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Pink Floyd - Pulse: Live 1994 (2DVD)
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| Editorial Reviews: | | |  | | At long last Pink Floyd: Pulse has arrived on DVD, and Floyd fans already know it's a major cause to celebrate. The original VHS release was a milestone bestseller, but it seemed to take forever for the DVD to arrive, with numerous delays while Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and long-time Floyd producer James Guthrie labored to restore, re-edit, and remix this legendary concert video in 5.1-channel Dolby Surround Sound. The resulting two-disc set was well worth the wait: While the limitations of the original video source are still evident in the sometimes-hazy image quality (Gilmour would later admit the concert should have been captured on film), Floyd fans will unanimously agree that Pulse has never looked or sounded better, and only the absence of group co-founder Roger Waters prevents this from being the ultimate document of Pink Floyd in performance. (Even without Waters, it's easily one of the group's most impressive stage productions.) Gracefully directed with minimal intrusion by veteran music video and concert director David Mallet, and shot on video during Pink Floyd's two-week stint at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre in October 1994, this 145-minute performance (from Floyd's Division Bell tour) is a sonic marvel to behold. Under a massive arch festooned with then-state-of-the-art laser, lighting, and projection systems, the 1987 incarnation of Pink Floyd (Gilmour, keyboardist Richard Wright, and drummer Nick Mason) and their stellar supporting band kicks off with "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" (a loving tribute to Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett), followed by four tracks from The Division Bell, two from 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason, "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" from 1979's magnum opus The Wall, and leading into intermission with absolutely stunning performance of "One of These Days," the timeless opening track from 1971's Meddle. The centerpiece of Disc 2 is a near-perfect performance of 1974's Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety--reason enough to make this a must-have DVD for even the most casual Floyd admirers. And while no one will ever re-create the sheer magnificence of Clare Torry's original tour de force vocals on "The Great Gig in the Sky," it's safe to say that backup singers Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine, and Durga McBroom deliver the next best thing, in addition to seamless contributions throughout the concert. After the closing heartbeat of "Eclipse," the concert ends with encore performances of "Wish You Were Here," "Comfortably Numb," and a no-holds-barred, pyrotechnically explosive rendition of The Wall's "Run Like Hell," all showcasing Gilmour's guitar mastery with frequent close-ups of his picking and fret-work as seen throughout the concert. (Like Gilmour, Mason and Wright were never dynamic onstage, and that's true here as well, but their technical precision is fully evident, and while guitarist Tim Renwick and saxophonist Dick Parry are each given moments to shine, bassist Guy Pratt is a worthy substitution for Waters, especially when vocally sparring with Gilmour on "Run Like Hell.") With beautiful packaging, an 8-page booklet, and menu designs by long-time Floyd associate Storm Thorgerson, the DVDs offer an abundance of bonus features including "Bootlegging the Bootleggers," featuring surprisingly good-quality "boot" video performances of "What Do You Want From Me?," "On the Turning Away," "Poles Apart," and "Marooned." The surreal round-ratio screen films seen throughout the concert can all be viewed independently (still in round format, and several offered in both original and alternate versions). Music videos for "Learning to Fly" and "Take It Back" are included on Disc 1, along with "Tour Stuff" including maps, itineraries, and stage plans for the 1994 tour. "Say Goodbye to Life as We Know It" is a playful backstage video (mostly involving the production staff's ongoing quest for a good pint of beer), and after delivering a heartfelt introduction to Pink Floyd's 1996 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (with Roger Waters and Syd Barrett acknowledged by Gilmour), Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan joins Gilmour and Wright for a moving acoustic performance of "Wish You Were Here" (directed at Waters, perhaps?). Additional features include album cover art, a photo gallery, and the concert-only audio choice between a 448kbps audio bitstream or a higher-quality 640kbps stream for higher-quality DVD players. The system set-up feature ensures that audiophiles will achieve optimum speaker performance in keeping with Pink Floyd's exacting technical standards. In tandem with the superior concert presentation, these features make Pulse one of the best--if not the best--music DVDs of 2006, guaranteed to satisfy Floyd fans for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon | |
| Custom Reviews: | |
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| The "Pulse Light Show" -- Form vs. Content | |
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First the bad: this 2-DVD production of their Earl's Court 1994 tour performance can come off at times as a lacklustre redux of original Floyd songs, performed by session musicians, led by Dave Gilmour--essentially "Pink Floyd Lite" or, as some other reviewer perhaps unkindly called it: "Vegas Floyd." The sound quality and video clarity are excellent, the light show second to none; however, there is this weird feeling of non-involvement" in the music by this `ensemble' of 11 musicians almost playing by rote, seemingly unable to generate any authentic spontaneity and passion to reach out through the wall of lights, lasers and videos... with a few exceptions. In fact the musicians can almost be seen to be simply supplying a soundtrack to the main event--the Pulse Light Show.
Waters of course did not take part and for any long-term Floyd fan this always did put the "Gilmour Pink Floyd Troupe" wrong-footed from the start. Guy Pratt, certainly a competent session bassist, was a glaringly poor choice to fill Water's shoes, his sound too "nice", his presence almost "New Age" for lack of a better term, lacking the slashing sarcasm and anger of Waters. Nether can Gilmour convincingly sing with the grittiness of Waters, and so there goes a huge amount of soul that was dynamically involved in the creation of most of the tracks.
And it gets worse: it is signally indicative that the almost comatose drummer Nick Mason, and still half-way "present" Richard Wright were both given back up musicians to "cover" them. Mason in particular almost looks like his slow motion slaps at the drums are made in pantomime--no surprise that he was backed up by the classically trained drummer Gary Wallis who literally leaped about his vertical percussive array in a stagy way. Both percussive polarities--the frenetic and the sluggish--seemed to operate with no connection to the other. Wright was passable on keyboard, but was also backed up by Jon Carin on keyboards, and it was interesting to note that Wright's main keyboard faced Gilmour centre stage, apparently facilitating his subsequent lack of connection with the crowd.
In short, there was a suspicious sense of travesty in having Wright and Mason there simply to be able to use the Pink Floyd moniker, and then consigning them to absorption in the backwash of back-up musicians, pardon the pun. I have a lot of respect for Richard Wright's contribution to Pink Floyd, but this appearance and contribution was almost sad. This was a David Gilmour show, start to finish--the songs were certainly by the historical Pink Floyd, the present band an ersatz Floyd (and to be fair, Roger Water's "In the Flesh - Live" also suffered from these issues, though less so).
And now the good: form may trump live performance substance here, but the form is a show in itself. The light show is phenomenal, and if you can just forget about expecting the kind of musician/audience visceral link one gets at a Rammstein or Nine Inch Nails show, enjoy the quality of the sound and well turned-out renditions of each song, it can be a fine experience, although the camera work is annoying. And there are moments that belay the criticisms above: backup singers Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine, and Durga McBroom deliver a fine tripartite version of the original Clare Torry's tour de force in "The Great Gig in the Sky," although it must be said that Sam Brown stole the show and could have done it all on her own--hers was one of the few electric live moments of musician/audience fusion.
One can also ignore the other issues mentioned in enjoying the entire performance of "Dark Side of the Moon"--a first--on Disk 2, replete with first class visuals and light show.
But finally, I have to say the DVD packaging comes across as startlingly low budget, with sparse documentation, and a flimsy over-lap 2-DVD on one panel layout with cover/pocket flap containing a 7 page glossy insert of photo montages primarily. Nonetheless it is all worth having, but beware dinosaurs, fossils and the Singular Absence.
DR--Montreal
| | Unbelievable... Is this the apex of western civilization?!? | |
| | I had forgotten how great a major concert can be. Over the years I'd lost some interest in Pink Floyd, too commercial, slick, etc, but this show is GREAT, the music, lighting, props, and film at the show as well as production value of this DVD is top notch. I'd gladly spend big bucks to see a show like this. I'm used to much smaller venues these days, but getting 30 to 40 thousand people together for a Vegas style sound and light experience is really something special and remarkable. The crowd looks suitably blown away, it got me high too, (and brought tears to my eyes during the vocal solos of Great Gig in the Sky). Having Dark Side Of the Moon performed in entirety is great (lots attention to the trippy film and light show). The encore (Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb and Run Like Hell) is powerful, with the finale' of lights and explosions being over the top but fun too. The only other DVD I've seen close to this is Peter Gabriel's GROWING UP tour, but this is much more intense and cohesive.
The DVD has alot of special features that I haven't yet explored, but I'm sure they will be fun.
What impressed me most was the way the band appeard to have fun, playing consciously, relaxed and yet restrained, fully aware of their effect... It made me seriously think this is a good expression of the peak of our civilization (union of technology, art and consciousness, materiality and spirituality presented as entertainment, but delivering much more.) While I missed Waters and wondered how much better or different it would have been with him, the overall, overwhelming experience of the show is complete.
For even a casual fan of Pink Floyd this is a must see.
| | | The Sound and picture quality are superb. Much better than I was expecting, I own the VHS copy too, and I wasn't expecting such a dramatic improvement. But that's the good news.
The bad news is that the performance itself is, to put it bluntly, a bore. Still worth having.. but its a shame that such a mediocre performance is so beautifully presented, while many classic performances go unpublished... probably because they don't meet today's DVD quality standards. Personally I'd rather see an ugly picture of a beautiful woman, than a beautiful picture of an ugly woman.. if you catch my drift.
Please release portraits of the artists in their prime, warts and all. It's better than these 'DVD quality' shows with the 'over the hill' gangs.
| | Your choice, Gilmour or Waters | |
| | I'll put it plain and simple, if you are fine with Pink Floyd without Roger Waters, you'll love it. If you think that not having Roger is just "un- pink floyd", then don't buy it.
I'm really a big fan of Pink Floyd with Roger, but without him, I'm still a fan, just not as die hard. From the music aspect, it was all deserving 4 out of 5 stars. Just a few songs about the middle of disc one are kinda bad.
So really its simple as that. If you think there shouldn't be Floyd without Waters, don't buy it.
Cheers!
| | Probably the best concert DVD ever! | |
| | I'm not going to say too much. Just that the video quality is pristine, the sound is (of course) STUNNING, and the special features are great. AWESOME!
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