Coda.fm

Meddle

by Pink Floyd

• Listen to a preview now
• Buy it at Amazon.com

For all that menacing, hatchet-happy growl at the beginning of Meddle's opener, "One of These Days," Pink Floyd really weren't about to "cut you into little pieces." Meddle did, however, show that the reigning British monarchs of 1970s-era psychedelia could rip into galloping jams. It also showed what its predecessor, Atom Heart Mother, promised--that the band could excel in long, breathtaking suites that revealed strains of late-classical music, Sun Ra-inspired space explorations, and a patchwork approach to colliding sounds that together took on acid-drenched proportions. And if all that isn't enough, "San Tropez" revealed a playful side of the band, playing footsy with loungy jazz and having good fun in the process. --Andrew Bartlett