Evaluation of "breathe" by Pink Floyd

Kyle Thornton

Fall 2014 MTM 3130

December 2, 1014

A Complete Evaluation

As one of the great rock bands of the 1970s, Pink Floyd is a prime example of artisanship and virtuosity in the musical form. Their best-selling album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, is the culmination of the expertise of the band and their engineers. Specifically, the track “Breathe” exemplifies excellence due to the raw authenticity of sound that the engineers were not only able to capture but enhance without degradation to the performance. The timbral balance between instruments the space created with the stereo spread, and the emotion captured in the lap steel guitar performance shape the raw sonic elements, and create what is heard today as one of the greatest selling albums of all time.

Roger Waters intricate patterns and slight ornamentation on the bass can be heard throughout the album. These intricacies create subtle changes in each phrase allowing the bass line to be ever-changing within a central theme. David Gilmour and his guitar work shine through on more than one occasion specifically on the track “Time”, the string of notes he puts together in the solo shows his genius and hours of dedication. The jazz influence and use of carefully placed hits by the drummer Nick Mason create a sense of structured swing. Richard Wright as the glue on keyboards and synths which tied together the band with his beautifully haunting soundscapes. These four would have a different story if it were not for their recordist, the infamous Alan Parsons. He has been credited for signature sonic events of the record, notably for finding the vocalist for “The Great Gig In The Sky”.

Thematically, “Breathe” emphasizes the dull and vain points of life along with the importance of living life to the fullest. Alan Parsons, the sound engineer and producer, flawlessly captured the sound of the band during the recording process. Based upon analytical listening, the dynamic control of the piece is superb, it has an ample amount of headroom and a high crest factor. A high crest factor allows for the piece to breathe and open up from the instrumental introduction to the second verse in which the change is amplitude is around 7 dB. Parsons explains in an interview his performance technique of capturing the sound:

We would record the backings first...The backings would have been done in a more conventional way; several takes, and then we choose one over another. Basic tracks were recorded to 16-track, and then we went down another generation to free up more tracks. And we mixed from that second-generation 16-track [which contained the overdubs and solos]. It was a compilation from all the master takes with the first-generation 16-tracks. They went to a second generation, because they needed the