As one of Pink Floyd’s founding members, Richard Wright had a deep understanding of the band’s journey—from their scrappy beginnings under various names to the tragic decline of Syd Barrett and the cerebral peak they reached in the 1970s. Though he sometimes clashed with his bandmates, like them, Wright recognized when things began to take a downward turn for the group.
Roger Waters, Pink Floyd’s eventual creative leader, famously remarked that the band’s success with The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973 marked the beginning of their end. Despite this success being unimaginable to the outside world, Waters believed it “finished” the band.
After Barrett’s mental and physical health deteriorated, Waters took on the leadership role within Pink Floyd, filling the void left by the original frontman. As Barrett had a distinct sound and style, it took the remaining band members—along with Barrett’s replacement, David Gilmour—time to craft a new identity. The transition was far from seamless, with the band releasing both hits and misses along the way. But by the time they wrote “Echoes” for 1971’s Meddle, Pink Floyd had finally found their direction.
In 1972, the band released Obscured by Clouds, but it was the following year’s The Dark Side of the Moon that solidified their place in music history. This concept album, a commercial and critical triumph, remains a landmark achievement. It also marked Waters’ rise as the band’s primary lyricist, exploring themes like aging, fame, and mental health. Waters believed that The Dark Side of the Moon was a pinnacle Pink Floyd would never again reach, which led him to cynically declare it the band’s creative peak.
While Waters might have felt the band’s best work was behind them, Pink Floyd went on to release more classics. For many fans, 1975’s Wish You Were Here is considered their finest album, surpassing even The Dark Side of the Moon. The record is a poignant reflection on Barrett’s mental health struggles and the theme of absence, a topic all band members deeply connected with.
In a 2001 interview for The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story, Wright called Wish You Were Here “our best album” and the only one he could still enjoy listening to.
“I think it’s our best album, personally, I love it,” Wright said, praising both the lyrics and the music. “I love the flow of it, and I will listen to that album for pleasure—there’s not many of the Floyd albums I can, but that one.”
Wright highlighted “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” the album’s centerpiece, as an example of the band’s brilliance. He described the way the song builds from subtle beginnings with wine glasses and a saxophone to a powerful climax, noting the complexity of the chord sequences and the emotional depth of the track. “I just think it’s a great piece,” he added.
For Wright, Wish You Were Here was also the last album where Pink Floyd truly worked as a cohesive unit before things began to unravel. He agreed with Waters’ sentiment that the record’s themes of loss and disconnection mirrored the band’s own trajectory. “It was the last album where we worked well together,” Wright concluded, signaling the end of an era for Pink Floyd.
