Meddle (1971) 


 

  1. One of These Days
  2. A Pillow of Winds
  3. Fearless
  4. San Tropez
  5. Seamus
  6. Echoes

 

This is the album where everything began to truly click for Pink Floyd. After a few years of meandering in the post-Barrett wilderness—dabbling in extended suites, film soundtracks, and sonic experiments—they finally seemed to discover what kind of band they wanted to be. Meddle doesn’t just mark a turning point; it marks a rebirth. A new identity, fully formed, and heading in the right direction. Whatever lingering uncertainty had defined their late ’60s output, it’s largely gone here.

That’s not to say the group suddenly abandoned all of its quirks. The eerie atmospheres, the abstract detours, and the sonic weirdness are still present and accounted for. But what’s different this time is that everything is built around actual songs. Memorable, melodic, and engaging songs. For perhaps the first time, the band’s talents as musicians and songwriters are leading the way, not just their flair for oddness. The results speak for themselves.

The album begins with One of These Days, which remains one of the hardest-hitting tracks in the Floyd catalog. It’s ominous, propulsive, and features a rare moment where the band actually sounds dangerous. From there, the album pulls back into gentler terrain. A Pillow of Winds is a dreamy, acoustic ballad that shows they could do subtle just as well as they could do loud. Fearless builds slowly, with a steady groove and a surprising (and somewhat inexplicable) chant from a British football crowd layered in at the end. It shouldn’t work, but somehow it does.

Then there’s San Tropez, a breezy little tune that feels more like a vacation jingle than a proper Floyd track. Roger Waters reportedly wrote it as a tongue-in-cheek response to the label’s call for something “commercial,” and ironically, it almost fits the bill. On an album with such tonal variety, it doesn’t feel too out of place. Seamus, on the other hand, is pure novelty—a short blues jam featuring an actual dog howling along. Fortunately, it’s over in under two minutes, which makes it easier to forgive.

But the centerpiece of the album—the reason Meddle holds such an important place in the Floyd legacy—is the 23-minute opus Echoes. This track occupies all of side two and is, in many ways, the blueprint for everything the band would go on to do in the 1970s. It’s expansive, mysterious, and filled with melodic richness. It travels through multiple movements but never feels scattered. Unlike some of their earlier extended pieces, this one knows where it’s going. It’s haunting in places, beautiful in others, and somehow manages to be both completely out there and entirely listenable.

Meddle isn’t always talked about in the same breath as the band’s most iconic albums, but it should be. It’s the album that made all the others possible. For the first time, Pink Floyd sounded like a band not just chasing ideas, but in full command of them.


Go back to the main page
Go To Next Review