Pink Floyd members can always be counted on to provide an honest answer. They don’t mince words, and they’ve all been quite candid about what made the band tick and the reasons that contributed to its more controversial moments, not to mention the dramatic split with former band leader Roger Waters. Even drummer Nick Mason has expressed his thoughts on the band’s direction over the years.
As one of the world’s most influential groups, it was natural for them to devote a significant amount of time to developing their influences and creative vision. This experimentalism resulted in a wildly fluctuating output before they struck pure gold with 1971’s Meddle, setting themselves up for a period of unbridled creativity.
While they are well-known for their complex and cerebral compositions from the 1970s, when they mastered the concept album The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973, the band is clear that their most significant influences were the great cultural boom of the 1960s and those who pushed music forward before they formed in 1965.
Mason told Far Out that the powerhouse Ginger Baker of Blues Incorporated and Cream inspired him to the tremendous potential of pursuing the instrument seriously. Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience was another crucial person in Mason’s career, whose synthesis of jazz and rock set a sparkling example that Mason would later embrace with zeal in Pink Floyd and beyond.
Mason’s concentration wasn’t just on the drums. He was attracted by guitar music from the moment he first heard rock ‘n’ roll in its early stages in the 1950s. Later, like many musicians of his generation, including his comrades, The Beatles emerged as a particularly galvanizing force. Although he enjoys most of their work, there’s no doubt that their 1967 psychedelic masterwork, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band—released just months before Pink Floyd’s own genre-defining The Piper at the Gates of Dawn—”changed the face of the music industry”.
While The Beatles hold a special place in Mason’s heart, he also considers Bob Dylan a strong contender for the greatest songwriter of all time. On the surface, Pink Floyd and Dylan might seem an unlikely pairing, but Pink Floyd were no strangers to exploring stark political themes. Occasionally, they wielded the acoustic guitar in a manner reminiscent of the American troubadour; a notable example is the often-overlooked classic ‘Fearless’ from Meddle.
Answering a questionnaire for Q, Mason heaped lavish praise upon the ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ songwriter, describing him as utterly pivotal. Harking back to the heady days of the folk revival in the early 1960s, when asked what song he wished he’d written, he said “practically anything” by Dylan. He then specified ‘Masters of War’ from 1962’s The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan as the one that sprang to mind.
Crucially, and offering insight into the tact Pink Floyd took when delving into significant political themes, he said it stands out for its “ability to make a meaningful political statement without being at all pretentious”. Regarding the other vital aspect of his artistry, in terms of drumming, he said Baker’s performance on Cream’s ‘N.S.U.’ was the one he wishes he could have committed to tape.
Outlining his thoughts about Bob Dylan’s significance, Mason said: “Pivotal. He’s produced good work, behaved erratically and then continued to produce good work, rather than fulfill what people expect, which is produce good work, behave erratically, go mad and explode. And I think that’s enormously endearing.”
He added sarcastically: “Can’t stand his songs though.”
It tells volumes about Dylan’s influence that even Pink Floyd, who are inextricably linked to the prog-rock genre, are still blown away by his sound, particularly his early protest music. It was unlike anything else available at the time, and it packed their generation’s opinions on the chaotic world with poetic clarity, earning him the fitting title of ‘The Voice of a Generation’.
