More (soundtrack)

More is the third studio album and first soundtrack album by English rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on 13 June 1969 in the United Kingdom by EMI Columbia and on 9 August 1969 in the United States by Tower Records.[3] The soundtrack is for the film of the same name, which was primarily filmed on location on Ibiza and was the directorial debut of Barbet Schroeder. It was the band's first album without former leader Syd Barrett.

More
Studio album / Soundtrack album by
Pink Floyd
Released13 June 1969 (1969-06-13)[1]
RecordedJanuary – February 1969
StudioPye, London
GenrePsychedelic rock[2]
Length44:57
LabelEMI Columbia
ProducerPink Floyd
Pink Floyd chronology
A Saucerful of Secrets
(1968)		 More
(1969)		 Ummagumma
(1969)

The album was a top ten hit in the UK, but received mixed reviews. Several songs became live favourites over the following years. Like other Pink Floyd albums, it has been reissued on CD with additional material and outtakes.

Background

Pink Floyd recorded several pieces of film music before this album. In December 1967, they featured on the BBC's Tomorrow's World, playing along to a light show, and the following year recorded some instrumental music for the film The Committee.[4]

The film More featured a young hitchhiker in Ibiza who had succumbed to heroin abuse with party scenes and drug taking. Director Barbet Schroeder was a fan of the group, and brought a rough cut of the film to London for them to work with.[4][5] Instead of typical background music, Schroeder wanted the songs to feature in the film, such as a record playing at a party. The group also speculated they could branch out into a career as film composers if their recording and touring career did not work out.[4] Drummer Nick Mason later said the film was "ideally suited to some of the rumblings, squeaks and sound textures we produced on a regular basis".[5]

Recording and songs

The album was recorded at Pye Studios in London, in late January and early February 1969 with engineer Brian Humphries.[6][7] The album was the first to be produced by Pink Floyd without assistance from Norman Smith, who retained an Executive Producer credit, and the first full album without Syd Barrett, who left the group in 1968 during the recording of their second album A Saucerful of Secrets.[8][9]

Pink Floyd worked out most of the music in two weeks, with material put together quickly and semi-improvised.[10] They did not use a dubbing studio due to budget constraints, and simply timed sequences in the film in a stopwatch so they knew how long the music had to be.[5] Bassist Roger Waters wrote most of the lyrics during breaks between recording backing tracks. Schroeder was impressed by how quickly the group created and recorded the material.[10] Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright co-wrote the instrumental "Up The Khyber", the only time the pair were credited as sole co-composers.[11] Barrett's replacement David Gilmour handled all lead vocals on the album.[12]

More features a mixture of styles. Songs such as "Green is the Colour" were acoustic folk ballads, a genre not often explored by the group.[10] Mason's wife Lindy played penny whistle on the latter track.[13] The album also contains hard rock, such as "The Nile Song" and "Ibiza Bar",[10][14] as well as several instrumental tracks such as "Quicksilver" and "Main Theme", featuring their experimental and avant-garde approach.[10] "Cymbaline" criticised the music industry, with lines such as "your manager and agent are both busy on the phone".[15] The version on the album is different to that in the film; in the latter case, Waters sings the lead vocal instead of Gilmour.[16]

"Green is the Colour" was played live frequently after release, as a medley with "Careful With That Axe, Eugene", as part of a live suite called "The Journey". It was a regular feature in the set for two years afterwards.[17] "Quicksilver" was played under the title "Sleeping" as part of the 1969 live show called "The Man", while "Cymbaline" was entitled "Nightmare".[18] The latter remained part of the group's repertoire until the end of 1971.[17] In live performances, the group left the stage partway through the song while the audience listened to a tape of quadraphonic sound effects including footsteps travelling round the venue, and doors opening.[19] "Main Theme" was briefly played live in 1970.[20]

Two songs can be heard in the film which were not included on the album: and "Hollywood" and "Seabirds".[21][22] The latter was published in 1976's The Pink Floyd Songbook.[22] Both songs, as well as two other songs from those sessions," Theme (Beat Version)" and "More Blues (Alternative Version)", were released on the 2016 box set, The Early Years 1965–1972. The set in which these tracks appear, 1969: Dramatis/ation was made available as a standalone release in 2017.[23] "Seabirds" was an alternative take of "Quicksilver".[24]

Cover

The album cover was, like A Saucerful of Secrets, designed by Hipgnosis. It uses a shot from the film of two characters playing around a windmill in Ibiza, processed in a dark room to make it look like a psychedelic trip.[10]

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[25]
The Daily Telegraph[26]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[27]
MusicHound1/5[28]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[29]

More reached number 9 in the UK[30][31] and, upon re-release in 1973, number 153 in the US. This was the last of three Pink Floyd albums to be released in the United States by the Tower Records division of Capitol Records.[32] "The Nile Song" was released as a single in France, Japan and New Zealand around the same time.[33][34] The track, along with "Cirrus Minor" appeared on the 1971 compilation Relics.[35]

A 1973 US reissue was released on Harvest Records.[32] It was certified gold in the US on 11 March 1994.[32] The album was reissued on CD in 1985, with a digitally remastered version following in 1995.[32] In 2016, it was reissued on Pink Floyd Records.[36]

More received mixed reviews from critics. Record Song Book said the album was "always extremely interesting ... quite weird in parts too".[37] The Daily Telegraph was favourable, describing it as starting to "define experimental instrumental identity."[26] MusicHound and Rolling Stone were less positive with the former giving the album a rating of one out of five and the latter calling it a "dull film soundtrack".[28][29]

Legacy

Richie Unterberger of AllMusic gives a mixed overview, saying key tracks such as "Green Is The Colour" and "Cymbaline" developed into stronger pieces when played live.[25]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cirrus Minor"Waters5:18
2."The Nile Song"Waters3:26
3."Crying Song"Waters3:33
4."Up the Khyber" (instrumental)Mason, Wright2:12
5."Green Is the Colour"Waters2:58
6."Cymbaline"Waters4:50
7."Party Sequence" (instrumental)Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason1:07
Total length:23:24
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Main Theme" (instrumental)Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason5:27
2."Ibiza Bar"Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason3:19
3."More Blues" (instrumental)Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason2:12
4."Quicksilver" (instrumental)Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason7:13
5."A Spanish Piece"Gilmour1:05
6."Dramatic Theme" (instrumental)Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason2:15
Total length:21:32

Personnel

Taken from AllMusic and Martin Popoff:[38][39]

Pink Floyd
Additional personnel
  • Lindy Mason – tin whistle[19]
  • Brian Humphries – engineering
  • Hipgnosis – sleeve design
  • James Guthrie – re-mastering supervision
  • Joel Plante – re-mastering

Charts
Chart (1969) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[40] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 9
Chart (1973) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[42] 153
Chart (2011) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[43] 128
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References

Citations

  1. "1969". Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  2. Kristopher Spencer (14 May 2014). Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979: A Critical Survey by Genre. McFarland. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-7864-5228-6.
  3. Povey 2006, pp. 110,343.
  4. Blake 2011, p. 132.
  5. Mason 2004, p. 126.
  6. Mason 2004, pp. 126,129.
  7. Povey 2006, pp. 87,105.
  8. Blake 2011, pp. 114–116.
  9. Mason 2004, p. 119.
  10. Blake 2011, p. 133.
  11. Wild 2017, p. 66.
  12. "50 years Ago: Pink Floyd Moved On From Syd Barrett With "More"". Ultimate Classic Rock. 9 August 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  13. Guesdon & Margotin 2017, p. 227.
  14. DeRogatis 2003, p. 123.
  15. Mabbett 2010, p. 76.
  16. Guesdon & Margotin 2017, p. 229.
  17. Mabbett 2010, pp. 76–77.
  18. Wild 2017, pp. 67–68.
  19. Popoff 2018, p. 41.
  20. Mabbett 2010, p. 77.
  21. Manning 2006, p. 226.
  22. Mabbett 2010, p. 71.
  23. Dramatis/ation (Media notes). Pink Floyd Records. 2017. PFREY3.
  24. Wild 2017.
  25. Unterberger, Richie. "Pink Floyd – More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  26. McCormick, Neil (20 May 2014). "Pink Floyd's 14 studio albums rated". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  27. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  28. Graff & Durchholz 1999, p. 872.
  29. Sheffield, Rob (2 November 2004). "Pink Floyd: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media, Fireside Books. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  30. Povey 2006, p. 87.
  31. "PINK FLOYD | Artist". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  32. Povey 2006, p. 343.
  33. Wild 2017, p. 65.
  34. Guesdon & Margotin 2017, p. 216.
  35. Wild 2017, pp. 64–65.
  36. "Pink Floyd to launch massive vinyl reissue campaign". Rolling Stone. 6 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  37. Povey 2006, p. 110.
  38. "More – Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  39. Popoff 2018, p. 36.
  40. "Dutchcharts.nl – Pink Floyd – More" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  41. "Pink Floyd | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  42. "Pink Floyd Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  43. "Lescharts.com – Pink Floyd – More". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2016.

Sources

  • Blake, Mark (2011) [2007]. Pigs Might Fly : The Inside Story of Pink Floyd. Arum Press. ISBN 978-1-781-31519-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • DeRogatis, J (2003). Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard. ISBN 0-634-05548-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2017). Pink Floyd All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Hachette UK. ISBN 978-0-316-43923-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mabbett, Andy (2010). Pink Floyd: The Music and the Mystery: The Music and the Mystery. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-857-12418-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mason, Nick (2004). Inside Out : A personal history of Pink Floyd. Orion. ISBN 978-0-297-84387-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Manning, Toby (2006). The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. ISBN 1-84353-575-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Popoff, Martin (2018). Pink Floyd: Album by Album. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-760-36062-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Povey, Glenn (2006). Echoes : The Complete History of Pink Floyd. 3C Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9554624-1-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wild, Andrew (2017). Pink Floyd: Song by Song. Fonthill Media. ISBN 978-1-781-55599-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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