June 13, 1969 - Soundtrack From The Film "More"

My first album from the summer of '69, is Pink Floyd's third album and first without Syd Barrett, a soundtrack for the film titled "More", released on June 13. The film is about a hitchhiker in Ibiza who becomes a heroin addict and has many party and drug scenes. Roger Waters wrote most of the lyrics, although this is the first album to feature no vocals from Waters or Richard Wright; David Gilmour is the sole lead singer on the album. 

Side 1 starts with "Cirrus Minor", which begins with some bird noises. There are no drums at all in this slow acoustic song that also has some cool organ. Up next is the much more engaging "The Nile Song", which is about a perplexing girl met by the Nile. It's a rock and roll song with some great yelling vocals from Gilmour. He also contributes a solid guitar solo and along with some cool drum fills by Nick Mason, this is certainly a heavy song for Floyd. Track 3 is "Crying Song", a very peaceful and melodic song. It is mainly soft acoustic guitar and keyboards. The next track is the first instrumental off the album, "Up The Khyber". It features just Mason and Wright and the former's drumming carries the song while the latter plays some very erratic piano. This stop-and-go style sounds very trippy and Wright puts some crazy organ on top of all that for a truly psychedelic 2 minute song. Gilmour is back to singing softly on "Green Is The Colour", which has 2 acoustic guitars that sound great together. Wright plays some cool piano and there's also a tin whistle, which sounds similar to a flute. Track 6 is "Cymbaline", another slow song led by piano with a trippy keyboard solo as well. Side 1 ends with a 1 minute instrumental called "Party Sequence". It has some more tin whistle, as well as conga drums played by Mason. 

Side 2 begins with the instrumental "Main Theme", a slow trippy song with wandering keyboards and guitar. Some solid bass and drums carry the song while Wright and Gilmour are off exploring. Another rock song follows with "Ibiza Bar", which has all 4 members playing really great. Heavier songs like this and "The Nile Song" sound really great amongst the mostly quiet album. Speaking of, the next song "More Blues" is a very quiet blues tune. It sounds like the guitar is further away and it's an interesting take on the blues. Track 11 is the longest song on the album, "Quicksilver". It has no drums, and some very trippy keyboards and organ, giving it almost a horror-like feel. The next song "A Spanish Piece" is just over a minute long. It has some spanish sounding guitar, but also some odd vocals. The album closes out with "Dramatic Theme", a bass-led song with drone-y guitars. Certainly a drug-fueled experience, this album is very psychedelic and certainly something I wouldn't expect for a film Soundtrack. 

That wraps up "Soundtrack From The Film More", Pink Floyd's third album. How does it compare to their previous work? I don't think it quite lives up to their first two releases, but that is to be expected when you're writing music for a film instead of just making an album. Another new artist is just around the corner, see you "next month".