When Pink Turns to Blue

Psychology Today March/April 1997


Pink Floyd's records have never shied away from psychological themes, as anyone who sat through their 1979 alienation opus The Wall can attest. But the latest solo album from the band's keyboardist, Rick Wright, is a portrait of despair and recovery that few rock musicians have ever attempted. Wright's Broken China (Guardian) is a surprisingly frank account of his wife Millie's battle with clinical depression, a struggle that involved intenive psychotherapy and a long hospital stay before its eventual happy ending. While recording an entire album about such a grim topic may seem like comercial suicide-- a Floydian slip, perhaps-- Wright did take steps to ensure the results would be interesting. Millie's former therapist cowrote some of the lyrics, and controversial Irish songstress Sinead O'Connor sings on two tracks.

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