Pink Floyd has reunited to release new material for the first time in 28 years. The song is called “Hey Hey Rise Up,” and it’s a display of solidarity with the people of Ukraine. All proceeds from the single will go towards humanitarian efforts.

There is just one problem…

No Roger Waters

Therefore this is not Pink Floyd.

With all due respect to David Gilmour and Nick Mason, the two of them teaming up to release material does not qualify as Pink Floyd. The two men were critical pieces of the original lineup, and the sounds they created helped define progressive rock. With “Dark Side Of The Moon,” their efforts helped expand our idea of what rock music could be. On “The Wall,” they brought to life a story about loneliness, isolation, and human nature.

But…

The story almost always began with Roger Waters. There aren’t many tracks during Waters’s tenure with the group (between 1965 and 1985) where he didn’t write the entire song or the majority of it himself.

Roger Waters

The atmospheric, spacey guitar -work of David Gilmour, along with his usual role of lead vocals, is perhaps the most enduring or visible aspect of Pink Floyd in a live context. Who could argue after hearing his solos on tracks such as “Time,” “Comfortably Numb,” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”? However, Gilmour’s talents were more often used to bring Waters’ stories to life rather than tell his own.

David Gilmour

The songwriting process was a more collaborative one in the early days of the band, but as time wore on, Rogers took the wheel. For “The Wall,” released in 1979, he wrote all but four of twenty-six songs entirely by himself.

So while I am happy to see David Gilmour and Nick Mason making music again, it’s not right in my eyes to call the partnership Pink Floyd. The closest you will get to see the band today is by catching Roger Waters on what may be his last performance in Vancouver this September.

Griffin