10 Perfect Rock Albums That Are Incredibly Sad
6. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
For anyone else in Pink Floyd's position in the early '70s, things should have been going amazing for them. They had just released Dark Side of the Moon, and have risen from the ashes of their Syd Barrett years by becoming one of the biggest progressive rock bands in the world. Fame can be a bit tricky though, and Floyd came back to the studio with a lot more emotional baggage than you might expect.
Throughout Wish You Were Here, you can feel that the band members aren't all that comfortable with getting to the top of the musical food chain, especially at the expense of losing one of their own in the process. Looking to find some way to memorialize their old bandmate, half of Wish You Were Here is a tribute to what Barrett helped them become, with Shine On You Crazy Diamond capturing their full experience, even incorporating bits of See Emily Play into the mix as well.
The other half of the record is a lot more spiteful though, with songs that work through the dishonest parts of the music industry, from the snooty manger that turns up on Have a Cigar or the inhuman voice introducing you to the business side of things on Welcome to the Machine. Any other band would want to bask in the glory of their success, but Floyd gave us a cautionary tale here. You might want to become famous, but be sure you know what you're getting yourself into.