I think this album was produced well, but needed more development of the songs. E.g., I think the live version of Breakthrough with Rick singing is a big improvement on the album version.
It's a bit undercooked or something. It's a pity he didn't wait a while til he'd written some more proper songs before he made this. Breakthrough as performed with Gilmour is a nice song but it doesn't work so well here.
Having said that, kudos to him for making an album that was different to Pink Floyd. Night of a thousand furry toys could have been interesting if there had been a stronger melody and better vocals on it.
I really like most of the songs with vocals on the album, but the instrumentals ruin it for me. They're all too messy and not really going anywhere. I could say the same for "Hidden Fear" and "Blue Room In Venice", but at least the way Rick sings them sends a bit of chill through my spine.
My favorite solo album. Very atmospheric and emotional, i can never get tired of it.
This and Roger'a ATD are the pinnacle of the PF's solo careers, and are IMO as good as DSOTM, Animals (but not as great as WYWH, since nothing can be).
Has a lot of potential in places, but very little of it is particularly memorable or catching. The songs (or tunes with lyrics) tend to be quite strong (especially the last one) but on an album which is fairly unremarkable for the large part they do little to save it. Very average in my opinion. Also would have been nice to hear some piano on it rather than that constant synth
A nice cohesive album with an inmersive sound/timbre/textures/production, and interesting concept. Some very good tracks like Night of the Thousand Furry Toys, Breakdown, Hidden Fear and Along The Shoreline, but most of them are not very memorable. A solid 3 for me.
Eclipse wrote:My favorite solo album. Very atmospheric and emotional, i can never get tired of it.
This and Roger'a ATD are the pinnacle of the PF's solo careers, and are IMO as good as DSOTM, Animals (but not as great as WYWH, since nothing can be).
I do agree with you, I can never get tired of listening to it. Excellent job done by the Great Rick Wright.
I've been having a day of listening to stuff I rarely listen to and have this playing now. Not listened to it in at least 10 years. Like many of the others here I found it unmemorable but Im absolutely loving it now, not sure why its clicked, maybe its gained a resonance since Ricks passing but Im finding it a wonderful mood album with some beautiful playing and Pinhead O'Connor or not, Reaching For The Rails sent shivers down my spine. This time yesterday Id have rated this a 1, today its a 4!
OK Im ready to vote, earlier when I posted I ended up playing Reaching For The Rail 4 times in a row! Ive just got home and am now in my 3rd time in a row since returning. It gets a 5 for this! anything else on the album is a bonus!
You know, I can listen to this album almost all the way through - I say almost, because I always skip O'Connor's songs - and not fall asleep, unlike OAI. Hmmm. Rick should have done more after this album, or at least we could see another Pink Floyd album would have been quite good with his imput.
I understand that some of the material may have been rejected from the Div. Bell - Old Fat Guts made a mistake me thinks.
In hindsight, I think Gilmour and Wright should have collaborated more, even if it wasn't under the Pink Floyd umbrella. I like The Division Bell better than either On An Island or Broken China. On An Island is a bit too snoozy and content and this one is undercooked. The version of Breakthrough that Rick performed at the Meltdown show is far superior to what's on the album. A missed opportunity perhaps?
Hogtown wrote:I understand that some of the material may have been rejected from the Div. Bell - Old Fat Guts made a mistake me thinks.
As much as I read in Rick's interviews, all of the songs on "Broken China" were written well after "The Division Bell" was finished. Though "Along The Shoreline" always sounded like it was ripped right off "The Division Bell" to me.
