Division Bell [Import]

Track Listings

1. Cluster One

2. What Do You Want From Me

3. Poles Apart

4. Marooned

5. Great Day For Freedom

6. Wearing The Inside Out

7. Take It Back

8. Coming Back To Life

9. Keep Talking

10. Lost For Words

11. High Hopes

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
Same as USA Version.

Tracks:

Cluster One
What Do You Want From Me
Poles Apart
Marooned
A Great Day For Freedom
Wearing The Inside Out
Take It Back
Coming Back To Life
Keep Talking
Lost For Words
High Hopes

Amazon.com

As Roger Waters's solo career set into a sunset of suspiciously self-serving Wall revivals and compelling if modest-selling solo efforts, his former band became one of the few outfits in the soft live market of the 1990s to burnish its stadium-filling appeal. But their recorded output wasn't quite so rosy. As all post-Dark Side of the Moon albums must have a Big Important Theme, The Division Bell is vaguely about levels of separation (did you say, duh!?), with more than one not-so-opaque lyrical jab at the estranged Waters. But there's a sense that the band may have put more thought into its trademark audio gimmickry (well represented here by the actual sound of the earth's crust cracking--you don't get that on Rage Against the Machine albums!--and a "spoken" intro by Dr. Stephen Hawking, or rather his voice synthesizer) than it did into its songs this time around. The opening "Cluster One" has a hypnotic minimalist lure that dissolves all too quickly into the bluesy waffle of "What Do You Want From Me," while Floyd Mach III leader Dave Gilmour's usually lyrical guitar work is uninspired throughout, a definite Floydian slip. Still, the band maddeningly manages a few moments of the old grandeur here and there. The Division Bell is not a great Pink Floyd album, but an all-too-fallible simulation. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

excellent.......2007-06-13

Great companion CD to the Pulse DVD. Must have.

Comfortably Numb.......2007-05-17

Purists will argue that Pink Floyd without Roger Waters, is a bit like Beatles without John Lennon. Some unkind souls might even go further to say that it's a bit like Beatles without John or Paul. Without Roger, gone is the confrontation, the poetry, seismic visions of a world teetering on the brink of moral collapse. Gone is the intellectual bite, the naked anguish, the bile, the howling and the ultimate catharsis of the final track. What's left is good intentions, sleek musicianship, a hip brand, and a reassuringly expensive, car-stereo-friendly sound.

That's not to say that the Division Bell is a bad record, per se, some of it captures the old magic. The Gilmour, Wright & Mason partnership still know a good tune when they hear one, and David Gilmour can still work the magic with his guitar. But the thing is, without Waters' artistic vision and wit to provide a thematic backbone, the resultant music is comes across as high-quality sheen and veneer. To me this sounds more like a David Gilmour solo album than a Pink Floyd work. And I say that as a long-standing fan of the group.

This may sound uncompromising, and this isn't a bad album - but somewhere you have to draw the line between what is really good and what is merely passable; what qualifies as art and what is marketed as product. Fortunately, the general public seems to have given Pink Floyd the benefit of the doubt; the sympathy vote came into play after nasty old Roger Waters left the ship, taking his rough edges and intellectual pretensions with him, leaving nice David Gilmour and the unfairly sidelined Wright and caught-in-the-crossfire Nick Mason to continue flying the Floyd flag. This goodwill, coupled with the eternal hipness of the Pink Floyd brand, have combined to give Floyd a new lease of life and cash-register-eyes album sales.

Musically, the band retreads old ground on much of the album. On Cluster, it's back to Wish You Were Here and the group tries to breath new life into the atmospheric intro formula of Shine On You...part 1. On 'What Do You Want From Me?' we revisit Dark Side of the Moon territory, completely with gospel backing vocals, trademark DG solo à la Time. Here again, it all gels together quite nicely, with David Gilmour handling guitar and vocal duties with aplomb. But it's bathed in so much reverb that the groups sounds like it's playing down the far end of the Grand Canyon.

On Take it Back, Pink Floyd come on like a cross between U2 and Dire Straits, while on Great Day for Freedom, tired imagery and a pedestrian melody remind us once again how important Mr. Waters was the formula.
High Hopes probably constitutes the quality core of this record, an impressive dirge that captures the spirit of Comfortably Numb, though even this song is let down by a tediously repetitive middle-8, sure sign of lack of artistic urgency.
To sum up, this record sounds big and expensive and sold in bucketloads, but for me, it lacks the substance and inventiveness to satisfy the 'serious' Pink Floyd fan.

There is nothing wrong with this album. It's all in your mind........2007-04-23

Pink Floyd has always been great "head music". A lot of time had passed by since their high water mark, 1973's Dark Side of the Moon and this album (1994). If it had been released 20 years earlier in 1974, it would have been hailed a masterpiece. I've listened to this album very closely and still found them to be the best purveyors of head music. I can't understand the cynical and disrespectful comments about this album, mostly from folks who weren't even alive when Dark Side came out. Bottom line: If you like Pink Floyd's weird sounds, and surreal soundscapes, you'll love this album. If you're hopping on the latest bandwagon, keep the negativity to yourself and stick to American Idol. Real Pink Floyd fans know "The Division Bell" is really a very good album even without Roger Waters.

A good solo album from David Gilmour.......2007-03-05

I have to agree with many reviewers this time. We are light year away from a true Pink Floyd album, the spirit is not here and the music is quite near to pop sometimes. We have some good tracks hidden in the cd, the best one is "High Hopes", the other interesting cuts are intrumental, "Cluster One" and "Marooned" The other track are just OK but far from memorable composition. "Wearing the inside out" is a real joke.

Not One of the Floyd's Best Efforts.......2007-03-01

This CD brings back memories from my junior high days and is the first Pink Floyd CD that I ever listened to. I do like the album overall, but in relation to their complete body of work this has to rank among their bottom. The only other albums that may be worse are Ummagumma or A Saucerful of Secrets.

But this does contain some great songs. Such as: High Hopes, Wearing the Inside Out, Keep Talking, Coming Back to Life, and Poles Apart. The songwriting and guitar playing could have been better though. Hopefully this isnt their last recording and they will reunite and make one last great album.

Average customer rating:

Solid

The Division Bell
Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: Columbia
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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A Momentary Lapse of Reason

ASIN: B00005G8V4
Release Date: 2002-02-25

Tracks:

Cluster One
What Do You Want from Me
Poles Apart
Marooned
Great Day for Freedom
Wearing the Inside Out
Take It Back
Coming Back to Life
Keep Talking
Lost for Words
High Hopes

Album Details

Same as USA Version.

Customer Reviews:

Solid.......2006-12-31

Any group with a catalog that includes albums such as "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" along with their numerous other releases will forever have to live up to their reputation. In the hands of other groups "The Division Bell" would be considered a high-water mark in their repertoire; in the hands of Pink Floyd this is just another competent, beautiful album.

The album opens with the instrumental "Cluster One," featuring the sounds of Mother Earth herself. The music is quiet, thoughtful; an introspective introduction that provides a flavor of things to come, and perhaps reminds you that this CD is a Pink Floyd CD; you can expect art, a touch of this, a touch of that, and it will be tinged with progressive elements.

The stronger elements of "What Do You Want from Me" contrast nicely with the opening piece. The song has elements that date back to "Wish You Were Here" and "Dark Side of the Moon." While the work breaks little new ground for Floyd, it is the reliability and quality of the music and lyrics that make it so addictive. This music is the same while being different. Those contrasting guitar chords are Floyd. "Poles Apart" follows in a similar vein. However, the power of the lyrics of "Poles Apart" pulls you into the imagery painted by the combination of the music and lyrics. Once again the keyboards remind me of "Dark Side of the Moon."

The fourth track, "Marooned," is okay. This instrumental track may fit with the theme of the introduction, but is otherwise uninspired. The instrumental is pleasant and mellow, an accompaniment to floating clouds and mellow water surrounded by whispering spring trees; music to get dreamy by.

When I first heard the lyrics of "A Great Day for Freedom," I thought it related to the breaking down of barriers between East and West at the end of the cold war. Multiple listening now convinces me that the song has more to do with the departure of Roger Waters than anything else. The music is mellow and good, but to use the lyrics as may have been done distracts from my enjoyment of a musically good song.

While the music of "Wearing the Inside Out" starts with a jazz flavor, or may even remind a listener of Vangelis's "Blade Runner" music, the lyrics are surreal and hint at paranoia and being left out. Richard Wright's music retains only a hint of Pink Floyd's usual musical style and while the change in flavor may provide some needed variation, the variation is also too noticeable to a focused listener. This track is one of my less favorite tracks on this CD.

I like the music and the lyrics of "Take It Back." There is a strong pop beat to this song, but it is so listenable and the lyrics are complex so that it is an enjoyable song. My only objection is the pop-like repetitive lyric at the end of the song. The harmony is well done, but the repetition is annoying.

The lyrics of "Coming Back to Life" are evocative. The song is a lament, a seeking, a journey, a vision, an ending and a new beginning. It is amazing that David Gilmour managed to squeeze so much into the sparse lyrics of this song. While this song retains some of the pop flavor of "Take It Back," the lyrics will challenge an analytical listener and turns what could have been a mundane song into a good listen.

"Keep Talking" uses a bit of a gimmick with the synthesized voice of physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking at several places in the song. I like this song with its Pink Floyd style. However, I keep thinking that this song sounds similar in places to another song I heard on an early Pink Floyd album; I am just unable to pinpoint the song. Perhaps the style is so strongly similar to early Pink Floyd that I keep thinking this is a song from "Wish You Were Here."

The song "Lost for Words" is a song of frustration. How can you help overcome the differences between you and those who may be your enemies? This song really has no answer to the question, but how many songs of any genre use the words "doldrums" and "cauldron," particularly in the same song? For a while the vocals have a bit of a Bob Dylan feel to them, particularly in the opening stanza. Later we hear the sound of a boxing match in the bridge leading into a stronger, more Floyd style vocal. This song also contains a four-letter word that I am unable to recall having seen in a Pink Floyd song. I was a bit surprised by the inclusion, though it fits well with the theme.

The last track, "High Hopes," is my favorite on this CD. It is progressive and strong and a wonderful way to finish off a CD. My opinion of this CD was strongly flavored by this last track that contains so many musical elements. The song in introduced with bells and a haunting piano. The initial vocals are dark and plaintive. The lyrics are full of unrealized futures and lost pasts, a feeling that we are coming to the end. The tolling of bells and the heavy bass are sad and nostalgic. While it would be easy to accept the end as depressing, it is the well-executed artistry of this song that makes me happy rather than the sadness of the song. I hope for a return of Floyd.

This solid CD is a worthy addition to Pink Floyd's catalog. We can only hope that there might yet be something released in the future from this ground-breaking and influential group. This version is an import; other, less expensive, versions are available!

Enjoy!

Average customer rating:

Division Bell
Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: Sony Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0009VNCAA
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Average customer rating:

Solid
Floyd's possible farewell gets the Japanese mini-LP treatment
The most underrated album in the history of rock and roll.

The Division Bell
Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: Sony Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Pulse
The Wall (Deluxe Packaging Digitally Remastered)
Opel
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ASIN: B0007WZX9O
Release Date: 2005-07-26

Tracks:

Cluster One
What Do You Want from Me
Poles Apart
Marooned
Great Day for Freedom
Wearing the Inside Out
Take It Back
Coming Back to Life
Keep Talking
Lost for Words
High Hopes

Album Description

Originally released in 1994, this limited edition CD comes housed in a paper sleeve. CBS. 2005.

Album Details

Japanese Limited LP Replica Sleeve Edition of the Original Album Release from 1994. The Package Faithfully Recreates the Original LP Sleeve with the Original Gatefold Sleeve Housing the Original LP (Now a CD with the Complete Audio Program) and the Innersleeve Along with Label Miniatures that Replicate the Original Record Label. Also Includes a Fold-out Insert that Includes Track Information and Lyrics in Both English and Japanese.

Customer Reviews:

Solid.......2006-09-27

Any group with a catalog that includes albums such as "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" along with their numerous other releases will forever have to live up to their reputation. In the hands of other groups "The Division Bell" would be considered a high-water mark in their repertoire; in the hands of Pink Floyd this is just another competent, beautiful album.

The album opens with the instrumental "Cluster One," featuring the sounds of Mother Earth herself. The music is quiet, thoughtful; an introspective introduction that provides a flavor of things to come, and perhaps reminds you that this CD is a Pink Floyd CD; you can expect art, a touch of this, a touch of that, and it will be tinged with progressive elements.

The stronger elements of "What Do You Want from Me" contrast nicely with the opening piece. The song has elements that date back to "Wish You Were Here" and "Dark Side of the Moon." While the work breaks little new ground for Floyd, it is the reliability and quality of the music and lyrics that make it so addictive. This music is the same while being different. Those contrasting guitar chords are Floyd. "Poles Apart" follows in a similar vein. However, the power of the lyrics of "Poles Apart" pulls you into the imagery painted by the combination of the music and lyrics. Once again the keyboards remind me of "Dark Side of the Moon."

The fourth track, "Marooned," is okay. This instrumental track may fit with the theme of the introduction, but is otherwise uninspired. The instrumental is pleasant and mellow, an accompaniment to floating clouds and mellow water surrounded by whispering spring trees; music to get dreamy by.

When I first heard the lyrics of "A Great Day for Freedom," I thought it related to the breaking down of barriers between East and West at the end of the cold war. Multiple listening now convinces me that the song has more to do with the departure of Roger Waters than anything else. The music is mellow and good, but to use the lyrics as may have been done distracts from my enjoyment of a musically good song.

While the music of "Wearing the Inside Out" starts with a jazz flavor, or may even remind a listener of Vangelis's "Blade Runner" music, the lyrics are surreal and hint at paranoia and being left out. Richard Wright's music retains only a hint of Pink Floyd's usual musical style and while the change in flavor may provide some needed variation, the variation is also is too noticeable to a focused listener. This track is one of my less favorite on this CD.

I like the music and the lyrics of "Take It Back." There is a strong pop beat to this song, but it is so listenable and the lyrics are complex so that it is an enjoyable song. My only objection is the pop-like repetitive lyric at the end of the song. The harmony is well done, but the repetition is annoying.

The lyrics of "Coming Back to Life" are evocative. The song is a lament, a seeking, a journey, a vision, an ending and a new beginning. It is amazing that David Gilmour managed to squeeze so much into the sparse lyrics of this song. While this song retains some of the pop flavor of "Take It Back," the lyrics will challenge an analytical listener and turns what could have been a mundane song into a good listen.

"Keep Talking" uses a bit of a gimmick with the synthesized voice of physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking used at several places in the song. I like this song with its Pink Floyd style. However, I keep thinking that this song sounds similar in places to another song I heard on an early Pink Floyd album; I am just unable to pinpoint the song. Perhaps the style is so strongly similar to early Pink Floyd that I keep thinking this is a song from "Wish You Were Here."

The song "Lost for Words" is a song of frustration. How can you help overcome the differences between you and those who may be your enemies? This song really has no answer to the question, but how many songs of any genre use the words "doldrums" and "cauldron," particularly in the same song? For a while the vocals have a bit of a Bob Dylan feel to them, particularly in the opening stanza. Later we hear the sound of a boxing match in the bridge leading into a stronger, more Floyd style vocal. This song also contains a four-letter word that I am unable to recall having seen in a Pink Floyd song. I was a bit surprised by the inclusion, though it fits well with the theme.

The last track, "High Hopes," is my favorite on this CD. It is progressive and strong and a wonderful way to finish off a CD. My opinion of this CD was strongly flavored by this last track that contains so many musical elements. The song in introduced with bells and a haunting piano. The initial vocals are dark and plaintive. The lyrics are full of unrealized futures and lost pasts, a feeling that we are coming to the end. The tolling of bells and the heavy bass are sad and nostalgic. While it would be easy to accept the end as depressing, it is the well-executed artistry of this song that makes me happy rather than the sadness of the song. I hope for a return of Floyd.

This solid CD is a worthy addition to Pink Floyd's catalog. We can only hope that there might yet be something released in the future from this ground-breaking and influential group. This version is an import; other versions are available!

Enjoy!

Floyd's possible farewell gets the Japanese mini-LP treatment.......2006-03-24

Pink Floyd's most recent album The Division Bell was released in April of 1994(two full months before I graduated High School).
The Division Bell was the first new studio album for pink Floyd since their 1987 comeback A Momentary Lapse of Reason. The band spent four years on the Momentary project recording and touring(the tour ended in 1990).
The band were inactive in 1991 and spent 1992 putting together the Shine On box. It was during an American radio interview in late 1992 that guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour revealed that the band would finally begin work on a new album in 1993. David, along with drummer Nick Mason and a fully reinstated keyboardist Rick Wright(whom was a sideman on the Momentary Lapse album and tour) recorded The Division Bell throughout 1993 and January of 1994 at David's own houseboat studio The Astoria with David producing with Bob Ezrin.
When I first put this album on after buying it on street date, it reminded me of Wish You Were Here which is my favorite Pink Floyd album. This was the band's first theme album in years with its concept about lack of communication.
The opening Cluster One is a superb instrumental and one of their best ever. What Do You Want From Me sounds like Have a Cigar(pt. 2) and is a great song and David and Rick's music just being as great as ever. The haunting Poles Apart starts out being about Syd and his descent into madness while the second verse (Hey You!) addresses the demise of David's relationship with Waters(which would not resolve until 2005) and then ends with Gilmour's own self doubts about where he stands in the grand scheme of Pink Floyd and realizing in the end that his own personal life and love is where he keeps his sanity grounded. The Grammy winning instrumental Marooned is a lovely piece of music which is superb. A Great Day For Freedom talks about the fall of The Berlin Wall and the fall of one's relationships. Wearing The Inside Out is Rick's personal aside about his own exile both physically from the band and mentally and featured returning sax player Dick Parry whom last played on Wish You Were Here.
Take it Back is the closest Floyd ever came to a love song. Coming Back to Life is David's song to his now wife Polly Samson whom brought him back to happiness after all the traumas with Roger and the demise of his first marriage to Ginger in 1990. Polly was actually proofreader to David's lyrics on The Division Bell and out of kindness gave her credit. Keep Talking was the song that got loads of airplay on rock radio when released and sounds like classic Floyd from Dark Side and Wish You Were Here era Floyd. Lost For Words dealt with the demise and failed reconciliation with Waters(they finally reconciled in 2005). The closing High Hopes was the best Floyd track since Comfortably Numb which was about the things you gained and lost in life.
When the album was released(I bought the CD the day it came out and the aqua blue vinyl and cassette), it was an instant smash hitting #1 in its first week and stayed put for four weeks in the Spring of 1994 whilst the band toured in support of the album and sold close to Four million in the US alone and many more worldwide.
The Division Bell is a great album and may possibly be the final album from the band. Although David said Floyd was done in 2001, he changed his stance in 2003 saying "Floyd still exists and will return one day but not tomorrow". However if Floyd don't return, this album ends their career with a bang!
In 2005, Sony Japan re-released the album using all of the original LP packaging like on the limited LP release. Using extra artwork and lastly the picture labels on the album and the CD sounds superb.
Hugely recommended!

The most underrated album in the history of rock and roll........2005-08-22

I could go on about every song on this album and the greatness of Pink Floyd and that would be perfectly fine and honest. However, all I want to say is that this is simply the most underrated album release in the history of rock and roll. This album is very sensual, soothing, dramatic, and even emotionally violent at times. Sure, Roger wasn't there and we're all sad about that. On the other hand, Pink Floyd did not die and anybody that listens to this album with an open mind will come to quickly realize that.

This is not an album that will immediately impact you the first time you play it. Play this album periodically and let it grow on you. Eventually, if you appreciate the work of Pink Floyd the way I think I do, it will become a major component of not only your Pink Floyd collection but of your entire music collection.

Average customer rating:

Division Bell
Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: Msi Music Corp
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000DEPQV
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Cluster One
2. What Do You Want From Me
3. Poles Apart
4. Marooned
5. Great Day For Freedom
6. Wearing The Inside Out
7. Take It Back
8. Coming Back To Life
9. Keep Talking
10. Lost For Words
11. High Hopes