The 'Nobles' Outtakes and Their Role in Meddle's 'Echoes'

During the January 1971 Meddle sessions at Abbey Road, Pink Floyd jammed on a long instrumental piece they called “Nobles.” It ran about 24 minutes and featured a slow, bluesy organ-and-guitar passage. That specific section later became the chilled-out middle segment of “Echoes,” connecting the two sides of the track.

The “Nobles” tapes were never officially released, but fragments surfaced on bootlegs. Fans often mistake the title for a working name for the entire “Echoes” suite, but it only contributed that one bluesy bridge. The rest of “Echoes” came from a separate jam called “The Son of Nothing” and other improvised bits.