Pink Floyd: what “Wish you where here” sounds like, 50 years later

How does “Wish you where here” sound, fifty years later? There’s no point beating around the bush: very good. Pink Floyd’s classic has stood the test of time. For Nick Mason there’s a reason: “Wish you where here” already sounded ahead of the curve for 1975 rock. “I’m constantly amazed by how good the recording technology was fifty years ago at Abbey Road. It’s great when things were sorted out a bit more and the sound was a bit more defined. But it’s been a long time since you’ve heard records played that still sound fresh. And credit goes to the technical side of it all, particularly to whoever recorded them originally,” he said the legendary drummer of the British rock band in a long interview granted to Variety on the occasion of the release of one special reissue of “Wish you where here” to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary.

The historic 1975 album has just returned to stores in the form of a special reissue in various formats for Sony Music (purchasable at this link) with unreleased songs and rarities. Studio rarities to be released include “The Machine Song (Roger’s demo),” the first home demo that Roger Waters originally submitted to the band, a previously unreleased instrumental mix of “Wish You Were Here” that highlights David Gilmour’s pedal steel guitar, another previously unreleased demo of “Welcome to the Machine,” “The Machine Song (Demo #2, Revisited),” and, for the first time, a complete version of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-9)” which combines the two parts of the song in a new stereo mix created by James Guthrie. You can (re)listen to the album below by clicking on play:

“Wish You Were Here 50” was released in various formats: 3LP, 2CD, Blu-ray, digital and deluxe box set. The digital edition includes the original 1975 album with a new Dolby Atmos mix created by James Guthrie, Pink Floyd’s collaborator since 1979 with “The Wall”. It also includes 25 bonus tracks consisting of 9 studio rarities and 16 live recordings made by famous bootlegger Mike Millard at Pink Floyd’s concert at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on April 26, 1975 (officially released here for the first time). The live audio has been carefully restored and remastered by Steven Wilson. The 3LP and 2CD formats include the original album and nine bonus studio tracks. The deluxe box set contains all the material on 2CD, 3LP (exclusive clear vinyl) and Blu-ray, as well as a fourth LP on clear vinyl, “Live At Wembley 1974”, a replica of the Japanese 7” single “Have A Cigar” / “Welcome To The Machine”, a hardback book with previously unpublished photographs, a comic book with the tour program and a poster of the Knebworth concert.