Roger Waters - I invented the Rock'n'roll spectacle

[ZiggyZipgun]

And one could argue whether Thriller is rock or pop funk I suppose but the point still stands.

One could also argue that there isn't much "rock'n'roll" on Dark Side of the Moon, and what there is of it on The Wall is a "really dumb parody" of the genre (Roger's words, not mine).

[space triangle]

..he might have provided some bloody good lyrics,

Not just that. He designed the whole concept of the DSOTM album. A whole generations have grown up listening to that album from start to finish. And besides that, Waters was also involved in creating the music for the album. It is well known he, for example, wrote the bass line for the Money.

[theaussiefloydian]

Not just that. He designed the whole concept of the DSOTM album. A whole generations have grown up listening to that album from start to finish. And besides that, Waters was also involved in creating the music for the album. It is well known he, for example, wrote the bass line for the Money.

Aye, that is all well and true. The difference here is that the music was still a collaborative effort - the middle jam of Money having a time signature change was Gilmour's idea for example, and "Any Colour You Like" - one of the best Floyd jams out there - is credited to all but Waters. And if we really want to be pedantic about that a lot of what makes that album special also came from Alan Parsons - it was him who recommended Clare Torry for The Great Gig in the Sky and the clocks at the beginning of Time was his recording too.
The ultimate point I am trying to make is that Dark Side was very much a collaborative effort with the whole band. It's that creative equilibrium that made the band legends, and it's that creative equilibrium that carried over and made Wish You Were Here my favourite Pink Floyd album.

[space triangle]

The ultimate point I am trying to make is that Dark Side was very much a collaborative effort with the whole band.

I agree with you completely. A collaborative effor is exactly what makes the DSOTM so good. Pink Floyd was on the top at that time. After that, the band slowly but unstoppably began to fall apart.

[ZiggyZipgun]

It's a good thing The Wall sold as many copies as it did, because it made up for all of the copies of his later albums that no one bought. Maybe there's so much of Roger in that album that everyone figured they had a lifetime supply.

[ZiggyZipgun]

The past forty years have proven that Dark Side and The Wall were flukes. The majority of people that bought those albums never purchased another Pink Floyd record again. There are many other artists that have sold more consistently across their entire careers, selling far more albums in total.

[space triangle]

...copies of his later albums that no one bought.

No one even bought Gilmour's solo albums 'David Gilmour' and 'About Face'. No one bought Rick's 'Wet Dream' either. Pink Floyd was a band that had an ‘iaceless’ image, and very few people knew at that time who the individual members of the band were. Especially in the time before the internet.

[theaussiefloydian]

No one even bought Gilmour's solo albums 'David Gilmour' and 'About Face'.

Which is honestly a shame because they're fairly solid LPs. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but solid tunes.

[ZiggyZipgun]

Pink Floyd was a band that had an ‘iaceless’ image, and very few people knew at that time who the individual members of the band were. Especially in the time before the internet.

In recent years, Gilmour has outsold Waters many times over, despite undertaking far fewer and much smaller tours. This may be due to copies of the album being included with ticket purchases, which Gilmour certainly did, but that also means that many more people have seen Waters live, and still didn't buy his albums.

[azza200]

Roger has also been touring with the greatest hits mindset since the DSOTM 06 tour. Which he slagged off David for doing back in the day in past interviews in the 80's & 90's but the difference with David he only tours when he has new material. It took Roger a good 20 years to release a new solo album and tour some new songs with a abridged DSOTM set list with his new material and backing mime track.

[Yucateco]

And what is the worst-selling Pink Floyd album? The goddamn Final Cut.

Nonsense. The Final Cut outsold everything before Dark Side and also Endless Bore.

[ZiggyZipgun]

Nonsense. The Final Cut outsold everything before Dark Side and also Endless Bore.

You didn't even bother to look it up. The Final Cut was released 38 years ago and has 2.5 million certified sales. The Endless River came out six and a half years ago and already has 2.5 million certified sales. Meddle has close to 2.6 million certified sales, despite being included in every boxed set. The Final Cut wasn't included in a boxed set until 2004.

[space triangle]

And what is the worst-selling Pink Floyd album? The goddamn Final Cut.

Nonsense. The Final Cut outsold everything before Dark Side and also Endless Bore.

Pink Floyd - Total World Wide Album Sales

[Yucateco]

Nonsense. The Final Cut outsold everything before Dark Side and also Endless Bore.

You didn't even bother to look it up. The Final Cut was released 38 years ago and has 2.5 million certified sales. The Endless River came out six and a half years ago and already has 2.5 million certified sales. Meddle has close to 2.6 million certified sales, despite being included in every boxed set. The Final Cut wasn't included in a boxed set until 2004.

2.5 million is US only. World wide sales are 7 million plus.

Edit: looks like Meddle did get quite a boost since I saw the numbers last time.

[ZiggyZipgun]

Jesus Christ...this chart uses a "Commensurate Sales to Popularity Concept (CSPC)" formula to "reflect the real value of an artist’s discography," whatever the hell that means. These are not sales figures, or even sales-plus-streams.