Reinventing Pink Floyd

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, Bill Kopp celebrates the ingenuity with which Pink Floyd rebranded themselves following the 1968 departure of Syd Barrett. Not only did the band survive Barrett’s departure, but it went on to release landmark albums that continue to influence generations of musicians and fans.

Bill Kopp is a lifelong music enthusiast, musician, collector, and music journalist. His writing has been featured in music magazines including Bass Guitar, Record Collector, Prog, and Shindig! (all in Great Britain), as well as Billboard, Electronic Musician, Goldmine, Trouser Press, Ugly Things, and more than a dozen alternative weekly newspapers. He is the Jazz Desk Editor and Prog Editor at BLURT online and has written liner note essays for 20 albums, including titles by Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Larry Coryell, Edgar Winter, Rick Wakeman, the Ventures, Dave Mason, and Iron Butterfly. He has interviewed several hundred musicians and music industry figures of note, and his musoscribe.com blog features thousands of music reviews, essays, and interviews. Follow him on Twitter @the_musoscribe.

Introduction Historical and musical contextualization of early Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett as leader Discussion of the group's reliance on Barrett Apples and Oranges: 1967- Defining characteristics in Barrett's songwriting and musical approach This early period features a band focused almost solely on the compositions, vocals and distinctive guitar work of Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett, the group's original leader. The studio songs of this period are characterized by a childlike wonder, filtered through the influences of English classical literature and LSD. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and singles - Barrett's studio work as an exemplar of "Summer of Love" musical ethosReaction in G: Cambridge St/ation - Pink Floyd's live shows of the era were distinctly different from the band's studio output, and would provide more of a template for the band's future direction.BBC One: Continu/ation - Live performances for radio bridged the gap between the band's live and studio approaches. Point Me at the Sky: 1968 - Syd leaves; the band begins again in his shadow Reeling from the loss of both its leader and management, Pink Floyd struggles to develop new material that continues where Syd Barrett;s music left off. Searching for a Sound: A Saucerful of Secrets - Losing its leader halfway through the making of an album means Pink Floyd has to draw upon its live set for ideas. The group quickly moves away form pop song structure.Soundtrack One: Tonite Let's All Make Love in London - Without even trying, the band makes its first foray into the world of film soundtrack work.BBC Two: Germin/ation and Continua/tion - The band works hard for commercial success via multiple television appearances and additional soundtrack work (The Committee) The Narrow Way: 1969 - Developing a distinct identity Guitarist David Gilmour takes on a more active role. The loss of the band's primary songwriter and creative visionary found the group adrift artistically, searching for a new and distinctive musical direction. Nonetheless, some of the group's most enduring work was creative during this period of exploration and experimentation, setting the tone for the future. Soundtrack Two: More - Pink Floyd makes its first serious journey into the world of composiing music for motion pictures.Live work vs. Studio Experiments: Ummagumma - Double-album highlights the group beginning to reconcile the differences between its live performance and studio work; the lines between the two begin to blur.The Man and the Journey: Dramatis/ation - An early conceptual work aims to combine scattered individual songs into a cohesive, semi-narrative extended work, presaging The Dark Side of the MoonRemergence: 1970 - Increased musical risks yield rewards and setbacks Pink Floyd explores long-form musical composition in live performance while pursuing soundtrack opportunities that showcase a different side of the band and provide clues to the future. Epic song structure: Atom Heart Mother - Expanding its sound to include a full orchestra and choir, the group collaborates closely with avant-garde composer Ron Geesin.Soundtrack Three: Zabriskie Point - The band's ambient-leaning tendencies are explored in a suite of songs and incidental music created for film.Soundtrack Four: Music from The Body - Album marks the first outside venture by a Pink Floyd member (post-Syd Barret) and develops some musical ideas that will reappear on The Dark Side of the Moon.BBC Three: Devi/ation - Developed onstage rather than in the studio, the band's extended set-pieces preview the direction Pink Floyd's music would take for the rest of its time as a group. Biding My Time: 1971 - In-depth pursuit of promising musical approaches Learning from the experience of working with a collaborator, the group retreats into itself, combining its strengths onto a single album. Refining the Formula: Meddle - Continuing its approach of developing long-form musical works onstage, Pink Floyd creates one of its most enduring work. BBC Four: Reverber/ation - Once again the band reconciles its studio work (specifically, pop-length songs) with long-form explorations; BBC performances of this era are the most accurate representations of the band's growth. Odds and Ends: Relics - Scattered non-album tracks and previously-unreleased material shows both how the band has changed and maintained some of its original ideas. Burning Bridges: 1972 - Leaving Syd's influence behind and looking to the future A distinct musical personality emerges, and the group once again attempts collaboration with outside artists, most notably filmmaker Adrian Maben and ballet choreographer Roland Petit. Soundtrack Four: La Valée (Obscured by Clouds) - Pink Floyd embarks on its final film soundtrack project.Wot's . Uh the Deal: Obfusc/ation - The band attempts to combine music and ballet, with mixed results.Echoes: Live at Pompeii - A live performance in ancient coliseum ruins serves as the final word on Pink Floyd's transitional years, while previewing the future. The Great Gig in the Sky: 1973 - Creating the perfect album The synthesis of everything the band has learned in the previous five years. Perfecting the Formula: The Dark Side of the Moon Oh, By the Way: 1974 and Beyond Conclusion