Below, I rank the Pink Floyd studio albums (not counting The Division Bell, The Final Cut, or soundtracks) and place them in one of four categories from best to worst. Oh My God
represents the best of the best, the cream of the crop, what is or should be considered among the greatest albums of all time. Kick Ass
is for creative genius and musical brilliance with some imperfections. Not Too Shabby
contains albums with a mix of songs ranging from pretty good to totally forgettable. What The Fuck?
is for albums that tried hard, but failed big. Selections will then be explained briefly.
- Oh My God: The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here
- Kick Ass: Saucerful of Secrets, Meddle, Ummagumma, The Wall
- Not Too Shabby: Atom Heart Mother, A Momentary Lapse of Reason
- What the Fuck?: Animals
Oh My God
Piper and Dark Side need no explanation. The music on Wish is just as good as Dark Side, perhaps even better, but doesn’t cohere as a whole as well as Dark Side.
Kick Ass
Saucerful contains one major flop (See-Saw) and its version of Set The Controls is not as good as Ummagumma’s, but the rest of the songs are sonic gold. Meddle, unfortunately, suffers from several songs that just aren’t up to snuff (San Tropez and Seamus). What it lacks, however, is more than made up for by One of These Days and Echoes, which are, in my opinion, the best songs ever created by Pink Floyd, period. Ummagumma is Pink Floyd at their most avant-garde, experimental peak. The live tracks are as good if not better than the album versions and the studio tracks break musical conventions in a way that is intellectually and affectively stimulating, but not always accessible. The Wall is simply incredible. The music is beautiful and the artistry masterful. Unfortunately, it is stretched out too much, changes styles too frequently, and therefore never reaches a tight cohesiveness or is able to really get going and build up to something more than the sum of its parts.
Not Too Shabby
The first track of Atom Heart, a 24 minute, six part suite of music, is really good and so is Summer ‘68, but the rest is mediocre filler. Pink Floyd made a jarring departure from their usual quality of sound and artistry for unsophisticated ‘80s pop rock in Lapse of Reason (an appropriate title). And yet for what it is, it’s not that bad, especially compared to music in the same vein elsewhere.
What The Fuck?
Pink Floyd flunked out on Animals, which has only one descent song (Sheep). Pigs (Three Different Ones) is listenable thanks to its political angst and groovy chorus, but the rest of the album is worthless. Ha ha, charade it is.
It is clear that when responding properly, humans accept what God says or does. They then transmit this content into, or actualize it in, their own existence and, hence, carry on God’s own work and word. Rather than doing what God does not do, they continue God’s own work by actualizing it. The actualization of God’s own work in the world is both the matrix of and the criterion for the Old Testament’s ethos.
Rolf Knierim, On the Task of Old Testament Theology
, Reading the Hebrew Bible for a New Millenium: Form, Concept and Theological Perspective, p.32
The Yahwist considers human history as fallen out of paradise, the earthly sphere of the order of creation. In this consideration, paradise apparently means more than only the beginning of human history. It is the mirror of true reality, the reality of creation in view of which human history is evaluated. . . . Paradise may be lost as history. However, it is not lost as the constant reminder of the true place to which history belongs–creation–nor as the reminder of the fact that history is removed from creation, and not creation from history.
Rolf Knierim, The Task of Old Testament Theology: Substance, Methods, and Cases, p. 206
Today, the California Supreme Court hears arguments by both sides on the constitutional or non-constitutional nature of Prop 8. It may take some time before we hear the official judgment, however. As a Christian, I cannot easily condone homosexual union, but this is not a question of Christian faith, this is a question of natural liberty. Are we or should we be free to follow our personal convictions and beliefs in terms of matrimonial union or should our choices rather be coerced and controlled by outside forces such as government or majority opinion? As a Christian, I love this land, because it allows me the right to follow my religious convictions and belief instead of being coerced and controlled by someone else’s, and so I cannot but stand alongside the homosexual community in one accord and say yes, they should not be coerced or controlled and denied the ability to follow their beliefs and convictions either–even if I may disagree with those convictions or beliefs as a Christian. This is a unique opportunity for our country to either officially affirm or officially deny the nature of the liberties and freedoms protected and affirmed by our Constitution. It was only 40 years ago that black and white couples challenged laws in this country saying they could not marry and the uniquely historical Constitution of these United States is what ended the oppression, segregation, and racial bigotry of those who fought to deny blacks and whites the freedom to marry each other. May our Constitution, by God’s grace and mercy, once again shine brightly in this land today in the California courts.
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
