Rick Wright talks about 'Piper', Live 8 and the future.

LONDON (Billboard) - Some 13 years after Pink Floyd's name last appeared on a new studio album, the group's legacy still has a powerful echo.

The widely influential British band's first album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," most of which was written by the late Syd Barrett, will be reissued August 27 in Europe by EMI and September 3 in the United States to mark the 40th anniversary of its initial release.

A deluxe three-CD edition will contain stereo and mono mixes, plus other rare and unreleased material from the era. Packaging for the set has been designed by longtime Floyd collaborator Storm Thorgerson.

Keyboard player and founding member Rick Wright, who has maintained a low profile throughout the band's history, spoke with Billboard about the anniversary, Floyd's enduring impact and his own recent work.

Q: What are your impressions after hearing the first Floyd album again?

A: "It was very interesting. There's this big difference between how we played live at the time and how we made the record. The most amazing thing was to be at Abbey Road making it and have the Beatles next door recording 'Sgt. Pepper.' I now know why 'Piper' had an influence on so many bands. I can hear punk stuff going on in there. The way Syd wrote was a huge influence on so many people."

Q: Does this album represent Syd Barrett at the height of his powers?

A: "('Piper') was his creative period, although I have to say there's some pretty amazing stuff on his two solo albums. He had an incredible way of looking at things. I remember sitting down with him one day and he wrote a song in 10 minutes. As an aspiring songwriter, I couldn't believe it. The chords weren't in time, because he was thinking only of the rhythm of the words and the melody. They were not in 4/4 time or 3/4 -- they were all over the place."

Q: What was it like reviving Barrett's songs when you played in David Gilmour's band on his 2006 tour?

A: "I sang 'Arnold Layne' live for the first time ever since it was written, and it was fantastic to do. But we never actually performed it live at the time, and I don't believe we ever performed 'See Emily Play' live. When David Bowie came and guested when I was playing with David, he said when he (first) heard Syd, he realized he could sing in an English accent.

Q: The cult of Pink Floyd shows no sign of diminishing. What's your take on it?

A: "Oh, God, I don't understand it. All you writers need to talk about that. I know we've made some great songs and great music, but I can't tell you why we're so popular. There are some dedicated Syd fans who think Floyd finished when he left the band."

Q: Did the Pink Floyd reunion at Live 8 give you any new perspective on the band and its legacy?

A: "Many people are dreaming of the band getting back together again because we did Live 8. Because of all the arguments and issues that Roger (Waters has) had with me, (and) with David, it was wonderful that we actually got up there and did it together. But we did learn something. It would be very hard for the four of us to go and do a world tour, simply because our ideas are so different musically."

Q: Are you working on any solo projects?

A: "I've got various ideas. I'm going to do an instrumental album, based on the piano, and I've (got) loads of stuff recorded. It depends how I treat the piano, and whether I need other musicians to play on it. I've got the compositions down. But it's not imminent -- hopefully next year."

Reuters/Billboard

 

That's a reason to not do an album, but how does that matter with a world tour? What do their current musical perspectives have to do with replaying old material live?

 

Yes, hopefully. In an interview in 1996 (!), when his last solo album to date, Broken China, came out, Rick said, and I quote: "Next year I will be doing another album or possibly a film soundtrack". And nothing came of it then...

Sytze

 

I reckon while they all would be happy to do DSOTM and both camps have done it separately many times, Roger is probably more keen (and would dig his heels in) on playing a fair chunk of The Final Cut and The Wall which Gilmour and Wright arent so enamoured with. Plus lets be honest, it still obvious that they just don't like each other at all, they don't need the money and they don't want the tension and strain of a multi-million dollar roadshow and all the publicity and pressures attendent with it.

 

Well if they hate each other, that's a fine reason for not touring, but just saying they have musical differences...I suppose that could be a problem in choosing which material to play to some degree. I can't believe that Roger would really want to do a big chunk of The Final Cut though. He can't be that unreasonable!

 

I mean you can just imagine the meeting to discuss money and logistics if they tentatively agreed to do a tour. Right from the off Roger's going to want to control when it happens how it happens and what the stage production will be. I should imagine Rick Wright's status in the band will be first on Rogers agenda and you can put money on him refusing to reinstate Rick as a full member of the band and tabling the notion that he remains a paid employee not getting a 25% cut of the profits. Not sure where David will stand on this but he will probably go all passive aggressive and dodge a decision. Instant aggro right from the off before they've even got to the show and how many they'll be doing. Lets face it for it to work David and Rick would be the ones to bite the bullet and back down on their opinions and demands because Roger is very agressive and confrontational. Nick would just go with the flow as usual. Can't see GIlmour agreeing to defer to Waters nowadays. He'd probably just leave the meeting get in his car go back to his country house and turn his phome off for a few weeks, end of story.

 

I would go so far as to say Waters would want to chuck in a few of his solo songs to be honest. And yes by all accounts he can be extremely unreasonable when it comes to getting his way.

 

Even playing Dark Side of the Moon will be problematic. Roger tends to prefer the exact reproduction of the album arrangement and will be a major nag for the other guys. The guy can only work as a leader/dictator. Flipping the coin, the other guys' attitude and abilities will likely frustrate Roger. Let's face it. Roger can recreate Pink Floyd better than the band itself with his band and needs the other guys for their names and faces only. Dave, Nick, and Rick do not need Roger either, for they've proven they can succeed without Roger.

 

How in the world did these guys stay together as long as they did??

 

Common goal of purpose in the early 70's to make something really artistically successful which culminated in DSOM. The momentum from the success of that took them through Wish You Were Here in '75. After that the egos and control issues started to surface and Waters began to believe as the primary songwriter that it was his band, his vision and the others were passengers. As a proper band Floyd ceased to function after the Animals tour in 1977. The Wall was Rogers thing 100%, he sacked Rick Wright and in collusion with Bob Ezrin he marginalised Dave Gilmour massively as any kind of creative force using mind games and psychology. I think they accrued massive debts in the 70's touring so that forced the others to stay on board to get them out of that hole. By the time of the Final Cut Nick Mason has lost interest in music for cars and planes and was mostly usurped by Andy Newmark, Wright was gone and Gilmour was a de-facto session guitarist in Rogers band when he deigned to use him. Like i say Floyd died in 1977 as a real band.

For them to reform now even a just a live band they would probably have to go back not to 1980 but to the dynamic they had between 1973-75 to make it work. Even then that would mean Gilmour would have to cede about 60% control to Roger as the de-facto leader and Roger would have to agree that Dave and Rick have a big say in the musical decisions as important lieutenants. In 2007 Dave would want 50/50 control and Roger would want maybe 80/20 so its a no deal. 60/40 makes it work.

 

I think the Live 8 post concert interview with David Gilmour put it into perspective. When he was asked about playing with Roger he said it was "interesting" but in a very flat tone as if he was trying to control his true feelings.

It's been stated pretty clearly--Dave, Rick and Nick succeeded on their own as "Pink Floyd" while Roger has done the same with his tour and performances so, really, there's no need for them to feel they have to get back together.

Roger also doesn't strike me as someone with a lot of insight into his actions/results of his actions. He and Dave have said some hateful things about each other over the years and it's pretty hard to put that aside. Unlike, say, Lennon & McCartney they didn't grow up together or have a specific common bond (like Lennon's mother being killed and McCartney's dying of breast cancer) at an early age as well. Those type of bonds tend to be stronger than those established in adulthood.

 

I would say things like money, greed and ego took over once the band's profile skyrocketed after DSOTM.

If you watch Pink Floyd at Pompeii, the band seems pretty close. Granted, it's an edited together feature, but they seem to have a rapport. There's even a picture in the Nick Mason book of Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters with one of their arms around each other. Nick Mason and Roger Waters have rekindled their old friendship; it seems that Mason is the only one able to remain neutral in the Gilmour v Waters camp.

 

In recent interviews, Roger Waters seemed downright concilliatory to the other three and quite receptive to any reunion possiblity. From everything I've read, Gilmour is the holdout who flatly rejected working together on any reunion tour. I don't know any of them personally, of course, but you could interpret Wright's answers as still leaving the door open a little: saying "it would be very hard because of musical differences" could be translated as "I might if you allow me a bit more musical input". In any case, it's not a flat "NO!" like Gilmour's answer.

Feel free to disagree, of course...

 

Any chance of Vegetable Man and Scream Thy Last Scream being officially released (finally)?

Apologies if this has been asked to death already, I haven't read any other recent threads on the subject.

 

I think there is a chance they will be released at some point but they won't be on the Piper set. We are getting 2 unreleased, unbooted tracks. A version of Matilda from their first Abbey Rd session and a 5 mintue live in the studio blast through Interstellar recorded during the Piper sessions..

 

Pink Floyd's finances

Pink Floyd's debts at the time of The Wall weren't related to their touring activities (which were profitable) but rather a series of bad investments related to their association with UK financier Andrew Warhburg. He swindled millions from them and consequently PF was in a rare position of weakness with regard to the recording of The Wall (CBS offered them an exorbitant up-front guarantee at the completion of the record). Their need to cover debts led to Rick Wright's ouster from the bands at the hands of Roger Waters (Waters threatened to withhold the album if Wright didn't sign away membership rights, and Gilmour & Mason would have been unlikely to acquiese to Roger if they hadn't needed the $$ so badly; consequently, finishing the album was of paramount importance).

FYI, to an earlier post, Wright may not have said explicitly that he wouldn't tour with Roger Waters, but in a rare London interview at the time of the release of the PULSE DVD he essentially said he would not want to do it. Tellingly, Rick did explicity say he'd happily tour with the 1987-1994 Floyd if Gilmour wanted to do it again (he doesn't). As a "next best thing", of course, Wright worked on Gilmour's recent solo album and toured as part of his band, which also had longtime Floyd sidesmen Guy Pratt (bass), Jon Carin (keys), and Dick Parry (sax).