PINK FLOYD: "Meddle"

Original released on LP Harvest SMAS 832 

(US 1971, October 30)

"Atom Heart Mother", for all its glories, was an acquired taste, and Pink Floyd wisely decided to trim back its orchestral excesses for its follow-up, "Meddle". Opening with a deliberately surging "One of These Days," "Meddle" spends most of its time with sonic textures and elongated compositions, most notably on its epic closer, "Echoes." If there aren't pop songs in the classic sense (even on the level of the group's contributions to "Ummagumma", there is a uniform tone, ranging from the pastoral "A Pillow of Winds" to "Fearless," with its insistent refrain hinting at latter-day Floyd. Pink Floyd were nothing if not masters of texture, and "Meddle" is one of their greatest excursions into little details, pointing the way to the measured brilliance of "Dark Side of the Moon" and the entire Roger Waters era. Here, David Gilmour exerts a slightly larger influence, at least based on lead vocals, but it's not all sweetness and light - even if its lilting rhythms are welcome, "San Tropez" feels out of place with the rest of "Meddle". Still, the album is one of the Floyd's most consistent explorations of mood, especially from their time at Harvest, and it stands as the strongest record they released between Syd's departure and "Dark Side". (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

ABOUT THE COVER

If "Atom Heart Mother"' cow had been an unlikely cover star, then "Meddle"'s sleeve art left prog fans of 1971 in a state of bafflement, offering a mysterious semi-submerged object, bathed in blue light, surrounded by spreading ripples. After much speculation, this was revealed to be a close-up shot of a human ear in shallow water, with the ripples representing soundwaves. "Meddle" might not be Pink Floyd's most iconic sleeve, but for band insiders, it was perhaps the most contentious. Storm Thorgerson - the late linchpin of the Hipgnosis design studio - had reportedly pitched a concept featurting a baboon's anus, but with the band away on tour in Japan, the the ear concept was decided over a conference call and photographed by Bob Dowling. The irascible graphic designer hated the result, citing it as his least-favourite Floyd sleeve. «The band always say that "Atom Heart Mother" was a better cover than it was an album», he told Mark Blake, «but I think "Meddle" is a much better album than its cover.» Hipgnosis co-founder Aubrey Powell was even more self-critical: «"Meddle" was a mess. I hated that cover. I don't think we did them justice with that at all - it's half-hearted.»