PINK FLOYD
The Later Years: 1987-2019
(Columbia)
Three years ago, Pink Floyd celebrated
The Early Years: 1965-1972 with a breath-
taking collection that celebrated the semi-
nal psychedelic rock act’s origin and evo-
lution along the path toward Dark Side of
the Moon. Ensuing albums with bassist
and songwriter Roger Waters including
Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall
(and to a diminished degree The Final Cut)
speak for themselves. Following Waters’
departure from the band, the trio of gui-
tarist David Gilmour, drummer Nick
Mason, and keyboardist Richard Wright
carried the standard, albeit without a
measure of Waters’ undeniable lyrical acu-
men. It’s nonetheless an era well worth
examining, particularly in terms of
Gilmour’s gifts as an arranger, vocalist,
and singular guitarist. The Later Years:
1987-2019 offers an immersive opportuni-
ty to do so.
You’ll need to clear the coffee table just
to open The Later Years. In true Floydian
fashion, the set is built to an epic scale, pre-
senting a feast for the eyes and ears.
Sixteen discs capture album and concert
footage on CD, DVD, and Blu-ray. Open
the reproduction programs from tours for
A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Delicate Sound
of Thunder, and The Division Bell and imag-
ine that you just bought them on the way
to your seat while watching one of four
concert films. The Delicate Sound of Thunder
and Pulse concert films are beautifully
restored on Blu-ray and DVD. “Terminal
Frost” and “Welcome to the Machine”
have been restored to the Thunder setlist.
Two previously unreleased films include a
1989 concert from Venice on a floating
stage near St. Mark’s Square before 200,000
fans and another from Knebworth in 1990.
The Knebworth film features a surround
mix for the you-are-here experience of lis-
tening from the crowd.
A large, hardback book features 60
pages of photos, including many examples
of
beloved
curmudgeon
Storm
Thorgerson’s fascinating designs. These
images became emblematic of Pink
Floyd’s music – even though the Division
Bell tour program explains the band
allegedly once tried to get rid of him.
“Remember
The
Wall?,”
reads
Thorgerson’s presumably self-penned bio.
“Some say he’s a nightmare to work with
...and they’re right,” he cheekily adds. A
second hardback book includes 40 pages
of liner notes for the set’s five primary
audio CDs.
A binder of memorabilia includes repro-
duction concert tickets, backstage passes,
frame-worthy tour-posters, and a pair of
7” singles.The Division Bell’s “Lost for
Words” is captured on vinyl from a 1994
Pulse tour rehearsal at Earl’s Court in
London. The confessional lyric, written by
Gilmour with his spouse and noted author
Polly Samson encapsulates the album’s
theme of broken lines of communication.
It’s easy to project the image of a rejected
olive branch onto the rift at the time
between Gilmour and Waters. The song’s
acoustic intro echoes the former band-
mates’ once-harmonious partnership
heard on “Wish You Were Here.” The other
7” platter features a performance of Floyd
founder Syd Barrett’s “Arnold Layne,”
recorded in 2007 at a tribute concert in
London dubbed “The Madcap’s Last
Laugh.” The performance also appears
among the video features. The song com-
prises the heady shimmer of Wright’s
organ playing with lead vocals during the
trio’s final public performance. Wright
passed away the following year.
The Later Years includes revealing high-
definition audio and surround mixes of A
Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division
Bell. Discs of previously unreleased mate-
rial include live films and music videos.
Surprising inclusions here include the con-
cert screen films projected behind the band
during staples like “Time,” “Money,” and
“Brain Damage.” Another disc includes
documentaries including director Ian
Emes unreleased film for career capstone,
2014’s The Endless River. Also included is a
30-minute batch of unreleased instrumen-
tal tracks from The Division Bell sessions,
including jams recorded as the band,
explored riffs, interludes, and solos. The
swinging “Blues 1” and “Dave’s Blues”
feature Gilmour’s inimitable soloing.
“Slippery Guitar” glides along like “Us
and Them” with the intuitive interplay
between Wright and Gilmour and a catchy,
melodic riff. The “Marooned Jam” is pro-
pelled by Mason’s deft touch. An early
version of “High Hopes” reveals the
development of the melancholy ode to lost
innocence with a different arrangement,
the occasional swapped lyric, and an alter-
nate rhythm underpinning a different gui-
tar solo at the song’s climax.
The set’s centerpiece is a creative new
remix of 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of
Reason made from the original master
tracks, but with significant (and welcome)
additions. The 2019 mix incorporates more
of Wright’s keyboard parts than were used
in Bob Ezrin’s original production.
24 illinoisentertainer.com january 2020
Continued on page 47
4 Night Residency
By Ed Spinelli
photo by Shervin Lainez
lorida's legendary Tedeschi Trucks
Band, led by married blues guitarists
Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks,
return to the Chicago Theatre for a 4-night
run over two weekends in January. TTB
has redefined blues and soul over their
decade together, powered and defined best
by the debut album **Revelator. IE's Ed
Spinelli talked with Derek Trucks as he
readied his all-star band for their mini-res-
idency on State Street. F that’s all pretty firmly rooted in Chicago.
So I don’t think it’s wrong (laughing)! We
were down at Dockery Farms outside of
Cleveland, Mississippi - that’s where
Charlie Patten was, and Wolf was down
there, and there’s a lot of history down
there. So that’s kind of a different version
of it. I think it’s possible to have multiple
homes. But it isn’t really one of those
things where you could argue that
[Chicago] isn’t [the home of the blues].
IE: We’re looking forward to your upcom-
ing concerts at the Chicago Theatre (Jan
17, 18) and then again the following
weekend (Jan. 24, 25). One question,
though, why not just book the entire
week?
Derek Trucks: We’ve thought about it
(laughs). Maybe we’re working toward it,
baby steps. IE: Do you remember the first record you
bought with your own money?
DT: Ooh. You know, I think the first CD I
bought was a Best of the Blues compila-
tion, and it was the first time I heard
Howlin’ Wolf. "Tail Dragger" was the Wolf
track. There were a few Bobby Bland tracks
on there. Yeah, it was one of the $5.99 blues
compilation specials.
IE: During your stay here, do you plan on
hitting Buddy Guy’s?
D: We get out as much as we can, and it’s
always nice to go see Buddy. In the last few
years, he’s been playing his club around
the same time [we've been in town], which
has been really nice. So yeah, that’s always
on the to-do list! IE: Did you ever take guitar lessons?
DT: I did, I did. My dad played a little gui-
tar, so he showed me what he knew, and
then he called one of his friends over. He
used to be in a band with my uncle (Butch
Trucks of the Allman Brothers) —it was a
band called Trucks in the ‘80s, it was my
uncle and a few musicians from North
Florida—and this guitar player called Jim
Graves would come over. I took a handful
of lessons with him, and I started sitting in
with him at an open mic thing at a blues
club in Jacksonville. I was around nine
years old at the time. And then one thing
led to another.
IE: Do you consider Chicago the home of
the blues? Or are we just full of our-
selves?
DT: There are a few different homes, but if
we’re talking about electric blues, I don’t
think anyone thinks of anywhere else.
[Chicago] is where I think of. You think of
Muddy Waters, and you think of Little
Walter, and Howlin’ Wolf, even though
those guys came from Mississippi and the
deep south. I think a lot of the music that
we play and a lot of the music that spurred
the whole movement, you know, like the
Allman Brothers, Clapton, those guys,
IE: You are one of the few guitar players
that don’t use picks – do you have the
scars to prove it?
DT: Yeah, callouses, and blisters come and
go. If I don’t play for a week or so, the blis-
ters come back, but if I keep playing, then
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