Pink Floyd was approached in 1969 by film director Barbet Schroeder to create the soundtrack for his film More, an indie drug film. This was the perfect opportunity, the Floyd thought, for them to record what they wanted to record- songs that focused a lot on instrumentation and that didn't have to focus on being a hit.
The soundtrack, entitled Soundtrack from the Film More, was released in the summer of 1969. It has a noticeably proggier sound to it than their previous works, although it does also touch on genres like hard rock on "Ibiza Bar" and "The Nile Song". The album opens with a soft, acoustic number written by Waters (most of the non-instrumental songs are written by him) that acts as a prelude of sorts to the album. It sounds like your outside with the band next to you in the grass playing the song. There are multiple sound clips of birds chirping and the breeze blowing that gives a very cool feel to the song. The vocals have an almost trancy sound to them with a lot of echo on them. This track is followed by a rude awakening of sorts, the hard rocker "The Nile Song". This is the hardest Floyd song in their career up to that point with heavily distorted guitar and raging vocals from Gilmour. I am not a big fan of this track because it sounds like they are trying to imitate other groups, but I applaud their trying to reflect the lyrics in the music. The third track "Crying Song"returns to the softer sound of the first track with more trancy lyrics that sound like a tribal chant almost. Standard Pink Floyd of the time. This is followed by "Up the Khyber", the first of 6 instrumental tracks on the album (7 if you count Gilmour's "A Spanish Piece"). This sounds very similar to parts of the title track from A Saucerful of Secrets, with a constant drum loop and keyboard chaos overtop. It's a refreshing piece from Mason and Wright after the Gilmour and Waters compositions.
Next is the standout acoustic track "Green is the Colour". The song, written by Waters, features a wonderful guitar melody and equally wonderful vocals from David Gilmour. This is one of my favorites from the album because it finds a good middle ground between hard and soft songs with its acoustic guitar and piano, but well sung lyrics by Gilmour which keeps this song in your head for a long time. This is followed by another fantastic track "Cymbaline". The track tells about a nightmare, very vividly sung by Gilmour. The chorus is short but catchy, and the song also finds a good middle ground between hard and soft. There is even some scat performed by Gilmour in the middle section. Rick Wright's playing on this track is soft but melodic which gets across the mood, going from major to minor within one chord. This is followed by the side closer "Party Sequence", another short instrumental. This one sounds very tribal as it is played with tribal percussion and features a penny whistle over top.
The next side begins with a build up of a gong on the track "Main Theme". The third instrumental on the album, the song goes through various changes throughout. After the gong at the beginning, Wright's organ plays for a while alone until Roger and Mason come in with a bass and drum sequence very reminiscent of the opening of "Let There Be More Light" off of Saucer. David Gilmour eventually comes with his guitar played with a slide. This piece is very atmospheric, almost like a soft version of "One of These Days" from Meddle. The following track "Ibiza Bar" is essentially "The Nile Song" part 2. It contains a hard rock sound, which, as I said, I am not a big fan of. I do enjoy, though, the excellent solo from Dave Gilmour in the middle and another at the end. "More Blues", the tenth track, is another instrumental, with (as the title suggests) a blues feel to it. It sounds similar to Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You", but with a less in-your-face guitar sound. I like it, although it seems too short as I think it would have made a great extended piece. The following track "Quicksilver" is completely different than any other track on this record and I can only somewhat compare it to "A Saucerful of Secrets". The instrumental opens with eerie sound effects and then transition into what sounds like an organ with church bells playing over it. Mason also plays a gong in the background. This goes on for a while, showing the experimental approach that Pink Floyd loved to use in their pieces. It makes perfect sense especially in a soundtrack, but I have a feeling most casual listeners won't care for it. I personally like it because I like the experimental stuff to a certain degree. There is a certain place for that sort of stuff and I think the band nailed it on this track.
The last two songs are also instrumentals. "A Spanish Piece" is the second to last track. It features Gilmour playing in a traditional Spanish guitar way with a flamenco guitar riff. Overtop are several spoken word parts done by Gilmour that pretty much act out a scene in a Spanish bar. The closer "Dramatic Theme" reprises the bass/drum sequence found on "Main Theme" but with a jazzier feel. Gilmour's guitar is very prominent and Wright plays the organ quietly in the background. This is another track that I think would have been even better if extended out longer. All in all, though, the number makes a fantastic end to the album.
More is far from flawless, but certainly is not a bad album. It contains many more experimental ideas and acoustic numbers than in prior albums, but that often works to its advantage. I give it a 7 out of 10.
The track "Green Is the Colour":
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