So you've made it big in music. What now? A follow up to your breakthrough. And Pink Floyd, led by bassist Roger Waters, chose to follow up Dark Side of the Moon with yet another concept album. This time, it deals with the subject of Floyd's original lead singer/guitarist, Syd Barrett. Wish You Were Here is a tribute to their roots. While he was only in the group a short period of time, his influence was instrumental to shaping their sound into wht they became known for.

Comprising of only five songs (two are rather lengthy), Wish You Were Here still has two or three of Pink Floyd's best known (possibly even best, period) songs: The nine parts of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" (separated into two), and "Wish You Were Here."

"Shine on You Crazy Diamond" is a long winding, jazzy ode to their former leader. Featuring long instrumental breaks, and subtle guitar work from David Gilmour, it could be the best song Pink Floyd ever recorded. Clocking in at a total of 27 minutes, it bookends the album and takes up the bulk of it. The first half is more interesting than the second, though the second half makes a great closer.

"Wish You Were Here" is a soft, acoustic masterpiece. Most of it is light strumming on a guitar and David Gilmour gently singing another ballad for Barrett. It's the more gorgeous song on this CD (or vinyl, or whatever), and it's also the shortest. The fact that it doesn't go too long makes this the best song here.

"Welcome to the Machine" is the darkest, most threatening song on the album. Waters' voice echoes throughout the track, while the band creates a haunting atmosphere that carries the song, which never seems to end. It just goes on and on and on and on and stops… just, stops suddenly with a few sound effects that follow to link it to…

"Have a Cigar," sung by Roy Harper, has some interesting guitar work. It goes on for awhile, just plodding on and on… again, then stops suddenly. I wonder if, around this time period, they forgot exactly how to end a song, but not do it with a sudden jolt.

Personally, I don't know if it's a problem with my attention span or the band. On one hand, these songs start out well, then lose me after the hundredth minute or so. On the other hand, I'm totally capable of listening to some long-winded jams from other bands (Black Crowes, Led Zeppelin, early Pink Floyd) without them ever losing my interest.

Still, Wish You Were Here is a nice album in Pink Floyd's discography. Sometimes boring, sometimes aural gold… much like almost everything else the band ever completed. But Pink Floyd was (is?) a very capable band that, at its best, could make up for the low points on its own albums.