Rick Wright - An Obituary
Author: Martyn Coppack | 
Richard Wright has passed away today after a battle with cancer. The news comes as a shock for millions of Pink Floyd fans who will mourn the loss of a genuine musician. His music has touched the hearts of millions with the cornerstone of his achievements being the majestic "Great Gig In The Sky"from classic album Dark Side of the Moon.
Rick Wright and Pink Floyd
Rick was one of the founding members of The Pink Floyd and played keyboards and contributed vocals on all their albums. His contribution to the band can never be underestimated with stand out tracks such as Echoes and Great Gig In The Sky. It would be hard to picture a Pink Floyd album without his signature keyboards.
From 1968 to 1979 he was privy to some of the most outsatnding music of the decade and part of one of the biggest bands in the world ever. The series of classic albums from Meddle to Wish You Were Here cemented their place as pioneers of music. Dark Side of the Moon would become one of the
biggest albums ever made.
Rick Wright and The Wall
Rick encounterd problems when recording The Wall in 1979 and suffered the ignomony of being sacked from a band he had helped found. This lasted until Roger Waters left the band, at which point he was invited back into the fold - albeit only as a session player. He wouldn't regain full membership until the release of The Division Bell in 1994.
Since then Pink Floyd have only played once at the Live 88 concert in London where the band was reunited once mnore with Roger Waters. For a while it seemed like everything had been forgiven and they could once more revisit the majestic seventies. Sadly time move on and it wasn't to happen.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon: In Memory of Rick Wright
Perhaps the best way to honour Rick Wright's memory is to turn off the lights, lie back and put on the CD of Dark Side of the Moon. At the centrepoint of the album Rick willl take the listener on a journey once more up to the great gig that happens in the sky. It is truly a majestic song for a quiet, genuine musician who just happened to be in a band rife with turmoil for most of its career.
This event will surely pull the curtain down on Pink Floyd now and although it is not in the way anyone would have like it to happen at least they had the chance to shine one more time before this sad event happened. Many consolations to Rick's family and may they rest at ease knowing that millions of fans feel for them.
Shine on up in that great gig in the sky Rick.
Angels & Airwaves: Music for the Healing Process Author: Elisabeth Sharber |
One great band to heal your soul from anguish, depression, or other negative feelings is Angels & Airwaves. A lot of the rejuvenating power of Angels & Airwaves owes itself to the lead singer, Tom Delonge, and a personal transformation he was going through as he was putting the band together. Reeling from painkillers for a back injury, and from the exit-stress of leaving his former band—Blink-182—Delonge claims to have been “searching for the new and correct path in life while [he] personally was losing [his] mind." However, their second album, “I-Empire,” speaks a clearer message than the passionate-but-confused “We Don’t Need to Whisper.” Delonge comments, "It reflects an idea that the world is yours for the taking, and all that exists, exists inside you. It can be something as trivial as a personal struggle, or as grand as the inescapable idea of world peace." With a clearer direction, "I-Empire" is described by Delonge as the second-half of "We Don't Need to Whisper." The Healing ProcessIf you have come to Angels & Airwaves for healing, each album has something to offer. Perhaps you’d start with the self-assertion of “We Don’t Need to Whisper.” The very title allows you to not know what you’re supposed to say, as long as you say it loudly. The album is layered with war scenes, promises etched in stone tablets, the remains of demolished cities, cleansed, golden children that are running down from the horizon, and pleas to the listener to either join him, hear him, or reassure him. Lyrics include “I can’t live, I can’t breathe, unless you do this with me,” “The ocean is on fire / The sky turned dark again,” and “You know, I won’t say sorry…You know what it’s like to believe / It makes me wanna scream.” “We Don’t Need to Whisper” takes the emotionally wrought listener into the labyrinth of their own desires, hopes, and anxieties. It is the celebration of movement without complete control, but enough control to have a destination. “I-Empire” is less layered, but just as passionate as its former album. It follows a straighter path to contentment and inner peace. While it’s not without lyrics of utter pain—“Tears, spilling out, across a dead end street / Your house, is a lonely box that holds you”—it is also more trusting of life—“If the world were to die, the light would guide you.” Angels & Airwaves will probably make you feel at home in the pain of heartbreak, the frustration of life, and the belief that there has to be an answer and a reason to live again. With an echoed, airy rock sound comparable to U2, and a sufficient use of chimes, they truly have the angelic, revelatory personality that their name denotes. If they could leave you with one message from their music, it would probably be, “Here we go, life’s waiting to begin.” |