Your Favourite Richard Wright Pink Floyd Song?

Remember a Day
Sure it's mimed and edited (the single version?) and poor Richard doesn't get much screen time, but at least he doesn't have to lip sync to a non-existent microphone. A haunting tune.

 

Me too, a fantastic piece! Although I love all the studio Ummagumma.

Sysyphus, sounds more like King Crimson than Pink Floyd.

Funny that both Ummagumma and In The Court Of The Crimson King came out in 1969.

 

The whole band and even Wright have been somewhat dismissive of everything Wright did before DSOTM and it's really shortsighted and wrong. His singles are very much a highlight of early PF. He was the true inheritor of Syd's style, at least as songwriting goes.

 

Devil's Triangle!

 

I find the piano intro of "Sysyphus" (after the timpani) to be quite nice. The rest of the piece de-evolves into a grinding dirge.

 

It’s really tough choosing a favourite as I love all of these. Ultimately, I voted for Summer ‘68. So lovely.

Imagine what Pink Floyd Mk. 2 might have been like if Rick Wright had emerged as leader?

The band probably wouldn’t have hit the heights they did, but it would have been beautiful, fragile music.

 

Roger would have left, of course

 

I’d chalk at least 4/5ths of it up to Clare Torry’s vocals.

 

I think the melody is in the instrumental part. It's clearly a Wright song, with lyrics by Waters.

 

Us And Them ! But of the listed tracks, "Remember A Day".

 

Obviously, this was developed into "Us and Them" but I think it works quite well as a piano instrumental. It's beautiful.

 

When later asked, he also wrote the chorus (not the words obviously).

 

Well, Stay, Great Gig and Wearing the Inside Out are co-written (much like Us & Them) or am I wrong?

There are a few beautiful moments on The Endless River credited solely to Wright: Unsung, The Lost Art of Conversation and, most notably, Autumn '68.

Anyway, love Rick - a very sensible musician. I picked Summer '68 but it's in fact a tie with Remember A Day.

 

Summer ‘68 for me. Not too far behind in 2nd place would be either Remember a Day or Paintbox.

Doug

 

I voted for "Paintbox", but I dearly love all of them. "Remember A Day" is probably a close second.

Hell, I even love the chorus of "It Would Be So Nice" (even if the verses are absolute drivel, though even those have kinda grown on me too).

Rick always seemed like such a gentle soul. I sure wish more of his tunes had been recorded, both with Floyd, and outside of the group too.

 

Stay, for me.

I don't think that Rick was overlooked, at least not by Floyd connoisseurs. The standing ovation he (always) got when introduced by David Gilmour during the On An Island tour was proof enough. I still get goosebumps when I think of that moment.

 

A Richard Wright disc would be a superb and rewarding listen, I’m not up on my composer credits so what other joint compositions could also be included?

And maybe there’s some of his material amongst all the Zarbriskie Point outtakes as well...?

 

To everyone voting “Remember A Day”, what do you like about it so much? I think it’s a decent tune with some really nice atmosphere, but I find the beat and rhythm a little clunky.

 

I went with Stay, but I will mention The Riot Scene, Us and Them and Great Gig in the Sky. Some of the early tunes are steady and decent, but nothing on par with the other numbers. Riot Scene is obviously an early idea that became Us and Them, but it's really cool to hear its beginning stages. Stay has a cool vocal from Rick and I love the simplistic beauty it contains. One of many cool numbers on the Obscured soundtrack, for sure!

 

To me, the halting beat, beefed up by acoustic guitar, fits the piano ascending chords perfectly in bringing a childlike playfulness to the verses (Syd's expressive slide work is also crucial in setting the scenery). I don't think a regular backbeat would have worked so well there. When you get to the "Why..." parts and the beat stops, it gets reflective, like the child facing delusion. Even if it may or may not be Mason on drums here, it still feels very early-Floyd as far as the drums are concerned. As someone said earlier in the thread, Rick was very connected to Syd's musical style and this song fits Syd's cannon perfectly.

 

Richard Wright was the thread that tied that early Pink Floyd together.Loved his playing on "Cymbaline".

 

It was my vote for favorite. What do you think of Autumn '68 from Endless River? I really like how TER tips its hat to the great Rick Wright.

 

Relics was one of the first early Floyd albums I heard after Ummagumma, so I remember expecting "Remember A Day" and "Paint Box" to be heavy, dark pieces after hearing "Sysyphus" and being surprised at how light they were.

 

Moan, moan, don't see why Stay is included and Us and Them isn't as the circumstances are identical - Rick music, Roger words. But never mind, I thought I was the only one who liked See Saw and Sysphus - and as for its 'grinding dirge' well surely no more so than The Narrow Way which everybody seems to love! Ok, I can't vote because this is Beatles-esque but my favourite Rick song changes all the time so I need to sleep on it, but I love this thread. And why not this, which I have adored since I first heard it - Love Scene 4, Rick may not (I don't know) be the best uh, you-know, piano playing jazz guy, but to me this is special - doesn't Rick quietly just reveal a little gem of himself every time he writes something?

 

Surprisingly tough choices! I went with Paintbox.