Pink Floyd's final spark of brightness

The cover art from Pink Floyd's The Endless River

Pink Floyd’s career trajectory resembles that of a comet blazing across the night sky and heading for a final encounter with the sun. It first gained luminance in the 1960s and glowed brightest in the 70s. In the same way that those enigmatic cosmic snowballs lose layers of material and shrink as they move ever nearer to the sun, so too have Pink Floyd gradually diminished in structure; first with the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, and then the death of Richard Wright in 2008.

The Endless River probably represents the final spark of brightness as Pink Floyd’s comet nears its terminal rendezvous. Shorn of Waters, devoid of lyrics (bar the final track Louder than Words), the double album must be viewed as the band’s swan song, albeit an accidental one.

At the heart of The Endless River are unused recordings made 21 years ago during rehearsal sessions by David Gilmour, Nick Mason and the late Wright as they worked on the band’s last studio album, 1994’s The Division Bell. In many ways the album is a tribute to the immense contribution keyboard player Wright made to the Pink Floyd sound. Gilmour and Mason revisited the instrumental recordings, a mixture of odds and ends, and have added to and enhanced them to create what Gilmour has referred to as a “21st Century Pink Floyd album”.

The instrumental music flows from track to track for 53 minutes. It is a concept album in an age where such things no longer exist. In a world of playlists and iPod shuffles, here is a record to be listened to from start to finish, designed as if the 33rpm vinyl LP had never fallen out of favour. An album designed to have the needle dropped on track one and left to play uninterrupted - preferably with the lights dimmed, or off, for maximum impact.

Across the four sides (yes, four) there are echoes of signature musical moments from the group’s extensive career. Tracks four on both side 2 and side 3, titled Anisina and Allons-y (1) are dreamily memorable, as is the album’s second track It’s What We Do, which most strongly carries Pink Floyd’s distinctive musical DNA.

On two tracks voice samples have been added; the intriguing opening track Things Left Unsaid, which could quite easily have been at home on any of Pink Floyd’s previous studio albums, and Talkin’ Hawkin’, a reprise of Keep Talking from The Division Bell complete with voice samples from physicist Stephen Hawking.

Whether The Endless River will be of interest to, or have any relevance for, today’s generation of young music consumers is debatable. There has been support for the record, which topped many countries’ charts in its opening week, likely due to older fans eager to hear anything ‘new’ from the band after two decades of silence - a silence broken only by the one-off reunion of Waters, Gilmour, Mason and Wright at Live8 in 2005.

When Gilmour gives voice to Louder Than Words, the floating, poignant last track on The Endless River, one is left to reflect on the crazy diamond musical journey Pink Floyd have taken us on, starting in 1967 with the now long departed co-founding member Syd Barrett, and onwards through the decades that followed. Listening to Pink Floyd’s back catalogue is to take a journey back through the last 40-odd years of your life.

As Louder than Words fades out the comet jettisons its final layer of ice and rock, and Pink Floyd are gone.

A salute to the man who swam with sharks

'Ocean Vet' Neil Burnie died as he free dived near one of the Bermuda's most popular beaches on Tuesday.

The veterinarian and musician touched many people's lives. His involvement with marine species was well documented in newspaper articles, lectures, and a major TV documentary series 'Ocean Vet' which had just wrapped up filming on the island.

Dr Burnie made Bermuda his home for more than 20 years. Here on the Island the loss of such a greatly respected and admired man has had an immense impact on the community, not only for those who knew him personally, but for the many others who read about his exploits or were fortunate enough to have seen the accomplished saxophonist and harmonica player perform on stage.

For many people it was his involvement with tiger sharks that will be the most abiding memory. Dr Burnie swam with the sharks, filmed them and carried out extensive research on their behaviour and migrations. He was their friend, their champion. He did much to increase people's understanding of the true nature of tiger sharks (see the video above of his TEDxBermuda talk).

His love of the sea extended far beyond sharks. He carried out research on a wide variety of marine species, he was also a fisherman and sailor.

On land he was a highly popular vet, and away from the world of animals he loved music and performed with his own blues band, Bones. He also often accompanied other musicians on stage where he added musical flourishes of harmonica, sax and occasionally vocals. It was in the musical arena that I came across Dr Burnie.

I can't remember if it was his prowess as a musician or his legend as a shark swimmer that I was made aware of first. However, I do recall being at the Bermuda Folk Club many years ago and being informed that I was in for a treat because Neil Burnie was due to perform. I wasn't disappointed. He was every bit as good as I'd been told - better even.

He played at the club once or twice each year, and I particularly remember two years ago when he accompanied American blues singer and guitarist Alice Stuart. I was impressed by the way he threaded his improvisations into her music without overpowering the songs.

During September's Peace Day concert in the Botanical Gardens he led his group Bones through a well received set of blues numbers in front of an estimated audience of 1,600.

His joy for life and his example of what it means to care for marine species and the animals around us is a legacy that will reverberate for a long time.

Out beyond the reef and across miles of ocean I wonder if the tiger sharks also sense that their great friend has gone and, in their own way, like many people in Bermuda, salute the man who swam among them.

For further reading here are links to a news article and a tribute article on Dr Burnie

Michael Cacy, Alice Stuart and Neil Burnie (right) perform at the Bermuda Folk Club in 2012