| The Division Bell | |||||
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| Studio album by Pink Floyd | |||||
| Released | 30 March 1994 (UK) 5 April 1994 (U.S.) |
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| Recorded | 1993 | ||||
| Genre | Progressive rock | ||||
| Length | 66:32 | ||||
| Label | EMI (UK) Columbia (U.S.) |
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| Producer | Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Pink Floyd chronology | |||||
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| Alternate covers | |||||
U.S. release cover
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European cassette cover
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The Division Bell is the most recent studio album by Pink Floyd, released in 1994 (March 30 in the United Kingdom and April 5 in the United States), and the second album without Roger Waters. It was recorded at a number of studios, including guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour's houseboat studio called The Astoria. It went to #1 in the UK and debuted at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts in April of 1994, spending 4 weeks as the top album in the country. By contrast, Pink Floyd's previous album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, had peaked at #3. The Division Bell was certified Gold, Platinum and Double Platinum in the U.S. in June of 1994 and Triple Platinum in January of 1999. Its release was accompanied by an extremely successful tour documented in the P•U•L•S•E album released the following year.
Contents |
History
Before the Roger Waters-led period, David Gilmour stated that the music and lyrics were in balance, and the importance of the music was understood. The Division Bell's atmosphere is spacier, sounding more like Meddle or Obscured by Clouds than the grittier and harsher tones of Animals or The Wall. David Gilmour and Richard Wright stated on "In the Studio with Redbeard", which spotlighted The Division Bell (including interviews which were recorded for The Division Bell's world premiere special aired one week before its U.S. release) that the album was the band's best since their 1975 release Wish You Were Here. This release marks the first time Richard Wright had sung lead vocals on a Pink Floyd album since 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon, although he did provide backing vocals for Wish You Were Here, Animals and A Momentary Lapse of Reason. It also marks his first songwriting credit on a Pink Floyd album since Wish You Were Here. The track "Marooned" was awarded a Grammy in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1994. This has been Pink Floyd's only Grammy to date. EMI concocted an Internet-based "puzzle" known as the Publius Enigma in connection with the album's release. Officially, it was never solved.
Structure
Douglas Adams, the author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, chose the name of the album, being a friend of David Gilmour. This came about because the three band members could not agree on an album title (with both "Pow Wow" and "Down to Earth" being suggested). When Gilmour told Adams about the problem, Adams quickly responded that he had a title, but that he would only tell Gilmour if he would donate £25,000 to the Save the Rhino foundation [1]. Gilmour agreed and the name, taken from a line in the final track, "High Hopes", was suggested. The phrase itself derives from the division bell, which is rung in the British House of Commons, and some other legislatures, to signal the commencement of a division (vote) to Members of Parliament. Despite no specific over-arching concept, there is a musical connection between the songs in the form of a linking theme of communication and the lack of it.[2] Tracks such as "What Do You Want from Me", "A Great Day for Freedom" and "Take It Back" seem chiefly concerned with communication problems within relationships, while "Keep Talking" is more generally about the importance of maintaining a dialogue and the dangers of allowing oneself to become insular. Samples of Professor Stephen Hawking from a telephone company advertisement provide the spoken word portions of "Keep Talking". While some songs can be interpreted as references to the then ongoing relationship problems between Pink Floyd members, especially the long-standing estrangement between David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Gilmour denies that the album is an allegory for the split and acknowledges only "a couple of hinted mentions that could or could not have something to do with him [Waters]".[3] At the end of the album, Gilmour's stepson, Charlie, can be heard hanging up the telephone on Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke, who had pleaded to be allowed to appear on a Pink Floyd album.
Artwork
Coordinates:
The cover artwork, by long-time Pink Floyd collaborator Storm Thorgerson, shows two metal head sculptures, each over three metres tall and weighing 1500 kilograms. They were placed in a field in Cambridgeshire and photographed under all weather and lighting conditions over a two-week period, sometimes with visual effects such as lights between them. Ely Cathedral is visible in the background, as are lights (actually car headlights on poles), shown through the sculptures' mouths. Rumours circulated at the time of the photography that they were in excess of 20 metres high; this was not true. The sculptures are now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The cover photograph is slightly different on each format, and between the United States Columbia and British EMI releases. The Braille writing on the EMI CD jewel case spells Pink Floyd. Two additional head sculptures were made of stone and photographed in the same manner; although they do not appear in the CD artwork, they appeared on the cassette cover, and can be seen in the tour brochure and elsewhere. The artwork inside the lyric booklet revolves around a similar theme, except the heads are made up of various other objects, such as newspapers ("A Great Day for Freedom"), coloured glass ("Poles Apart"), and boxing gloves ("Lost for Words").
Track listing
All lead vocals performed by David Gilmour unless stated otherwise.
- "Cluster One" (David Gilmour, Richard Wright) – 5:58
- Instrumental
- "What Do You Want from Me" (Gilmour, Wright, Polly Samson) – 4:21
- "Poles Apart" (Gilmour, Wright, Samson, Nick Laird-Clowes) – 7:04
- "Marooned" (Gilmour, Wright) – 5:29
- Instrumental
- "A Great Day for Freedom" (Gilmour, Samson) – 4:17
- "Wearing the Inside Out" (Wright, Anthony Moore) – 6:49
- Lead vocals: Richard Wright and David Gilmour
- "Take It Back" (Gilmour, Samson, Laird-Clowes, Bob Ezrin) – 6:12
- "Coming Back to Life" (Gilmour) – 6:19
- "Keep Talking" (Gilmour, Wright, Samson) – 6:11
- "Lost for Words" (Gilmour, Samson) – 5:14
- "High Hopes" (Gilmour, Samson) – 8:32
The vinyl version was released with edited versions of "Poles Apart", "Marooned", "Coming Back To Life", "'A Great Day for Freedom", "Wearing the Inside Out" and "High Hopes".
Singles
- "Take It Back" / "Astronomy Domine (live)" / "Take It Back" (edit) - Columbia 38-77493; released 31 May 1994
- "High Hopes (radio edit)" / "Keep Talking (radio edit)" / "One of These Days (live)"; released 10 October 1994
Personnel
- David Gilmour – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, Keyboards, production, mixing and programming
- Richard Wright – keyboards, piano, vocals
- Nick Mason – drums, percussion and programming
- Jon Carin – additional keyboards
- Guy Pratt – bass guitar
- Gary Wallis – percussion
- Tim Renwick – guitars
- Dick Parry – saxophone and trumpet
- Carol Kenyon – backing vocals, vocals on "Keep Talking"
- Sam Brown – backing vocals
- Bob Ezrin – drums, production and composing in "Take It Back"
- Anthony Moore - lyrics in "Wearing The Inside Out"
- Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangements
- Professor Stephen Hawking – digital voice on "Keep Talking"
- Chris Thomas - mixing
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | UK Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1994 | U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Preceded by Longing in Their Hearts by Bonnie Raitt |
Billboard 200 Number-one album April 23 - May 14, 1994 |
Succeeded by Not a Moment Too Soon by Tim McGraw |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Keep Talking" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1994 | "Take It Back" | UK Singles Chart | 23 |
| 1994 | "Take It Back" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 4 |
| 1994 | "Take It Back" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 73 |
| 1994 | "High Hopes" | UK Singles Chart | 26 |
| 1994 | "High Hopes" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
| 1994 | "Lost for Words" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 21 |
| 1994 | "What Do You Want from Me" | U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 16 |
References
- ^ Webb, Nick. "Wish You Were Here: The Offical Biography of Douglas Adams", 2003. ISBN 0-7553-1166-3
- ^ http://www.angelfire.com/co/1x137/dbell.html
- ^ http://www.pinkfloyd-co.com/band/interviews/djg/djg94.html
