Showing posts with label Alan Parsons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alan Parsons. Show all posts

March 6, 2021

20,000 vinyl LPs 278: Pink Floyd ‎~ Wish You Were Here

  ~        
vinyl LP front cover sticker
design by: Hipgnosis
photo of sticker by Styrous®


Today is the birthday of David Gilmour, a member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1968 shortly before the departure of founder member Syd Barrett. He has also collaborated with other artists including Kate Bush, Paul McCartney, and Pete Townshend.        
 
I have loved every album the group has produced since I discovered their album Meddle in the early seventies. At the top of the list of them all was their 1973 album, Dark Side of the Moon, which stayed there for almost ten years; Wish You Were Here forever changed that (link below). Wish is Floyd's second album with a conceptual theme written entirely by Roger Waters. It reflects his feeling that the camaraderie that had served the band was, by then, dissipated.                


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP front cover 
 design & cover photo by: Hipgnosis
photo of album cover by Styrous®

 
Shine On You Crazy Diamond is my favorite cut from the album and, for me, the greatest rock song ever written (link below).        
 
I and countless others have written volumes about Wish, so, anything I might say about it would be redundant; thus, this entry goes in my “Just the cover, ma’am!” category (link below) and the following concentrates on just that, the cover of the album and its packaging which includes a "Wish you were here" postcard.  


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP front cover detail
 design & cover photo by: Hipgnosis
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®



Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP in original vinyl wrapping
 design by: Hipgnosis
photo of album by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP back cover 
 design by: Hipgnosis
back cover photo by Phil Taylor/Hipgnosis
photo of album cover by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP back cover deatil
 design by: Hipgnosis
back cover photo by Phil Taylor/Hipgnosis
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®




Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record sleeve
 design by: Hipgnosis
record sleeve photo by Phil Taylor/Hipgnosis
photo of record sleeve by Styrous®



Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record sleeve detail
 design by: Hipgnosis
record sleeve photo by Phil Taylor/Hipgnosis
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record sleeve
 design by: Hipgnosis
record sleeve photo by Phil Taylor/Hipgnosis
photo of record sleeve by Styrous®



Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record sleeve detail
 design by: Hipgnosis
record sleeve photo by Phil Taylor/Hipgnosis
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record sleeve detail
 design by: Hipgnosis
record sleeve photo by Phil Taylor/Hipgnosis
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record sleeve detail
 design by: Hipgnosis
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record sleeve detail
 design by: Hipgnosis
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP postcard insert
 design & photo by: Hipgnosis
photo of postcard by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP postcard back
 design by: Hipgnosis
photo of postcard by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP postcard back detail
 design by: Hipgnosis
detail photo of postcard by Styrous®


Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP postcard back detail
 design by: Hipgnosis
detail photo of postcard by Styrous®


 
Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record sleeve details
 design by: Hipgnosis
detail photos of record sleeve by Styrous®



Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record, side 1
photos of record by Styrous®






Pink Floyd ~ Wish You Were Here
vinyl LP record, side 2
photos of record by Styrous®


    Tracklist:

Side 1:

1. - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V)”, Roger Waters David Gilmour Richard Wright, Waters - 13:32
2. - "Welcome to the Machine”, Waters, Gilmour - 7:28
Total length:    21:00

Side 2:

1.    "Have a Cigar" (featuring Roy Harper), Waters, Harper - 5:08
2.    "Wish You Were Here”, Waters Gilmour, Gilmour - 5:35
3.    "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI–IX)”, WrightGilmourWaters(Parts VI–VIII, Wright (Part IX), Waters - 12:28
Total length:    23:11

Personnel:

Pink Floyd

Additional musicians

Production

Companies, etc.

Credits:

Barcode and Other Identifiers

  • Matrix / Runout (Side 1): AL 33453-1C
  • Matrix / Runout (Side 2): BL 33453-1C
    
Pink Floyd ‎– Wish You Were Here
Label: Columbia ‎– PC 33453
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Repress, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1975
Genre: Rock
Style: Prog Rock 
 
 
 
 
 
 
          
Viewfinder links:        
         
all things Pink (Floyd)            
Syd Barrett          
Venetta Fields       
David Gilmour            
Nick Mason         
Paul McCartney          
Dick Parry       
Alan Parsons        
        
Net links:        
        
David Gilmour website        
Need Some Fun ~ 23 Amazing David Gilmour Facts          
NME ~ 50 geeky facts about Pink Floyd                
        
        
YouTube links:        
        
Pink Floyd ~  
    Shine On You Crazy Diamond [Official Music Video]       
    Wish You Were Here (complete album)     
        
         
        
        
         
"It's a very tempting thing to try and relive your glory days when you get a little older and you worry that people have forgotten all about you."
                                          ~ David Gilmour
        
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Saturday, March 6, 2021       
       








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Alan Parsons articles/mention

  ~ 
     
      
Pink Floyd ~       
    Wish You Were Here      
Al Stewart - Past, Present & Future  
      
     
      
     
date & photographer unknown  
      
     
     
      
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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March 27, 2020

Pink Floyd ~ Dark Side of the Moon minutiae

~

The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on March 1, 1973 by Harvest Records. Primarily developed during live performances, the band premiered an early version of the record several months before recording began. New material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London.            

It is a concept album with themes that explore conflict, greed, time, death, and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by the deteriorating health of founding member Syd Barrett, who departed the group in 1968. The group used recording techniques such as multitrack recording, tape loops, and analogue synthesisers. Snippets from interviews with the band's road crew, as well as philosophical quotations, were also used. Engineer Alan Parsons was responsible for many sonic aspects and the recruitment of singer Clare Torry, who appears on The Great Gig in the Sky. The sleeve, which depicts a prism spectrum, was designed by Storm Thorgerson, following a request by keyboardist Richard Wright for a "simple and bold" design, representing the band's lighting and the record's themes.         
      
It has been hailed by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time. The record reached number one on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart (now known as the Billboard 200), and has charted for over 900 weeks in total. With estimated sales of over 45 million copies, it is the best seller by Pink Floyd, and one of the best-selling albums worldwide.         
       
Following Meddle in 1971, Pink Floyd assembled for a tour of Britain, Japan and the United States in December of that year. In a band meeting at the home of drummer Nick Mason in Camden, bassist Roger Waters proposed that a new album could form part of the tour. Waters' idea was for an album that dealt with things that "make people mad", focusing on the pressures faced by the band during their arduous lifestyle, and dealing with the apparent mental problems suffered by former band member Syd Barrett. The band had explored a similar idea with 1969's The Man and The Journey.  
    
Parts of the new album were taken from previously unused material; the opening line of Breathe came from an earlier work by Waters and Ron Geesin, written for the soundtrack of The Body, and the basic structure of Us and Them borrowed from an original composition by Wright for Zabriskie Point. The band rehearsed at a warehouse in London owned by the Rolling Stones, and then at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park, London.         
      
Dark Side of the Moon: A Piece for Assorted Lunatics, as it was then known, was performed at the at the Rainbow Theatre in the presence of an assembled press on February 17, 1972 – more than a year before its release. Michael Wale of The Times described the piece as "bringing tears to the eyes. Derek Jewell of The Sunday Times wrote "The ambition of the Floyd's artistic intention is now vast." Melody Maker was less enthusiastic: "Musically, there were some great ideas, but the sound effects often left me wondering if I was in a bird-cage at London zoo."         
        
Work on the album was interrupted in late February when the band travelled to France and recorded music for the film La Vallée by French director Barbet Schroede. The band flew to London to begin recording, from the 24th of May to the 25th of June. More concerts in Europe and North America followed before the band returned on January 9, 1973 to complete the album.      
        
The album was originally released in a gatefold LP sleeve designed by Hipgnosis and George Hardie. Hipgnosis had designed several of the band's previous albums, with controversial results; EMI had reacted with confusion when faced with the cover designs for Atom Heart Mother and Obscured by Clouds, as they had expected to see traditional designs which included lettering and words. Designers Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell were able to ignore such criticism as they were employed by the band. For Dark Side of the Moon, Wright instructed them to come up with something "smarter, neater – more classy". The design was inspired by a photograph of a prism with a colour beam projected through it that Thorgerson had found in a photography book.                 
       
Hipgnosis offered the band a choice of seven designs, but all four members agreed that the prism was by far the best. The final design depicts a glass prism dispersing light into colour. The design represents three elements: the band's stage lighting, the album lyrics, and Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design. The spectrum of light continues through to the gatefold – an idea that Waters came up with. Added shortly afterwards, the gatefold design also includes a visual representation of the heartbeat sound used throughout the album, and the back of the album cover contains Thorgerson's suggestion of another prism recombining the spectrum of light, facilitating interesting layouts of the sleeve in record shops.          
 
   
   
 
Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Speak To Me, written by Mason* - 1:30
A2 - Breathe, written by Gilmour*, Wright*, Waters* - 2:43
A3 - On The Run, written by Gilmour*, Waters* - 3:30
A4 - Time, written by Gilmour*, Mason*, Wright*, Waters* - 6:53
A5 - The Great Gig In The Sky, Vocals – Clare Torry, written by Wright* - 4:15

Side 2:

B1 - Money, Saxophone – Dick Parry, written by Waters* - 6:30
B2 - Us And Them, Saxophone – Dick Parry, written by Wright*, Waters* - 7:34
B3 - Any Colour You Like, written by Gilmour*, Mason*, Wright* - 3:24
B4 - Brain Damage, written by Waters* - 3:50
B5 - Eclipse, written by Waters* - 1:45

Companies, etc.

    Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios
    Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
    Mastered At – Capitol Mastering
    Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Winchester

Credits:

    Backing Vocals – Barry St John*, Doris Troy, Leslie Duncan*, Liza Strike
    Design [Sleeve & Stickers Art N.t.a.] – George Hardie
    Design [Sleeve Design], Photography By – Hipgnosis (2)
    Engineer – Alan Parsons
    Engineer [Assistant] – Peter Jones*
    Keyboards, Vocals, Synthesizer [Vcs3] – Richard Wright
    Lyrics By, Bass Guitar, Vocals, Synthesizer [Vcs3], Effects [Tape Effects] – Roger Waters
    Mastered By – Wly*
    Mixed By [Mixing Supervised By] – Chris Thomas
    Percussion, Effects [Tape Effects] – Nick Mason
    Producer – Pink Floyd
    Vocals, Electric Guitar, Synthesizer [Vcs3] – David Gilmour

Notes:

"–––◁" in runouts denotes a Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Winchester pressing.
"Wly" in runouts denotes that it was mastered by Wally Traugott.
The Dark Side Of The Moon is another Winchester pressing, but has "KP" in runouts, denoting it was mastered by Ken Perry.

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London between June 1972 and January 1973.
Manufactured by Capitol Records Inc., a subsidiary of Capitol Industries, Inc., U.S.A.

Original release included two posters and two stickers, each sticker with their own catalog number (11163-1 and 11163-2),
This is the 1st issue with "INTERPAK™ Pats. Pending" in the bottom right corner inside the gatefold.

Some copies of gatefold covers have a round black DSOTM sticker on the shrink wrap (see pic).

℗ 1973 The Gramophone Company Ltd.

Note on Credits:
Though credited for the entire album, Barry St. John, Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, and Liza Strike perform backing vocals only on tracks A4, B2, B4, and B5.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Center label A-side): (SMAS-1-11163)
    Matrix / Runout (Center label B-side): (SMAS-2-11163)
    Matrix / Runout (Runout A-side, etching): SMAS-1-11163-F4 –––◁
    Matrix / Runout (Runout B-side, etching): SMAS-2-11163-F4 –––◁ Wly                

Pink Floyd ‎– The Dark Side Of The Moon
Label: Harvest ‎– SMAS-11163
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Winchester Pressing, Wly Mastering, Gatefold
Country: US
Released: 1973
Genre: Rock
Style: Prog Rock
        
         
Viewfinder links:       
          
Dark Side of the Moon        
      
Net links:      
               
Pink Floyd ~ Dark Side of the Moon       
      Packaging      
      Personnel     
      Recording   
Far side of the moon                     
      
YouTube links:       
          
Pink Floyd ~  
Dark Side of the Moon               
      Dark Side of the Moon (complete album)             
      Speak To Me        
      Breathe (In The Air)       
      On the Run          
      Time            
      The Great Gig In The Sky         
      Money         
      Us and Them      
      Any Colour You Like          
      Brain Damage       
      Eclipse      
Dark Side of The Moon PULSE Concert (44 mins.)                 
Making The Dark Side of The Moon in the studio (25 mins., 32 secs.)    

Misc.:     
‘Dark side’ of moon seen from surface (9 mins.)       
First ever video of dark side of the Moon released by Nasa     
NASA ~ odd sound recorded in 1969 on dark side of the moon    
The Secret of the Dark Side of the Moon (4 mins., 18 secs.)        
         
       
       
Styrous® ~ Friday, March, 27, 2020           










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March 1, 2019

20,000 vinyl LPs 171: Pink Floyd ‎~ The Dark Side Of The Moon

~    
 
vinyl LP front cover
design by Hipgnosis
photo by Styrous®

The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by Pink Floyd; it was released 43 years ago on March 1, 1973, by Harvest Records.          
     
 
vinyl LP back cover detail 
detail photo by Styrous®


And of course, I have a favorite from this album; it is Us & Them. It was written by Richard Wright with lyrics by Roger Waters. It is sung by David Gilmour, with harmonies by Wright. But for me the best part is the beautiful sax played throughout the song by Dick Parry.      

The song is 7 minutes, 51 seconds in length, making it the longest on the album. It is slow but ranges from quiet and dreamy to brilliantly dramatic.    


vinyl LP back cover
design by Hipgnosis
photo by Styrous®


I saw them in 1994 at the Oakland Coliseum during their Pulse Tour when they were promoting The Division Bell (link below). There is a link to the video of the performance of Us & Them below.                



vinyl LP gatefold cover
design by Hipgnosis
photo by Styrous®







vinyl LP gatefold interior
design by Hipgnosis
photo by Styrous®





vinyl LP gatefold interior detail
design by Hipgnosis
detail photo by Styrous®






vinyl LP gatefold interior detail
design by Hipgnosis
detail photo by Styrous®







vinyl LP, side 1 
photo by Styrous®








vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®







vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®







vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®



vinyl LP track list
design by Hipgnosis
detail photo by Styrous®
       
       
Tracklist:
Side 1:

A1 - Speak To Me    
A2 - Breathe    
A3 - On The Run    
A4 - Time    
A5 - The Great Gig In The Sky, Vocals – Clare Torry

Side 2:    

B1 - Money, Saxophone – Dick Parry   
B2 - Us And Them, Saxophone – Dick Parry
B3 - Any Colour You Like    
B4 - Brain Damage    
B5 - Eclipse    

Companies, etc.

    Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.
    Marketed By – Capitol Records, Inc.
    Distributed By – Capitol Records, Inc.
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
    Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Los Angeles
    Published By – TRO-Hampshire House Publishing Corp.
    Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios

Credits:

    Artwork [Sleeve & Stickers Art N.t.a.] – George Hardie
    Backing Vocals – Barry St John*, Doris Troy, Leslie Duncan*, Liza Strike
    Design [Sleeve], Photography By – Hipgnosis (2)
    Engineer – Alan Parsons
    Engineer [Assistant] – Peter Jones
    Lyrics By – Roger Waters
    Mastered By – wly*
    Mixed By [Mixing Supervisor] – Chris Thomas
    Producer – Pink Floyd
    Written-By – Gilmour* (tracks: A2 To A4, B3), Mason* (tracks: A1, A4, B3), Wright* (tracks: A2, A4, A5, B2, B3), Waters* (tracks: A2 To A4, B1, B2, B4, B5)

Notes:

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London
between June 1972 and January 1973

Note on Credits:
Though not detailed in the liner notes, Barry St. John, Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, and Liza Strike perform backing vocals only on tracks A4, B2, B4, and B5.
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Label side A): SMAS-1-11163
    Matrix / Runout (Label side B): SMAS-2-11163
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A etched variant 1): 1-11163-F-10•
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B etched variant 1): 2-11163-F-9• wly
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A & B stamped variant 1): 1 ✲
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A etched variant 2): 1-11163-F-9•• wly
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B etched variant 2): 2-11163-F-10• wly
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A stamped variant 2): 3 ✲
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B stamped variant 2): > ✲
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A etched variant 3): 1-11163-F-10•
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B etched variant 3): 2-11163-F-5• wly
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A stamped variant 3): 2 ✲
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B stamped variant 3): 3 ✲

Pink Floyd ‎– The Dark Side Of The Moon
Label: Harvest ‎– SMAS-11163
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold
Country: US
Released: March 1, 1973
Genre: Rock
Style: Prog Rock, Experimental, Classic Rock

           
Viewfinder links:           
         
all things Pink (Floyd)           
The Division Bell CD       
The Division Bell LP        
     
   
Net links:           
            
    
     
   
       
       
    
YouTube links:           
          
Pink Floyd ‎~ The Dark Side Of The Moon (complete)       
                   ~ Us And Them    
                   ~ Us And Them (live)              
       
       
          
       
Styrous® ~ Friday, March 1, 2019
        

















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