10 Greatest Tribute Albums In Hard Rock
5. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
After coming off of something like Dark Side of the Moon, you'd probably expect a rock band to be on top of the world. Since you've created one of the most perfect rock albums known to man, you're pretty much a god among the music community, right? In a technical sense, yes, but that doesn't mean that you're necessarily happy either.
Once Pink Floyd reassembled after the tour for Dark Side of the Moon, they were reeling over the massive amount of attention that had come their way. Along with the hectic touring schedule, both Roger Waters and David Gilmour were still coming to grips with losing Syd Barrett, who was one of the founding members of Floyd before being booted after suffering a mental breakdown. Though not even on speaking terms in the studio, Floyd channeled all of their grief into the music for Wish You Were Here, which was centered around Barrett's frail state of mind.
That spirit did end up paying them a visit during the production as well, as Barrett turned up in the studio looking like a shell of what he once was. While also being a love letter to their founding member, Wish You Were Here also functions as a condemnation on the artificial nature of the industry, with songs like Welcome to the Machine showing the assembly line side of the business. Even though Syd had started to fade away around this time, this music is about as close to his spirit as you can get.