What is the cover of "Wish you were here" supposed to signify?

That is great.

 

Better yet, how about an interpretation of the original cover of "Animals"?

 

I vaguely remember a television commercial here (Boston) - but I suppose that's a topic for another thread.

 

There are a couple of great books written by Storm about his artwork. I have Mind Over Matter: The Images of Pink Floyd and Taken By Storm. I highly recommend both. While Mind Over Matter is only about Pink Floyd, Taken By Storm talks about covers that were designed for various bands (such as Zep, The Cranberries, Floyd).

 

This may be obvious to some, but "burned" by whom? I think I know the answer, but it wasn't stated in the original post.

 

In the above pics one of the buildings is #20, in the other it's not there...

 

Amazingly I think I just got it! After looking since 1984! Thanks mrjinks! I was always looking in the trees above.

 

I remember looking and looking. Then I saw it.
Here's a scan from my LP: (Don't think it's too much for this forum after seeing that one "ever buy an LP because of the cover" thread)

 

A quick question: Vernon, you describe the man who's being burned as not being present (lest he get burned). I'm still confused by this. How is he not present?

I could have sworn through my years of reading on Pink Floyd, the album cover also dealt with the callousness of the industry. That one man's on fire while the other man hardly seems to notice certainly says something in and of itself.

 

If the artwork represents the album, as I mentioned, I get the connection of the lyrics to Syd Barrett (absent mentally and physically from the band). I take the "getting burned" as being by EMI.

 

The description of the cover, including the absence elements, etc., etc. is all contained in The Stories Behind The Sleeves: 100 Best Album Covers by Storm Thorgerson & Aubrey Powell. Wish You Were Here is discussed on Pages 150 and 151.

 

You can see in this sequence the guy lighting the fire, and the fire extinguisher smoke at the end.

 

the absence is Syd, right?

I mean, it's pretty obvious that it's (S)hine on (Y)ou crazy (D)iamond and it ends with a quote from See Emily Play, so I always just thought the deal with the devil was leaving Syd sitting outside the studio on the Saucerfull sessions and going on to fame without him

sorry if that's all obvious, but nobody has mentioned Syd, who basically haunted DSOTM and WYWH

(and even showed up at the session and basically told them that the record sounded dated...)

 

Syd haunted "Wish you were here" conceptually. But isn't it Syd Barrett who can be heard on "Dark Side of the Moon" laughing at the beginning? And then again towards the middle you can hear him say "I can't think of anything to say..." and then that same laughter again?

 

But it is possible that the picture of an invisible man in a suit on the desert sands was a possible reference to a rumored unreleased song "Desert Love", apparently Pink Floyd's regretful reaction to having permitted their name and photo to be used for a French print advertising campaign which advertised some French drink. In other words, the image of the invisible man in a suit with a Pink Floyd record as a reference to "selling out".

 

By anybody. Think figuratively.

People use different forms of absence as a defense mechanism to avoid unwanted situations.

Vernon Fitch
www.PinkFloydArchives.com

 

I don't think so.

 

Cool!

 

Question about the back of this title's art work on CD. Sorry, I searched but failed. Could someone post a thread link to a discussion of how to identify a version of the CD that's mastered as two tracks?

 

Thanks for posting this - I see her clear as day now

 

Yes... and I see something ELSE to the right of the woman as clear as day, too.. nobody else see's it?

 

ah, no.

the Wish You Were Here sessions was the first time Gilmour had seen Syd since working with him for his second solo album late 1970. they didn't even recognize him at first.

 

Yes, I read in a book (I think it was Saucerful of Secrets) that Syd wanted to play on "Wish you were here" but they declined to let him

 

I wish I could could some kind soul highlight where she is?