OBSCURED BY CLOUDS

PINK FLOYD had just started working on "Dark Side Of The Moon" the follow-up to "Meddle" when they got the call from Barbet Schroeder to do another soundtrack recording for him. They had already done "More" for an earlier film he did. You have to remember that FLOYD hadn't hit the big-time yet and since they were active, professional musicians they said yes. Off to France they went for a 2 week recording session.The time constraints actually stimulated them rather than paralysing them. While Roger Waters would be the main writer during these sessions it really comes across as a Gilmour record because he's the main singer and his guitar is all over it. This was a soundtrack for a French movie about a woman who along with a group of people travel into the remote interior of New Guineau in search of a valley that is marked on the map simply as "Obscured By Clouds".The locals believe it is the home of their gods. She is in search of rare artifacts for her Paris boutique.

The first two tracks are instrumentals, the first having a heavy sound and some good guitar while the second is more aggressive with some organ and a native feel to it. "Burning Bridges" is a good song with some great organ and relaxed vocals creating a dreamy,spacey soundscape. The dual vocals (Gilmour / Wright) are a nice touch. "The Gold It's In The..." features some beautiful guitar from Gilmour. "Wot's...Uh The Deal" is an acoustic tune with some nice piano melodies.

"Mudmen" is by far my favourite song on this record. I'm surprised this isn't on any of their compilation albums, it's that good ! With slow paced drums and organ creating a great sound the guitar comes soaring in and out, it's gorgeous ! "Childhood End" is good with some floating organ early on as the sound builds with percussion, guitar then vocals being added. "Free Four" reminds me too much of T.REX. "Stay" is a great ballad. Very uplifting. The final song is an instrumental called "Absolutely Curtains" with lots of organ and some natives singing to end the song.

I like this record a lot, and even the movie related pictures inside are kind of cool. For "Mudmen" alone I would buy this album.