No wonder this is one of the most-streamed songs in their discography. Most of the work Pink Floyd put out during their great period between Atom Heart Mother and The Wall are part of a wider story, but can be pulled from that context. A chapter on its own, a story to tell with a closed-off tale which only adds to the wider project. The Dark Side of the Moon is a masterclass, but that will come as no surprise. Segment the songs, then. Listen to them individually and without the context of the Roger Waters-penned pieces around it, and you get a very different feeling. It happens too with songs on Wish You Were Here. A new formation of meanings and tone is taken when you snap off a piece of the wider project. It’s better in full, but for those wanting to slice off a few pieces of Pink Floyd, Money is an essential from arguably the band’s most identifiable album.
The message may be clear, but it’s the conviction of the message and the catchiness of it which works best of all. From the cash registers to the thumping bassline, which brings on a lighter tone and forms the beat of the song, Money truly is a perfect song. A six-minute masterclass which highlights the instrumental strengths of the band, more than anything. They may be thrown in with the progressive-rock groups of the time, but Pink Floyd were light-years ahead of their contemporaries. Yes and Jethro Tull weren’t capable of this. A moody blues beast where David Gilmour’s guitar solo takes precedence. Few songs can capture the need to throw yourself around, the heightened moments of a really great lyric, with just instruments. Pink Floyd does with Money, one of their catchiest, most creative pieces of work. Instrumentally and as a piece of music without comment, it remains a brilliant experience.
But a Pink Floyd song without cultural commentary is just psychedelic fuzz. Waters’ clear “it’s a crime” comment on Money is as clear a guilt as ever. That decision to join capitalism, to covet and cash-in, can be heard throughout the song. Few would truly manage to put off the want which money can provide. It’s pure greed which infiltrates Money, but it’s a topic Waters would discuss on Have a Cigar, too. Not as catchy, but a firmer, angrier piece from the band’s The Dark Side of the Moon follow-up. Having Gilmour’s vocal match up to the increasing tempo of the bassline is one of the many obvious moments on Money that highlights the genius of the band at the time. It’s easy to take such a popular song for granted. But there’s little in their discography which stands as an example of both the artistic strength and commercial success as Money.
Irony is heavy for the song criticising the rich being the song which broke the band into a bigger market in the United States. But it’s not unique to Pink Floyd. Songwriters who rally against the higher powers are bound to end up in their company eventually. It doesn’t make Money any less venomous. Waters writes with the same rage he would use on Wish You Were Here, though on The Dark Side of the Moon there aren’t the executives and major fame, it precedes the peak. It would start it, absolutely, but a song like Money is untouched by the incredible riches and fortune which Waters would remain disgruntled by. Those arena-sized shows are just one of the many troubles he faced off with, those moments that inspired The Wall and Amused to Death flicker to life on Money.
