#OTD 1994: Pink Floyd's masterpiece 'The Division Bell' is released

‘The Division Bell’ celebrates its 30th anniversary. An album I purchased on its release day, and one that continues to captivate me and bring me solace just as it did when I was 16 years old. A timeless masterpiece.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Album review: The Orb and David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres in Colour

I finally listened to David Gilmour's collaboration with The Orb, 'Metallic Spheres in Colour,' the recently released remixed and amended version of their 2010 album, ‘Metallic Spheres.’ Not being too deeply into electronic music or especially knowledgeable about it, I never did bother ever checking out the original 2010 release. No matter, I do enjoy this. The blend of Gilmour's timeless guitar work - indeed, he is in absolute fine form - and the electronic beats is seamless. While not catering to typical Pink Floyd fans who only care about the old radio hits - no ‘rawk n roll’ on this record, folks - it echoes 1970s German 'Krautrock,' which is another positive in its favour. Suitable for meditation or background listening, I will likely buy a physical copy sooner or later, and it is worth exploring on the streaming platforms for the more musically adventurous among thee.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST.

Ten notable albums each from the first quarters of 1974, 1984, and 1994

MCA Records

Looking back fifty years, to 1974. In no particular order, ten good-to-great albums that were released between January and March of that year: JONI MITCHELL - ‘Court and Spark’; STEELY DAN - ‘Pretzel Logic’; CARLY SIMON - ‘Hotcakes’; CAMEL - ‘Mirage’; FRANK ZAPPA - ‘Apostrophe’; KING CRIMSON - ‘Starless and Bible Black’; WEATHER REPORT - ‘Mysterious Traveller’; HARMONIA - ‘Musik von Harmonia’; ROY HARPER - ‘Valentine’; and TANGERINE DREAM - ‘Phaedra.’ Remember, this list covers only the first three months of 1974, and I believe only ‘Court and Spark’ and ‘Pretzel Logic’ would be likely to make my top ten albums of the entire year. A task I may or may not tackle some other time.

Berlin singer Terri Nunn. Photo: Geffen Records

Looking back forty years, to 1984. In no particular order, ten good-to-great albums that were released between January and March of that year: PRETENDERS - ‘Learning to Crawl’; THE SMITHS - s/t; QUEEN - ‘The Works’; ALAN PARSONS PROJECT - ‘Ammonia Avenue’; SPINAL TAP - ‘This is Spinal Tap’ soundtrack; DAVID GILMOUR - ‘About Face’; BERLIN - ‘Love Life’; KING CRIMSON - ‘Three of a Perfect Pair’; JOE JACKSON - ‘Body and Soul’; and MARILLION - ‘Fugazi.’ Despite being a child all throughout the 1980s, I am not keen on the music and culture of the decade; yet, I had to fill a spot and it was not going to be with all the hair metal bands that were becoming prevalent (Tap aside, naturally). Remember, this list covers only the first three months of 1984, and whether any of these records would be likely to make my top ten albums of the entire year is an open question.

Geffen Records

Looking back thirty years, to 1994. In no particular order, ten good-to-great albums that were released between January and March of that year: ALICE IN CHAINS - ‘Jar of Flies’; TORI AMOS - ‘Under the Pink’; NINE INCH NAILS - ‘The Downward Spiral’; SOUNDGARDEN - ‘Superunknown’; PINK FLOYD - ‘The Division Bell’; MEAT PUPPETS - ‘Too High to Die’; MARK LANEGAN - ‘Whiskey for the Holy Ghost’; ALISON MOYET - ‘Essex’; FAILURE - ‘Magnified’; and MARILLION - ‘Brave.’ At the age of sixteen, I found myself amidst a momentous epoch for rock music. Verily, it was the last period where rock-based music was dominant in the marketplace. Remember, this list covers only the first three months of 1994, and of these releases only ‘The Division Bell’ and ‘Superunknown’ - and quite possibly ‘Jar of Flies’ - would be absolutely guaranteed to make my top ten albums of the entire year. 

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST.

From the official Pink Floyd site on YouTube and in conjunction with the Perth Observatory, the Ningaloo eclipse in Exmouth, Western Australia, set to ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ in its entirety

AI generated image

Having just watched this incredible footage as I post, and being a bit groggy at six in the morning as I lay here in my bed, I can tell you that it is a very moving experience. Almost as amazing as the wonders of nature is how the collective piece of music such as ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ - or Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir,’ or any number of great symphonic pieces across a range of rock, jazz, and classical subgenres - can retain its majesty and its power across - quite literally - thousands of listens over the course of decades. Also, how certain artists from the Progressive Rock era of the 70s - David Gilmour, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, to name a few - continue to find ways to remain innovative in their old age, and are still among the most ‘progressive’ musical artists alive today. 

Copyright 2023, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on TWITTER, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, and POST - @arthurnewhook.

On This Date, 1977: YES releases 'Going for the One'

YES onstage in 1977. From Left to Right: Alan White, Steve Howe, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, and Chris Squire. Getty Images/BBC

YES: Going for the One - Released on this day in 1977. A timeless, flawless album that nonetheless sounded out of place for its time and in its environment. The United Kingdom was in a very dark mood in 1977, exemplified musically by the burgeoning Punk Rock movement, and also brilliantly reflected by Pink Floyd on their masterpiece of that year, ‘Animals.’ YES is still operating very much in the spirit of the Summer of Love here, so in the context of 1977 ‘Going for the One’ was viewed as an anachronism and out-of-touch. In spite of that, the album managed to sell fairly well (and in spite of a truly awful choice for cover art, featuring a naked man’s buttocks, that undoubtedly turned off Middle American male teenagers who otherwise were lapping this stuff up in the ‘70s. Remember, we’re talking about 1977, and even now we are not as enlightened in matters of sexuality as we pretend to believe. However, let’s also be clear that one does not have to be a raging homophobe to not want to look at another person’s bare ass, but I digress.) YES even managed to notch their highest-charting single ever in the UK, ‘Wonderous Stories’ (peaked at No. 7. By contrast, their biggest American single - the No. 1 ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ from 1983, only peaked at No. 28 in the UK.) Rick Wakeman’s return to the band after being away for close to three years no doubt helped sales, even in the midst of a pretty vicious backlash against Progressive Rock in the UK. The unfortunate choice of cover art, however, was made worse by the fact that the imagery had absolutely nothing to do with the contents of the album. With its depiction of a naked man standing in front of the Century Towers in Los Angeles, the cover suggests something futuristic, but pretty much all of ‘Going for the One’ is nostalgic and/or pastoral in nature. The Chris Squire standout ‘Parallels’ - arguably the most modern-sounding track - opens with a glorious Rick Wakeman organ line straight out of the Baroque Era. The emotional and sweeping Steve Howe showcase ‘Turn of the Century’ is not looking forward to the coming Millennium, but is rather wistful for the Victorian Age. The two tracks that make up side two - the UK radio hit ‘Wonderous Stories’ and the supremely majestic epic ‘Awaken’ - speak to matters that transcend time and space. Even the raucous opening title track - one of the hardest-rocking songs in the entire YES catalog - looks back a couple decades with its Rockabilly flourishes via Steve Howe’s steel guitar. ‘Going for the One’ is an album that is accessible enough for more mainstream and casual listeners, and still pleasing to the devoted fans who demand complexity and unconventionality. By my count, YES has exactly eight albums that are basically perfect from beginning-to-end - all of them recorded between 1971 and 1983, with only one record in that entire period not being up to par, 1978’s ‘Tormato.’ ‘Going for the One’ is a vibrant, life-affirming record, and the sound of the most masterful musicians of their age at the height of their magical powers. With the recent passing of drummer Alan White and the passing of Chris Squire in 2015, this record has only taken on more poignancy for me. As essential a record as there is.

GRADE: A+

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Inaugural Post: Hey Hey Rise Up

Please continue to stream and download 'Hey Hey Rise Up.' All proceeds go to Ukrainian relief efforts. - 

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