Pink Floyd Icon, 81, Opens Up About Beloved Band's Lost Album 50 Years Later
- - Pink Floyd Icon, 81, Opens Up About Beloved Band's Lost Album 50 Years Later
Jacqueline Burt CoteDecember 16, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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Photo by Christian Rose on Getty Images
It goes without saying that Pink Floyd's discography is one of the most legendary in rock history, but not every idea the band ever had was a winner, as founding member Nick Mason pointed out in a new interview.
In a recent talk with NPR's Rob Schmitz about the 50th anniversary of Wish You Were Here, the 81-year-old drummer admitted that Pink Floyd was "not at the top of our game" when they went into the studio to record their next album after The Dark Side of the Moon.
"In fact, of course, we ended up spending an awful lot of studio time doing nothing or working on a project called Household Objects," Mason said, adding, "the idea was to make a record using household objects rather than musical instruments."
"The only thing I remember playing was instead of using a bass drum, I had an ax and a large log of wood," he recalled.
While the group only ended up recording two songs before abandoning the unconventional project, the experience wasn't totally without merit.
"It was a sort of useful exercise, from our point of view because I think if we'd stuck with it, we'd still be in Abbey Road now trying to finish," Mason pointed out. "And I think, in a way, we were, you know, being wise after the event, we should have carried on touring Dark Side for another year. But we didn't. We thought we'd sort of had to get on, I suppose."
"The only thing we really took out of the Household Object recording sessions was some — the stroked glasses, which reappeared [on "Shine on You Crazy Diamond"]," he added.
Critics initially slammed 'Wish You Were Here'
Though it's considered a classic today, as Glenn Povey wrote in Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd, publications like the now-defunct British music magazine Melody Maker took issue with Wish You Were Here took issue with the album upon its release.
“From whichever direction one approaches Wish You Were Here, it still sounds unconvincing in its ponderous sincerity and displays a critical lack of imagination in all departments,” the magazine’s review stated.
Rolling Stone‘s review of the album called out the Syd Barrett tribute “Shine on You Crazy Diamond" for its "lackadaisical demeanor," calling it "devoid" of passion.
History, of course, has proved the critics wrong.
Related: This Singer-Songwriter Didn't Get Credit for Pink Floyd's 'Cosmic Masterpiece' Until 30 Years Later
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 15, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
