Kevin's Watch

Pink Floyd to release new album The Endless River in October.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s fourteenth and final album, Division Bell. Beyond a deluxe reissue, David Gilmour apparently plans to mark the occasion with a brand new LP entitled The Endless River, which will be released in October.

The news was revealed by Gilmour’s wife, Polly Samson, on Twitter. Samson added that the album is based on 1994 sessions with Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright.


Polly Samson @PollySamson
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Btw Pink Floyd album out in October is called "The Endless River". Based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright's swansong and very beautiful.
8:13 AM - 5 Jul 2014

Singer Durga McBroom-Hudson, who toured with Pink Floyd throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, revealed further details on her Facebook page. “The recording did start during The Division Bell sessions (and yes, it was the side project originally titled ‘The Big Spliff’ that [Pink Floyd drummer] Nick Mason spoke about),” she explained. “Which is why there are Richard Wright tracks on it. But David and Nick have gone in and done a lot more since then. It was originally to be a completely instrumental recording, but I came in last December and sang on a few tracks. David then expanded on my backing vocals and has done a lead on at least one of them. That’s the song you see being worked on in the photo.” She also added that the album consists entirely of “unreleased songs.”



Update: According to Pink Floyd news site Floydian Slip, recording engineer Andy Jackson has also confirmed the album’s release. “It is the extrapolation of the ‘Big Spliff,’” Jackson explained, referencing Gilmour’s scrapped project of ambient music. “A bunch of jams from ‘The Div(ision) Bell” sessions that have had new overdubs done in the last year or so.” Floydian Slip adds that an official announcement could come on Monday.

It’s unclear whether Pink Floyd’s other principal member, Roger Waters, contributed to the album. He last appeared on the band’s 1983 record, The Final Cut, before departing to focus entirely on his solo career.

Last fall, it was revealed that Gilmour was working on a new solo album, his first since 2006. At the moment, it’s also unclear how plans for the new Pink Floyd album will impact this release.

consequenceofsound.net/2014/07/pink-floyd-to-release-new-album-the-endless-river-in-october/

It's leftovers from the Division Bell sessions with newly added lyrics and guitar overdubs.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but this does not have the hallmarks of a quality project.

So this new pink floyd album is completely different from the solo album he's been working on? That's good news. I assume since they are calling it a "Pink Floyd" album they'll have nick mason back on drums.. I really doubt Roger Waters will come anywhere near this album though.

As Cail said, it's leftovers from The Division Bell, so it's Gilmour, Wright and Mason, no Waters. I'll buy it, because it's Pink Floyd (that's what they're counting on,) but I'm not expecting much.

Damn! I just seen the news release and wanted to be the first to anounce the news.
Oh well. It shows that I am not the only die-hard Floyd fan here.
Now I can't wait until October! (Tick-tock. tick-tock)
.

Well, that's a surprise!

Well, ok, two surprises. First, I didn't realize it had been 20 years since Division Bell. Now I feel old.

Second, a new Floyd album with Rick Wright? I had no idea that was even a possibility.

Previously recorded songs that didn't make the cut
from Division Bell make it possible.

Cail wrote:It's leftovers from the Division Bell sessions with newly added lyrics and guitar overdubs.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but this does not have the hallmarks of a quality project.

^ Yup. No Waters, and I'm a Waters fangirl.

Today I did something that I've done four times since 1983, and today will be the final time I'm able to do it. Since the release of The Final Cut, I've bought the album on release day, gone home, turned out all the lights, laid on my back, and let the music wash over me. No peeking at the lyrics, or the names of the songs, or anything else. Sensory deprivation other than sound.

The Endless River

By now everyone knows what this is.....It's "ambient" stuff culled from The Division Bell sessions. The record is organized into four "sides", with multiple "songs" flowing from one to the next throughout each "side". Think of it as four movements of a symphony.

Side One:

Right off the bat, I think this is my favorite Side. Very reminiscent of "Take it Back", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", and "Us & Them", this movement is a powerful blend of old and new (inasmuch as a 20 year old album is new). Close your eyes, lean back, and let this wander over you. It's an interesting reinvention of familiar territory, with Gilmour's guitar and Wright's atmospheric synths setting a wonderful tone.

Side Two:

And suddenly we jump back to pre-Meddle days. With a few nods to both "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and "Careful With That Axe Eugene", this movement begins as a trippy callback to Floyd's more experimental days. Really nice finish with "Anisina".

Side Three:

Again, more nostalgia here. "On Noodle Street" could have easily appeared on WYWH, "Allons-Y (1)" jumps off like "Run Like Hell", then pulls back to the dreamy "Autumn '68", then returns to the bombast with "Allons-Y (2)". "Talkin' Hawkin'" is a nice throwback to "Keep Talking", but just doesn't work with the rest of this movement.

Side Four:

This movement also is reminiscent of the more experimental Floyd, then (somewhat awkwardly) returns to The Division Bell's chiming lead-in to "High Hopes", and becomes the only song on the record with Gilmour singing; "Louder Than Words". While it isn't a bad song, and would actually have fit in well on TDB, it's not the tour-de-force album-ender that "High Hopes" was.


So what's the verdict?

Well.......I like it better than I thought I would. It is, in every way, a genuine Pink Floyd record. It is, more than anything, a reminder that they made the early part of their career about making experimental music that people tripped to. If you liked that stuff, there's a lot to like here. It's easy to forget just how well Gilmour, Wright, and Mason played together. And from a musical standpoint, the material is really top-notch. While The Endless River is ostensibly a tribute to Rick Wright, it really showcases what amazing musicians all three men were and are.

I, of course, want more. And it makes me tremendously sad that this is it. I'll never get to experience new Pink Floyd again, and I think the world is poorer for that.

I'm actually hearing mostly positive things about this. Might have to ask Santa for this one...

michaelm wrote:I'm actually hearing mostly positive things about this. Might have to ask Santa for this one...

already on my list.

sgt.null wrote:

michaelm wrote:I'm actually hearing mostly positive things about this. Might have to ask Santa for this one...

already on my list.

You're really Santa? Hope I'm on your good list then...

michaelm wrote:

sgt.null wrote:

michaelm wrote:I'm actually hearing mostly positive things about this. Might have to ask Santa for this one...

already on my list.

You're really Santa? Hope I'm on your good list then...

on my list to Santa.

Pink Floyd - Louder Than Words (2014)The Endless River