New Pink Floyd album

[check two]

Pink Floyd is about to return with their first album in 20 years. Polly Samson, the wife of singer-guitarist David Gilmour, surprised fans on Saturday when she casually announced over Twitter that the band has a new record in the works and it's coming out this fall. A representative for David Gilmour confirmed the release of the album to Rolling Stone.

"Btw Pink Floyd album out in October is called 'The Endless River,'" Samson wrote. "Based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright's swansong and very beautiful." (Keyboardist and founding member Wright died of cancer in 2008 at the age of 65.)

The band had just celebrated the 20th anniversary of 1994's The Division Bell with an extravagant reissue of the album on July 1st. The new material appears to be connected to unreleased recordings made during the Division Bell sessions.

Durga McBroom-Hudson, a singer who toured with Pink Floyd in the 1980s and 1990s and is apparently involved in the new project, offered more details on The Endless River through her Facebook page. "The recording did start during The Division Bell sessions (and yes, it was the side project originally titled 'The Big Spliff' that Nick Mason spoke about)," she explained. "Which is why there are Richard Wright tracks on it. But David and Nick have gone in and done a lot more since then. It was originally to be a completely instrumental recording, but I came in last December and sang on a few tracks. David then expanded on my backing vocals and has done a lead on at least one of them. That's the song you see being worked on in the photo." She went on to emphasize that the new album will consist entirely of unreleased songs.

[hashashin]

wow, didn't see that coming! Look forward to hearing how it sounds, shame Roger Waters doesn't have any involvement in it though

[noel411]

Cool, but it'll just be more Division Bell by the sound of it. Worth hearing but nothing to get excited over. Gilmour's lead guitar work on that album was exquisite though. Will look forward to hearing more of that. Anything new will surely be basically David Gilmour solo stuff with a bit of input from Nick Mason and some forgettable lyrics from Polly.

If Roger was involved I would be absolutely over the moon. Because he's not I'll probably forget about this until it pops up again somewhere during my day to day travels. The Floyd are far and away my favourite band and I will buy this without question, but I'm not excited.

[noel411]

Also, I remember hearing a David Gilmour interview where he was saying they recorded a shitload of tracks when they were working on 'The Division Bell', so they could easily just be releasing more of those unreleased tracks as a new album.

[hashashin]

looks like you were right, sounds like they've been reworking some of those unreleased Division Bell tracks. I'm still interested to hear it though

From their website -

Pink Floyd can confirm that they are releasing a new album, The Endless River, in October 2014. It is an album of mainly ambient and instrumental music based on the 1993/4 Division Bell sessions which feature David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright. The album is produced by David Gilmour with Phil Manzanera, Youth and recording engineer Andy Jackson. Work is still in progress, but more details to come at the end of the summer.

Roger Waters currently working on a new solo album

[noel411]

I wonder what motivation they have to do this? Surely they don't need the money. It's cool that they're releasing these tracks, but I don't think they should do it under the name of a new Floyd album. Honestly they should just release the tracks for free online. Not because they're not worth paying for. But because a new Floyd album 20 years after the last one is a big deal, but it's not actually gonna be a proper new album. I wonder how Roger feels about this? One would have to assume he's not happy.

[The Hound]

Yeah it should either be re-released as a special edition for 20 years since The Division Bell or marketed as sessions from or some shit. I'm sure it will be good stuff but really from what it sounds like it is hardly "a new album" if it is left overs and reworks of stuff 20 years old.

I didn't realise Roger Waters was releasing an album so if this is some way to rain in on his parade then it's pretty poor form.

It's not Pink Floyd to me without Roger Waters anyway just like it isn't Black Sabbath without Ozzy Osbourne or AC/DC without Bon Scott.

[noel411]

I didn't realise Roger Waters was releasing an album so if this is some way to rain in on his parade then it's pretty poor form.

Haha, possible, but I strongly doubt it. They've been on reasonable terms for a pretty long time now I think. In the extras of one of the David Gilmour dvd's I have, Dave and Roger are performing at the same place (separately, of course), and there's footage of Dave and Polly meeting Roger, and there's hugs and everything but it looks pretty awkward. I don't think they'll ever be friends again but I also don't think they'd pull anything like that.

It's not Pink Floyd to me without Roger Waters

Couldn't agree more. My only real interest in post Roger Waters Floyd is Dave's guitar work, which as mentioned previously was exquisite on DB. I do like a lot of that album though. Momentary Lapse only really had a few good songs on it.

[hashashin]

some new info

The Endless River has as its starting point the music that came from the 1993 Division Bell sessions, when David Gilmour, Rick Wright and Nick Mason played freely together at Britannia Row and Astoria studios. This was the first time they had done so since the ‘Wish You Were Here’ sessions in the seventies. Those sessions resulted in The Division Bell, the band’s last studio album.

In 2013 David Gilmour and Nick Mason revisited the music from those sessions and decided that the tracks should be made available as part of the Pink Floyd repertoire. It would be the last time the three of them would be heard together. The band have spent the last year recording and upgrading the music,using the advantages of modern studio technology to create The Endless River.

The Endless River is a tribute to Rick Wright, whose keyboards are at the heart of the Pink Floyd sound. It is a mainly instrumental album with one song, ‘Louder Than Words’, (with new lyrics by Polly Samson), arranged across four sides and produced by David Gilmour, Phil Manzanera, Youth and
Andy Jackson.

Release date: 10 November 2014

SIDE 1
Things Left Unsaid
It’s What We Do
Ebb and Flow

SIDE 2
Sum
Skins
Unsung
Anisina

SIDE 3
The Lost Art of Conversation
On Noodle Street
Night Light
Allons-y (1)
Autumn ’68
Allons-y (2)
Talkin’ Hawkin’

SIDE 4
Calling
Eyes to Pearls
Surfacing
Louder Than Words

[The Hound]

It's not Pink Floyd without Roger Waters to me but Dave Gilmour is still phenomenal. It sounds like Division Bell 2.0 but should still be good.

[GZAjector]

so is this out or what? i thought i saw a trending blurb on some social media site about this being released.

let us know how good it is and whatever you do, don't message me a link winkwink

[THE MASON]

its out on Tuesday

I already got to listen to it. its okay, it definitely sounds like a Pink Floyd album but without Roger Waters it lacks that oddity factor that made some of there music great.

its worth a listen for any fan, in my opinion

[noel411]

I think this is a good record.

[noel411]

I think this is a good record.

A really good record actually.

[noel411]

A really good record actually.

Actually a rather brilliant record.

Still playing this shit regularly. I think it's truly excellent. I would rate it as the best Floyd album outside of the Meddle-The Wall era. These are exceedingly well crafted compositions. Surprised they didn't use some of this stuff on 'The Division Bell'.

Was also listening to the David Gilmour 'Live in Gdansk' double cd the other day. Not a huge fan of the 'On an Island' album, but I really loved the live version of it on this release. Musically it's a fantastic album, but a little I guess too laid back to really excite me.