When it first emerged in the mid-1960s, Pink Floyd was just one of many aspiring R&B bands in England’s bustling capital. However, with a zany character like Syd Barrett front and centre, it wouldn’t be long before the band discovered an identity in psychedelia, joining the likes of Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience as leaders in the game.
More so than any of their contemporaries, Pink Floyd proved psychedelic rock to be the central progenitor of the early 1970s prog-rock movement. In the late 1960s, following Barrett’s dismissal and the onboarding of guitarist David Gilmour, the band continued to experiment with its sound, bringing protracted, improvisational composition to rock ‘n’ roll for the very first time.
The period between 1968 and 1972 could be considered a chrysalis era for Pink Floyd. Releases from this period, such as 1969’s Ummagumma and 1970’s Atom Heart Mother, may not be considered among the band’s finest but served as nebulous launchpads divining greater things to come.
Lengthy, meandering compositions like ‘Atom Heart Mother Suite’ resulted from drawn-out improvisational sessions. This patient practice would turn out Pink Floyd’s first masterpiece epic, ‘Echoes’, in 1971, a song more strongly associated with the ethereal sound by which the band is now identified.
This chrysalis chapter ended triumphantly in 1973 with the arrival of The Dark Side of the Moon. The seminal album distilled everything learned over the previous six years into a singular, sleek and sexy product. The album is regarded as not only the quintessential prog-rock release but one of the greatest of all time across all genres.
Although Pink Floyd saved listeners from challenging 20-minute epics this time, the album was awash with compositions of pure, improvisational happenstance. For instance, ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’, arguably the album’s most emotionally electrifying track, was crafted by pianist Richard Wright and adorned by singer Clare Torry with improvised, wordless vocals.
Although Wright’s piano took centre stage in ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’, his talent proved invaluable throughout the album. ‘Us and Them’, another particularly arresting chapter, was propelled by Wright’s jazz-inspired progression, allegedly the fortunate result of a studio prank.
Wright would record his piano parts in an adjacent studio room for several of the Dark Side of the Moon compositions. Young scallywags as they were at the time, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Gilmour decided to set an old jam tape playing and left the room. Thinking his bandmates were playing next door, Wright began to bejewel the track with the piano composition that later formed ‘Us and Them’.
This somewhat isolated proof that pranks can be productive may well have led to a future fraught with bullying, even for the sake of extracting Wright’s genius. The legendary engineer and producer Alan Parsons once told Mojo that it was “one of the best things Rick ever did”.
Listen to Pink Floyd’s ‘Us and Them’ below.
