I came for Stéphane Grappelli and stayed for “Brain Damage.” Inexpert in Pink Floyd lore, I hadn’t known the jazz violinist appeared on the title track of the band’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here. A friend told me the eighth track on the massive 50th anniversary edition of Wish You Were Here includes a mix emphasizing Grappelli’s wistful contribution.
Pink Floyd stood in musical and cultural opposition to the things I claimed to embrace as a teen. In the 1970s, a lot of people I knew would get loaded before attending late-night Dark Side of the Moon-themed laser shows at planetariums. How pathetic!
Even so, I always had a soft spot for Wish You Were Here. I’m particularly fond of the choruses of the title track and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” The new set offers insights into the development of each song. I even liked hearing live versions of Dark Side of the Moon material on the new box.
A forced immersion experience, a Roger Waters concert in 2022 and my pandemic-era opera initiative necessitate a personal reevaluation of Pink Floyd. The last of these experiences allows me to connect the sturm und drang of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” to Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. If this troubling trend reaches its logical conclusion, I’ll be staggering around planetariums in 2030.
