He was undoubtedly a key figure in the development of the Pink Floyd both in the Barrett-era and afterwards. As a musician, he has long been sadly underrated - listening over the last day or so to Wish You Were Here with almost a new pair of ears showed how he almost dominates the album musically. I'm clearly just as guilty of underestimating his contribution myself, as I don't believe I would have described the album in that manner before now.
As a writer, he was responsible for some of the iconic Floyd moments, most noticably The Great Gig In The Sky and Us And Them from Dark Side Of The Moon. His vocals, particularly the harmony work alongside Gilmour (most singularly demonstrated on Echoes) was sublime.
There has always been a languid, melancholic streak to the music of the Floyd (and which is very easily mistaken for blandness) which I think can largely be attributed to Wright. It's no coincidence that the more Wright was marginalised in the band (and for which I, for one, remain disinclined to forgive Waters notwithstanding his recent recantations on some of his tomfoolery) the less they sounded like the Floyd. It was precisely the mix of the hard-bitten message behind the sweet melodies that gave the Floyd it's power and impact - too much of The Wall and The Final Cut amounts to bombast which hits you straight in the face but is all the more ineffective for that.
David Gilmour's tribute to his friend and colleague was warm, loving and well-measured. I will watch the soon to be released Live In Gdansk concert with an added interest along with a touch of regret that it will represent Richard's last musical contribution to us.
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