reasons he couldn't be (the lawsuits between the band and Waters), but for all intents and Purposes Pratt was a member of the band and should have been recognized as one.
I think they figured it was so late in their careers anyways they decided to not confuse people even more. Although, I've always felt the same way about Pratt. He was a nice fit and an awesome bass player! What he did with One of These Days says it all!
Never knew that Roger Waters was such an abuser. Richard Right contributed tremendously to the sound of Pink Floyd and is a gray musician. Too bad that he did not stand up for himself to that bully.
The Final Cut really missed Wright. I found that album completely lacking in musicality. Waters may have been a good lyricist, but I don't see a lot of evidence that he was a great music writer. Wright and Gilmour definitely carried the music in Pink Floyd's best releases like Dark Side and Wish you were here.
it's basically Waters' solo album, with Gilmour as a lead guitarist and guest singer in one song - and as such, it's probably his best (alongside Jeff Beck's contributions on Amused to Death). But it's an entirely different sound or direction than the original, pre-Wall sound Floyd had created and was mostly known for. To me, really, WYWH is the last 'true' Floyd album; Animals is somewhere in between, and The Wall is already mostly solo Waters stuff with heavy Gilmour presence (as most of these songs would sound totally out of place on any prior PF album).
I do like The Wall, it’s a great concept that really works. Only complaint is that it stretches itself a little thin, with some songs just repeating what is already told in another song. Final Cut on the other hand is dismal. It’s like a really bad reprise of the Wall without any magic.
@@dannysound1 Almost all Pink Floyd albums were masterpieces, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, The Division Bell and Endless River were awful. Hell, the sheer number of self-righteous Waters Haters here is unbelievable! Roger Waters's control got excessive, but it was far from completely without excuse and reason. That whole party line about "'The Final Cut' is a Roger Waters solo album in all but name" is one of the biggest misnomers in the history of Pink Floyd. That whole party line about "Pink Floyd broke up because Roger bad" is one of the biggest oversimplifications in the history of rock music, at least. Waters had to save Pink Floyd from falling into the black hole left by Syd Barrett's late 1967 breakdown. By their own admission, Richard Wright and David Gilmour had run out of great musical ideas and were even lazy, at least as early as the aftermath of "Wish You Were Here" in 1976. That alone was of little of Roger's fault. Almost 10 years of constantly doing gigs and writing and recording music and essentially filling the Barrett shaped hole was simply burning Wright and Gilmour out by 1975. Even Roger was struggling. All of the Floyds including Nick Mason were victims of the success of "Dark Side Of The Moon". All of their relationships with their childhood sweethearts ultimately broke down as a result. Even their mental health took a tumble in the mid-late '70s. Whilst it only partially, let alone fully, excuses Roger's behaviour, Roger Waters was also under terrible financial and record company pressure to complete "The Wall" in 1978-1979 as a result of Pink Floyd falling into crippling financial debt. This was because holdings company Norton Warburg had lost all of the Pink Floyd members' pension funds after investing them in an ill-fated series of ventures. Pink Floyd were also liable to pay back the back taxes as a result. Gilmour's creative burnout was also partially due to the constant performing to rowdy audiences from June 1973 through July 1977 whom didn't really give a shit about Pink Floyd's music in that period and really only went to gigs to hear "Money" and would shout for "Money" until they got it. That at least alienated Waters and Gilmour from their audiences, whom prior to June 1973 were at least mostly loyal and respectful fans. Waters rightfully felt that he had to express all of his troubles about war, mental illness, alienation, greedy corporations, losing Syd, losing his dad and the loss of compassion within society as a whole and injustice. Waters is the best ever lyricist in my honest opinion, along with Barrett, whose own lyrics were wonderfully charming and whimsical. Waters was understandably afraid that if he didn't write about his troubles, Waters would become as burned out and ill as Barrett. Basically through little fault of Waters, the creative golden era of Pink Floyd was on borrowed time ever since things started to fall apart in late '73, during the troubled aftermath of "Dark Side Of The Moon" and its increasingly rowdy tour. Pink Floyd could easily have ended altogether back then, which would have especially spared Wright and Mason and their loved ones a lot of heartache and misery. They are certainly awesome albums; "Dark Side Of The Moon", "Wish You Were Here", "Animals", "The Wall" and "The Final Cut"; and they are my favorite Pink Floyd albums. However, all these classics owe a lot to the wonderful and experimental pre-Dark Side records including Syd Barrett's wonderful baby, "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" especially in terms of the development, evolvement and refinement of the classic dark psychedelic and pastoral Pink Floyd soundscape beginning in songs such as "Astronomy Domine", "Pow R Toc H" and "Interstellar Overdrive". This evolution and refinement can easily be heard if one listens to all of the Pink Floyd albums in chronological order. Interestingly, that whole early Pink Floyd creative golden era from late 1965 through May 1973 was also when the camaraderie both within The Floyd and between The Floyd and their audience at gigs was at its strongest. The former camaraderie within Pink Floyd was shown to great effect in the 1972 "Live At Pompeii" film. The classic dark psychedelic and pastoral soundscape along with great musical ideas and Roger Waters's riveting lyrics and concepts are the vital things of Pink Floyd's magic, which is painfully absent from all of the post-Waters Pink Floyd albums. I find it very fascinating that the long 1966-1983 creative golden era of Pink Floyd was able to last so long despite so much upheaval along the journey. Roger no doubt played a huge role in the great run. Before "Animals", Roger Waters originally excelled mostly as the lyricist, bassist, concept artist and occasional singer of Pink Floyd, however his musical composition and orchestration wisdom had increased dramatically through the 70s because of Roger's formerly fruitful musical partnerships with Syd, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and David Gilmour. As these great musicians and writers had, in that same order, gradually all became burned out and ran out of a regular run of great musical ideas by the end of "Wish You Were Here's" creation, it was Roger whom through the lion share of the remaining creativity was able to keep Pink Floyd's creative golden era going for those precious if troubled final years of great albums and concerts, once again with that classic and magical blend of the dark psychedelic and pastoral soundscape and Roger's great musical ideas, riveting lyrics and concepts. Working with Ron Geesin in 1969-1970 on the "Atom Heart Mother" title track and "The Body" soundtrack, and later working with Michael Kamen and Bob Ezrin on "The Trial" and "The Wall" in general in 1979 further enriched Roger's musical composition and orchestration wisdom. For the most part, even Roger's solo albums and gigs are at least faithful and respectful to the 1966-1983 creative golden era of The Pink Floyd, musically and lyrically. Everyone, including David Gilmour infamously, disses "The Final Cut" for using leftovers from previous Pink Floyd records like "The Wall". Another overblown statement! Pink Floyd were always adapting leftovers throughout their great career without any detrimental effect on their music! Everyone always has to whine about Richard Wright's absence on "The Final Cut" and even simply diss the album for that reason alone. Yet, what would Wright have done better on "The Final Cut"? Glorified 80s garbage like he did with Zee on their "Identity" album or a sterile new age/ambient/corporate rock cipher like Rick did with David Gilmour, Waters Hater Polly Samson and many other guest writers on "The Division Bell" and "Endless River"? That was all he could do in Pink Floyd's final years of 1980-1994. It's all well and good missing a great musician, yet what is the point of whining about someone missing from a given record if they couldn't have done anything themselves to make it better? Syd Barrett's absence certainly didn't stop albums like "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" from being great, so why should Rick's absence have stopped "The Final Cut" from being great? If Wright and Gilmour really had such great musical ideas post-'75, allegedly left off "Animals" and "The Wall" and "The Final Cut" because of Waters, then why didn't they use them on any of "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason", "The Division Bell" or "Endless River", when Waters was no longer domineering? Instead, all we got post-Waters was mostly sterile ambient and/or sterile corporate rock dreck with only fading glimmers of past glories. In addition to Pink Floyd becoming "a spent force, creatively" post-The Final Cut, Waters wanted to legally liquidate Pink Floyd following his '83 departure to stop them from becoming yet another corporate rock band like U2, Duran Duran, Status Quo and The Rolling Stones. Corporate rock was the very antitheses of Syd Barrett and Roger Waters's musical vision of Pink Floyd. Both Syd and Roger wanted to create music for art's sake and to express what matters to them. Gilmour had that mindset originally but post-The Final Cut, he fell into the greedy trap of filling stadiums and cashing in the brand. Yes, in the good old days with Syd Barrett and all the way from the UFO Club in 1966/1967 to "Wish You Were Here" in 1975 Rick was an insanely awesome and epic composer, keyboard player and singer to the extent of being Barrett's and Gilmour's musical soulmate and combined with each of them in turn, the musical heart of classic Pink Floyd but Rick became burned out and ran out of great musical ideas by time "Animals" started in 1976. As a result of this creative burnout combined with him succumbing to the same aforementioned alienation of performing at the rowdy '75 and '77 gigs, Rick even wanted out of the band in both 1975 and 1977 but every time, however, the greedy record company executives coerced poor Rick to stay which only set the poor guy up for a fall which cost him his mental health and his marriage to his childhood sweetheart. Continued below.
Continued from above. And so during his final years in the Pink Floyd creative golden era on "Animals" and "The Wall" in 1979, Rick was only barely playing whatever Gilmour or Waters wrote for him. Same for "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" in 1987, which itself was more glorified 80s garbage, not from the fault of Rick but from the fault of Gilmour and many other guest writers and guest musicians. This along with the rubbish half load of songs from his 1984 "About Face" album also shows how little Gilmour could have contributed to "The Final Cut" other than playing whatever Waters wrote for him. As with Wright, Gilmour's best era musically and creatively was the early golden era of Pink Floyd of 1968-1975. "The Final Cut" came out in 1983, right in the middle of the 80s music wasteland. Yet, thanks especially to Roger Waters with his maturing wisdom for bittersweet melodies and moving lyrics and emotional vocals and with help from Gilmour on his trusty guitars and especially the beautiful keyboard and orchestral arrangements from Michael Kamen and Andy Bown, "The Final Cut" has such a timeless and special sound that it's not just the best album of its era but in my honest opinion one of the best Pink Floyd albums ever and fittingly the last album of the Pink Floyd creative golden era of 1966-1983. ** Edit ** I'm sorry, I had to post this last bit of my fleshed out and edited post separate because stupid youtube wouldn't let me post the whole thing in one post.
I'm not professional but I've spent some time playing and writing music in a band(recreationally) and one thing I can say is that it is a lot easier to contribute to a good idea than it is to initially come up with the good idea. The person who comes up with that initial nucleus of great idea (whether it be chords or riff + melody, maybe some lyrics and a simple arrangement) is usually the ones that get the writing credit. Sometimes the contributions are substantial enough that they transform the song enough to merit a song writing credit but not always. I think it was Jack Bruce from Cream that said "You can have all the talent in the world but at the end of the day *someone's* gotta be the one staying up all night writing the material."
@@N0rmad Well that certainly did not address my point and I obviously disagree with that sentiment. I think pop music proves that just about anyone can string some chords together. I’ve done it myself. But to play at RWs level takes actual talent. Don’t get me started on some of Waters crap lyrics 😂
Roger turns out to have been a scumbag all along. There can be little doubt but that his bullying of Wright impacted Ricks ability to perform which resulted in a feedback loop that further depressed Ricks ability to perform.
@@turokforever007 By the time the rest of the band was having second thought about Rick he'd been suffering years of abuse by Roger and that effected his ability to contribute. In the end he was not able to contribute as he did in the past, but that was largely down to Rogers bullying!
There was no Pink Floyd without Rick Wright, Waters had no respect for the other musicians in the band and did not understand really what Pink Floyd was.
Richard Wright was fired by #rogerwaters who in return lost a court case. He was subsequently removed from the band. #guypratt took his place and #pinkfloyd shined. R.I.P. Richard Wright.
I should've mentioned my sources for the information in this video. Apologies.
-A Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey by Nicholas Schaffner
-Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd by Mark Blake
-Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd
-Pink Floyd: The Inside Story by David Fricke
-The Real Reason Pink Floyd Fired Richard Wright by Felix Behr
-Behind the Wall video documentary
- various interviews with Pink Floyd bandmembers throughout the years, both in print (e.g. Rolling Stone magazine) and on video (e.g. John Edgington interviews)
Thanks for watching everyone.
Is one of these docos the one which compares I think young lust with billion dollar babies?
Oh my God, I feel sorry for Rick, he was one of the most pivotal members of Floyd's sound (which was all of 'em), seriously the rest of the band (Rick included) didn't deserve the abuse they took from Roger.
Amen😂
Exactly.
Rick Wright was the sound of mythical 70's Pink Floyd. The best Pink Floyd albums wouldn't have existed without him.
Yep, just listen to his absolutely mesmerizing keyboard at the beginning of In The Flesh, that's 100% musicianship right there, it completely sets the pace at the beginning and gets you wound up for what's coming, and in the movie it's just perfect for the teenagers busting open the gate at the concert venue and storming the place.
He's even under appreciated with most fans much less that douchenugget Waters.
Roger Waters is a petty little man. When he left in a huff, they didn't accept his return. They did a one-off with him and forever parted ways, thankfully.
He seems to envy Roy Harper's superior vocals, either, and lip sychs to Roy's vocal on "Have a Cigar"at his concerts, too. Bizarre.
He was fired because he became nonproductive
And to the latest sound too. Which one is Pink?
Rick contributed so much to the Dark Side of the Moon. His musicianship was impeccable and a big factor in PF's success.
His solo album Wet Dream sounds much like Dark Side of the Moon
And so did Alan Parsons the sound engineer. He should have been paid royalties instead of a fee.
No doubt. Then he got lazy.
Wish You Were Here also owed so much to his musical input.
@@heftosprodI wouldn't say he got lazy, but more distracted. He was going thru a brutal divorce around the time of the wall recordings. He was focused more on trying to shield his kids from it all.
It’s incredible… you see it in their faces… richard wright had such a gentle face and eyes, even before I knew anything about Richard, I could have bet that he was a kind, true, beautiful soul. And you just need to listen to understand the truth about his contribution in the band.
Yes he was and Roger took advantage of this and bullied him. You just have to read Nick Mason's book for proof of this. At college Roger used standover tactics to bum cigarettes from Rick and even annoyed Rick by returning the packet with the bottom cellophane rapper removed when he knew completely that Rick was a bit OCD about leaving it on.
David and Nick should have backed Rick and told Roger to take a walk.
Eventually, they did.
Yeah, after they'd told Waters waters to take a walk! Five years later. However, I also believe that Gilmour also said Wright wasn't pulling his weight and so backed his dismissal.
They didn't want him on the first post-Waters Floyd album either.
@@chatsworthosbornejr Cocaine not heroin. Don't post crap.
Yeah, but they, unlike a lot of those posting here, knew who penned their most successful material. And that was Waters.
Excellent video. Richard Wright's voice was always my favorite and the music would not be what it is without his work. An underappreciated artist.
Roger Waters always was an egotistical twat.
!00% agree. Pink Floyd without RW would never have had the sound that everyone loves. RIP Rick, you are not forgotten.
Roger has the same initials.
@@rufus231 yeah, there are two RW’s in Pink Floyd and they needed both to make great Pink Floyd albums.
As a great side note, Wright, arguably the best musician in the band, at the very least tied with Gilmore, was the only person to profit from The Wall tour. He was hired as a session artist and was therefore not liable for any losses the band incurred for the tour.
RIP Mr. Wright!
* Gilmour
David Gilmour
I agree that Rick was incredibly talented and really made the Pink Floyd sound, but David is one of the greatest guitarists in history and immensely talented as a musician and songwriter. I'd put him slightly above Rick in that regard.
@@rft2001 While Dave definitely has an iconic sound, much of it is personified with gear setup and blues stylings, while Rick had those traits as a keyboardist as well as a fair understanding of jazz and classical. I would say that Dave's placement on greatest guitarist lists has at least as much to do with how he sounded so singular with his rig setup as his actual playing because it would technically be a mistake to call him a virtuoso like, say, Jeff Beck. The argument over "best musician" really should involve overall musicality in the breadth of all music forms. Just because Dave is the guy who comes out front and plays the tuneful, memorable solos doesn't automatically make him the most talented.
@@fmellish71 You make some good points but I wouldn't call anyone in Pink Floyd a virtuoso like Jeff Beck. I would say that Dave's place as one of the greatest guitarists of all time is based on his feel and the unique sound that he brought to psychedelic guitar playing. While Hendrix could blow you head off with speed and intensity, David chooses his notes very carefully, plus he has the good taste to play acoustic and, his steel guitar playing is beyond compare in terms of psychedelic rock. No other guitarist came up with the otherworldly sounds that he did on those 60's and early 70's albums. I'd say that no one, other than Trower, has such sensitivity, feel, tasty note selection and ability to create a psychedelic experience from a guitar solo.
Yes, Rick understood mid-eastern, jazz, blues and classical and also created the most psychedelic keyboard sound in the scene but he was never a truly great keyboardist technically, and I'm glad for that as that would not fit in the Pink Floyd Sound.
@@rft2001 Good point on no one from Pink Floyd being a virtuoso. I wouldn't say that either - nor did I - and Dave indeed has great feel, like any blues-styled player should (he emotes much like Eric Clapton, but Eric had a deeper understanding of the blues style and I personally favor Steve Howe's steel playing, but that doesn't dismiss Dave's talents) and his otherworldly sounds were very new at the time and influenced a great deal of guitarists to come. I'm also glad that Floyd excelled with sound over technicality. The masses tend to favor a sound that's identifiable and relatable songwriting, which are the two ingredients that made Pink Floyd the most commercially successful prog band (in fact, their lack of technicality is what makes many a prog geek question their worth of that genre title).
Richard was Awesome!! His works on "Sheep" and "Echoes" are supreme!!
Richard Wright was very prominent as a songwriter and performer in the early Pink Floyd days up through "Wish You Were Here." His contributions as a performer/arranger on "Animals, " along with Gilmour and Mason, are among his best work. I was very pleased when Gilmour helped reinstate him fully into the band again for "The Division Bell" album, which was the best post-Waters Pink Floyd album. As much as I admire Roger Waters' creativity and humanitarianism, it saddens me to hear him diss his former band mates, especially Wright, for unsubstantial contributions and ideas.
I wish Gilmour had reinstated him fully at the point of making Momentary Lapse already, and gave him some creative space on the album (otherwise, it's basically a Gilmour solo album). Also, it's a pity he didn't welcome Rick's idea to play Saucerful of Secrets live. As much as DG seems like a great guy, it was a little sad to see Rick in the role of Gilmour's sideman on solo tours - as if he was a lesser musician somehow - while in fact it was Wright who was primarily responsible for PF's early-to-mid style (up to and including the classic albums like DSOTM and WYWH) and should be honoured as the genius he was
I thought Animals was dismal. I had followed the band from Piper, but Wish You Were Here was to me their last cohesive offering, so Animals became the tenth and last Floyd album I ever bought.
@@rjlchristie Fair enough, but "Sheep" is a classic Floyd rocker. It may have Roger's name on the songwriting, but the performance is full on Pink Floyd.
@@georgesonm1774 David Gilmour asked Rick Wright to re-join the band during the recordings of "A Momentary...", but Wright decided not to join the band as an official member after consulting with the band's lawyers due to the legal conflict with Roger Waters. That is why his name appears on the list of guest musicians on the album (although his name appears first on the list). However, Rick was accredited as a full member of Pink Floyd in the live album "Delicate Sound of Thunder".
@@rjlchristie I find "Animals" utterly loathsome.
Rick was Pink Floyd’s secret weapon. Especially, when Syd was in the band. Rick made Syds songs beautiful and melodic and added musical greatness to everything after Syd. Roger was also very cruel to Syd when he started losing it
I’ve always strongly suspected that Waters played a major role in pushing Syd to his breakdown.
Not really a "secret" weapon. How many songs did Rick write, co-write, play and sing on? Rick was pivotal, and we know that.
Waters threw Syd under a bus
There’s no Pink Floyd without Rick Wright!
Well, there’s no Pink Floyd without ANY of them
@@frankieflannelette557there was without Waters
@@yohannuspistachio saw those two tours and Roger who?
The signature sound of PF is also due to Nick Mason
Absolutely correct. A band is the sum of its parts
Why was he fired? Because Waters is a megalomaniac. Even after Ricks passing Waters still tries to diminish Rick's contribution. Roger is the most insecure man in music history.
he is literally a crazy person (no offense to anyone dealing with mental health problems). Yes, talented, but delusional and antisocial, perpetually at war with somebody (that is, other PF members - he even keeps talking about Rick in present tense, as if he was still there, alive and threatening him somehow... sad, really
Insecure?
@@heftosprod He thinks somehow his contribution to the band won’t be recognised unless he belittles his band mates. He’s constantly reminding us of what he wrote.
Supposedly Gilmour was also for firing Wright and even suggested firing Mason too, but this is according to Waters so def take that for what you will
@@movieman4710 I think your comment is true, but Gilmour did it under the threat of Waters saying he would withdraw The Wall album and make it a solo record. At that point the band was in financial trouble due to being ripped off by their accountants. At least David would try and and make it right by bringing Rick back into the band and have him on his solo tours as well.As for Roger, he continues to belittle the other 3’s contributions.
I always thought Waters was a knob.
That's because he was.
Roger Waters should have been named Richard because he was a real Dick.
100%. Once a dweebturd, always a dweebturd.
Rick looks a lot like Syd
Looks just like Glenn Tipton.
Much loved,and sorely missed.R.I.P. Richard.
A side tidbit was Richard complained about what Roger was writing about. He exclaimed that Roger's lyrics only dealt with 3 themes, insanity, war and death. What ever happened to good old spaced-out rock'n'roll?
I think that was his stab at waters. I think it’s more justifiable thag roger was more obsessed about writing about syd indirectly and as that became worn out he wrote about increasingly political subjects. Pink Floyd isn’t about the main themes of rock it would take away from it
Main themes of rock, especially in the 80s was pretty much about narcissism, partying, drugs and sex.
70s was a lot more thoughtful and especially Pink Floyd
@@splitzerx570 Fame was ruinous for the band. They had something special, but once their live shows attracted the lowest common denominator of youth culture, it must have been quite demotivating.
@@noyfb4769 Yup, that’s probably the biggest reason Roger became so distanced from the rest of the band.
I'd also read that Roger was mocked by Wright for his socialist views, whilst acting like a complete capitalist within the band.
As an example, Roger would write a track like 'Pigs' in one take, then split the song up into three pieces so that on the album he would get 3 times the writing credit, as it would appear as if he'd written 3 different songs. Wright would then dub him a fake socialist.
Waters was already pushing his agenda on DTotM and WYWH. Animals is the first album on which you can hear what happens when the other members are frozen out; the best song by far is Dogs, on which you can hear every member's contribution equally. The rest were test runs for a Waters dictatorship, which was nearly in full effect for The Wall, and complete in The Final Cut, the worst Pink Floyd album musically. Momentary Lapse was largely a Gilmour solo project, but he did try mightily to resurrect the pre-Animals Floyd sound, and did so even more with Wright back in the band for Division Bell. However, the songs never recovered lyrically from Waters' departure. In short, Roger failed to recognize that the magic of Pink Floyd was the synergy of all their talents, and so his ego ruined it. I don't love the post-Waters albums, but sometimes I listen to them just to enjoy the sound of three great musicians doing their thing without that other a-hole getting in the way.
My preferred cut was 'Pigs'.
Those post waters albums are drivel. I mean I loved it at the time, as a late teen/ early 20s... But now.. my god.. it's so dated and woeful.. In nearly every respect.
@@dudovich13 mine is Sheep
@@freeherenow52 ha. But perhaps more like a prolonged lapse in writing talent... "Here darling, can you supply me with some more of that lyrical whimsey to accompany my long guitar solo that more or less apes other solos from the glory years. Cheers love."
If Gilmour was trying to resurrect the pre animals sound then that was a dismal failure, as it sounds squat like it. And of course waters was pushing his agenda, he was from the moment Barrett departed. Do you honestly thing we'd be talking about this band had the songs about marmalade on crumpets and what not had continued? No. It was the vision Waters had set to that music was all love that did the trick. I also don't think he failed to recognise that synergy. He knew, quite rightly, calling anything Pink Floyd that didn't feature a cohesive application to that synergy would be a farce and thus opposed the use of the name PF on anything Gilmour put out as such. He knew full well what they would do musically. I certainly don't call that MOR rubbish Pink Floyd.
100% He was my favorite and probably the most musically gifted with Gilmour. I wish I could have interviewed him.
Firing Wright was a sound financial decision, they re-hired Wright as a session musician and his wages were tax deductible from the band. During the Wall tour most of the band lost money because of the elaborate expensive stage show except for Wright who received a wage.
True. The actual firing, however, was likely due to a few things- Wright had issues with addiction around this era. He also tended to be less involved as time went on, and by the time the Wall was underway, it appears Roger was ( as he himself admitted ), somewhat neurotic about the outcome of the record, and subsequent presentation. The combo of Gilmour/Wright is one of those one in a billion perfect musical blends. Grew up listening to floyd obsessively, and I still love that sound.
Se nota en su mirada lo buen tipo que era aparte de excelente músico descansa en paz Ricky
Pink Floyd started out as a band and ended becoming an enterprise run by managers. This is what often happens when large sums of money are involved.
Maybe ALWAYS? Welll, Rush seemed to manage all right. But YES became a management music collective in 1982. But then, was it really 'run' by managers?
Welcome to the Machine
@rumpraisin Pink Floyd certainly became corporate, but that wasn't until at least 1987, a result of which the music suffered big time.
@@Craigevansagain Reagan / Tatcher neoliberal politics.
They paradoxically became "the machine" they were singing about at about the time of the wall, biggest irony ever. Just using people like meat and throwing them away when they became
less useful .
richard wright was the main composer of the band when it comes to the harmonies, he re-arranged the chords from many of roger waters's initial basic 2 chords idea into highly sophisticated, jazzy music, though largely went uncredited (ie welcome to the machine, wright harmonized it from a 1 chord guitar strumming idea from roger), he is the absolute unsung hero of pink floyd.. of course, david gilmour was the main composer, melodically, of the band, but he was being much in the spotlight for his godly note choices and technical skill on the guitar, unlike richard.
apart from being the band's main harmonies composer/arranger who composed the majority of pink floyd's chord progressions, he did also come up with some of the band's most signature pieces: the great gig in the sky, us and them, breathe (with david), echoes, the coda for shine one you crazy diamond (not surprising as he composed the piece's chord progressions, which was used throughout the piece), etc..
if the contents, the concepts and its poetry quality of pink floyd is what amazed you, then roger is probably your hero; if the melodic and yearning notes generated via guitar solos are what you love from pink floyd, then you probably idolize david gilmour; but if youre like me, caring about the composition itself, study the sophisticated harmonizations of the backing music to understand what connects every other elements together creating a masterpiece, then you probably would adore richard wright
Without the concepts, lyrics, the ideas then you have a very skillful coverband. I never liked bands with 5 min guitarsolos but tyhe brilliance of the wall concept won me over, in a genre of music I never liked before. Then on also liking everything from darksida to animals. Not the final cut nor the later pink floyd album. Final cut too much political rant and Monentary/division bell are too weak conceptwise for me. In any case the Wall live showed good Wright input compared to the studio album.
@@SuperHammaren I completely respect Roger fans for Roger’s concepts are brilliant, but at the same time, I’m sure that there are also fans like me: who doesn’t care much about lyrics no matter how good it is.. what I said was, Richard was the main composer, but hardly a writer, he often compose the chords while Roger write the words
I also disagree that bands who have only music without much conceptions are “good cover band”, but I don’t want to fight about your personal perspective, because I do understand how lyrics mean a lot to people (not as much of an impact for me personally, I’m a jazz fan so I guess that speaks volumes)
Of course, most fans would love the balance for words and music, that seems to be the perfect ground for me too
But Roger recently discredited other members, and acting like concepts are all that matters when in reality, good words without good musics are just poems, to read but not to listen to
Regardless, all are geniuses in their field
Cheers
Richard Wright was my favorite ❤️
Richard Wright was an integral part of the band. I miss him.
He wrote the music to the best music Floyd ever wrote: Us and Them.
In my view the best Floyd number.
Wearing The Inside Out
He also wrote The Great Gig in the Sky
Sorry but Us and Them reminds me the Bee Gees
@@barnabarinludocratique6262 How so? What BeeGees song has Richard Wright's pedal point with changing chords, mostly Major but one minor Major 7? What Bee Gees song has Waters's universally united message against war? What Bee Gees song has a fraction of the depth of beauty and emotion this song has? Also, Why are you sorry? Who are you sorry for? Certainly not anyone who likes Us and Them. I'm pretty sure that for me and everyone on this thread: you're the only person we have and ever will ever come across that thinks Us and Them reminds them of the Bee Gees. But at least that person has enough self awareness to know how whack that take is, or else they wouldn't say "Sorry," 'cause I can't think of any other reason you'd apologize for having an opinion unless he was aware if how stupid it comes across as. 😆🙄
Thanks for posting. The album of Wet Dream is a masterpiece.
Yes, it's a great album. It didn't do well because it wasn't aiming for the mainstream pop charts. It was great music by a great musician. There is no question of Roger Waters talent but his ego is greater than his talent.
@@NorsePJ Never listened to it before but was just checking it out and one can hear how important Richard was to their greatest works. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here are totally infused with Wright. He was clearly an essential part to their greatness and later albums suffered from his absence, clearly. Waters is so disingenuous.
@@distantthunder12ck55 I would even say that the most beautiful and engaging pieces on DSOTM were composed by Wright. On WYWH, he composed half of Shine On - including the amazing intro and whole beautiful final part, which they neglected to play live in the later years.
Your bar is far too low.
Oh here we go, another 'masterpiece' 🙄
When did the meaning of the word masterpiece change to 'anything I think is good'?
Because Roger Waters had essentially demoralized the rest of the band and pushed them out of the songwriting process. Musically, the strength of the band was always Wright and Gilmour.
Richard Wright has been termed the soul of Pink Floyd. He gives them that psychedelic sound they are known for.
I was never a Roger Waters fan. He produced some good lyrics, but David and Richard produced the sound. I have tried to listen to The Final Cut and Waters’ solo music and I don’t get it. I was so glad to hear A Moment Lapse of Reason come out with the rest of band. I like the port Waters Floyd. Roger’s ego got the best of him and he thought the rest of the band couldn’t go in without him. Bad decision on his part 😊
amlor was a gilmour solo, with pink floyds name on it, even gilmour said many years later that it was a mistake to have so little on it from wright and mason so he did a remix with them on it more
Such nonsense. "He produced some good lyrics" is perhaps the biggest understatement ever made. Here's the unfortunate truth: Roger Waters wrote most of the music from 1973 to 1979 and came up with the concepts and structures of the albums. Gilmour didn't even want Wish You Were Here to be a concept album and wanted Dogs and Sheep to be included. But hey, if you think AMLOR is a good album let alone a good Pink Floyd album then there's no point trying to convince you.
@@nectarinedreams7208 Why do people like you always act so pretentious and superior? The 2019 remix of AMLOR is a big improvement over the original release and worth a listen imo. As an album, I would far rather listen to the 2019 version than The Final Cut or Roger's solo albums, personally. Though it is obviously nowhere near the league of their greatest works from the mid seventies it has its moments.
🤦
Waters was the main reason Pink Floyd fell apart. He was convinced he was superior to all the other band members. This situation was doomed in the end.
Not to contradict, but I recall reading that Rick had a fairly serious cocaine problem behind his lack of participation and "writer's block."
Nick is the only member of Floyd to appear on all 15 albums.
Very true
Nancy Reagan-approved condensed version: The band was courting Pepsi for sponsorship, and Rick was too deeply entrenched with the competition.
😂
Well,When You,Get Bullied,and Allow YourSelf,to be Bullied!Set The Boundaries!❤,U Rick!What a Talent!
Wright was also struggling with a cocaine problem during this era, as did Gilmour a couple years later.
Roger Waters would have been a difficult person to work with and probably still is.
I saw an interview, David and Rick, circa late-80’s, where subtle mention of the depth of musicianship and the resentments it fostered was made. Rick was likely the bands best pure musician, and his parts in their heyday were massive contributions.
Gilmour and Wright were the sound of Pink Floyd.
I really like early PF songs written and sung by Rick, for instance "remember a day" and "see saw"
Rick's keyboard parts are, in my opinion, a major part of the success of PF in the 70s. The keyboard part of "Pigs" and his intro to "Sheep" are iconic, not to mention all of "Wish You Were Here".
To me, The Wall without Wright's input represented a marked drop in quality of the band's music. They lost a lot of their trademark ethereal sound and vibe. The album was basically a political stage musical production.
Roger did some great things but his ego got the better of him. I understand that he has mellowed with age, as most of us do. Never mind, PF ended up with an awesome body of work. One of my favourites.
Totally agree…I hated The Wall when it came out, and still only like some of the tracks. It didn’t sound like Pink Floyd to me except where Roger and David collaborated on the songwriting. All the people around me were so psyched to be going to see the concerts, but I had no interest. Even on Animals, one of my favorite PF albums despite the fact that it was becoming more Roger’s show, you can still hear Rick’s ethereal influence especially in his brilliant signature Fender Rhodes intro to “Sheep.” David’s guitar playing and Nick’s drumming round out the PF sound, and despite Roger’s Nazism the chemistry and synergy of their individual talents can still be heard.
@@jamestcallahanphotographer Yes, there was a synergy with the four of them that was lost when any of the members were missing. The later Floyd albums without Roger lacked his creative edge although they were easier on the ears than The Wall and The Final Cut.
The Wall side A and side D are great, but the middle two are bogged down by a bunch of samey tracks uplifted that lean too heavily on 'Comfortably Numb' to reinject some life into the record.
Rick has always been my favorite member of the band. Such a talent. As great a vocalist as Gilmour. And a hell of a better vocalist than Waters. RIP Rick.
I knew about some of this stuff, but you have filled in a few gaps in my knowledge (and I have been listening to their music since A Saucerful of Secrets in 1968) and saw them live twice. I do know that I always felt that Richard Wright was more important to the part of the PF sound that I particularly liked (Dark Side of the Moon) than Roger Waters. In recent times Roger Waters has been very vocal in his political views and I must say that he comes across as a thoroughly obnoxious character. He would do far better in my opinion to keep his odious opinions to himself. RIP Rick Wright… thoroughly missed.
summer 68 is one of my favourite songs of all of pink floyd. his sound is more important than most people know
Summer 68 Remember a Day, Paintbox, Echoes, and Us and Them all incredible
words of David Gilmour: "after WYWH we all felt disengaged from work, after the big success we were focused on what to do in the weekend. all of us but Roger, whose pushing urge to compose new stuff was frustrated by other's demotivation." Rick ♥️ was not fired, leaved the band because of Waters.
Seems as though you've said something else there.
One of Waters main complaints with the band at the time was that it seemed the rest of the group was disengaged and getting lazy. And Rich. I think he was right.
Waters threaten to withdraw the wall if Rick stayed on. As they were bankcrupt, if was pretty much a fire.
Everyone got lazy on Rodger
Success may have been good for the band members (except of course, Syd), but the band itself? Not so much.
Why was Richard Wright ousted from The Pink Floyd..... Basically because Water was & still is a monumental 🔔🔚!! RIP brother 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Wright was an extremely important contributor to all Pink Floyd music. Truth be told, nobody missed Roger Waters at all, when Pink Floyd moved on without him.
Rubbish . Waters conceived the ideas and wrote the songs , exclusively , from Dark Side until his departure .
A difficult man ? Perhaps . But I could live without Saucerful of Secrets better than without The Wall .
AND I could live without ALL post-Waters , Floyd , better than without DSotM , OR Animals , OR Wish You Were Here .
Bottom line , though , is that they were better as a unit (Waters has certainly not topped his own Floyd work , either) , BUT I just can't one sidedly bash the guy who is , at core , responsible for some of the greatest , most meaningful , music ever made .
Wright and Barrett were the geniuses behind Pink Floyd. Barrett sussed out that Waters was evil.
🤦
@@quantiquefilms Syd may have realized Waters’ character, with no man’s land being Syd’s song about it off his own album The Madcap Laughs
I never knew Rick Wright was sacked from the Floyd, as I have not been a particularly avid follower of the band post Syd. I do find it extraordinary though… Rick’s superb keyboard playing was such an essential, integral part of the band’s sound that it’s inconceivable to me that they would effectively decide to junk it. I’ve read all sorts of things about Waters (most recently regarding his apparent support for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine) that suggest he’s more than a little unhinged, but these tales of him bullying the late Rick Wright (if true) show him to be utterly repugnant.
Can we leave the politics out of this, please? (I know that Roger doesn't, but that is one of his less endearing traits.)
@@Khayyam-vg9fw ‘we’?! Who is ‘we’?
@@tattyshoesshigure5731 Don't split hairs; you know exactly what I mean.
@@Khayyam-vg9fw I’m assuming you fancy yourself as some kind of You Tube comments section censor… which is amusing to say the least! :-)
@@tattyshoesshigure5731 I don't need to assume what you are.
Even David Gilmour has said, "Richard Wright is the only true musician in Pink Floyd." He was fired because Roger Waters is a self-aggrandized prick!
I've seen video of Roger belittling Nick too so obviously him and Rick just let it continue without confronting it, with those two placed in the pecking order I suspect Roger saw Dave as more of a challenge and a threat. Basically an unhappy man
True.
I always heard it was the coke addiction
I always felt that Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part IX, the coda to the album, was somehow Richard Wright’s own coda too. It’s definitely sad, melancholy…almost as if his time in the band was truly coming to an end.
Which of course it wasn’t. Yet. But the Animals album was pure Roger Waters anger and venom, to which Gilmour and Mason went along with and (certainly Gilmour) added their best work to. And despite his own brilliant keyboard work, Wright was being left behind by this album, and in Waters’ authoritarian version of Pink Floyd, there was no room for someone like Wright.
People always side with whoever they are like;birds of a feather.
The best part of this story is how Rick was the only one who made money from the Wall tour.
Waters reminds me of Ginger Baker: a nasty bastard. It's amazing the band lasted more than a year.
The members of Pink Floyd,like those of all great bands,were all absolutely indispensable. Too bad that Roger--who was such an integral part of their brilliance--was unable to accept that fact.
But Richard had the last laugh as the only one who didn't lose money on the tour for The Wall.
🎼🎵All in all, it's just another brick of bullying by Roger in the wall. 🎶🎵🎵
Fascinating how so much of this behind-the-scenes intrigue stayed out of the contemporary music press. We only know this now because so many of the participants revealed bits and pieces well after the fact.
Couldn't have happened in this day and age!
Rick was brilliant. I believe he made the best decision to leave. Too bad the other two didn't offer their support for Mr. Wright.
The more I learn about Roger Waters. the less I care for him.
Waters hated that anyone had more talent than he had. Which is just about anyone because Waters is more ego than talent.
There's a touching moment during the 'Pulse' concert vid, where they are doing 'great gig' w/ David on the pedal steel. He looks over at Rick and they both smile, seeming to say.......yeah man....this was the coolest thing ever. I've watched that dozens of times. (the stage production on that show was way over the top.....bordering on Spinal Tap territory, but great playing)
For me the sound of the classic Pink Floyd was always mostly about Gilmour and Wright. I never thought much of The Wall which imo only had a couple of good songs on it. It always felt like an indulgent Waters project, which carried commercially because of Pink Floyd's reputation and loyal following. Pink Floyd survived perfectly well without Waters.
Richard Wright was a an amazing musician.
Roger failed to realize that Richard was the “Pulse”….
He is with The King now, for he found The Kingdom.
Wasn't Rick's drug use also a big problem that led to Roger's decision in firing him?
True man And he was lazy too
What a malcontent Roger Waters was.
He was the glue to Floyd’s sound, he created the mood/landscape on which everything else sat. His hammond sound was iconic. Without him PF would be an ordinary rock band.
Excellent and educational. Thank You & Best Regards.
Animals without Rick would've been a tremendous flop. Most notably on Sheep.
Anyone know who wrote the piano on Nobody Home. Was it Richard Wright or Bob Ezrin?
In the vocabulary of polite people, there is no word disgusting enough with which I could describe Roger...!
I actually love "Wet Dream", and have the vinyl in my collection.
Because Roger Waters ego couldn't deal with real talent.
I like Rick's 'Remember a Day'.
Without Rick it is just not Pink Floyd, it wouldn’t have that signature sound!
The real reason that Roger Waters was so incredibly jealous of Rick Wright is because it was common knowledge that Rick Wright was way more well endowed than Roger Waters. I mean everyone knew about it.
How do you know Thomas Gary, were you up close and personal 🤔 😳
@@eamonnorourke3982 Friend of a friend
Yeah sure, a rock star with groupies lined up at the door had penis envy. EVERYBODY hears somebody else do something and goes 'I wish I could do that". Thats I guess the definition of jealously but its SO benign that its everywhere.
@@mikearchibald744 Though Waters has grown into his face and is now good looking for a man his age ,when the Gilmour period began,he was decidedly an ugly duckling and Gilmour and Wright were almost surreally good looking and while Waters surely had admirers, Dave and Rick got the hot chicks,which I'm sure added to Waters already simmering resentment at their superior musical abilities,You shouldn't doubt the power of adolescent jealousy to linger and fester in a group situation- --this is the same dynamic at play when David Crosby and Roger McGuinn forced Gene Clark out of the Byrds.
@@garyyarago2096 I don't know about that. My best friend was far handsomer than I was. When I didn't have a girlfriend or much in the way of prospects, I was pretty envious, not really jealous, he was, after all, my friend.
Once I got some success with women I certainly didn't give a tinkers dam about it, I like women, I certainly didn't register complaints about not getting as much attention as he did from women when I had PLENTY.
As for ugly ducklings, this is the sixties and seventies we're talking about. Mick Jagger got girls BECAUSE he was ugly, and Roger had that same kind of look. He had the big teeth and stringy hair, but he was far from 'ugly'.
And then of course is the fact that from 1969 to 1975 he was married anyway. I'm married now, I couldn't give a sweet shiny *&^% about what friends may be handsome or not or how much tail they are getting. You do realize we aren't talking about teenagers right? Dark Side of the Moon was released when he was 30 years old. So this isn't adolescent ANYTHING we're talking about.
Considering The Wall partly recounts his AND her infidelities, then I kind of think "i'm not as good looking as dave and not getting the choicest groupies" is really an issue. MAYBE in the sixties, but if you've seen pictures from the sixties, they had very different ideas of 'good looking'.
These guys are very intelligent, talented guys some times it clashes!
Of course Rick Wright was the signature sound of Pink Floyd. Wouldn't have achieveed nearly the level of success without his synth sounds.
I used to say Pink Floyd ended with the departure of Syd Barrett. I'm older now and have mellowed. But... when Rodger the Codger took control it was absolutely over. As Syd said when asked about Wish you were here, "it seems rather old".
It was over? The reason we're all talking here is because Roger took the initiative.
@@heftosprodAnd then killed the band by pushing it too far.
@@LicoriceLain perhaps yes. Anyone who's been in any kind of long term band will understand these dynamics. Add piles of money and other expectations... Things really heat up.
I always felt that Guy Pratt should have been named as an official member. Perhaps there were legal reasons he couldn't be (the lawsuits between the band and Waters), but for all intents and Purposes Pratt was a member of the band and should have been recognized as one.
I think they figured it was so late in their careers anyways they decided to not confuse people even more. Although, I've always felt the same way about Pratt. He was a nice fit and an awesome bass player! What he did with One of These Days says it all!
Pretty sure he married ricks daughter
Pratt? No way. Never.
Never knew that Roger Waters was such an abuser. Richard Right contributed tremendously to the sound of Pink Floyd and is a gray musician. Too bad that he did not stand up for himself to that bully.
He was the linchpin - "Wright" from the very beginning
The Final Cut really missed Wright. I found that album completely lacking in musicality. Waters may have been a good lyricist, but I don't see a lot of evidence that he was a great music writer. Wright and Gilmour definitely carried the music in Pink Floyd's best releases like Dark Side and Wish you were here.
it's basically Waters' solo album, with Gilmour as a lead guitarist and guest singer in one song - and as such, it's probably his best (alongside Jeff Beck's contributions on Amused to Death). But it's an entirely different sound or direction than the original, pre-Wall sound Floyd had created and was mostly known for. To me, really, WYWH is the last 'true' Floyd album; Animals is somewhere in between, and The Wall is already mostly solo Waters stuff with heavy Gilmour presence (as most of these songs would sound totally out of place on any prior PF album).
I do like The Wall, it’s a great concept that really works. Only complaint is that it stretches itself a little thin, with some songs just repeating what is already told in another song. Final Cut on the other hand is dismal. It’s like a really bad reprise of the Wall without any magic.
All Pink Floyd albums were master pieces, The Final Cut was awful
@@dannysound1 Almost all Pink Floyd albums were masterpieces, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, The Division Bell and Endless River were awful. Hell, the sheer number of self-righteous Waters Haters here is unbelievable!
Roger Waters's control got excessive, but it was far from completely without excuse and reason. That whole party line about "'The Final Cut' is a Roger Waters solo album in all but name" is one of the biggest misnomers in the history of Pink Floyd. That whole party line about "Pink Floyd broke up because Roger bad" is one of the biggest oversimplifications in the history of rock music, at least. Waters had to save Pink Floyd from falling into the black hole left by Syd Barrett's late 1967 breakdown. By their own admission, Richard Wright and David Gilmour had run out of great musical ideas and were even lazy, at least as early as the aftermath of "Wish You Were Here" in 1976. That alone was of little of Roger's fault. Almost 10 years of constantly doing gigs and writing and recording music and essentially filling the Barrett shaped hole was simply burning Wright and Gilmour out by 1975. Even Roger was struggling. All of the Floyds including Nick Mason were victims of the success of "Dark Side Of The Moon". All of their relationships with their childhood sweethearts ultimately broke down as a result. Even their mental health took a tumble in the mid-late '70s. Whilst it only partially, let alone fully, excuses Roger's behaviour, Roger Waters was also under terrible financial and record company pressure to complete "The Wall" in 1978-1979 as a result of Pink Floyd falling into crippling financial debt. This was because holdings company Norton Warburg had lost all of the Pink Floyd members' pension funds after investing them in an ill-fated series of ventures. Pink Floyd were also liable to pay back the back taxes as a result.
Gilmour's creative burnout was also partially due to the constant performing to rowdy audiences from June 1973 through July 1977 whom didn't really give a shit about Pink Floyd's music in that period and really only went to gigs to hear "Money" and would shout for "Money" until they got it. That at least alienated Waters and Gilmour from their audiences, whom prior to June 1973 were at least mostly loyal and respectful fans. Waters rightfully felt that he had to express all of his troubles about war, mental illness, alienation, greedy corporations, losing Syd, losing his dad and the loss of compassion within society as a whole and injustice. Waters is the best ever lyricist in my honest opinion, along with Barrett, whose own lyrics were wonderfully charming and whimsical. Waters was understandably afraid that if he didn't write about his troubles, Waters would become as burned out and ill as Barrett. Basically through little fault of Waters, the creative golden era of Pink Floyd was on borrowed time ever since things started to fall apart in late '73, during the troubled aftermath of "Dark Side Of The Moon" and its increasingly rowdy tour. Pink Floyd could easily have ended altogether back then, which would have especially spared Wright and Mason and their loved ones a lot of heartache and misery.
They are certainly awesome albums; "Dark Side Of The Moon", "Wish You Were Here", "Animals", "The Wall" and "The Final Cut"; and they are my favorite Pink Floyd albums. However, all these classics owe a lot to the wonderful and experimental pre-Dark Side records including Syd Barrett's wonderful baby, "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" especially in terms of the development, evolvement and refinement of the classic dark psychedelic and pastoral Pink Floyd soundscape beginning in songs such as "Astronomy Domine", "Pow R Toc H" and "Interstellar Overdrive". This evolution and refinement can easily be heard if one listens to all of the Pink Floyd albums in chronological order. Interestingly, that whole early Pink Floyd creative golden era from late 1965 through May 1973 was also when the camaraderie both within The Floyd and between The Floyd and their audience at gigs was at its strongest. The former camaraderie within Pink Floyd was shown to great effect in the 1972 "Live At Pompeii" film. The classic dark psychedelic and pastoral soundscape along with great musical ideas and Roger Waters's riveting lyrics and concepts are the vital things of Pink Floyd's magic, which is painfully absent from all of the post-Waters Pink Floyd albums.
I find it very fascinating that the long 1966-1983 creative golden era of Pink Floyd was able to last so long despite so much upheaval along the journey. Roger no doubt played a huge role in the great run. Before "Animals", Roger Waters originally excelled mostly as the lyricist, bassist, concept artist and occasional singer of Pink Floyd, however his musical composition and orchestration wisdom had increased dramatically through the 70s because of Roger's formerly fruitful musical partnerships with Syd, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and David Gilmour. As these great musicians and writers had, in that same order, gradually all became burned out and ran out of a regular run of great musical ideas by the end of "Wish You Were Here's" creation, it was Roger whom through the lion share of the remaining creativity was able to keep Pink Floyd's creative golden era going for those precious if troubled final years of great albums and concerts, once again with that classic and magical blend of the dark psychedelic and pastoral soundscape and Roger's great musical ideas, riveting lyrics and concepts. Working with Ron Geesin in 1969-1970 on the "Atom Heart Mother" title track and "The Body" soundtrack, and later working with Michael Kamen and Bob Ezrin on "The Trial" and "The Wall" in general in 1979 further enriched Roger's musical composition and orchestration wisdom. For the most part, even Roger's solo albums and gigs are at least faithful and respectful to the 1966-1983 creative golden era of The Pink Floyd, musically and lyrically.
Everyone, including David Gilmour infamously, disses "The Final Cut" for using leftovers from previous Pink Floyd records like "The Wall". Another overblown statement! Pink Floyd were always adapting leftovers throughout their great career without any detrimental effect on their music! Everyone always has to whine about Richard Wright's absence on "The Final Cut" and even simply diss the album for that reason alone. Yet, what would Wright have done better on "The Final Cut"? Glorified 80s garbage like he did with Zee on their "Identity" album or a sterile new age/ambient/corporate rock cipher like Rick did with David Gilmour, Waters Hater Polly Samson and many other guest writers on "The Division Bell" and "Endless River"? That was all he could do in Pink Floyd's final years of 1980-1994. It's all well and good missing a great musician, yet what is the point of whining about someone missing from a given record if they couldn't have done anything themselves to make it better? Syd Barrett's absence certainly didn't stop albums like "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" from being great, so why should Rick's absence have stopped "The Final Cut" from being great? If Wright and Gilmour really had such great musical ideas post-'75, allegedly left off "Animals" and "The Wall" and "The Final Cut" because of Waters, then why didn't they use them on any of "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason", "The Division Bell" or "Endless River", when Waters was no longer domineering? Instead, all we got post-Waters was mostly sterile ambient and/or sterile corporate rock dreck with only fading glimmers of past glories.
In addition to Pink Floyd becoming "a spent force, creatively" post-The Final Cut, Waters wanted to legally liquidate Pink Floyd following his '83 departure to stop them from becoming yet another corporate rock band like U2, Duran Duran, Status Quo and The Rolling Stones. Corporate rock was the very antitheses of Syd Barrett and Roger Waters's musical vision of Pink Floyd. Both Syd and Roger wanted to create music for art's sake and to express what matters to them. Gilmour had that mindset originally but post-The Final Cut, he fell into the greedy trap of filling stadiums and cashing in the brand. Yes, in the good old days with Syd Barrett and all the way from the UFO Club in 1966/1967 to "Wish You Were Here" in 1975 Rick was an insanely awesome and epic composer, keyboard player and singer to the extent of being Barrett's and Gilmour's musical soulmate and combined with each of them in turn, the musical heart of classic Pink Floyd but Rick became burned out and ran out of great musical ideas by time "Animals" started in 1976. As a result of this creative burnout combined with him succumbing to the same aforementioned alienation of performing at the rowdy '75 and '77 gigs, Rick even wanted out of the band in both 1975 and 1977 but every time, however, the greedy record company executives coerced poor Rick to stay which only set the poor guy up for a fall which cost him his mental health and his marriage to his childhood sweetheart.
Continued below.
Continued from above.
And so during his final years in the Pink Floyd creative golden era on "Animals" and "The Wall" in 1979, Rick was only barely playing whatever Gilmour or Waters wrote for him. Same for "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" in 1987, which itself was more glorified 80s garbage, not from the fault of Rick but from the fault of Gilmour and many other guest writers and guest musicians. This along with the rubbish half load of songs from his 1984 "About Face" album also shows how little Gilmour could have contributed to "The Final Cut" other than playing whatever Waters wrote for him. As with Wright, Gilmour's best era musically and creatively was the early golden era of Pink Floyd of 1968-1975. "The Final Cut" came out in 1983, right in the middle of the 80s music wasteland. Yet, thanks especially to Roger Waters with his maturing wisdom for bittersweet melodies and moving lyrics and emotional vocals and with help from Gilmour on his trusty guitars and especially the beautiful keyboard and orchestral arrangements from Michael Kamen and Andy Bown, "The Final Cut" has such a timeless and special sound that it's not just the best album of its era but in my honest opinion one of the best Pink Floyd albums ever and fittingly the last album of the Pink Floyd creative golden era of 1966-1983.
** Edit ** I'm sorry, I had to post this last bit of my fleshed out and edited post separate because stupid youtube wouldn't let me post the whole thing in one post.
Rick was a great keyboardist!
But not better than Tony Banks with Genesis
These bands are all Phenomenal Rock On😊😊😊😊😊😊!
major contributor is an understatement a good keyboard is the soul of a band.
I've read his favorite album was Wish You Were Here. You really hear him on this album!
I’ll never understand how a guy can come up with awesome keyboard parts that elevated Waters songs and not get writing credits. 😃
Exactly Wright was a Genius.
I'm not professional but I've spent some time playing and writing music in a band(recreationally) and one thing I can say is that it is a lot easier to contribute to a good idea than it is to initially come up with the good idea. The person who comes up with that initial nucleus of great idea (whether it be chords or riff + melody, maybe some lyrics and a simple arrangement) is usually the ones that get the writing credit. Sometimes the contributions are substantial enough that they transform the song enough to merit a song writing credit but not always.
I think it was Jack Bruce from Cream that said "You can have all the talent in the world but at the end of the day *someone's* gotta be the one staying up all night writing the material."
@@N0rmad Well that certainly did not address my point and I obviously disagree with that sentiment. I think pop music proves that just about anyone can string some chords together. I’ve done it myself. But to play at RWs level takes actual talent. Don’t get me started on some of Waters crap lyrics 😂
Roger turns out to have been a scumbag all along. There can be little doubt but that his bullying of Wright impacted Ricks ability to perform which resulted in a feedback loop that further depressed Ricks ability to perform.
The rest of the band wanted Rick to leave as he kept on about his divorce. So they got /roger to do it.
@@turokforever007 By the time the rest of the band was having second thought about Rick he'd been suffering years of abuse by Roger and that effected his ability to contribute. In the end he was not able to contribute as he did in the past, but that was largely down to Rogers bullying!
Rest in peace Rick Amen Godbless You. 🕊🕊🕊🕊🌹🌹🌹🌹✌👍💖
There was no Pink Floyd without Rick Wright, Waters had no respect for the other musicians in the band and did not understand really what Pink Floyd was.
Rick was the soul of PF
He was fired because he wanted to write his own parts for "The wall" and well...Waters.
Richard Wright was fired by #rogerwaters who in return lost a court case. He was subsequently removed from the band. #guypratt took his place and #pinkfloyd shined. R.I.P. Richard Wright.
There was no court case, stop making shit up
Us and Them, Richard Wright Demo is fantastic.
Rick was such an amazing musician. Roger really screamed him over.