The Division Bell (Pink Floyd album) (A Jet-Propelled Soft Machine)

The Division Bell is the thirteenth studio album by British rock band Pink Floyd. A two-disc album, The Division Bell was released in 28 March 1994 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Europe, and by Columbia Records in the United States and Worldwide. It was produced by Pink Floyd and Bob Ezrin. It is the only album to not have a original vinyl version, being released in 2014 with four LPs.

The album was mostly written by David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Roger Waters, along with Gilmour's fiancée, Polly Samson, who co-wrote most of the songs of Gilmour. Although the writing process started in 1987 with Perfect Sense of Roger Waters, the band would start to record the album in 1993, at the Britannia Row Studios, Abbey Road Studios, the Astoria, and the Billiard Room. The album was mixed at the Angel Recording Studios.

The Division Bell deals with social themes such as the lack of communication, political freedom, the choices of the people (as Nick Mason affirmed about the meaning of the album's title), and most of anti-war music, which envolves that the idea of talking would solve the problems, as the meaning is synthetized in Keep Talking.

Being received with good reviews by the fans, by the critics, the album was widely received with mixed reviews, criticizing the length of the album (two hours and twenty-five minutes long). The first single was the controversial What God Wants, Part I, which criticized the economic power, hypocrisy, and dogmatic religions. High Hopes, the second single, is a most autobiographical song written by Gilmour with Samson with the help of Waters (uncredited), better received by the critics, but What God Wants was more successful.

Followed by a promotional tour, The Division Bell was initially intended to be released in four dates, but the band decided to choose to release in the CD format. In 2014, it was announced the LP version of the album, released as a boxset. After the tour, in 1996, Pink Floyd decided to dissolve, and released their live album, PULSE. The band would return 12 years later with On an Island.

Pink Floyd

 * David Gilmour - lead vocals, acoustic, electric, classical & steel guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, programming, talk box, production, mixing
 * Roger Waters - lead vocals, bass guitar, synthesisers, guitar
 * Richard Wright - lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, acoustic piano, piano, Hammond organ, synthesisers
 * Nick Mason - drums, percussion, Church Bell

Additional personnel

 * Jeff Beck - guitar
 * Graham Broad - drums, percussion
 * Andy Fairweather Low - guitar
 * Shuhada' Davitt (aka Sinéad O'Connor) - co-shared vocals
 * Stephen Hawking - vocal samples on "Keep Talking"
 * Jon Carin - programming, piano, additional keyboards
 * Guy Pratt - bass guitar
 * Gary Wallis - percussion
 * Tim Renwick - guitars
 * Dick Parry - tenor saxophone
 * Bob Ezrin - keyboards, percussion, producer
 * Sam Brown - backing vocals
 * Durga McBroom - backing vocals
 * Carol Kenyon - backing vocals
 * Hipgnosis - sleeve design

Credits

 * 1) Credits to danmartin73 for the Track listing.