Car Stereo Review, May/June 1994, page 100
Richard Wright
Wet Dream – One Way Records
1978 was an uneasy year for fans of Pink Floyd. The seams that would
ultimately widen into chasms and split bassist Roger Waters from his
mates had been plain to hear in ’77′s dark and stormy Animals, and a
sublime self-titled solo album from guitarist David Gilmour hinted at
outright breakup. Then Wet Dream – a serene and leisurely mediation
tapped out by the band’s keyboardist – washed up on these shores, and
the end seemed inevitable. At the time, I figured I could survive in a
world without the Floyd…as long as members kept putting out solo
efforts this amazing. (Hey, I was 17…) Much of Dream’s power comes
from the eloquent restraint practiced so perfectly by Wright, guitarist
Snowy White, and saxman extraordinaire Mel Collins. “Funky Deux,”
“Summer Elegy,” and “Drop in From the Top,” especially, recall the
juggernaut momentum of 1975′s Wish You Were Here without its mechanical
sheen. But the highlights are “Cat Cruise” and “Waves,” which
soft-pedal through a spacy groove no other band but the Floyd could
create; the latter fades out with an astounding coda from Collins. As
it turned out, The Wall (1979) was right around the corner – one last
grand flourish, as it were, from the band’s classic (if not original)
lineup. (Sorry, 1983′s The Final Cut doesn’t count.) A new album is
due in stores before you read this. All I know is that this is 1994,
and it’ll be good enough…
Rating – 4 on a 5 scale (sunstone surf)
reviewed by Bill Wolfe, Editor-in-Chief, Car Stereo Review