Quitting Singer Said Band Was NOTHING Without Him…OUTSOLD Him For The NEXT 20 Yrs!-Professor of Rock
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Was it the final straw? Did today’s featured album The Final Cut really break Pink Floyd forever? Yeah, the answer to that question hurts. On this episode, we’re zeroing in on the moment when it all hit the fan. The point of no return… when the world was robbed of one the most talented bands ever put to vinyl. With Rick Wright already kicked to the curb, David Gilmour and Nick Mason were then marginalized until they had no voice at all. Which left only one man standing: Roger Waters Who claimed he alone was Pink Floyd…But David Gilmour would prove him wrong… Waters bandmates turned the tables on him to great effect But sadly for the world, there were no winners here as we’ve had to endure decades of shots fired ever since. It’s a cautionary tale about when the best bands go bad… From juggernaut status to fallen heroes, the story of Pink Floyd’s demise is next on Professor of Rock.
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Today is a tough episode to recount. The story of the record that severed one of history’s greatest bands… So after the ouster of keyboardist Rick Wright and the global triumph of The Wall, Pink Floyd was down the primary trio of bassist Roger Waters, guitarist David Gilmour, and drummer Nick Mason. The 70s had been a tumultuous decade for intra-band relations, and as they pushed ahead into the 80s, things were only going to get a whole lot worse.
The Wall, Floyd’s final 70’s work, was released at the precipice of the decade on November 30, 1979… Positioned as it was, its singles spilled over into the 80s. The epic 27-track double concept album featured three singles: Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, released on November 23, 1979, Run Like Hell, released in April 1980, and Comfortably Numb. That one dropped on June 23, 1980. Two years after the release of The Wall in November 1981, Pink Floyd issued a compilation album, with the tongue-in-cheek title: ‘A Collection of Great Dance Songs.’ The name referenced both Another Brick in the Wall’s disco influence and Nick Mason's snide remark that Pink Floyd’s US label “probably thought they were a dance band.” Hey, if ‘Sheep’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’ aren’t great dance tracks, then I don’t know what is.
Pushing ahead into 1982, Pink Floyd got to work on their 12th studio album The Final Cut… though I use the band’s name loosely here, as The Final Cut was “all but” a Roger Waters solo record. I’ll get to that in a minute… The Final Cut was first conceived as a soundtrack album for ‘Pink Floyd - The Wall’, the 1982 film based on The Wall…
Poll: Who created the best songs after the FINAL CUT--Roger Waters or David Gilmour, Rick Wright & Nick Mason & what is the best song since the breakup? Thank you for your support all these years on the way to 1 million!
Gilmour, Wright, Mason
David Gilmour
Gilmour/Wright/Mason, no contest.
David Gilmour.
Eh, hard to say. I honestly don't know much of Waters' post-Floyd, and am not a huge far of Floyd's latter-day output. That said, I absolutely LOVE The Final Cut, but agree that it is technically a solo Waters album.
As good as Roger Waters was he was an arrogant git.
was, I think you mean is. he's still an arrogant git. PS love the phrase git, you Brits have great slang.
And STILL is to this day !!
...Oh, how I LOVE the word, "git'! ....s'too good to use on Roger, though, ha-HAA!!
Roger Waters is a great example of an ego that has gone unchecked for decades.
Was ?
For all of Waters’ genius, he blew up one of the greatest bands of all time through pure self-absorbed hubris.
Maybe, but if you were working hard and the others were sponging, you'd blow it up as well. Waters may be an ego maniac but he was right.
@@doscwolny2221 from what I've read by Mason and others, Roger was willing to accept other's hard work as long as they supported what he wanted. He was an out of control egomaniac and tyrant. As long as he's completely in charge he's a great guy to work for and an insufferable prick to work with. Who has energy to create under those circumstances?
Agreed
Perhaps but most bands do split in the end. We're lucky it lasted as long as it did.
@@doscwolny2221Waters blew up the gravy train.
Saying that "Momentary Lapse of Reason" is not a Pink Floyd album because of the lack of Roger Waters is like saying that "Dark Side of the Moon" is not a Pink Floyd album because of the lack of Syd Barrett.
Great Point
But DSOTM is the best album in Space Time, whereas AMLOR is "just another average FM rock album"...
AMLOR was a Gilmore solo album. No Roger, Nick barely participated, Rick was a hired musician, and a huge reliance on producers.
@@BigArnieNumeroUno Right! Rick Wright was a part of the magic formula. Especially before, during, and after DSOTM
😂a little bit off
What Roger did to Rick - may he RIP, was utterly unforgivable.
In a way, Rick had the last laugh. Since he was Fired, and therefore only paid as a sideman, he was the only band member to actually profit from the financially disastrous Tour for The Wall. Rick's work on the Post Waters version of Pink Floyd, along with his work on David Gilmour's Solo Album "On An Island", reaffirmed the importance of their partnership.
Gilmour was just as responsible for firing him too. Just look it up, it's really just that easy!
Let's see. The band agreed to record The Wall because they were in dire financial straits due to a bad investment. Richard Wright was not much involved in the production because he was going through a marital crisis, which prevented him from remaining in France, where the album was being recorded; and also because he felt increasingly uncomfortable and annoyed with the dictatorial authority of Roger Waters since Wish you Were Here. So Waters was upset by Rick's lack of commitment, and gave an ultimatum to the rest of the band: either Rick was kicked out of the band or the entire project was cancelled, which meant losing thousands of dollars they had already invested in the recording. It's not rocket science to understand why they were forced to accept the first option, but the person most to blame is Roger, for not having been understanding of Rick's situation. So, yeah, he's an a$$hole.
@AnthonyMichaelAMguitar I think Rick just wanted out. David and Rick remained friends.
I never saw this on writing, but my guess is that Dave and Nick went along with Roger because they saw what was coming. Ultimately, the only one who made a profit out of The Wall was Rick, who was paid 10.000 pounds per week as a side musician. Dave had it all planned in his head. "Roger out - Rick in = Pink Floyd forever".
It's sad how one person's ego destroyed what could have been decades of great music from this band.
100%
I remember buying this album when it came out and It was and is the perhaps not the worst album I have bought (close) it was easily the most disappointing purchase I ever made. Nobody can put any amount of lipstick on this pig to help it.
I agree. And they’re not the only band by far to suffer this.
It really is a shame.
One person's ego? Gilmour's ego is every bit as large and out of control as Water's. they are both ego-maniacal jerks. I can't stand either one of them, but their music before the split was great. After, it SUCKED, IMO.
When Waters released Radio KAOS, you could hear distinctly what Waters contributed to Pink Floyd; experimental music, sound effects, heavy handed storytelling. What was left was Gilmour’s smooth vocals, beautiful guitar work, and emotional lyrics. Pink Floyd did fine without Waters.
I bought KAOS when it was released and concur with your assessment, it clarified the line between lyricist and musicians in Floyd.
Totally agree and if you listen to his live concerts; his blending of songs from his solo albums with The Wall and TFC really pair well together. You can really see where he was going with his style. His music almost sounds better when mixed up live in a way that you don't get from the albums alone, if that makes sense. To me at least.
Also remember that on Dark Side of the Moon, Alan Parsons was significant in the soundscape experimentation.
@@BigArnieNumeroUno Absolutely, it was a team creative effort, not the work of a single person.
Love the KAOS album and saw him when he toured during the release. Having Jim Ladd with him on stage was so cool. Second half of the show was all Floyd. Great show.
Roger was certain that the fans wouldn’t accept Pink Floyd without him. If you listened to David Gilmour’s debut solo album, you knew he was wrong.
Boring as hell just like all of his solo records
I bought On an Island as soon as it came out, haven't played it since.
@@flipper2392 Same here regarding Dave’s “On An Island”. I just can’t plug into it emotionally. But I’ve WORE OUT my Momentary Lapse & Division Bell albums. Those are just as staple to me as Dark Side & Wish You Were Here. They are worldclass masterpieces of musical artistry and composition that move me to the core! I also LOVE Dave’s “Rattle That Lock” album!
I've been a Pink Floyd fan since the Syd Barrett days. The Floyd survived the loss of Syd. But the 80s proved that Pink Floyd could survive better without Roger than it could with him.
This is a great comment. Factual and not incendiary.
This fan of Pink Floyd's whole career says congratulations on a million subscribers, Professor Of Rock!
THank you dearly!
Early in my life i wasnt excessively fanatic about pink. My sister, 3 yr older had some listening experience, not enough to be a fan, how ever a few yrs after school it changed. Dont know how it did, but it has. Knowing now that we were not fully "tuned" into Pink, much to my regret but not too late, we can almost hear the difference from the wall album, final cut and then to momentary lapse of reason, in the energy. Gilmour and Mason and Wright was passionate about making the album, regardless the issued encountered Yet i remember the latter album. This feud also reminds of the Simon&Garfunkel issue going on for years. Hopefully these hatchets could one day be buried. I will now always listen to Pink Floyd and Simon&Garfunkel, as i already do. God bless all these TALENTED musicians regardless the differences.
🤠👍 🎸🎹Million 🥁🎷🎉🎈🎊🎈
I concur!
Well earned and most deserved.
No question, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell are absolutely Pink Floyd albums. Waters' head is lodged so far and firmly up his bum, it'll never dislodge itself. And BIG CONGRATS on 1,000,000 subs!
They are albums...awful albums
@@AnthonyMichaelAMguitar Your opinion. They are way better than any solo Waters put out. His solo stuff is trash can filler.
They re not floyds best albums, but I enjoy about half the tracks on both; by contrast, I never listen to final cut, its abysmal, and even the wall has only a handful of good songs. I don't find any enjoyment inwaters solo stuff, at all. So , to me, post waters floyd is far better than post floyd waters. I think that by the time he started writing whole albums and half albums about his dead daddy, he kinda lost the plot, head too far up his bum.
I listen to music to feel the artist’s emotions, angst, and experiences. Pink Floyd without Roger contains none of those things to me. One thing I’m sure we can agree on, Pink Floyd was best with all four members. But you can’t continue Pink Floyd without Roger, as he became most definitely more than 25% of the band.
@@rexmundi2986an artist can write about whatever topic moves him, I’ll always appreciate the emotion and conviction in all of Roger’s work, that is what makes all of it great in my opinion, I just don’t feel that with David’s work, his guitar work is great don’t get me wrong, and I wish he would play guitar on Roger’s solo work 😮
When I was 12 years old the FM station in my home town played an uninterrupted album at midnight on Fridays. I remember that night in 1973 laying there in the dark and being totally mesmerized by what I was hearing coming out of my radio, and I knew it was the most meaningful thing I had ever heard from music. That was my introduction to Pink Floyd and "Dark Side of the Moon", after that I consumed every last scrap I could find. I went to the local used album store and bought everything I could find from their past and the more I heard the more amazed I was, there was nothing like this band, period. I have a copy of everything they ever did even rare vinyl copies of the "Zabriskie Point" soundtrack, ect... books, interviews, you name it... I have been to a number of concerts, and always been in awe of the incredible shows they put on. No one will ever see these kind of elaborate stage shows again, with floating pigs, crashing Spitfires, and massive walls being built behind the band live as the show goes on and that is a shame. By the 80's Roger Waters had turned into a deranged lunatic, spewing hatred of "Jews" and "Capitalism", and "Western Civilization" in general. He just turned into a pretentious jack ass toward everybody and everything. It was a real shame how he destroyed one of the greatest and most creative bands in history.
I saw The Wall concert too. At the Nassau Coliseum
The funny thing is his hatred of Capitalism and yet he is filthy rich because of it.
I caught the tail end of that era in the 80's, listening to entire LP's on the radio on weekend nights. Calling the station to request songs. Man, what a different world.
That wasn't WCOL-FM, Columbus, OH was it?
My hometown of London Ontario had a station that did the same, although I think it began at 11pm. I remember them playing the Beatles White Album and Side 3 continuing after the midnight news. Also, I would agree that Roger became rather intolerable and his dissolution of the band was regrettably tactless. I didn't mind that he was "political" back when he was simply anti-war. And though I despise his overtly leftist politics as of late and his socialist leanings, which are distinctly hypocritical, I have never heard or seen any instance where Waters "spewed hatred of Jews". And I share the same discover-and-devour Pink Floyd fascination story with you. Even tracking down rare morsels such as the Picnic Harvest compilation, lesser known solo outings as Zee and Mason + Fenn, and music songbooks that actually include interviews or unreleased songs like Seabirds.
High Hopes is one of my favorite songs ever. The out going solo is beautiful and emotional.
Roger’s lyrics are great but he has been proven to have been very replaceable as a bassist. Gilmore’s guitar work on the other hand is irreplaceable. Congratulations on reaching a million subscribers and excellent work. This is one of the best channels on the internet.
Gilmore is a great guitarist but if you listened Waters solo albums "The Pro's and Cons of Hitchhiking" or "Amused to Death" you'd realize that Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck replaced him very easily on those albums. Who can replace Roger Waters lyrically?
I disagree. Dave Kilminster has done an amazing job playing Gilmours parts.
@@jayt4465 In a drunken stupor I could give you a list of 50 guys who could replace Waters lyrically. It would however, be hard to find a more ignorant, antisemitic and delusional asshole.
The proof is the success and reverence of the earlier collaborative works of the band. Beck and Clapton can step in and play great on Water's solo works, but it doesn't match the feel of what the actual whole band of Pink Floyd did, and Kilminster can sound like Gilmour but he is copying, and not creating. Love the band and all of the music all of the members have made, but Roger didn't have to take the route he did. They were long time bandmates. There was no reason to fire Wright when he was going through absolute hell in his personal life (it is called supporting a friend in a time of need). Gilmour still wrote songs, sang tracks, wrote and played all the guitar parts, and in more than a few instances wrote and even played the bass parts. Mason, as noted here, had worked hard for years filling in with sound fxs (essential to Pink Floyd's sound) and ambience fills, much as George Martin did for the Beatles. They were far superior as a whole. Roger should have put his ego aside and worked with the mates he came up with. He could have continued to take the majority of writing credits while still working with the band. He still could have put out his solo stuff if he wanted full control over an album. It didn't have to end like it did, and that is on Roger. Still love his music though.
I agree. I prefer Gilmour a million times.
I absolutely hated to see Roger Waters leave Pink Floyd…but he did. I think the post-Waters Pink Floyd was excellent. Learning To Fly is my favorite.
Sorry keyrat1753, I can not agree. Pink Floyd with Waters was greater than the sum of the parts. It's the ying and the yang - Roger's sour to David's sweet, perfect balance. Nick was the right drummer for the outfit and Rick was sublime on keyboards. Unfortunately Roger could not, and still cannot, admit that to himself. I hate to say that after *loving* Floyd since I first saw them perform in 197, the last time I saw Roger (2022) was indeed my LAST. My wife and I were both disgusted with him.
Don't think post Waters, Pink Floyd's albums (3 + 3 David Gilmore) combined can equals to Roger Waters 1 Amused to Death.
@@CarazyDiamond oh man there is only 1 really good song on that album and thats the titel song, the rest is decent not good .. the Division Bell though is all good songs also have you ever see Waters life ? he playbacks half of his songs and is highly relying on sound effects and such.. while the post Waters Pink Floyd actually makes MUSIC
You have no taste or no idea. Awful album.
@@gaab1467 Ridiculous. Amused to Death is LOADED with great music & fascinating lyrics. The Division Bell was mediocre & pretentious. I've seen Roger Waters 5x. All excellent performances. All those sound effects are part of the respective albums.
Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell are both fantastic. One of my favorite tracks is the instrumental "Marooned". It showcases how the 3/4s of Pink Floyd are superb even without the 1/4th of Waters' lyrics in my mind. I attended one Roger Waters concert, and whenever he ventured into his solo work the energy in the crowd took a nose dive. As soon as he returned to Floyd material, the crowd was back on its feet. Nothing more to add.
Pink Floyd's 1994 tour will always stand out for me as the biggest and best concert I have ever seen.
I agree 2 awesome nights at the Pontiac Silverdome Michigan
I saw that tour in Oakland. Good show, wasn’t Pink Floyd.
@@theoriginalsurferbob If it was the 1994 tour, that was Pink Floyd.
@@dirkbag22 Ya, that’s what the tickets said. Didn’t look or sound like Floyd to me. More of a Gilmour money grab.
You didn’t go, Hairy. Clearly.
The last two times I saw Waters in Tampa, he went on long diatribes about politics and capitalism, after I had just paid, at the last show, $75 to sit in the VERY LAST ROW of the Arena. I'm sure he didn't mind his capitalistic check he collected. Just play the damn great music Roger!
Artists don't set ticket prices. However, by refusing to play arenas which charge such a price, they could easily dissuade corporations from such extortive prices
@@robertcompitel..... I hate when celebs use their profession to spread their political agenda.
@@user-hr1gw3qr8w John Mellencamp immediately comes to mind.
@@user-hr1gw3qr8w I have no problem with an artist who wants to vocalize their politics and support a particular point of view; I just want it kept to their personal time and not in the concert hall. I paid to listen to the music, not hear their (often uninformed) opinions on the political issue of the day or the economic system they have a beef with. Wrap that in the lyrics with great music, and it will reach a hell of a lot more people.
If you were upset by that then you are a simpleton. I hate politics in music and I think waters is a complete tool. But he has been political his entire career. If you went to waters concert NOT expecting to hear that then you clearly haven't been paying attention.
Roger Waters... David Lee Roth .... Axl Rose .... just to name a few.
Van Hagar was pretty good!
They all came down with what is kmown as...'LSD' - Lead Singer Disease 😂
I can’t think of any other band that has captured the hearts and minds of so many people. The band is so encapsulated in mystery, emotion, and even disappointment. With or without Roger, I love this band. I always will. I cried tears of joy when I saw them reunite briefly in 2005.
The difference between Roger Waters and David Gilmore is with Waters it’s ‘Listen to music. Aren’t I great?’ And with Gilmore ‘Listen to the music. I hope you like it.’
Musical, professional, humane, character, husband and father, lover of animals, great philanthropist, modest compared to what he deserves, brilliant composer and unique in the history of the guitar as well as the technique of interpreting the state of mind... David Gilmour without a doubt!
Learning to Fly and On the Turning Away are magnificent, magical, transcendent.
💯💯💯💯💯💯
Garbage. Sounds like a Pink Floyd cover band.
@@michaelduran8627
@@michaelduran8627you missed a great tour then.
And Sorrow too
David Gilmore was the voice and personality of Pink Floyd The Pulse Tour speaks for itself not one person at those concerts missed Roger Waters!
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
That tour was actually THE DIVISION BELL TOUR not pulse.
I saw the Wall tour and the Division Bell Tour. Only the first one was Floyd as far as I'm concerned. Gilmour as a solo artist doing his own and old Floyd stuff was better than Floyd doing new material without Waters. Not saying all their songs were bad -Learning to Fly is great for instance, but it's mediocre and bland stuff on the whole. Water's "What God wants" is much better and more visceral. It even has (arguably) a better guitarists in Jeff Beck.
I was sad when I heard Roger had left the band, however with that being said and all things considered equal a "Momentary Lapse of Reason" and "The Division Bell" are by all means Pink Floyd albums, and very, very good ones at that. They also just happen to be favorites of mine as well.
David Gilmour said that Pink Floyd is a brand, like a toothpaste. That's why Pink Floyd outsold both Roger Waters AND Gilmour's solo records.
Right, similar to Plant and Page if they had toured as Led Zeppelin they would have been a lot bigger.
I’ve always liked that all the Pink Floyd albums sound drastically different from each other. It may be due to drama, but the end result benefitted us all.
Exactly. Somebody here gets it.
And Gilmour was right.
@@petercena9497 I’m so happy they didn’t do that. There’s no Led Zeppelin without JPJ and Bonzo
Congratulations on One million subscribers, Adam. We are proud of you. May you have millions more. 👍
Thanks you so much!
Pulse blew my mind when I first heard it. Have always loved David Gilmour so much.
Funny that your sponsor is in regards to being matched to a therapist and here you are talking about my favourite band. In 1977, when I was 14yrs old, I witnessed my brother’s death in the most horrible of ways. DSOTM, both lyrics and music equally, became my therapy. PF is still my #1. Ty professor for this great insight on members and rifts past and present. Congrats on 1M subs! Well deserved.
Roger stated the truth on the cover of The Final Cut: By Roger Waters Performed by Pink Floyd. Right there he states he and Pink Floyd were two separate and distinct entities. Gilmour, Wright AND Mason had every right to carry on as Pink Floyd.
Can't find fault with that logic.
True. Wright and Mason were actually the co-founders of Floyd. So no matter what Roger's wanted, they had an absolute right to carry on without Waters
Hey Adam! Just a quick note to say "Congratz on 1M!" COMPLETELY deserved. I'm so happy for you. Great job over the years. Your channel is the best! :)
Ah thank you! I really appreciate all the support!
@@ProfessorofRock Congratulations from me too! I look forward to hearing from you every morning. You are a treasure!! I am 70 years old and I still learn a lot from you all the time. Thank you .
Yes I’m so excited!
When you hear the lyric, “Oh, by the way, which one is Pink?” Who do you think of? {for me, it’s the guy who wrote/played the Greatest Guitar Solo of All Time} It is sad that Water’s lost his father in the War-as a child he likely didn’t quite understand it. But his sadness turned to anger and rage as an adult-his anger turned to hatred which was misdirected. Instead of hating the Enemy (Nazi Germany) who brought about the war that took his father’s life, he directed it towards those that “choose” (in his mind) to participate in wars (never understanding that you can choose to stand against those that bring about wars or be subjugated by them). He believes that the Worms and Dogs and Pigs will ultimately bring about the Two Suns in the Sunset….something that he knows he can’t control. It seems that he has tried to regain that control by raging against everything and everyone around him. Waters was a brilliant musician at one time; but his rage has consumed him. Gilmour seems to be very happy in his later years while Waters is just a withered old man.
gilmour settles for an easy life, waters challenges authority, i know which i'd rather be.. you can call me a withered old man if you like.
@@bazza5699Waters is an Angry old man who blames literally EVERYONE for his father’s death. He has never been able to understand or accept that people die in war time. He blames Conservatives because they are all (in his mind) War Mongers. He blames his Headmaster…why? He blames his Mother…again, why? He blames Margaret Thatcher…for what? She wasn’t in power during WWII. He blames and blames and blames. Read the lyrics of just about every song that he has written-especially THE FINAL CUT. His father died in an unavoidable war (notice that he doesn’t blame the Nazis)…and he has never been able to come to grips with that. He would rather live in a Bubble where everything is wonderful and everyone does what HE says and what he wants. Gilmour chose to continue making music and left the politics out of it. Waters chose to remain a petulant child and, when he wasn’t getting his way, decided to go home and take “his” band with him. The only problem was that the rest of band said, “We don’t think so. If you want to leave, go. But the band remains here”. It has nothing to do with challenging authority. It has to do with his ego and his need to control everything and to blame those that don’t let him
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
I think it's sad how the discussion never makes mention of Meddle and Obscured by Clouds, both of which are masterful Pink Floyd albums that unquestionably laid the groundwork for everything that followed. Lately, I find myself reaching for these two albums when I want to listen to Pink Floyd music.
“Rolling Stone has been wrong a lot” . No lies detected.
For sure.
RS rated it 5 stars. 2 stars at best.
Yup.
Rag
It's not the lyrics that sold the albums, it's the music, the amazing solos. David Gilmour made Pink Floyd what it is. We just read the lyrics later. Great show. Thank you for your work.
The worst thing today is Gilmour's hypocritical and criminally militaristic political position. Unfortunately, not all fans realize the scale of this tragedy... kzhead.info/sun/jaqkobmdkICgmYU/bejne.html
Rubbish. It was both the music *and* the lyrics. It took Gilmour and Waters together to make magic.
I never thought it would have been complete without Rick as well..
You mean like for example Bridge over troubled waters would have been still a massive hit if the lyrics were "Lar, Lar, Lar......"?
It's always lyrics first for me. Genesis had far greater success after Peter Gabriel, but I still listen to the first few albums because of Peter's lyrics.
To me, The Division Bell was my favourite Pink Floyd Album. I loved the sound, the lyrics and just everything about the brilliant album.
Final Cut was a Waters album. Momentary Lapse is a Gilmour album. Division Bell is finally a Floyd album. It is the one that brings Rick back into the full fold.
Pink Floyd is "NOT" Pink Floyd without David Gilmour. PERIOD!
It's also not Pink Floyd without Rick Wright, and no less of an authority than Dave Gilmour himself agrees, hence why he has publicly stated that the band is now retired after Rick's sad loss.
And I can truly say that Pink Floyd is definitely not Pink Floyd without Rodger Waters either.. David Gilmour & Company spent a lot of years Faking It
@@williamray7211There is a lot of truth in that. Regardless of how people feel about him, musically, yes there are other bassists and vocalists who could replace him without blinking an eye, but lyrically and vision? Nope. It’s a bit like the Who after Keith Moon. The Who is never high on my favorite bands, and unlike others, I don’t drink the Keith is “the best drummer” koolaide, but they weren’t the Who after he died and if that wasn’t enough, especially after John died.
So, the Syd era doesn't count?
@@ilionreactor1079 I am a huge fan of early pre-Dark Side of the Moon Floyd, so much great experimental music. Look up Nick Mason's Saucerfull of Secrets, you will not be disappointed.
Waters and Henley should do an album together.
Don Henley sang on Amused To Death
@reg171reg that's incredible. Thanks for enlightening me. 2 of the biggest A holes in music..very talented and rich A holes. They must of really hit it off.
Henley is also long since became Roger Waters. Worse is that he is totally missing his equally talented collaborators.
Then they can sue anyone who dares listen to or play it without permission. It'll be such a pleasure.
@@schmidington 😄👍
I’ve never listened to Waters solo efforts, but Pink Floyd created some amazingly beautiful music after Waters departure. The song High Hopes is one of my favorites and I marvel at the talent and insight of anyone that could create music like that.
I remember hearing Learning to Fly for the first time on the radio and thinking, this is a good song. I like it. When it was over the DJ announced that this was the latest from Pink Floyd. My mind was blown. I had no idea they'd released another album.
The definition of megalomaniac: "a delusional mental illness that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur." I think it somehow fits the person. No one will dispute the immense contribution of Roger Waters to the band but, BUT: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." Whatever one may think of Pink Floyd post Roger Waters, the reality is that there are great songs on the trio's albums. And they sound very floydlike too. High Hopes, among others, is a superb track.
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
80 percent, 1 percent, dont matter. PF has exactly 2 great albums, DSOTM and WYWH. Animals is marginally ok, The wall is way way overrated, and final cut is complete garbage. The more complete Roger's control became, the worse the albums got.
This is one reason I will not play music with huge egos. You win the lottery and have success and then the ego robs you of all your joy. Anyone who tells a drummer they are "lesser than" can never be in a band with me I don't care how "good" they are. Excellent musicians are all over the place and most of them are not famous.
Yup! Waters can go suck it.
The drummer is the most important member. Got a friend who’s a guitar player tells me I’m wrong. Drummer makes mistakes yer cooked. Everyone else can cover.
I'll always prefer the post-Waters album "Momentary Lapse of Reason" over anything Waters did after leaving the band. "Learning to Fly" is an amazingly beautiful song and music video that showcased Gilmour's vocals and guitar work in a way that made me an instant when I first stumbled across it on VH1 in 1987.
I’ve seen them both live. Both EXCELLENT shows. Thankful for the music they made over the years!
Gilmour's first solo album is an underrated classic
I spent months looking for the Pink Floyd album with the song, “There’s No Way Out of Here” after I heard it on the radio, thinking that I was losing my mind until a friend told me that Gilmour had a solo album.
Putting Gilmour up against Waters' 1st solo post-break-up; is like comparing Ringo vs. Harrison's 1st solo post-Beatles break-up. Clapton delivers on BOTH Harrison & Waters!!
@jaundiablo1892 Unfortunately for Waters, Clapton is no Gilmour.
@@jaundiablo1892Not really. All Things Must Pass kicks the Hell out of Sentimental Journey.
@@tommc3622 Clapton's work on the Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking is brilliant.
It's always sad when one member of a group thinks they're the only thing holding the band together. I don't remember ever hearing Roger Waters' material on the radio, but I remember plenty of post Roger Waters Pink Floyd songs being played.
Look at the writing credits to their songs from DSOM to the Final Cut. It's almost exclusively Roger Waters. Roger Waters has a vision. Gilmour is a great guitarist. That's it.
@@jayt4465 I started to respond similarly regarding Waters writing credits on classic PF songs, but realized that was not steven's point. He is actually comparing Roger's lack of post-PF air-play to PF's post-Waters air-play, which is precisely the topic that the Prof asked us to comment on.
@@scott8xxx532 Air play is due to the Pink Floyd name. Do you hear many David Gilmour solo songs played on the radio? They don't play either artists solo songs.
@@jayt4465 That's all true, but it's still 100% irrelevant to steven's post that you (and I almost) attempted to "rebuff". He specifically compared air play of Roger's material (solo, post PF) to Pink Floyd post-Roger. Regardless of the advantage of bearing the PF brand name.... which is really just an explanation of why the fact he wrote is true. Gilmour's solo airplay has nothing to do with anything steven or I wrote, nor the Prof said. Let's circle back to the premise of this video - which steven's comment "validated" in terms of real world airplay: Roger - as amazing and creative and visionary as he is, and which nobody has disputed - came to view himself and only himself as most integral and irreplaceable to the success of Pink Floyd. Often when someone feels that way, they release solo side projects that do well and hold up on their own. Roger's did not. And at the same time, Pink Floyd continued doing well without him. End of story.
@@jayt4465 That's a good point. How much of the post-Waters PF success was due to the "Pink Floyd" name. I'm not going to lie, because I think Gilmour knocked it out of the park, but still. He was given a chance to succeed under the PF name that Waters was not.
In my mind, David Gilmour IS Pink Floyd and under his leadership went on to great success. The "live" concerts featuring David front and center are second to none and he gave each show everything he could give to keep the dream alive. Having David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright together on stage was magical because they created the sound and the feel of what was Pink Floyd. I've seen a lot of interviews and documentaries featuring David Gilmour who is a very humble man with no itch to scratch, just a very professional laid back guy who likes to make music.
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
I love Pink Floyd. Roger Waters lost his mind if he thought he was the creative force behind the band. He was a creative force, but not THE creative force. I loved David Gilmour's solo albums, but don't really recall listening to Waters solo. And you are right about George Lucas and the prequels too.
The worst thing today is Gilmour's hypocritical and criminally militaristic political position. Unfortunately, not all fans realize the scale of this tragedy... kzhead.info/sun/jaqkobmdkICgmYU/bejne.html
Radio KAOS was pretty good. The others were too disjointed and experimental. Waters was great at concepts and lyrics, but needed Gilmour's ability with composition to make magic.
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
@@AnthonyMichaelAMguitar
There’s a bunch of mint condition Final Cut albums out there. Nobody spun them more than once.
Tell us more.
@@ProfessorofRock I gave mine to my Nephew along with 200 other nice lp’s. He’s carrying on the tradition.
I pwn most if not all of the albums Pink Floyd has ever made. I have never bought The Final Cut,& have no intentions of doing so. I have never met anyone who liked it.
@@michaelwernimont4410Nice to meet you. I like it, better than what came after at least. Other than Learn to Fly. That song would be a baller on any album.
@@tehfiredog what about High Hopes or Marooned? Those are truly great Floyd songs.
I graduated college in '87 and finally moved out of my parents' home, and out of state, for my first (and as it turns out, last) "real" job. One of the first purchases I made for my apartment was a brand new, multi-component stereo system, complete with a multi-band equalizer, awesome speakers, and of course a CD player. One of the first CD's I bought was Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason. At night, I'd turn off all the lights so that the glow of the stereo was the only thing lighting the room, then lie down on the floor between the speakers and play that CD way louder than my (new) neighbors probably appreciated! It was awesome!
The Final Cut is a great album. Like David says, “there are many versions of Pink Floyd”. This version had David and Nick contribute less, but they cashed the checks.
David's music always outsells Roger's lyrics by millions of units.
It does for sure!
Really? I'm not sure about that. I think y'all fall easily into that division bell ring. Neither of them are now what they were with each other. And Wish You Were Here lyrics are just as unforgettable as the music. David is a great musician, but provided very little besides guitar parts. When you strip away Roger's lyrics and the keyboards, you're left with a very standard blues-rock guitarist. I would argue that your comment is blatantly incorrect, given the poor performance of Gilmour-healmed Floyd's instrumental last album. If his music outsold Roger's lyrics, we should have seen that represented by the albums which didn't contain his lyrics. Instead, the inverse is true. You can like what you want, but when you're talking numbers you're gonna have a tough time proving your opinion correct.
David has to have his wife write lyrics for him. That's embarrassing.
@@jayt4465Almost as embarrassing, but not quite, as your comment.
@@jayt4465 why would that be embarrassing? David is a musician and singer, a great one. He understands his limitations. Roger is a great lyricist.
Echoes without Rick Wright? Never would’ve happened
Echoes is one of my fave albums. There's so much atmosphere in it. I think it's my 3rd fave after TDSOTM and AMLOR, I admit, but because of the flow and sound, it's the one I'll put it on repeat in my car and not turn it off for days.
Hey Adam, congratulations on reaching 1 million subscribers. Great interviews, fantastic bios and background details. Daily tuning in for the history of rock. Thank you 🙏
Wow... And yet another great perspective video. Bravo!
Congrats on 1 million. Pink Floyd is definitely the perfect video for that milestone.
One of the greatest bands ever.
Congrats on hitting the big milestone Adam. Longtime lurker, first time commenter. Happy for your success.
61 yrs old, i was about 13 the first time i heard the floyd, (dark side) huge fan from the start, still am, and i thank God they made final cut, i love it, cant imagine their catalog without it
The Final Cut was a beautiful album that brought psychological closure to a creative period that began with Meddle and progressed through Dark side of the Moon, Wish you were here, Animals, The Wall, and The Final Cut. The lyric in the song your possible pasts “ I was just a child then now I’m only a man “ is extremely revealing.
Hi, the guitar lead on the final cut, is one of the sorrow, wanting, feeling exposed. That was the theme of my life then, but never found the words, then Gilmour kills it lovingly. Be well
Nice to see you made it to a million subscribers! Congratulations!
I'll never discount Mason or Waters, or even Barrett, but Wright and Gilmour were always the best parts of that group.
You need to edit your comment. If the 2nd Mason is supposed to be Gilmour I agree with you 100%.
@@gustaaf1892 Cheers thanks.
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
@@AnthonyMichaelAMguitar I have the albums mate. Gilmour, and Wright wrote many of my favourite songs from their back catalogue. And the last time Waters wasn't writing angry yelling screaming, was "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun." And he's a good bass player, but not the virtuoso Gilmour is, and Wright was just godlike on his keyboards.
Congrats on reaching one million subscribers, Adam! I've enjoyed watching these videos as they bring back memories of the soundtrack of my childhood and teen years, and the back stories of some of my all time favorite songs.
I am a huge Pink Floyd fan. I must admit to liking The Final Cut better that Momentary Lapse, but that is really more about where I was in may life at the time. I really like them both. The splitting of Pink Floyd was tragic, but that is thier story ... even from the begining.
And you all thought Syd Barrett was the crazy in Pink Floyd??? Sincere congrats on your *first* MILLION 👊🏻
Turns out, Polly Samson is the crazy one
Bashing the Prequels on “Star Wars Day”. Nice. :) But you are correct. After so many years of Star Wars fans singing his praises from the 80s through early 90s, I guess Lucas just kind of let all that go to his head and started to believe that he could do no wrong.
May the 4th be with you!
A common occurrence in the creative arts---every genre has individuals and groups who've simply run out of steam. Creativity and innovations are wells that do eventually run dry. Since the early 1970s, I have observed that most musicians or singers have about three albums' worth of really good, fresh material but by the fourth --there begins the decline into mediocrity. Or, listeners are surprised by an unexpected shift to a new direction that they don't know what to make of. Album sales of number four and beyond are quite telling.
Lucas shamelessly SOLD OUT!
@@msr1116 Unless it's Frank Zappa or Black Sabbath, you are getting nothing but diminishing returns after the 4th album. (Looking at you, Metallica!)
May the force be with you, sir.
Good assessment of a sad situation. Thanks for the video.
I went to a Pink Floyd concert in 1975 at the Capital Centre (Maryland). The second half of the concert was the complete Dark Side of The Moon album accompanied by rockets screaming from the ceiling towards the stage etc. A great experience that I'll never forget!
I recently listened to every Floyd album again, and what I finally decided is that the band wouldn't have existed without Barrett, wouldn't have sounded the same without Gilmour... and the only reasons anyone knows who they are was because of Waters. You needed all of it for success.
Correct
Wouldn't have sounded the same without Wright and Mason. Just listen to them.
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
@@wilhelmvonn9619 Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
@@AnthonyMichaelAMguitar
There are concert appearances on KZhead where David Gilmour carried Floyd on his shoulders. Rick had passed away and Nick was working on other projects. As I watched these shows, I never once missed Roger.
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
@@AnthonyMichaelAMguitar Not denying his writing skills, what I am saying is that Gilmour and his band can pull off any Floyd tune with ease and I don't have deal with an angry Roger Waters.
Playing Roger Water's songs.
@@jayt4465 That's true, but Roger said they couldn't go on without him and that was the basis for my comment.
Congratulations Prof on reaching 1 million subscribers. Your videos are great and bring back such memories. Trouble is, I spend half the night watching them and then fall asleep during the day. Good thing I'm retired. Being in my teens during the 60s was brilliant!
Adam…I’m so happy for you hitting a million subscribers. Just goes to show you the power of rock and roll and YOU, keeping things real. Here’s to the next million.
I went Christmas shopping with my brother in December of that year and bought the album, not willing to wait in the hopes that someone would get it for me, and being I was then 22, I wasn't any longer expecting much from family for Christmas. I went through a four night ritual of playing one side each night, the lights off and the blacklight on, illuminating the various blacklight posters on the walls, and intensely listening to each track. I missed being there for the debut of Dark Side of the Moon, and wasn't going to miss this one.
David Gilmore publicly stated now that Richard Wright has passed, there is no more, will be no more Pink Floyd.
Keeping an open mind, I bought both Momentary Lapse and Waters' Radio KAOS in 1987. I saw Floyd in concert on that tour, and it was amazing, new songs and all. I struggle to remember one song from Waters' effort.
@ProfessorofRock I honestly have to say that this is my favorite Pink Floyd album. I'm a combat veteran and these lyrics truly hit home..
Yeah, good songwriter, less so as a person. The hypocrisy of millionaire socialists as well as other issues.
Champagne Socialists and Limousine Liberals are the worst. 😎
True story. Great songwriter & musician but an even greater hypocrite pontificating from atop his ivory tower 🙄
I'll toss in Mellencamp, Springsteen and Grace Slick as three more hypocritical socialists among the white privileged 1%.. They all talk about social and economic justice but never see them sponsor asylum seekers, refugees or comparable outcast types to help rebuild their lives, or offer them a temporary stay on their estates.
Whoa! You hit the million mark there, Professor! Congratulations!!!
Thanks! 😃 Thanks for supporting me and the channel for so long!
Yay!
There’s a few points in this video I severely disagree with, but I’ll keep it to a couple bullet points below. 1. Waters offered The Final Cut to be a solo album, but Gilmour and Mason opted to have it be released under the Pink Floyd banner. Gilmour did not believe that the Wall was going to be highly successful, until it was. I don’t think they understood why it was successful, so they believe that Waters knew better than they did with the public would accept and they were prepared to go down that rabbit hole. To say that Waters forced the final cut on them is an error. 2. Waters never claimed to be Pink Floyd. He was told very succinctly by his attorneys that if he wanted the brand to use to release albums and go on tours, he actually had a decent shot of winning the court case, but he said that in his opinion it was the collaboration of them that made Pink Floyd Pink Floyd (which is why he offered TFC as a solo album), and it would be like Paul McCartney releasing Beatles albums without John Lennon. It required the partnership, or it was wrong. 3. Legally anything under the banner is a Pink Floyd album. I would say The Final Cut and Momentary Lapse are equally Pink Floyd albums because they’re fundamentally solo albums by Waters and Gilmour respectively. Mason and Wright had nothing to do with the writing or production of that album. Wright was so sidelined that the recent remix was released to restore his parts in the recordings. It was Gilmour and other writers that made AMLOR, which is why waters called it a forgery. Say what you will about the Final Cut, but it was principally written and performed by at least one member of the band. 4. Gilmour only offered Wright to go back as a salaried touring musician in 87 and beyond to argue that he hadmoral legitimacy. Wright was not reinstituted as a full member of the band until around 1994. He was pushed out in 79 because of a growing cocaine addiction, a failing marriage, and, more importantly, he refused to go into the studio and do recording bits for the wall. A lot of people forget that Floyd got ripped off from a lot of money around 1978 and were tax exiles as a result. The wall was a make or break album, which thankfully did phenomenally well, but there was a lot of stress in the band at that point because of it and Wright pulled the wrong shit at the wrong time. I’m notsaying waters was right, but it’s less clear cut than a lot of people pretend. 5. Gilmour had a lot of brass bitching about reusing sloppy seconds on the Final Cut given that’s exactly what he did wait on on the endless river. Most of that was leftover tracks from division Bell. 6. While David successfully proved he could sell albums under the Pink Floyd banner without Roger Waters, I don’t believe it was worth it in the end. Ultimately, we got seven years or so (1987 - 1994) worth of material, two tours/live albums and a half heated final album as a last gasp. Was it worth that for all the public acrimony, verbal sparring and court cases? Maybe to some, but not for me.
I love the eras you cover and the bands you recognize, Professor. I doff my cap, good sir.
Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell proved that Waters wasn't as important to the band as he thought.
That may be true but they're still nowhere near as good as any Floyd album up to and including The Wall.
And Endless River years later.
Waters wrote 80% of the music and 99% of the lyrics, just look it up!
@@AnthonyMichaelAMguitar He didn't.
There's the big 1M ! Well done, you've worked hard for this, Adam.
Adam..............congrats on 1 million subs. That's huge. Been here since near the beginning. All the incredible interviews and research has paid off.
Holy shit. I just realized you have 1 million subs. That's frickin' awesome dude! I'm really happy for you mate. You've done so much good work. This achievement is thoroughly deserved. Huge congrats, I'm really pleased for you. From Aust.👍👍👍
Congrats on 1M Professor! I always look forward to new episodes and increasing my rock'n roll knowledge. You do a great service curating rock'n roll history! Thanks for all your hard work. Oh, another great episode. I'd say I'm a Gilmore guy. Soooo many memorable riffs and solos!
Congratulations on 1m dude! I remember the first video I ever watched, it was your interview with John Rzeznik…I instantly subbed, and was a fan of this channel immediately!
They got back together for the concert in Hyde Park,that was great,at the end, Waters called the rest of the band over and they finished with arms around each other, a week later he was slagging them off on a tv show in the states.
I was at Live 8 and although I will always cherish the memory I saw all four of them together I have always pondered the thought that if it had been Guy Pratt on bass and vocals would have I not enjoyed it as much? i'm not sure. I'm not sure we would have missed Rog all that much.
Sad to hear this story. Had no idea. I didn’t listen to them much. My son actually plays in a band and showed them to me. “Wish you were here” is my fav.
A momentary lapse of reason is (imo) a fantastic work. It’s stay true to the Pink Floyd sound, but with less darkness. It was brilliantly done. Waters may have been a brilliant songwriter, but the other three were responsible for the “sound“ of Pink Floyd.
The worst thing today is Gilmour's hypocritical and criminally militaristic political position. Unfortunately, not all fans realize the scale of this tragedy... kzhead.info/sun/jaqkobmdkICgmYU/bejne.html
Just a breathtaking album.
And the tour that supported that album, set the bar for concerts, to this day. What a show!
we all found out that Gilmour, Wright and Mason were EVERYTHING. RE: Division Bell
Congratulations Prof...for reaching the 1M subscribers...you deserved it...I always watch all your video because it brings me back to my rockin' days...i'm 60 years old now but the 70's and 80's music were my golden years in rock...looking forward for a 2M Prof... Nel here from the Philippines...Mabuhay!!!
Congratulations on 1 million subscribers. Love your channel.
Congrats on the 1 Million subscribers Adam. Well deserved.
Thank you dearly!
The Final Cut should have been called: Roger Waters presents: The Final Cut, with special guests David Gilmour and Nick Mason. Like numerous musical geniuses, Roger Waters has an outsized ego--this may be understatement. People with outsized egos usually mess up relationships, both work and personal. Gilmour and Mason were only there to fulfill a band obligation, nothing more
It was so sad. Still is.
Same thing could be said for Styx and Dennis DeYoung
It's a skippable entry in the repertoire.
Final Cut was just spare tracks that never made the Wall album
It's obvious that waters ego refused to except that tracks he wrote just weren't good enough for a Floyd albu., so he created his first solo album and disparaged Floyd's good name. Not to say that I don't enjoy a little final cut after a shifty divorce, but it isn't a Floyd album.
Congratulations on the big one million! I’ve learned so much from you about music I love!
My favorite group of all time. I have all their albums including The Finale Cut and, I must say, I love the album.
The Album Dark Side of the Moon made a historic run on the charts. Their Original work was more than enough. The internal struggle need not have happened.
If the debate is who was better post "Final Cut," just compare the sales of Waters' Radio K.A.O.S to ANY Floyd releases without him! In my misspent youth, I had every Pink Floyd Album ever made EXCEPT "The Final Cut." I always thought it was weaksauce.
Once again, another epic story from the Professor of Rock! Thank you for explaining what happened to Pink Floyd during and after The Wall. And, CONGRATULATIONS on reaching 1 million subscribers!
Wise words, Prof.