Pink Floyd: annunciate tutte le novità della riedizione di “Wish You Were Here” per i 50 anni

I Pink Floyd hanno annunciato che il 12 dicembre uscirà la riedizione di “Wish You Were Here” (Sony Music), un progetto ricco di nuova musica che permetterà ai fan di immergersi più a fondo in un momento cruciale della storia della formazione inglese.

Tra le sorprese della riedizione: il 7” ormai introvabile, che era stato pubblicato esclusivamente in Giappone, con i brani “Have A Cigar”/”Welcome To The Machine” e 16 tracce live del 1975 mai pubblicate ufficialmente, realizzate dal celebre bootlegger Mike Millard al concerto dei Pink Floyd alla Los Angeles Sports Arena, per scoprire a fondo il sound della band in quell’anno magico.

Raving and Drooling

You’ve Got To Be Crazy

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1-5)

Have a Cigar

Shine on You Crazy Diamond (6-9)

Speak to Me

Breathe (In The Air)

On the Run

Time

The Great Gig in the Sky

Money

Us and Them

Any Colour You Like

Brain Damage

Eclipse

Echoes

“Wish You Were Here” è da decenni una presenza costante nelle classifiche dei migliori album di tutti i tempi. Contiene 5 brani eterni: “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, elegia divisa in due parti e dedicata a Syd Barrett, l’ipnotica “Welcome To The Machine”, che critica l’industria musicale, “Have A Cigar”, cantata da Roy Harper, cantautore che casualmente si trovava negli stessi studi dei Pink Floyd mentre registravano, e la title track, “Wish You Were Here”, che si apre con l’inconfondibile giro di chitarra proveniente da una stazione radio. Un album che oggi compie 50 anni, ancora velato di mistero e permeato di leggende, che tratta i temi dell’assenza, dell’isolamento, della caducità.

Quando uscì, nel 1975, era avvolto da una pellicola nera, sormontata solo da un adesivo con due mani meccaniche che si stringono sopra i 4 elementi: fuoco, acqua, aria, terra. La celebre copertina, così come le fotografie all’interno, è ricca di simbolismi e suggestioni, ideati da Storm Thorgerson e Aubrey “Po” Powell dello studio Hipgnosis.

La raccolta “Wish You Were Here 50” offrirà una nuova e appassionante prospettiva su uno dei dischi più iconici e amati della band. L’edizione celebrativa include infatti diverse rarità da scoprire.

“Wish You Were Here 50” verrà pubblicato in vari formati: 3LP, 2CD, Blu-ray, digitale e cofanetto deluxe. È disponibile il pre-order (here).

“Wish You Were Here 50”

Tracklist e versioni:

* never before officially released

DIGITAL

“DISC 1” – Original album

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5)

Welcome to the Machine

Have a Cigar

Wish You Were Here

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 6-9)

“DISC 2” – Bonus tracks

Wine Glasses (2:13)

Have a Cigar (Alternate Version)

Wish You Were Here (featuring Stéphane Grappelli)

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Early Instrumental Version, Rough Mix) *

The Machine Song (Roger’s Demo) *

The Machine Song (Demo #2, Revisited) *

Wish You Were Here (Take 1) *

Wish You Were Here (Pedal Steel Instrumental Mix) *

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-9, New Stereo Mix) *

“DISC 3” – Live bootleg

Raving and Drooling (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

You’ve Got To Be Crazy (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1-5) (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975 ) *

Have a Cigar (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Shine on You Crazy Diamond (6-9) (Live bootleg – Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Speak to Me (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Breathe (In The Air) (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

On the Run (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Time (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

The Great Gig in the Sky (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Money (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Us and Them (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Any Colour You Like (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Brain Damage (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Eclipse (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Echoes (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

2CD

“DISC 1”

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5)

Welcome to the Machine

Have a Cigar

Wish You Were Here

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 6-9)

Wine Glasses

Have a Cigar (Alternate Version)

Wish You Were Here (featuring Stéphane Grappelli)

“DISC 2”

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Early Instrumental Version, Rough Mix) *

The Machine Song (Roger’s Demo) *

The Machine Song (Demo #2, Revisited) *

Wish You Were Here (Take 1) *

Wish You Were Here (Pedal Steel Instrumental Mix) *

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-9, New Stereo Mix) *

3LP

Side A

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5)

Welcome to the Machine

Side B

Have a Cigar

Wish You Were Here

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 6-9)

Side C

Wine Glasses

Have a Cigar (Alternate Version)

Wish You Were Here (featuring Stéphane Grappelli)

Side D

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Early Instrumental Version, Rough Mix) *

The Machine Song (Roger’s Demo) *

Side E

The Machine Song (Demo #2, Revisited) *

Wish You Were Here (Take 1) *

Wish You Were Here (Pedal Steel Instrumental Mix) *

Side F

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-9, New Stereo Mix) *

Blu-Ray

Wish You Were Here original 5-track album

· 2025 Dolby Atmos Mix

· 2011 5.1 Surround Mix

· 1975 Stereo Mix

· 1975 4.0 Quad Mix

Bonus Audio Material (stereo)

Wine Glasses

Have a Cigar (Alternate Version)

Wish You Were Here (featuring Stéphane Grappelli)

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Early Instrumental Version, Rough Mix) *

The Machine Song (Roger’s Demo) *

The Machine Song (Demo #2, Revisited) *

Wish You Were Here (Take 1) *

Wish You Were Here (Pedal Steel Instrumental Mix) *

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-9, New Stereo Mix) *

Live Bootleg (stereo)

Raving and Drooling (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

You’ve Got To Be Crazy (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1-5) (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Have a Cigar (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Shine on You Crazy Diamond (6-9) (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Speak to Me (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Breathe (In The Air) (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

On the Run (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Time (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

The Great Gig in the Sky (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Money (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Us and Them (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Any Colour You Like (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Brain Damage (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Eclipse (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Echoes (Live from the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 1975) *

Videos (concert Screen Films)

• Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part I)

• Shine On You Crazy Diamond

• Welcome To The Machine

• Storm Thorgerson Short Film, 2000

Produced & Directed by Storm Thorgerson

DELUXE BOX SET

Including all 2CD, 3LP (on exclusive clear vinyl) and Blu-Ray formats listed below, plus:

· A fourth clear vinyl LP titled: “LP4” – Live At Wembley 1974:

Side G

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Side H

You’ve Got To Be Crazy

· Japanese Replica 7” Single: Have A Cigar (edit) b/w Welcome To The Machine

· Hardcover book with unseen photographs

· Comic Book Tour Programme

· Knebworth Poster

"Wish you were here." For fifty years, for rock fans, the wish expressed in these four words has been linked, by mental association, to one of the most unmistakable acoustic guitar riffs of all time. Words and music combine to form the song that probably every guitar student has put first, or among the first, in their repertoire. "Wish You Were Here," however, is not just the title of the famous song everyone knows, but also of the album that contains it, an equally era-defining record released by Pink Floyd half a century ago: on September 12, 1975.

The record is the ninth studio album by the English band and, in their discography, follows two years after its hugely celebrated predecessor, "The Dark Side Of The Moon," a work that in some ways was awkward to follow, being impossible to replicate in musical, aesthetic and cultural impact. And indeed David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright would distance themselves from it, releasing a work musically less immediate than "The Dark Side Of The Moon" but no less rich and sophisticated, even if purged of certain experimental quirks typical of their earlier output too. And indeed, at first the band's intent was to make an album centered on sound - but on "strange" sounds, starting from those obtained with everyday objects like glasses, knives and assorted junk. There was even a working title for this latest Floydian oddity, "Household Objects," but the project was eventually shelved. Among the reasons for the change of course was also the departure of Alan Parsons, the sound engineer on "The Dark Side Of The Moon," for whom the role of technical collaborator had begun to feel too confining - so much so that within a few months he would launch his own solo recording career under the name Alan Parsons Project with the concept album "Tales Of Mystery And Imagination Edgar Allan Poe."

So when the four of them, after a year's break from releasing new music (though not from live activity, nor from composing, nor indeed from the various members' collaborations on other people's work), went back into the studio in January 1975, they had no clear idea of which musical direction to take. The aforementioned album with the famous prism on the cover, and the success that followed, had left them completely drained creatively and in terms of motivation, even straining the personal relationships between them. "When 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' became so successful, that was the end. It was the end of the road. We'd reached the point we'd all been aiming for since we were teenagers, and there was really nothing left to do in terms of rock'n'roll," Waters would later say. In short, when the time came to follow up the 1973 bestseller, the fab four struggled to pick up the thread again - not even among themselves as human beings, friends and protagonists of an exhilarating, multi-stage journey.

The only certainty, which would go on to become the backbone of the work taking shape, was a track that already existed and had been performed live in the preceding months: a suite titled "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," of extravagant length - around 26 minutes - made up of several "pieces" assembled together. At first the idea was to give it the entire first side, then "filling" side B with two songs that were likewise already written, "Raving And Drooling" and "Gotta Be Crazy." These, however, would ultimately be set aside (both would appear on the band's next studio album, "Animals": the first as "Sheep," the second as "Dogs") in favor of three new compositions, which meant splitting the aforementioned "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" into two parts, one placed on each side, opening the first and closing the second.

Taken as a whole, "Wish You Were Here" is a tortured, deliberate, painstakingly crafted album, one steeped in all the apathy and mechanical numbness hanging over a band that, as they began work on it, felt they'd reached a dead end in their artistic trajectory. But fortunately, no feeling was ever more deceptive, since Pink Floyd would once again produce a magnificent work and still had plenty left to say, at least until "The Final Cut", which would sever the English band's magical harmony for good.

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