Product Description
-------------------
Live performance from the legendary band, recorded live at Earls
Court in London on 20th October 1994, and featuring classic
tracks such as 'Breathe', 'Money', Us and Them' and 'Comfortably
Numb'.
.co.uk Review
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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
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 s, 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 ), 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