I felt amazed when listening to "Time" for the 1247th time,when I realised I hadn't yet covered it in my blog.Big deal,actually,considering it has been my most-loved-Floyd-no. for a long time now."Comfortably Numb", "Us and Them", "Wish you were here", "Shine on you crazy diamond","Echoes","Dogs" and all others please don't mind.I love y'all more than most things.But there's something about the guitar solo in this one that takes me on another level altogether.Agreed,the solo in "Comfortably numb" is longer,perhaps technically superior and actually even better than the one in "Time".But,well....I dunno,therez no explanation.
The track itself is much more than the guitar solo.Reportedly,Waters wrote it at a stage in his life-he was 28 then-when he realised that he was no longer preparing for anything in life,but was right in the middle of it.It's a feeling most ordinary people have felt at some point or the other in their lives.Maybe the reason I connect so well with this song is that I've already started getting that sort of feeling,which is also a bit disturbing,since I'm only 21 and have hardly done anything that people have defined as worthwhile.My absolute favorite lyrics from this song,which also happen to be all time fave lines are especially moving:
So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
Every year is getting shorter,never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Apart from the mesmerising lyrics and soaring guitar solo,the sound engineering techniques employed in this number are awesome,to say the least.The song starts with layers of clock noises that were put together by their engineer, Alan Parsons. Each clock was recorded separately at an antiques store, and the band blended them together.It served as an advertisement for the then new quadrophonic sound system.These are the reasons why I consider most bands out of their league.These people weren't just great musicians and lyricists.They were sound magicians.I feel one of their earlier names,"The Pink Floyd sound" suited them much better.It doesn't belong to progressive ,alternative,space or any other genre of Rock music that they are frequently identified with.Its just The Pink Floyd sound....
