8 Underrated Pink Floyd Songs From Deep in the Band’s Archive
Pink Floyd had one of the most remarkable reinventions of any classic rock band. The psychedelic pioneers lost their creative leader when they parted ways with Syd Barrett in 1968. After searching for a way forward without him, they eventually found their path and became one of the biggest bands of the 1970s with the impactful The Dark Side of the Moon. That album was a cornerstone of their career, but several underrated Pink Floyd songs from the band’s catalog deserve recognition. (All songs presented in chronological order).
1. ‘The Nile Song’
- Album: More
Pink Floyd’s first effort without any contribution from Barrett was their soundtrack to the 1969 movie More. Without their mercurial leader and with the freedom to create for someone else’s project instead of their own album, the band showed off a range of styles. “The Nile Song” proved to be the most unprecedented song on the tracklist. The hard-hitting rocker stood apart from anything Pink Floyd had done to that point in their career. They added the similar-sounding “Ibiza Bar” later on the soundtrack, which also featured detours into jazz (“Up the Khyber”), blues (“More Blues”), ethnic music (“A Spanish Piece”), and ballad songwriting (“Green Is the Colour” and “Cymbaline”).
2. ‘Fearless’
- Album: Meddle
The 1971 album Meddle housed just six songs, but it included several standout tunes. The slow-moving anthem “Fearless” was one of them. David Gilmour’s climbing main riff paired up nicely with lyrics that referenced climbing a hill and looking down at the crowd. There’s not much to “Fearless,” but its simplicity allowed listeners to sit inside the song, which faded out with the crowd at a Liverpool soccer game singing the Gerry and the Pacemakers tune “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Also check out the moody and menacing opener “One of These Days” and the sprawling psychedelic masterpiece “Echoes” from the same record.
3. ‘Free Four’
- Album: Obscured By Clouds
Pink Floyd made another soundtrack album, Obscured by Clouds, a year before they released The Dark Side of the Moon. They recorded it quickly but without sacrificing quality songwriting, as evidenced by “Free Four.” The underrated Floyd tune seamlessly melded Gilmour’s breezy acoustic strumming with keyboard player Rick Wright’s ominous synth blasts. The acoustic riff forms the song’s backbone, but Gilmour tossed in one of his fiercest electric guitar solos (plus several mini solos in the back half of the song).
As a bonus, the album included the tune “Childhood’s End,” which predicted Pink Floyd’s Dark Side breakthrough.
4. ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)’
- Album: Wish You Were Here
It might seem like a bit of a cheat to count one of their signature pieces on a list of underrated Pink Floyd songs. Yet we’re including it here because it’s such a fitting tribute to Barrett, the person whose creativity gave the group its first taste of success. Roger Waters’ lyrics urging his lost friend, who showed up to the studio one day while the band recorded Wish You Were Here, to shine on were more succinct and direct in the second portion of the song.
Wright’s exquisite synth work anchors “Shine On (Parts 6-9), especially the emotional riff that closed the song. He played a somber solo for much of Part 9, then turned on a dime and delivered a hopeful finish. “Shine On” was a musical eulogy for Barrett, but Part 9 was a shining moment for Wright.
5. ‘Sheep’
- Album: Animals
Pink Floyd spent nearly 40 minutes raging against capitalism and the British government on Animals, a concept album that took inspiration from George Orwell’s Animal Farm. “Sheep” became one of the heaviest songs of their career. Wright’s keyboards sounded like organ squalls, which just reinforced Waters pounding bass riff and Gilmour’s biting guitar tone. The song raged out of the gate, then built to a thrilling climax.
Drummer Nick Mason, never the most flashy player, excels over the song’s final three minutes. He played a series of incredible fills underneath Gilmour’s forcefully strummed chordal solo that took the song to its conclusion.
6. ‘Nobody Home’
- Album: The Wall
Yes, it’s possible to have an underrated Pink Floyd song come from one of its most successful albums. Songs such as the misunderstood “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2,” “Mother,” “Hey You,” and “Comfortably Numb” were the standouts, but the delicate ballad “Nobody Home” was easily overlooked. The heavily orchestral song included some of Waters’ most emotional lyrics. Every syllable conveyed the isolation, depression, and hopelessness of the concept album’s Pink character. “Nobody Home” wasn’t an easy song to listen to, but the symphonic music anchoring the piece showed Pink Floyd excelled beyond the guitar-bass-drums-keyboards approach on which they built their reputation.
7. ‘Not Now John’
- Album: The Final Cut
The classic Pink Floyd lineup was all but done when The Final Cut came to record stores in 1983. To wit — the back cover told fans the album was composed by Waters and performed by Pink Floyd. “Not Now John” saw Waters’ lyrics spitting venom at England’s government and his home country’s cultural apathy, and Gilmour followed suit with some of his most savage riffing. Ego clashes and lawsuits drove the band apart after The Final Cut, but they had one more gem in them with “Not Now John.”
8. ‘Coming Back to Life’
- Album: The Division Bell
Gilmour, Wright, and Mason regrouped as Pink Floyd without Waters in the late 1980s. Their 1994 effort The Division Bell included several strong songs, and “Coming Back to Life” was the best. It started as a slow-moving atmospheric piece before transforming into a mid-tempo rocker with Gilmour’s guitar at the forefront, and he delivered a pair of passionate solos along the way.
“Pole Apart,” “Take it Back,” “Lost for Words,” and “High Hopes” were other standout tunes from The Division Bell. Still, “Coming Back to Life” is the emotional center of the record and one of the most underrated songs Pink Floyd ever made.
Tunes like “Money” and “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” stand as Pink Floyd’s most recognizable hits, but the band’s lesser-known songs are just as crucial to the band’s legacy.
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