I can honestly say that for a band like Pink Floyd, I don’t think I’ve ever considered their singles. Respected and revered for their full-scale concept albums, the mere concept of them peeling one track out of that to release on its own feels weird, and it felt weird to Roger Waters, too.
It simply wasn’t what they were about. It’s obvious to any fan that the album was king to the unit. It’s part of their legacy as Pink Floyd’s work truly implores artists to look at the big picture. Even though they have countless incredible songs that can stand alone, they are always at their best in context.
They’re best in context because most of the time, they were built in context. The British unit played a major role in establishing the concept of a concept album in which each track sat as a chapter in a bigger story. In both their most famous instances, The Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall, the records told the tale of the pressure of success and the impact on the mental health of their main character, who always seemed to take the shape of Syd Barrett.
Clearly, using their albums to work through some big thoughts and big feelings, something as small as a mere single couldn’t cut it.
Roger Waters knew that, and so in his eyes, singles really meant nothing. It might be assumed that ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ would have some level of impact on him, given that it granted the band their one and only number one when the track became a globally beloved anthem and sold thousands upon thousands upon thousands of copies. But no, he didn’t really care.
Even as he moved into a solo career, singles didn’t bother him much as he brushed off any mention of his opening release, ‘The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking’, in interviews. Instead, he stated:
“The only other significant single in my career was ‘Money’ from Dark Side Of The Moon. That was the only other one that made any impact at all.”Roger Waters
Commercially though, ‘Money’ didn’t make an impact. It peaked at number 13 on the US charts and didn’t chart at all in the UK. However, culturally, it made waves given that this was the first time the band had come close to breaking America or gaining any attention stateside. Prompting more people to go back and listen to the full record, it arguably opened their work up to a new audience, even if its charting positions were pretty weak.
For Waters though, it’s likely not about success or statistics. ‘Money’ was a track he wrote, and one that still seems to summarise his, albeit complex, views on politics, the economy and the injustice and irony of money.
“Money interested me enormously,” Waters said as he wrote this song at a time when Pink Floyd suddenly had some. “I remember thinking, ‘Well, this is it and I have to decide whether I’m really a socialist or not.’ I’m still keen on a general welfare society, but I became a capitalist. You have to accept it,” he said, adding, “I remember coveting a Bentley like crazy. The only way to get something like that was through rock or the football pools. I very much wanted all that material stuff.”
Reflecting on the contradictory thoughts between his wants and his belief of what’s socially right and wrong, the lyrics versus the swagger of this track play out that debate perfectly.
