Aah, Pink Floyd! Masters of Psychedelic music. How many have had epic trips being high, drunk or just numb listening to so many of their out of the universe masterpieces. I’ve always felt that these people weren’t from this planet. To compose and write music of such psychedelic proportions is a task no common musician can achieve. We Floydians have always wondered what did they partake to get high on during their 50 or so (and still counting) years of dominance as a top class progressive/psychedelic act, blending unconventional methods of music-making; little known instruments and sound effects; deep, philosophical and mystical song-writing; and lengthy musical passages. So, before I delve further into details about one such song, let me clear the air about some jargon that I might use.
Psychedelic (adj.)
- of or noting a mental state characterized by a profound sense of intensified sensory perception, sometimes accompanied by severe perceptual distortion and hallucinations and by extreme feelings of either euphoria or despair.
Trippy (adj.)
- suggestive of or resembling the effect produced by a hallucinogenic drug
Echoes is an original composition by Pink Floyd that appeared on their 1971 album, Meddle. At 23:31 minutes long, it takes up the whole of the second side of their original LP. What intrigues me the most about this particular song is that all the elements that go into the making of a song have been so carefreely improvised, mixed and assembled that every element, taken out separately, would assist into taking your ‘trips’ to a whole new level.
THE MUSIC
The first sound. That definitive ping that resonates and repeats for a while, gives a haunting, empty feeling, cancelling out any remnant noise and drawing your full attention to what is about to come. This sound was created as a result of an experiment which involved sending the sound signal of the high notes of a grand piano through a pair of fast rotating amplifying speakers. As the pings progress, the Hammond Organ, played by Richard Wright, comes in. Played in free scale, it appears as if some little animal is scurrying through the keys, strengthening the feeling that you’re truly in for a haunting experience. David Gilmour’s legendary Fender Strat guitar slowly creeps in, the slow pulls and bends soothing the mind (A word of note here: this song can be best experienced by plugging in a pair of earphones, sitting in a dark and silent room, and listening with your eyes closed. Some whiskey or weed or both might be the proverbial cherry on the cake!).
The vocals start with a very distinctive and unnatural tone of voice. If heard closely, Roger Waters sings with David Gilmour, the latter singing in a higher scale. This mystical sound was achieved by plugging two recorders at opposite corners of the studio and taping and overtaping the voices of Waters and Gilmour. We’ll talk about the lyrics in a while. At about 7 minutes into the song, a groovy funk progression begins, slowly allowing you to slip into a semi-trance state. Some really exquisite guitar work is displayed by David Gilmour in this 4 minute long passage. At 11 minutes, this passage fades into one of the most haunting musical pieces I’ve heard. Ever. Period.
A horror-like heavy wind blowing sound emanates from Roger Waters’s bass. Waters used a steel slide on his bass and passed the sound through and echo-producing amplifier. Along with this horror-ish background comes the high pitched seagull cries that truly raise the hair on the back of your neck. That loud screech chills you down to the spine. (A word of caution here: If you’re looking to get a good night’s sleep, you should probably skip this passage). David Gilmour revealed in an interview that he discovered this sound effect accidentally when he reversed the cabling to his wah pedal. Sometimes great effects are the results of this kind of pure serendipity. After this haunting section, muted notes give you a build-up to the last stanza, later concluding the song with another ascending note build-up.
THE LYRICS
“Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me”
The above is just a small of example of the sheer depth and philosophical mysticism that Roger Waters is capable of incorporating in his music. To me, the overall context of the lyrics is to describe the potential of understanding of a human being towards others and the universe as a whole. Words are always very important to convey the mood or subject or context of the song to the listener, or to let him interpret his own meaning out of them. Such trippy lyrics always make you delve into a very dense forest of thoughts, of introspection, and of a higher level of understanding which is, otherwise, seldom achievable. Echoes is that kind of poetry which lets you get a grip on the simplest things in life, while explaining how complex they are in their own meaning. A paradox. That is what you are, I am, life is, as is this universe. Those who understand, find oneness in everything.
“And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning”
THE IMAGERY
This first image above is the cover to Pink Floyd’s compilation album “Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd” (no, it does not contain all Pink Floyd songs). Noted artist Storm Thorgerson (known for working on majority of Pink Floyd’s as well as Dream Theater’s album covers) submitted this design while this album was in the talks. If you surf through Pink Floyd’s albums before 2001 (the year of issue of this album), you will find that elements from all those albums have been incorporated into this one. See if you can find two crossed hammers with red handles and a hanging portrait of Pink Floyd’s first album ‘The Piper at The Gates of Dawn’.
The second image above is the album cover for the Echoes track from its original album ‘Meddle’. It is said that this appears as different to each viewer. It appears as some weird snail’s face to me. The artist has said that this is a photograph of a human ear submerged under water. Yes, very trippy, isn’t it? Keep finding!
EVERYTHING IS GREEN AND SUBMARINE
While you marvel on the sheer legend and amazing quality of this track, I’ll leave you all to peruse it in high quality, while synchronized with the final segment of Stanley Kubrick’s classic film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Because, well, we all need a good trip! Peace!
B# 