CD: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
      Wish You Were Here (Original CD Edition)
      
      Originally Released September 12, 1975
      CD Edition Originally Released 1986 ??
      Gold CD Edition Released July 1994, List Price: $29.98, Master Sound/
      Legacy
      "Shine On" Boxed Set Released November 17, 1992
      Remastered Edition Released 1995
      Japanese Mini LP Version Released May 16, 2001
      2001 Toshiba-EMI Ltd. - Japan
      
      Album Details (Mini LP CD Packaging)
      Small quantities of this limited Japanese pressing w/miniature LP 
      sleeve packaging available again. This collectors edition includes a 
      bonus poster & postcard with the original black shrink wrap that 
      covered the 'controversial' artwork. 2000 release. Toshiba/EMI Japan 
      release. 
      
      Album Details (Anniversary Edition)
      Deluxe CD Repackaging; Includes all of the original artwork plus bonus 
      Anniversary Edition photos.  Digitally remastered under the band's 
      supervision.
      
      Album Details (Gold MasterSound Edition)
      This is part of Columbia/Legacy's Master Sound series.
      Master Sound releases are 24-karat gold CDs remastered from first-
      generation masters. This process utilizes 20-bit technology and Sony's 
      "Super Bit Mapping" system. 
      
      AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Pink Floyd followed the commercial breakthrough of 
      Dark Side of the Moon with Wish You Were Here, a loose concept album 
      about and dedicated to their founding member Syd Barrett. The record 
      unfolds gradually, as the jazzy textures of "Shine On You Crazy 
      Diamond" reveal its melodic motif, and in its leisurely pace, the 
      album shows itself to be a warmer record than its predecessor. 
      Musically, it's arguably even more impressive, showcasing the group's 
      interplay and David Gilmour's solos in particular. And while it's 
      short on actual songs, the long, winding soundscapes are constantly 
      enthralling. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine
      
      Amazon.com essential recording 
      Wish You Were Here is a song cycle dedicated to Pink Floyd's original 
      frontman, Syd Barrett, who'd flamed out years before: two grimly funny 
      songs about the evils of the music business ("By the way, which one's 
      Pink?"), and two long, touching ones about the band's vanished friend. 
      The real star of the show, though, is the production: sparkling, 
      convoluted, designed to sound deeply oh-wow under the influence--and 
      pretty great sober too, with David Gilmour getting lots of space for 
      his most lyrical guitar playing ever. And, though the album is big and 
      ambitious, even bombastic, it somehow dodges being pretentious--the 
      Barrett tributes are honest and heartfelt, beneath all the grand 
      gestures and stereophonic trickery. --Douglas Wolk 
      
      CD Now Review (May 4, 2001)
      In 1975, following the massive success of Dark Side of the Moon, Pink 
      Floyd released the moody, largely instrumental Wish You Were Here. 
      Founding member Syd Barrett had long ago exited the group, acid damage 
      having exacted a heavy toll; this album was the group's tribute to him.
       
      
      The heart of the album lies in "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," a nine-
      section piece that opens and closes the record. The vast majority of 
      the sections are purely instrumental, with some of David Gilmour's 
      most inspired guitar solos and Rick Wright's spaciest keyboard effects.
       There are some funky moments, but it's mostly reflective, with 
      bittersweet nostalgia the dominant mood. 
      
      The second track, "Welcome to the Machine," is also largely 
      instrumental, but more menacing in its vision of enforced automation, 
      with bassist-vocalist Roger Waters' singing oozing desperation and 
      despair. "Have a Cigar," a sardonic caricature of a label executive's 
      schmoozing pep talk, displays Waters' cynicism about the music 
      business. 
      
      The title track, the shortest on the disc, is a complete change of 
      pace. It starts out dimly, as if heard over a lo-fi radio, then goes 
      into an acoustic guitar solo that recalls the origin of the band's 
      name (old-time blues men Pink Anderson and Floyd Council). Even after 
      the volume goes up, and the electric instruments join, acoustic 
      riffing continues as the basis of the song. If the lyrics are not 
      obviously about Barrett, the mood they create speaks to his memory 
      nonetheless. 


01. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)    [0:13:32.67]
      


02. Welcome To The Machine    [0:07:33.25]
      


03. Have A Cigar    [0:05:24.30]
04. Wish You Were Here    [0:05:16.10]
05. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)    [0:12:29.52]