Bibek Acharya
Any fans of Pink Floyd will likely understand that enjoying their legacy isn’t the same as any other band. For starters, their extensive discography feels almost overwhelming at times, as does their quest for ever-searching for the biggest and most expansive explosion of artistic grandeur. Although David Gilmour and Roger Waters rarely got on at the best of times, Pink Floyd never felt anything other than a complicated, singular entity with a tapestry of material that never gets old.
Despite the countless disagreements and tensions, the one thing perhaps more stringent than the group’s burgeoning desire to call it off was their incessant desire to establish new standards of excellence, never stopping or allowing complacency to get in the way. Even when it seemed they had reached the pinnacle of their appeal, they kept going, searching for new undiscovered spaces, filling them with kaleidoscopic visions that drew from past, present, and future.
This is likely why, when asked about his own personal favourites, Gilmour emanated the same sense of overwhelm many fans do when asked the very same question. “There’s lots of them,” he said, before naming ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’ as “standout tracks”. Incidentally, ‘Wish You Were Here’ also shares a place in Waters’ heart, enough for it to be the only Gilmour collaboration he played during his solo sets after the band.
But what about Gilmour’s favourite guitar parts? When questioned about his favourite guitar solos, Gilmour chose songs that showcased his affinity for stepping outside of his comfort zone and exercising tropes he wouldn’t have necessarily felt were within his remit. These included the solos on ‘Comfortably Numb’ and ‘Dogs’ from Animals, alongside the criminally overlooked riff throughout Gilmour’s solo song, ‘Raise My Rent’.
