OBSCURED BY CLOUDS

Another very musical film score, this album contains music that, while shorter and simpler, fits well with the styles on Meddle and Dark Side. Floyd is one of the only bands that can write a song with only one chord and still make it sound great. Careful with the Axe is one such song, and the title track "Obscured by Clouds" on this album here is another. With only minimal variation on a single chord, they construct a composition that works not only fine on this album (if not very memorable) but also works well in a live setting. I have a bootleg from a concert here in Toronto in 1973, where they opened with a long version of Obscured by Clouds, and it is simply awesome! (too bad they didn't release more live albums from their archives - we are stuck with poorer-quality bootlegs). This whole album contains similarly pleasant and musical short tunes, some with words and some that are instrumental. The best tune is Waters' "Free Four". My version of the vinyl album actually is missing this tune (clearly a mistaken print that should not have been let out of the factory), and so I had to go searching for it. But Gilmour's "Childhood's End" is a close second. Those two excellent Floyd tracks were (apparently) never played live - a real shame. Other tunes, like "Stay" and "Wot's..the deal", have some nice vocals, but those and the instrumentals are all pretty tame. But the album is unpretentious and for the most part sufficiently musical. I give this album 7.0 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.

Share this PINK FLOYD review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Walkscore
• Report this review (#1695846)
• Buy PINK FLOYD music online with PA partners
• Show all PINK FLOYD MP3/Stream
• Go to PINK FLOYD page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Obscured by Clouds page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for PINK FLOYD related discussions