Pink Floyd - The Endless River (2014)
Label: Parlophone Records (UK) | Columbia Records (US)
Genre: Ambient/Psychedelic/Blues Rock
The Endless River is Pink Floyd's fifteenth and final studio album, and what an album to go out on. It's the third album led by guitarist and singer David Gilmour after Roger Waters' departure and the first following the death of keyboardist Rick Wright, who appears on the album posthumously. It's a mostly instrumental/ambient piece based on material the band wrote, recorded and produced with Rick Wright during sessions for their previous album, The Division Bell. Just like The Division Bell, there is a vocal track from none other than Stephen Hawking.
Pink Floyd are probably my single favourite band of all time, having been introduced to them at a young age through my Dad. Although The Division Bell was released in my life, I was only 6 at the time of it's release. It feels like I've lived through a piece of history to see the release of their final work of art. I was never that big a fan of The Division Bell, especially compared to their earlier stuff, but now it finally feels like it's complete. The Endless River is an aural delight, taking the listener on a journey through their own mind. At times you can feel the influence of some of their most influential works, such as The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon.
Critically, the album received mixed reviews. It certainly isn't their best album, but neither is it their worst. For life-long fans of Pink Floyd, it feels largely like the logical conclusion to the Pink Floyd saga. I could go on for days writing about Pink Floyd, but I very much doubt you'd want to hear it! If you haven't already, get yourself a copy of this (and every single other album of theirs) to play on those long Sunday afternoons.