It is not easy to put into words how incredibly important this album is to me. It has become too personal, too intense, and too emotional for me to be able to accurately convey what this record makes me feel.
Technically speaking, it is just 5 tracks, and that's all it takes for Pink Floyd to make one of the most memorable albums of all time. Powerful lyrics, a cohesive flow, soothing acoustic guitar sections, and beautiful vocals are all highlights here. But honestly, it is hard to rationalize what exactly makes this work of art so special. It just seems to speak to me.
Like most forms of art, Wish You Were Here is an album that can be interpreted in many ways. To me, it’s an album that speaks of loss. A concept we all, eventually, become very familiar with. Whether it’s the loss of an old friend, the loss of a failed relationship, or the loss of a brother, it simply does not matter. Pink Floyd manages to extract that raw feeling from the depths of our hearts and expose it to the cold outside air, where it all comes pouring out.
This is why this album resonates so heavily with me. Whenever I listen to it, every bottled emotion I had deep inside crawls out of me. Whenever I feel the loss of my brother has started to heal, Wish You Were Here reminds me that one will never truly heal, and that that is okay.
I miss you, Agus.
Pink Floyd starts us off on this journey with one of their best experimental tracks in their entire discography. With a slow burn, Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts I-V) conveys the feelings that the entire group had for their former singer, Syd Barrett. It channels feelings of regret, of lost potential, and the pain of losing a friend. They mourn how the world had lost an incredible artist, and them, an incredible friend: “You (Syd) were caught in the crossfire between childhood and stardom”. The song is characterized by many layers of slow synths leading up to an immediately recognizable guitar arpeggio, followed by some of Gilmour’s best guitar licks. This first track is over 13 minutes long, yet the experience is so unique that it still manages to feel short.
Side A continues with Welcome to the Machine. Characterized by heavy synths, mechanical throbbing, and artificial robot noises, this is a song that critiques the music industry and what it can do to a person's mental health. Pink Floyd might still be talking to Syd here, but I believe the message is more universal. Each one of us has their own “Machine” and they sell that concept wonderfully. The acoustic guitar here is like a breath of fresh air, but the track always makes us feel like we are on a conveyor belt into the inevitable machine. Overall, I think this is the track that resonates the least with me in Wish You Were Here in both composition and message, but still a good track for a side A closer.
Kicking off side B with the rebellious brother of the album: Have a Cigar. If the overall record is about loss, regret, and wasted potential, this track expresses the feelings of unfairness that come attached. One can feel Waters’ emotional output. The whole song feels incredibly bluesy yet contemporary, with that Pink Floyd aura. It borrows robotic elements of Welcome to the Machine, following through with the atmosphere of Side A's closer. Throughout the verses, we can hear short riffs of a mean guitar as if it's just screaming to be let out. The whole song structure leads up to the release, which blends unexpectedly, yet incredibly well, with the chord progression and chorus structure. A well-received change of pace that keeps the album from being too mellow or low energy.
Following side B’s opener, the title track Wish You Were Here steps in to steal the show. The characteristic compressed 12-string guitar with one of the most beautiful riffs in all of rock music. The acoustic guitar solo, which with only 5 notes (The A Major pentatonic scale), manages to pull the listener’s heartstrings just as easily as Gilmour plays his own. What is truly jaw-dropping here is that if broken down into parts, the track shouldn’t be so special. The structure is fairly basic, and the overall composition is uncharacteristically simple for Pink Floyd's standards. This is THE example of a song not being equal to the sum of its parts. The construction is harmonious, the lyrics feel impactful and sincere while having a soothing flow, leading to an emotional grenade in the final chorus. This is the song that resonates with me the most. It makes me tear up every time I give it a conscious listen. The lyrics are simply a poetic masterpiece with their escalation. During the verse, the vocals ask open-ended questions of unfair trades - the results of bad choices. During the final chorus, the vocals just let out, “How I wish, how I wish you were here”. They plead for the return of this lost person, like shouting to the sky, hoping this person can somehow hear us. The whole journey of loss is packed into a beautiful 5-minute masterpiece. This album’s - and I dare say Pink Floyd’s overall - best track.
Last but definitely not least, we have the remaining parts of Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI to IX). It stands as the natural conclusion, both structurally and thematically, of the experience. It still feels like the first parts, albeit with handpicked elements of the whole journey. It draws from the robotic feel of Welcome to the Machine, the rebelliousness of Have a Cigar, and the deep feeling of Wish You Were Here while still feeling like a natural continuation of this album’s opener. This does not mean the song can’t stand on its own. It is best enjoyed at the end of the journey, but it doesn’t depend on it to be appreciated. This is the perfect curtain call for the whole experience. Structurally, it starts slow while hinting at a meaner version of the first five parts. It spikes in aggressiveness during the middle section, with Gilmour's signature guitar taking center stage, only to bid us farewell with a soothing piano section. A harmonious, impactful, and unique ending to one of my favorite albums of all time.