I like this album cover from Pink Floyd a lot. It sent a shot at the music industry in a bold way. Wish You Were Here was released in 1975. By that time, Pink Floyd was one of the biggest bands in the world. They were selling millions of records and selling out concerts with hundreds of thousands of people after their 1973 release, Dark Side Of The Moon. After that tour, the band was at a cross-roads. They weren't sure who they wanted to be. They went into the studio in 1975 and 6 months later they came out with one of their best albums ever.
The album cover itself is two men in suits shaking hands. One man is on fire, the other looks totally normal. The man on fire represents the music industry and the other man represents a musician looking to make a name for himself in the business. Right off the bat this album throws a shot at the record label and music industry as a whole. This conceived notion that the record managers were your friends and they would help your make millions. Most of them were gold diggers.
The album consists of 5 songs. “Have A Cigar” is one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs. It encapsulates the album as well.
“Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar, your gonna go far
You're gonna fly high, your never gonna die”
This would be what the label manager tells the new band trying to make a name for themselves. Come in, have a cigar, your going to do very well in the music industry.
“The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think.
Oh, by the way, which ones Pink”
I admire the band a lot of making such a bold statement on their album. I could only imagine the record labels reaction to these sort of lyrics from one of their premier bands.
Overall this album is one of their best. It follows up Dark Side of the Moon very well.