Wish You Were Here is another of the Iconic Album Covers collection. It seems strange to me now to think that this album was on the shelves by the time The KISS Age started. I saw it there in the record stores. I wondered about the significance of the man on fire.
At this point in My Musical Evolution, Pink Floyd was still defined by The Wall, Dark Side Of The Moon and most recently, Meddle. Shortly after I bought my first Compact Disc player, my friend Scott was motivated to do likewise. He liked Pink Floyd as well and since I already had Dark Side Of The Moon, he made Wish You Were Here his first Pink Floyd CD.
I was vaguely familiar with some of the songs from this album from listening to Rock 104 but it wasn’t until Scott brought this CD over that I gave it my undivided attention. The first song I can remember being mesmerized by was Welcome To The Machine. It almost makes me laugh now because that is now my least favorite track on this album.
Is it just me or does Wish You Were Here seem to get lost in the shuffle of Pink Floyd’s catalog, often overlooked. I wonder if you asked people on the street to name 3 Pink Floyd albums, how many would remember this one. It is an amazing piece of work and yet I find myself guilty of forgetting it. My 3 would most likely be The Wall, Dark Side and Meddle, maybe even The Division Bell. I don’t know why. Wish You Were Here feels like the middle child that always behaved and got good grades but didn’t get the attention like his less successful siblings.
Every time that I’ve seen Pink Floyd in concert, it was the song Wish You Were Here that has the entire crowd singing along and really participating in the moment as a collective. It surpised me, there are so many other songs that I felt were more popular or more sing alongish yet it was the middle child that drew all those Bic lighters out into a swaying chorus.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Welcome To The Machine
Have A Cigar
Wish You Were Here