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Wish You Were Here |
| Produced by Pink Floyd | |
| Released on September 15, 1975 | |
| UK CHART POSITION #1 . . . US CHART POSITION #1 | |
| Find it at GEMM | |
| PC 33453 cover |
Wish You Were Here was dedicated to Syd Barrett, Pink’s leader in absentia. Arguably, so was The Dark Side of the Moon. Not surprisingly, both albums build aural dreamscapes that present themes of alienation, paranoia, controlling forces and eventual escape. The notable difference is the loss of engineer Alan Parsons; without him, the gauzy sound becomes a bit more crystallized, while the “voices in your head” subside. The album is wrapped within parts 1 through 9 of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” a direct address to Syd’s mental state at the time that features musical commentary from Gilmour’s blues-based guitar, Wright’s swirling keyboards and guest Dick Parry’s saxophone. The songs in between are some of the band’s best: “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have a Cigar” (sung by guest eccentric Roy Harper) reveal that rock stars are processed product, and “Wish You Were Here” is the poignant sigh that comes with this realization. Again, Waters is able to communicate a full story (of sorts) in a single album, remarkably without loading the songs down with narrative. While it’s not the landmark effort of Dark Side (and what followup could be?), Wish You Were Here is classic Pink Floyd from beginning to end.
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| PC 33453 back cover | PC 33453 lyric sleeve | PC 33453 picture label |
TRACK LISTING
CREDITS
DAVID GILMOUR --
NICK MASON --
ROGER WATERS --
RICK WRIGHT --
Roy Harper -- vocals (3)
Dick Parry -- saxophone
Brian Humphries -- engineer
Bernie Caulder and Phil Taylor -- thanks
Hipgnosis -- sleeve design and photography
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| REGION | RELEASE DATE | LABEL | MEDIA | ID NUMBER | FEATURES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | September 15, 1975 | Harvest | LP/LPQ/CS | available in quadrophonic stereo | |
| US | September 15, 1975 | Columbia | LP/LPQ/CS | PC/JC 33453 | postcard, lyric sleeve, available in quadrophonic stereo |
| JPN | 1975 | Sony | LP | 25AP-1258 | insert, poster, picture sleeve |
| YUG | 1975 | Jugoton | LP | LSHV-73032 | |
| UK | 1977 | Harvest | LPPIC | SHVLP-814 | picture disc |
| UK | Aug/Sep 1984 | EMI | CD | ||
| US | July 1990 | Columbia | LP/CD/CS | 33453 | |
| 1993 | Sony | CD | 53753 | ||
| UK | July 1994 | EMI | CD | ||
| 1994 | Sony | CD | 64405 | ||
| 1997 | Sony | CD | 68522 |
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