Roger Waters and David Gilmour were frequently at the center of Pink Floyd’s power dynamics. The band’s early years saw Syd Barrett serve as frontman. Still, after his mental breakdown, the other members took over, with Waters producing kaleidoscope pictures and lecturing on the status of the world beneath the band’s musical achievements. Gilmour acknowledged that one tune nearly overcame him, even though Waters had the final say.
But it wasn’t apparent if the band could produce anything more for the first several years after Barrett. The band was still figuring out who they wanted to be through albums like Atom Heart Mother and soundtrack albums like Obscured By Clouds; they didn’t know where they were headed until they wrote the great song “Echoes” for the album Meddle.
Waters started composing the following album’s lyrics, which focused on life and what drives people insane, after deciding exactly how he wanted to tackle the genre. Originally intended to be a single composition, The Dark Side of the Moon became one of the most well-known albums in rock history, showing Gilmour and Waters’ flawless virtuosity behind the microphone and on their instruments.
However, Waters utilized the remainder of his time with the band to make statements about the threats he perceived in the world after the group experienced a taste of fame and money. Songs like “Welcome to the Machine” set the stage for the band’s real epic, while Wish You Were Here would be a moving homage to Barrett.
Taking a hard look at what the music industry does to people, Waters would develop The Wall, modeled around Barrett and his own life. One of the album’s standout tracks, “Pink,” nearly didn’t cut, despite the rock opera’s title track experiencing many mood shifts.
Pink’s management broke into his hotel room as he was severing his connection to the outside world, setting the atmosphere for the epic song “Comfortably Numb.” Gilmour said that the song was nearly removed from the album, even though it included some of the catchiest parts.
Years later, Ginger, Gilmour’s wife, recalled that the guitarist was on the edge of violence during the song, telling Louder, “The day apparently had been really tough because Roger didn’t want Comfortably Numb on the album. David doesn’t show anger very often, but on that night, in the Japanese restaurant, if he knew karate, he would have broken the table with how hard he hit it. He said, ‘That f******* has to be on the album.’”
The song, which included some of Gilmour’s most brilliant lead guitar playing and advanced the story until Pink besieged his admirers and ultimately tore down the wall, became an immediate favorite among Floyd fans once Waters eventually gave in. With Pink Floyd members serving as support musicians, The Wall might legitimately be regarded as Roger Waters’ solo album, but Gilmour’s creative voice was essential in providing listeners with a piece of rock history.