Winery Dogs Drummer Mike Portnoy Condemns Pink Floyd Over New Album
Pink Floyd recently made headlines with the news that they're going to release their first new album in 20 years. But the announcement raised a few eyebrows among a number of Pink Floyd fans, as it was revealed that the music was being taken from sessions that took place in 1994 during the period where the band released their last album 'The Division Bell.'
Among those suspicious of Pink Floyd's upcoming disc 'The Endless River' is current Winery Dogs and former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who offered up a very frank posting on his thoughts of the release. He stated in a Facebook post, "What's this about a new 'Pink Floyd' album? Last I checked, [Roger] Waters is no longer in the band and [Richard] Wright and [Syd] Barrett are dead … If these are leftovers from 'The Division Bell' sessions, then just put 'em up on a ['The Division Bell'] special edition release! It's disrespectful to Roger and everything he built for all those years! Just do a solo album, Dave [Gilmour]…"
Portnoy's strong opinion generated quite a bit of commentary among those following his social networking, and he then conceded, "OK, I'll meet Gilmour fans half-way and say IMO, the 'real' Pink Floyd is BOTH Gimour/Waters TOGETHER … 'Piper' was a Syd [Barrett] album, 'The Final Cut' was a Waters album and ['A Momentary Lapse of Reason'] / ['The Division Bell'] are Gilmour albums. … The 'magic' was Waters/Gilmour TOGETHER."
'The Endless River' will feature David Gilmour, Richard Wright and drummer Nick Mason, with new vocals laid down over the past year. Waters, who has been estranged from the and since 1985 (except for a few one-off reunion performances), is not expected to be included on the effort. The album is expected this October.
So what do you think, Loudwire readers? Is Portnoy correct in condemning Pink Floyd for the new album? Do you feel a true Pink Floyd collaboration should include Roger Waters and David Gilmour? Or do you accept the music that's coming as a genuine Pink Floyd release?