Sadly: David Gilmour explains why Legendary king of the finest progressive music album was “bullied by the record label.”
On Pink Floyd’s last album, The Endless River, David Gilmour claims he was “bullied by the record label.”
The guitarist discussed how the 2014 LP came together in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“Our engineer, Andy Jackson, had compiled a compilation of all these jams [from the sessions for 1994’s The Division Bell] that was available on bootlegs, which we nicknamed ‘The Big Spliff’ when we were working on that record. Gilmour remembered, “We thought we’d give it to them because a lot of fans wanted this stuff that we’d done in that time.”
In order to comply, he and his bandmates compiled the material as The Endless River. With the exception of “Louder Than Words,” the sole song with lead vocals, the album was nearly exclusively instrumental and ambient. The Endless River had a mixed reception upon its debut, despite the enthusiasm around the LP.
Gilmour acknowledged that expectations for the album were unjust, saying, “I suppose my mistake was in being bullied by the record company to have it out as a properly paid-for Pink Floyd record.” It was never meant to be the sequel to The Division Bell, therefore it should have been obvious what it was. However, it’s never too late to fall into one of these traps once more.
According to David Gilmour, saying goodbye to Pink Floyd’s catalog was “lovely.”
During the interview, Gilmour mentioned how happy he was with Pink Floyd’s recent catalog sales.
Everything is in the past. The musician said, “This stuff is for future generations.” “I am an elderly individual. For the past forty-odd years, I have been fighting for the good fight against the forces of avarice and indolence in order to make the most of our resources. And I’ve now given up that battle.
In the transaction, Pink Floyd’s brand, likeness, and recorded music were purchased by Sony for $400 million. Although Gilmour’s bank account will certainly benefit from the substantial cash, he is more pleased to be rid of the band’s lengthy history of discussing business.
Because, you know, it’s not brand-new money or anything, I have my advance. Gilmour clarified, “It’s an advance against what I would have earned over the next few years anyway.” “But it’s nice to say goodbye to the arguments, fighting, and idiosyncrasies that have been going on between these four different groups of people and their managers and whatever for the past 40 years.”
