Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd (CD, Apr-2000, Capitol/EMI Records)

The expectations for this album after the runaway success of 1973s 'Dark Side of the Moon' must have been huge. It doesn't disappoint.
The opening track - 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond' - is acclaimed as being Pink Floyd's finest. Beginning with a lone synthesizer drifting in from the ether, it is joined by David Gilmour's guitar after two minutes, the pair providing one of the most blissfully soporific pieces of music I've ever heard. It is a full four and a half minutes before the main theme and beat of this song introduce themselves. There's no hurry to it, clocking in at a casual 45bpm or thereabouts, and it's not for a full eight and a half minutes that a note is sung. The lyrics are written about Syd Barrett (a co-founding member of Pink Floyd) who's whimsical songwriting, vocals and guitar graced 1967s 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' and some of 1968s 'A Saucerful of Secrets'. Syd's increasingly erratic behaviour and subsequent disappearance is legendary, and the band had not seen him since. The lyrics have a 'wishing you all the best' feel to them. The story goes that when the band were rehearsing this song, who should walk in but Syd himself. A strange coincidence indeed, should it be true.
As 'Shine on...' ends, 'Welcome to the Machine' segues in to provide an oppressive sounding counterpoint, with its opening sound of an elevator ride terminating in the doors opening to an industrial sounding thrum of synth. The lyrics on this (and the following track - 'Have a Cigar') are a critique of record companies and their executives, and the vitriol contained in them is something which was to continue on 1977s 'Animals' album (in line with Roger Waters' increasing disillusionment). There are points where the synth is intrusive and grating, but the mood of the song is perfect.
'Have a Cigar' features a guest vocal performance by Roy Harper which is not too dissimilar to Roger Waters. It's the most uptempo song on the album with an ecclectic rhythm, but isn't as strong as the rest of the album.
David Gilmour takes centre stage for the title track, his excellent accoustic guitar playing and vocals being combined for the final fading solo, providing another definitive Pink Floyd song.
And seguing in from that we have the finale to 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond', clocking in at a 'mere' 12 minutes this time. An initial instrumental which increases in intensity until falling off to take up where the first part left off. After that it's a long drift into the ether as the album fades to a close.
I would rank this album and 'Dark Side of the Moon' as the greatest albums ever written and would thoroughly recommend them to anyone who enjoys cerebral music.