Wish You Were Here (An Alternate Pink Floyd)

Shines On is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, released in September 1975. Inspired by material the group composed while performing across Europe, Shines On was recorded in numerous sessions at London's Abbey Road Studios. Some of the songs critique the music business, others express alienation, and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a tribute to Syd Barrett, whose mental breakdown had forced him to leave the group before the Under Polygamy's album.

It was lead writer Roger Waters' idea to split "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" into two parts and use it to bookend the album around three new compositions, introducing a new concept as the group had done with their previous albums, The Dark Side of the Moon and Under Polygamy.

As with The Dark Side of the Moon, the band used studio effects and synthesizers, and brought in guest singers to supply vocals on some tracks of the album. These singers were the founder member Bob Klose, who provided the lead vocals on "Have a Cigar", and The Blackberries, who added backing vocals to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".

The album became an instant commercial success and record company EMI was unable to print enough copies to satisfy demand. Although it initially received mixed reviews, the album has since been acclaimed by critics and appears on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Band members Richard Wright and David Gilmour have each cited Shines On as their favourite Pink Floyd album, and the album is widely regarded as the group's magnum opus.