‘The Endless River’ by Pink Floyd is like taking a warm bath on a cold winter night. Billed as their final studio album, it is in essence a distillation of the albums of their glory years. Nowhere is this more apparent than the opening track, ‘Things Left Unsaid,’ which would not have been out of place on ‘Wish You Were Here,’ as there are striking similarities with ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond.’
But you know, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We’re talking about one of the greatest bands of all time here doing what they do best. And there’s a poignancy here as Richard Wright died soon after laying down his keyboard tracks – so maybe there’s something in this final album business after all.
And it obviously goes without saying that the rift between Roger Waters and David Gilmour carries on apace, so it appears that Live 8 really was the last chance for fans to see the whole post-Barrett Floyd together since the mid-1980s.
Another gamble that the band has taken is to make the album almost exclusively instrumental. And believe me, this is a gamble. Roger Waters and Pick Floyd generally, are known for their sweeping vocals and haunting lyrics, millions of album sales can’t be wrong. And it’s also surprising to note that the person who gets the most words out is Stephen Hawking, reprising his sample from ‘Keep Talking’.
Perhaps the greatest thing about this album is its accessibility. Floyd fans are going to want it, music lovers are going to want it, and people looking for a bit of history are going to want the last album by one of the greats. And to return to my opening analogy, I recommend running a warm bath, lighting some candles and putting ‘The Endless River’ on in the background. It’s almost the perfect way to chill out.