Meddle
Meddle is Pink Floyd's sixth studio album, released by Harvest on 5 November 1971. It was recorded between touring commitments from January to August 1971 at several London locations, including EMI Studios and Morgan Studios. The band began with no material and no clear direction, so they tried a series of novel experiments, and those eventually grew into "Echoes", the album's signature track.
It sits at a turning point in the group's story, bridging the Syd Barrett-influenced band of the 1960s and the Waters-led era of the 1970s. Hipgnosis designed the sleeve, which Storm Thorgerson described as an ear underwater, though he was unhappy with the result. Critics received it well and it did good business in the UK, while weak publicity from Capitol held back sales in the US at first. It is the place to hear the band finding its footing.
Meddle: tracklist, credits and charts
6 tracks · 46:25Tracklist
- 1One of These DaysGilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright5:50
- 2A Pillow of WindsDavid Gilmour and Roger Waters5:10
- 3Fearless (Interpolating “You’ll Never Walk Alone”)David Gilmour and Roger Waters6:03
- 4San TropezRoger Waters3:42
- 5SeamusGilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright2:09
- 6EchoesGilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright23:31
- Produced by
- Pink Floyd, David Gilmour
- Recorded at
- Abbey Road Studios, Air Recording Studio No. 1, Morgan Studios, AIR, EMI, and Morgan,London
- Recorded
- 4 January – 11 September 1971
- Engineered by
- Robin Black, Peter Bown, John Leckie, Roger Quested
- Artwork
- Pink Floyd
- Photography
- Robert Dowling, Hipgnosis
- Label
- Harvest
- Length
- 46:25
Line-up
- David Gilmour · pedal steel guitar, bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, lead vocals, harmonica, effects
- Nick Mason · drums (drum set), cymbal, spoken vocals, hi-hat, percussion, effects
- Roger Waters · bass, fretless bass, background vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, lead vocals, effects
- Richard Wright · synthesizer, Hammond organ, piano, grand piano, farfisa, effects
- The Kop Choir · other vocals · guest
- Seamus · other vocals · guest
Singles
- “One of These Days / Fearless” · 29 November 1971
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1971 | 3 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1971 | 70 |
| Dutch Albums · 1971 | 2 |
| Austrian Albums · 1972 | 4 |
| Danish Albums (IFPI) · 1971 | 6 |
| French Albums (D'Information et de Documentation Du Disque) · 1972 | 7 |
| Italian Albums (Discografia Internazionale) · 1972 | 7 |
| Belgian Albums (HUMO) · 1971 | 10 |
| Spanish Albums (AFE) · 1971 | 21 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen Virallinen) · 1971 | 22 |
All 16 charts
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1971 | 24 |
| Polish Albums · 2019 | 34 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2016 | 36 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1971 | 51 |
| French Albums · 2011 | 69 |
| Swiss Albums · 2011 | 76 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| France · 1971 | 2× Gold |
| Germany · 1993 | Gold |
| Italy · 2015 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States · 1994 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 5 November
Every year →More from Pink Floyd
Full discography →The best of 1971
All of 1971 →More on Harvest
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1971-11-05; musicbrainz + wikidata 1971-10-30 (6 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 30 October 1971 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 5 November 1971 | |
| Wikidata | 30 October 1971 | |
| US release | 30 October 1971 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 13 November 1971 | earliest UK or European date |
57 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Capitol Records | 077774603423 | other |
| — | CA | Capitol Records | 077774603423 | other |
| — | DE | Harvest | other | |
| — | NL | Harvest | other | |
| — | DE | Harvest | other | |
| — | XE | EMI United Kingdom | 724382974925 | other |
| — | HU | EMI | other | |
| 1971 | NL | Harvest | other | |
| 1971 | DE | Harvest | other | |
| 1971 | YU | Jugoton | other | |
| 1971 | PT | Stateside | other | |
| 1971 | IL | Harvest | other | |
| 1971 | ES | Harvest | other | |
| 1971 | IT | Harvest | other | |
| 1971 | IN | Harvest | other | |
| 30 October 1971 | US | Harvest | original | |
| 31 October 1971 | CA | Harvest | other | |
| November 1971 | FR | Harvest | other | |
| 13 November 1971 | GB | Harvest | other | |
| 5 December 1971 | JP | Odeon Records | other | |
| 1972 | AR | Harvest | other | |
| 1972 | BR | Harvest | other | |
| 1974 | ES | Harvest | other | |
| 1974 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1978 | NZ | Harvest | other | |
| 21 September 1985 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1986 | US | Harvest | other | |
| 1986 | GB | Harvest | 077774603423 | other |
| 1986 | GB | Harvest | other | |
| 1987 | US | Capitol Records | 077774603423 | other |
| 1988 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | other | |
| April 1989 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775151826 | other |
| September 1993 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775151826 | other |
| 1994 | CA | EMI Music Canada | 724382974925 | other |
| 1994 | XE | EMI United Kingdom | 724382974925 | other |
| 1994 | US | Capitol Records | 077774603423 | other |
| 1994 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724382974925 | other |
| 1 August 1994 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724382974925 | other |
| 30 August 2000 | JP | EMI | 4988006784147 | other |
| 25 May 2001 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006791763 | other |
| 2002 | RU | CD‐Maximum | other | |
| 2006 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 29 July 2008 | RU | EMI | 5099923455320 | other |
| 2011 | XE | Parlophone | 5099902894225 | other |
| 2011 | AR | EMI‐Odeon, S.A. | 5099908424228 | other |
| 26 September 2011 | XE | EMI | 5099902894225 | other |
| 27 September 2011 | US | Capitol Records | 5099902894225 | other |
| 28 September 2011 | JP | EMI | 4988006887367 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Columbia | 886445635911 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Pink Floyd Records | 886445613247 | other |
| 15 January 2016 | US | Pink Floyd Records | 888751708921 | other |
| 15 January 2016 | XE | Pink Floyd Records | 5099902894225 | other |
| 23 September 2016 | US | Pink Floyd Records | 888751842311 | other |
| 23 September 2016 | XE | Pink Floyd Records | 0190295997076 | remaster |
| 9 November 2016 | JP | Pink Floyd Records | 4547366265187 | other |
| 1 November 2017 | JP | Pink Floyd Records | 4547366312577 | other |
| — | — | Harvest | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |