Meddle [Original recording remastered]

For all that menacing, hatchet-happy growl at the beginning of Meddle's opener, "One of These Days", Pink Floyd really weren't about to "cut you into little pieces". Meddle did, however, show that the reigning British monarchs of 1970s-era psychedelia could rip into galloping jams. It also showed what its predecessor, Atom Heart Mother, promised--that the band could excel in long, breathtaking suites that revealed strains of late-classical music, Sun Ra-inspired space explorations, and a patchwork approach to colliding sounds that together took on acid-drenched proportions. And if all that isn't enough, "San Tropez" revealed a playful side of the band, playing footsy with loungy jazz and having good fun in the process. --Andrew Bartlett

Meddle represents the birth of Pink Floyd as we now know them today. After flailing somewhat after Syd Barrett's departure in 1968, they had a surprise hit in 1970 with Atom Heart Mother, an album comprised of a difficult side-long suite, backed with individual group pieces. In many respects, Meddle, released a little over a year later, is the same again, only with much, much, better tunes and less clutter.

Everything about Meddle is allowed to breathe and grow. Rocking opener "One Of These Days" rises out of nearly a minute of wind effects; "Fearless" delivers its slightly stoned punch over six minutes. Even the throwaway track, "Seamus", with the howling of Steve Marriott's dog over David Gilmour's blues, has a lazy charm which undermines the intelligence and ambition of the remainder of the record.

Originally titled "Return Of The Son Of Nothing", the side-long piece, "Echoes" dominates the entire work. It has a majestic grace, filling every one of its 23 minutes with the sophisticated mystery that came to define everything about Pink Floyd; slightly obscure; extremely special. Starting with a sonar pulse, the song – with one of Roger Waters' finest lyrics – leisurely unfolds before climaxing with a funk workout; after another four minutes it dissolves to atmospherics before finally returning to the main theme. This is everything right about progressive rock; engaging, intelligent and compelling.

By the time the group began to hone this innovation and vision into bite-sized chunks on their next two albums, they were to become very big indeed. --Daryl Easlea

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Pink Floyd's sixth studio album, Meddle was a result of a series of novel experiments with lyrics and music, and unlike previous albums - which tended to be lyrically devised by Roger Waters -represented the band's first real group effort in terms of creation. The new 'Discovery' version presents the original studio album, digitally remastered by James Guthrie and reissued with a newly designed Digipak and a new 12 page booklet designed by Storm Thorgerson.

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