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From album
p·u·l·s·e
Pink Floyd · 1995 · Track 12
Details
Duración6:22
Álbump·u·l·s·e
Año1995
ISRCGBN9Y1100113
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The story behind
The story behind Comfortably Numb is fascinating, especially when we consider how it came about. It all began with an instrumental idea that David Gilmour recorded in 1978, a wordless demo that, although it didn't make it onto his first solo album, caught Bob Ezrin's attention. This musical piece, originally in E minor, was later adapted by Roger Waters, who asked for it to be changed to B minor to fit his lyrics. The song's structure, particularly in the chorus, was expanded with additional bars to accommodate the key phrase, using the same chords but in a different order. The lyrics, on the other hand, are inspired by a very personal experience of Waters in 1977, when he had to perform at a concert at the Philadelphia Spectrum while feeling unwell from a tranquilizer injection. He himself described that moment as the longest two hours of his life.
The recording of Comfortably Numb, which took place between April and November 1979, was not without creative tensions between Waters and Gilmour. While Waters sought a more orchestral sound, Gilmour preferred a more direct approach. The result was a fusion of both visions, a compromise that, according to Gilmour, marked the last time they were able to collaborate constructively. For the guitar solos, Gilmour recorded several takes, and engineer James Guthrie selected the best fragments to assemble the final parts, using effects such as the Big Muff distortion and delay. The strings, recorded in New York with the collaboration of composer Michael Kamen, were also a point of contention, with Gilmour feeling that the original version lacked passion and life. Despite these differences, the song was released as a single in 1980, with Hey You on the B-side, and became one of Pink Floyd's most recognized pieces.