Answer: Become more progressive!
As silly as that question and answer may sound, it is true, or at least it should be. For Pink Floyd it most certainly was. After releasing their 1970 album Atom Heart Mother, which climbed to number 1 on the UK charts, they were unsure of what to do next. They booked time in Abbey Road Studios in early 1971 to start writing for the next album and eventually ended up with several short ideas called "Nothings" of which were mostly just jammed songs. Finally, though, songs began coming together and Pink Floyd created one of their finest albums to date: Meddle.
Meddle, released in late 1971, is one of the most musically diverse albums for Pink Floyd. There is, as with their previous album, a side long epic, which was smartly put on side 2 so that it did not scare away the casual listeners. Also, there are several acoustic tunes and also a very energetic opening track that is one of the most memorable instrumentals in progressive rock's history.
The opener "One of These Days" contains energy unlike any other Pink Floyd song. Its primary instrument is the bass- actually two basses played by primary bassist Roger Waters and one by lead guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour. They play a fast one note riff repeatedly with faded in keyboard effects over the top after the sound of rushing wind is heard at the beginning. The cymbals roll in a couple of times which build up to nothing until, after a bass solo of sorts, a deep and slow voices threatens "One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces" after which the drums and full band come in full force. Gilmour plays a guitar solo and a slide solo at the same time by multi-tracking while the whole band plays powerfully. This, along with "Echoes", are, for some strange reason, the only two tracks that most people care about on the album even though the middle songs are very well written as well.
The second song, "A Pillow of Winds" is a soft acoustic song written by Roger Waters that transfers out of "One of These Days" by the sound of wind. Although the song sounds like a regular Floyd tune, the lyrics are about something uncharacteristic of Waters: love. The song stays low key most of the time and David Gilmour's vocals sing sweetly over the top. The piece is a drastic difference from the opener, but pave the way for the rest of the first side of the album. I like the song a lot because it changes quite dramatically from a major key to a minor key by the end of the song.
The third track, "Fearless", is another favorite of mine. In all reality, I enjoy all of the songs on this record and I listen to them pretty much equally. The song is based off of a guitar riff in the key of G that climbs until it reaches the next octave G which is simple, but brilliant. Throughout the song and at the end especially, there is a recording of soccer fans chanting the tune "You'll Never Walk Alone" which is weird to hear, but adds to the point of the song.
The fourth track, sung and written by Roger Waters, is "San Tropez". It is a very catchy song, with acoustic guitars, drums, bass, and standard piano which keeps things simple yet nice. Although this track is often overlooked, it is a personal favorite of mine. Gilmour plays a slide guitar after the first verse and Wright plays a piano solo over the second which is nice seeing as Rick doesn't have many big moments to showcase his incredible skill on this record. For a band who is very experimental and progressive, this jazzier feel is very unusual to hear, but extremely nice to hear.
This song is followed by the side closer and joke track "Seamus". It is a standard blues song about a dog with the dog barking over top. Now this isn't really a memorable track per say, but it's nice to see that the band doesn't take themselves too seriously.
The second side of the record is dominated by the epic 23 minute piece "Echoes". This track remains as my favorite track by Pink Floyd because of the musicianship and the tightness of the work. It opens up with a single note played by Rick Wright on his keyboard which is played through a rotating Leslie Cabinet. Gradually, more instruments appear, with Gilmour playing a short guitar and bluesy guitar solo followed by Nick Mason coming in with the drums in a way which I can only describe as sounding like it's being sucked into a vortex, similar to how they would use the drums in "Sheep" off of Animals. After the end of the guitar solo, a beautifully harmony performed by Rick Wright and David Gilmour in the verse. This is followed by a very iconic riff, as it was reportedly stolen by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his soundtrack to The Phantom of the Opera. Even it was stolen, I don't blame him because it is an ingenious riff that I love to play. Another verse comes after and goes into a short guitar solo playing over the verse chords with Rick's synths becoming more prominent. After revisiting, the main riff once more, with Nick Mason pounding away at the drums, a jam section comes. The drums are playing in a locked groove that seem almost to say "don't even try to break this away." The bass plays along in a two note pattern which is also locked in with some improvisation here and there. Rick's organ comes in and plays along with the chords and adds in some solos making it even more jammy. David Gilmour and Rick Wright seem to take turns soloing with Gilmour taking a few bars and then Wright taking a few. This whole section is lovely and reminds me of the "Funky Dung" section of "Atom Heart Mother". All of this fades out eventually into the sounds of seagulls, imitated by Gilmour by messing with the cables of his wah peddle, and the sound of wind, created by Waters playing his bass with a slide and putting it through an echo system. This whole section would make a good soundtrack to a scary movie going down a dark wooded street at night. This is followed by a reprise of Rick Wright's high pitched "Submarine Sound" that is heard at the opening of the track. Gradually all of the band comes back in, building up with a very dramatic chord sequence until it finally leads into the final verse. The harmony of Wright and Gilmour is again so beautiful. The main riff is played again and then the whole band plays the verse melody with a guitar solo over top which cross fades into the wind sound heard at the opening of the whole record which gives the album a bookend feel. This piece is so well put together and intricate and so awesome- it's hard to even put in words! Pink Floyd really showed just how far they could go with this one, and it shows in their musicianship especially.
This album is one of my all time favorite albums for sure. Although, Seamus can be kind of annoying, I'm glad they included it because it shows the fun side of Pink Floyd. I give Meddle a 10 out of 10.
A live version of "One of These Days" from their live film Live In Pompeii:
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