Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame has been sparking and igniting a fury of press attention in recent months. From shows in Germany being canceled due to his antisemitic remarks, to the fact that despite being well into his maturer years, Waters finds a desire to want to keep on rocking.
Waters will be re-recording Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”, which has been hailed by a vast majority of Pink Floyd fans as one of the band’s greatest hits. However, David Gilmour [Pink Floyd’s former guitarist] will not be partaking in the recording. Therefore, the question looms – How will replace David Gilmour on the recording and play guitar?
Nick Mason [Pink Floyd’s drummer] has recently shared his thoughts on the re-record and has hailed it as “absolutely brilliant“. It’ nice that Nick finds the enthusiasm to show such great support to his long-time friend and fellow Pink Floyd band member, yet it doesn’t tackle the issue of – who will replace David Gilmour and play guitar.
Sometimes well-established bands need to replace certain band members. It doesn’t always work. For example, when Metallica were forced to replace Cliff Burton, after Burton unexpectedly died in the mid nineteen eighties, it’s safe to say the band were never the same again. However, Jason Newsted, who replaced Burton, did turn out to be a great addition to the band carrying them through the remainder of the nineteen eighties and into the nineteen nineties. Later, Newsted was replaced by Robert Trujillo, and I think it is a fair assumption to make that the band has never been the same since.
Pink Floyd was at the height of their success during the 1970’s. That was a staggering fifty years ago. True, it is remarkable that certain bandmates want to keep on creating music, yet there does come a time when as the saying goes – “It’s time to hang up the boots”.
Roger Waters is emphatically not hanging up the boots – rather, ‘putting down the bass guitar’. The co-founder of the progressive 1965-formed band Pink Floyd is determined to make one more hit, rather reestablish an older hit and make it hip for the modern music going audience.
David Gilmour, although still very much alive and making his presence known to the public has categorically ruled out another Pink Floyd reunion. The singer/songwriter publicly stated the band [Pink Floyd] had “run its course” and “I absolutely don’t want to go back.”
Statements such as the previously mentioned are commonplace, typically when one has mastered one’s craft and there is a sense of – “There is nowhere left to go”. Certain musicians like Gilmour perhaps don’t wish to be viewed as a nostalgia band hanging on for dear life to the good old days. Often, individuals who do become stuck in the rut of the past never truly ever evolve and blossom into something that may perhaps offer more to humanity than just the same old thing they were doing during their twenties. This, of course, is not to say that Waters’ desire to re-record one of Floyd’s greatest hits is a bad thing, or that it is lesser than worthy of something contributing to mankind. What we are merely stating is an obvious fact as it relates to the majority.
Therefore, if Gilmour is most assuredly ruled out of playing guitar for the re-record of Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”, who within the music world will replace him?
Speculation could run wild all day, all week, all month, all year long, yet none of us will truly know who it will be because we have absolutely zero say-so when it comes to Waters’ decision making. We can however suggest that whomever the replacement guitarist might be will probably be someone who is well aware of the Floyd era and music. Loosely translated, whomever the guitarist could be, rather should be, will more than likely sit comfortably within the age bracket of a Waters, and Nick Mason. Understanding this fundamental fact gives us leverage in perusing fellow guitarist who were and who may have performed alongside Floyd during the height of their fame.
As we turn the clock to the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies, we remember long unkept hairstyles, baggy clothing, very thin bodies, and a sense of carefree. That era was nothing like the egotistical, uptight, high-stung, politically correct, one we find ourselves living in today. Although, given some of today’s youth who constantly revolt against Godly, and scientifically established truths does in some ways harken back to those “hippy” days.
(UK band) Genesis: The band that featured British sensations Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. Some have compared Genesis’ sound and vibe to that of Floyd. Could Waters ask Steve Hackett, Genesis guitarist to join him in the re-record of “Dark Side of the Moon”?
(UK band) Yes: Could Waters ask Jon Anderson to assist his re-recording endeavors?
From here we wish not to speculate any further. The above two names would work very well alongside Waters in the “Dark Side of the Moon” re-record. If anything, it’s food-for-thought.
Let us know who you think we would work well playing alongside Waters?
Alex Gold, Brit Pop News.
