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Various Artists — Meddle Reimagined
(Cleopatra CLO4053, 2023, LP)

by Jon Davis, Published 2023-12-25

Meddle Reimagined Cover art

A few months ago I reviewed Animals Reimagined, and now we have a follow-up of sorts in Meddle Reimagined. Virtually everything I wrote about the Animals tribute applies to this effort, changing the names and song titles. Given the fact that Meddle was a much looser and quirkier album than Animals, being one of the transitional albums from Pink Floyd’s original psychedelic sound into the more progressive style of the mid-70s, there’s more room for interpretation of the songs. The opening track, “One of These Days,” is of course one of Pink Floyd’s most memorable pieces, and I find this new version rather enjoyable. It starts out with synthesizer swooshes from Geoff Downes, then Bootsy Collins comes in with a variation of the original bass part. Downes adds a splatty sequence to beef up the rhythm that I like, and also provides organ and piano bits that are similar to what Rick Wright played. Steve Stevens handles the guitar, with the clean chords in the first half and the distorted slide parts in the second. Carmine Appice does an excellent job on the drums — no surprise there — and the whole thing comes off rather well. “A Pillow of Winds” sounds lovely, sung by James LaBrie accompanied by Martin Barre, Derek Sherinian, and Alan Davey. On “Fearless,” Mark Stein sings and plays keyboards, and I’m not thrilled by the synthesizers he adds, cluttering up the arrangement unnecessarily; Helios Creed (guitar), Bob Daisley (bass), and Rat Scabies (drums) do well on the backing. I hope I won’t offend anyone by referring to “San Tropez” as a novelty tune, but here it’s played by Graham Bonnet, Chris Poland, Rick Wakeman, Joe Bouchard, and Dave Lombardo, and it’s a decent go at this minor tune. “Seamus” is done by Terry Reid and Brian Auger as a gritty acoustic blues with lots of canine input. But then we get what we were all waiting for... What will “Echoes” be like? The band for this Floyd classic is Frank DiMino (vocals), Dweezil Zappa (guitar), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), David J (bass), and Pat Mastelotto (drums), which is a pretty interesting combination of musicians, spanning Angel, Bauhaus, King Crimson, Dream Theater, and more. Rudess takes advantage of modern technology to provide an expansive atmosphere, and Zappa’s guitar work is very good, varying just enough from Gilmour’s parts to make it his own. Meddle was my introduction to Pink Floyd (“Echoes” specifically), and it altered my 12-year-old mind’s concept of music, setting the stage for a lifetime of discovery, so this music is very dear to my heart. Nothing will replace the original, but Meddle Reimagined manages the unlikely achievement of not disappointing me.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): James LaBrie, Helios Creed, Pat Mastelotto, Rick Wakeman, Pink Floyd, Martin Barre, Jordan Rudess, Brian Auger / Oblivion Express / Trinity, Geoff Downes, Alan Davey / Hawkestrel, Carmine Appice

More info
http://cleopatrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/meddle-reimagined

 

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