Here’s a Spotify work in progress that I figured you were just the people who could help me with. It started when I noticed that Serpentine by Can shared a similar sound palette to Wish You Were Here and Animals. Listening to a podcast about Hawkwind, a similar case was made for their track City of Lagoon (and I think David Gilmour may have been present when it was recorded). So who else deployed similar analogue synths, stately guitars, greasy bass and that uniquely floppy drumming? Obviously there are many sides to the band, and my favourite era is pre-Dark Side, but I’ll take all submissions, including related solo stuff if it’s on Spotify. I’m less interested in the modern prog bands such as Airbag and Porcupine Tree, who sound too obviously to be paying tribute. In some ways, the more interesting stuff is that which shares the sound somewhat inadvertently such as the Beach Boys’ Steamboat (check those Echoes guitars). And at this early stage I’m surprised just how many Alan Parsons and Gong songs sound like the Floyd; I’d really like to whittle it down to the best ones.
Floydian Trip
We used to listen the Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra along with Floyd, and Bo Hanson’s Lord of the Rings.
Peter Bardens made a trippy album in 1970 called “The Answer” (though I have a clear vinyl copy which is called “Vintage ’69” and features a post-Mac but just about functioning Peter Green which is interesting.
I love that Pete Bardens album – I came to that via one of the great sampler double LPs of the 70s that we’ve discussed here before: Transatlantic’s “Heads And Tails” with a dope smoking dragon on the cover. Apart from ‘The Answer’ the rest of the four sides contain stuff from Bert Jansch, Stray, Pentangle, Marsupilami and a load of other luminaries from the label. There’s even one song from that great Afterword favourite Gerry Rafferty, accompanied by the Big Yin.
That Bo Hanson record is great and just what I’m looking for. It’s somewhere between Careful With That Axe and Obscured By Clouds. Can’t believe I’ve never heard of it.
Yes a little cult gem. Great cover for the vinyl IIRC.
Here’s the vinyl cover, along with the lovely 12×12 Snowdon picture of the great JRR himself, which was included as an insert within the early copies (i.e. before the lawyers got involved).
And here’s the back cover with Mr. Hansson looking jolly:
Classic. Gave it a lis on Spotty last night – knew every note.
The new Amorphous Androgynous album We persuade ourselves we are immortal has a very similar sound to Wish you were era Floyd. Worth checking out.
‘Songs for Our Ancestors’ by The Steve Miller Band ( from the second album); he may well have seen PF when he was in based in London?
Eloy – Astral Entrance
I posted this last summer sometime, but one track of on the Rose City Band’s “Summerlong” album has a definite Floyd influence – Fearless from Meddle……
John Lodge – 10,000 Light Years Ago
Seek out the soundtrack – by Alain Goraguer – for the superb 1973 French animated sci-fi film, The Fantastic Planet (Planete Sauvage in the original), it’s a marvellous thing:
https://youtu.be/svYte-qWbWs
Neu! – Weissenee
Mercury Rev’s Deserter’s Songs, particularly the instrumental version, always sounded very Floydy to me.
A patently-obvious one from recent years.
The middle section of The Asphalt World, especially the longer version that emerged in 2009, always struck me as a bit Floydy. When Brett isn’t singing, of course.
Well , Brett doesn’t actually “sing” does he)
Here is another (obvious) track that could almost be from “Obscured by clouds”
From 1994, La Bradford channel Rick Wright circa 1968.
Check yer PM box!