190. Paul Rappaport Discusses Pink Floyd, The Division Bell

Former label executive, guitarist and author Paul Rappaport joins Al to introduce him to Pink Floyd’s 1994 album The Division Bell. Paul talks about how he became a part of the Pink Floyd “family” while working with them in his capacity as senior VP of rock promotion for Columbia Records. He shares his initial reactions to The Division Bell, which he had heard in bits and pieces while working on promotions for the album, and he explains why the album is still a favorite of his more than 30 years later. Paul also talks about how he came up with the idea for the Pink Floyd airship, which was a central part of the promotion plan for The Division Bell, and how he wound up playing guitar alongside David Gilmour during a Pink Floyd show in London. Finally, Paul discusses his book Gliders Over Hollywood, which recounts his experiences working with numerous revered rock artists over the course of his career.

Gliders Over Hollywood is a highly entertaining read! Learn more about it at glidersoverhollywood.com.

Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior. This show has an account on Instagram at @youmealbum. You can support the show on Buzzsprout at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542814/episodes or at the link at the bottom of these show notes.

IMPORTANT UPDATE! You, Me and An Album will soon have additional offerings on Patreon. More information will be coming soon. To sign up, go to patreon.com/youmealbum.

1:36 Paul joins the show

2:05 When Paul left Columbia Records, his timing couldn’t have been more perfect

3:00 Paul explains how he made a strong connection with the members of Pink Floyd

6:47 Paul talks about why he chose to discuss The Division Bell

9:30 Paul views Richard Wright's playing as the most critical part of Pink Floyd’s musical identity

15:03 Paul cites his four favorite tracks from the album

19:09 Al partially agreed with Paul in terms of his favorite tracks

27:15 Is it fair to compare a venerable artist’s later albums with those that established their reputation?

31:25 Al names his four favorite tracks from The Division Bell

32:26 Paul discusses the elements that make certain tracks his favorites

34:57 It often makes more sense to think about Pink Floyd albums as one cohesive piece instead of as a collection of tracks

40:08 Paul talks about the perspective he took when writing about Pink Floyd and other artists in Gliders Over Hollywood

42:38 Paul discusses the role Bob Ezrin played as the band’s producer

44:17 Don Ienner put Paul on the spot over The Division Bell’s sales potential

45:56 Paul discusses his reaction when he heard the entirety of The Division Bell for the first time

46:44 Paul talks about how he got the idea to promote The Division Bell with an airship

53:47 Paul recounts the night he played guitar with Pink Floyd for one of their shows

1:01:23 Paul talks about the experience of having written Gliders Over Hollywood

1:04:15 Are there albums that Paul doesn’t know that he wants to get to know?

Outro music is from “Let’s Roll” by Paul Rappaport.