- Vinyl
- ASIN: B000091O8G
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 235,862 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
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
Review
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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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
First I bought this album on 8-track (that would have been about 1972 or 73), then LP, then cassette, now CD. I must like it. First time I heard it my friend Kathy grabbed me by the elbow as I walked past her room and said stand there, in the fireplace, between the speakers and listen to this. It was "One of These Days". It was loud enough to cause brain damage. I'm still a bit deaf and never came out of the altered state. It was just (excuse the expression) mind-blowing. We were too primitive back then to own a set of head phones so the experience of the jet of sound squirting right through the middle of my head, from one ear to the other then back again, was like a new revelation - the sort of thing that hippies were guzzling all sorts of expensive substances in order to achieve. Then some creep said he was going to cut me into little pieces. Unusual lyrics too and a far from sensual singing voice, as befits a psycho. Never heard the like before!
"One of These Days" was enough on its own to sell the album to me. But every number was a shiny gem (varying degrees of brightness). It's been a star in my music collection for 3 decades. It's music like this that slows the onset of old age (or at least maturity in my case). Even my dogs like it. One of them likes to howl along with Seamus.
This is special. If you haven't heard it, you should seek it out and discover that it's something you wouldn't have wanted to miss.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Atom Heart Mother, for all its glories, was an acquired taste, and Pink Floyd wisely decided to trim back its orchestral excesses for its follow-up, Meddle. Opening with a deliberately surging "One of These Days," Meddle spends most of its time with sonic textures and elongated compositions, most notably on its epic closer "Echoes." If there aren't pop songs in the classic sense (even on the level of the group's contributions to Ummagumma), there is a uniform tone, ranging from the pastoral "A Pillow of Winds" to "Fearless," with its insistent refrain hinting at latter-day Floyd. Pink Floyd were nothing if not masters of texture, and Meddle is one of their greatest excursions into little details, pointing the way to the measured brilliance of Dark Side of the Moon and the entire Roger Waters era. Here, David Gilmour exerts a slightly larger influence, at least based on lead vocals, but it's not all sweetness and light - even if its lilting rhythms are welcome, "San Tropez" feels out of place with the rest of Meddle. Still, the album is one of the Floyd's most consistent explorations of mood, especially from their time at Harvest, and it stands as the strongest record they released between Syd's departure and Dark Side.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Meddle came after 'Atom Heart Mother' and showed Pink Floyd in a whole new light. Rather than being a reinvention of themselves Meddle shows another side to the four members, with an overall laid-back jazzy feel coming through. The opening number 'One of these days...' has become a standard and is way ahead of its time. The numbers that follow it up to 'Seamus' take the beat and slow it down to a toe-tapping rythmn, lulling the listener into a false sense of security. 'Echoes', the major track on the album at around 22 minutes long, has become a revered member of the Pink Floyd canon, and justly so. Opening with a single note from Rick Wright which sets the scene the song progresses into darker territory via Dave Gilmours almost violent crashing of chords into the eeiry wind-swept gothic towers of the middle section. Rick Wright once more brings light into the piece before the whole thing is rounded off in an almost fin de cycle.
A TRUE MASTERPIECE.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Got It Right At Last!
If you include the original vinyl, this is the 4th generation of this Pink Floyd recording that I have owned. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. T. Garratt
Quick delivery
Meddle is a brilliant piece of music by Pink Floyd. I received it very quickly through the post and didn't pay the earth for it.
Published 3 months ago by vraatjie1
Floyd - Meddle
I shan't repeat what others have already written about this landmark Floyd LP, except to emphasise what an important place it holds in the band's musical journey. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Duncan
Great Album
Echoes - the whole of one side back in the days of vinyl - sets the template for "Shine on you crazy Diamond". Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jimothy
Floyd "Serving their apprenticeship" before Dark Side of the Moon
Up until 1973 when they released Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd were very experimental. They were trying to find their feet and this album is definalty the point where they did,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Alex Lloyd
Original Master Recording 24k Gold Disk
This Limited edition edition CD was pressed in 24 carat gold and were around in the late eighties . They made The Wall Dark Side and meddle. I only saw the copies I bought. Read more
Published 4 months ago by meeky
A sig og things to come
Coming after the slightly weird and self indulgent Atom Heart Mother and Ummagumma, this album gave an indication of the new direction the Floyd were to take as the 70's began. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Simon
As with the other 70's remasters, a triumph
I've just reviewed the Animals 2011 remaster to express similar sentiments there. Whoever carried out the remastering job on the classic 70's Pink Floyd albums did a hell of a job... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. T. F. Norton
Remastered and repackaged
This review for 2011 remastered version.
Hopefully this review may be of use to people contemplating the 2011 reissue versus earlier manifestations. Read more
Hopefully this review may be of use to people contemplating the 2011 reissue versus earlier manifestations. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mr C
Meddle
Firstly, I remember buying this when it came out in Vinyl and I love it, especially Echoes, which is one of my favourite Floyd tracks, and I couldn't wait to get this new... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Electron
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