My friend kp told me about the losing finalist Marty Casey of Rock Star: INXS, which is a travesty by the way, and his performance of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here and sent the audio clip too. I wanted to dislike it but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. A good performance by Marty and only let down by the house band; especially the guitarist, but trying to emulate David Gilmour is a lost cause anyway. Also the arrangement was a little too rich towards the end which I thought was uncalled for.
So I told him, “Well, listen to THIS.” THIS being the reunited Pink Floyd at Live 8.
A little background:
Roger Waters has not been on speaking terms with the rest of the band for more than two decades, but the band agreed to put their differences aside for the event. Wish You Were Here and the album it came on was dedicated to founding member Syd Barrett who suffered a mental breakdown due to both drugs and pressure from life on the road. Roger mentioned Syd during the introduction, making it clear that this performance was for him, and it was an incredible performance. The first time I saw this clip I wanted to cry.
One could only hope that these men mellowed by the years could find the joy in creating beautiful music together again.