Feeling “Comfortably Numb” …
Anyone with even a passing acquaintance with – let alone active interest in – the history of rock and popular music will be aware of the English group Pink Floyd, which was essentially active between 1965 and 1994 although from time to time – in various guises – some of its surviving and/or former members still create music and/or play concerts to this day.
I shall leave those who regard themselves as Pink Floyd fans to rely upon memories and everyone else – whether old or young – to do their own researches of the Pink Floyd official website and/or any of the infinite number of encyclopedic resources available online in order to inform or remind themselves of the band’s history, discography and indeed music if necessary.
For present purposes, however, I am visiting the decade of the 1970s in which many of us would maintain that Pink Floyd – specifically Roger Waters (bass and vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Richard Wright (keyboards and vocals) and David Gilmour (guitar and vocals) – reached its creative peak and attained lasting global commercial success and renown.
They did this after reluctantly parting company with original founding member Syd Barrett (guitar and vocals) who had composed many of their early songs, including chart toppers, because of his mental health and drug issues in April 1968.
Their albums of this era were successively Ummagumma (1969), Atom Heart Mother (1970), Meddle (1971) Obscured By Clouds (1972), The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979).
Today, to switch to a quite different but ultimately related subject and complete my introduction, it will come as no surprise that within the universe that is the world of the internet are innumerable websites devoted to every subject – opinion (novice or expert, true or misguided, and that’s a subjective one to begin with!) and/or activity under the Sun.
One of which is what here I’ll describe as a hobby interest – but, not to denigrate it, one which in many cases can be a healthy source of income, if not a host of entire careers – in analysing popular music and imparting knowledge and critical opinion to anyone around the world who chooses to “tune in” and listen.
The American Rick Beato, 61, runs a popular YouTube channel that I visit frequently because of his wide-ranging musical interests, engaging personality and brilliance as an educator/lecturer.
It doesn’t detract from his standing/proficiency a jot that he has had a 45-plus year career in one form of music or another as a prolific multi-instrumentalist musician and recording producer.
I visit his YouTube channel regularly both to gain the benefit of his knowledge and hear his views upon some of the great music of the past and present, not least that of which I remain a fan.
Beato has created a long-running series of videos called What Makes This Song Great? in which he lectures on “what it says on the tin”.
The one that I am going to link Rusters to today is Episode number 104 in the series and contains his analysis of Pink Floyd’s song Comfortably Numb which first appeared on their 1979 album The Wall.
It’s a great song – no doubt about that – featuring Roger Waters’ lyrics about the “rich man’s curse” (or rather perhaps the “global famous rock star’s curse”?) of spending your time of endlessly global touring without a break, being away from those you love, being bored out of your mind … condemned to never-ending drudge and (now) only being able to get out on stage every successive night by amphetamines, as prescribed or worse.
Pink Floyd always regarded themselves as serious musicians and took infinite care over their work. As only someone with boyish enthusiasm for something can, Beato explains/demonstrates how the basic track was gradually put together from two different sources and then sent to American for arranger Michael Kamen to add the orchestrations.
Apart from its setting and melodies Comfortably Numb has passed into legend because of the two highly-regarded David Gilmour guitar solos that it features.
The first comes soon after the first chorus – Beato describes it as one of his favourite solos of all time – but admits that general consent has it that the second, carrying the song to its conclusion, is the greater (and many say the greatest guitar solo of all time).
For a song that last just 6 minutes and 21 seconds on the album The Wall, Comfortably Numb has launched hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of appreciative comments around the world.
To finish here is, firstly, a link to Rick Beato’s video talk on Comfortably Numb, recorded in 2021, which [a warning both for the faint-hearted and indeed for those who can be bothered to watch the whole!] lasts 31 minutes …
See here – YOUTUBE
And, secondly, here is a link to a live (10 minute) performance of the song, as performed by Pink Floyd at the famous Pulse concert held at Earls Court on 20th October 1994 – this after Roger Waters had left the band in the mid-1980s over creative disagreements between himself and Gilmour that eventually became terminal for their relationship.
See here – YOUTUBE
