LIVE AT POMPEII

Very good live album. Immaculate performances from a very experienced and well drilled band very consistent with David's Floyd since '87. His vocal sounded a little rough early on but he warmed up and sang well. Naturally the guitar performances (the star of the show) shone.

He acknowledges the return to Pompeii, the liner notes mention his is the first for a few thousand years. More difficult than getting to Carnegie Hall, no?

The set list is his usual (mainly) DSOTM and afterward favourites speckled with numbers from his last two albums. Thought Today, quite the AOR funk number sounded just fine as DG ran quite a variety of styles to the appreciative 2000 or so member audience. The Pompeii choir was quiet the contributor on WYWH. They got the words right anyway. Sorrow was stunning as he let the old whammy bar do it's work and rock Vesuvius in the back ground. Shine On utilizes guitar delay for a change. Another Brick must have been left to Roger to play on his concerts; no airing here. Funny it might have been mildly ironic in this venerated ruins. Not to worry, the past is revisited in a killer One OF These Days. The band blazes on this one. Money sounded like it lost a little too much tempo, not just dynamics, after the last guitar solo. Comfortably Numb delvers the scorched earth Pink Floyd practice of recent years - no surprises (unlike the near unplugged version at the Festival Hall years ago). I was at that concert but was there a release of it? There was a DVD of on afterward. Oh well, that was years ago. Looking ahead to Pompeii it's a very enjoyable and I suspect un-retouched listen.

Well produced and the audience given a role unlike the PULSE live album. Or the PF performance for that matter.

Possibly the reader / listener / audient / consumer may be better off with the video performances; the Blu Ray should cover everything and more and have a suitable audio standard (better than DVD mpeg 4 anyway). There are various releases but the 2 CD set (70 something minutes apiece) makes the experience well worth while. I was a little disappointed to find the formts split - I'd been enjoying the CD / DVD versions and had hoped this practice may continue.

While by itself it's an excellent edition it does not really add much to Remember That Night or the Gdansk live album. PF / DG fans will be up for this one, a casual listener will also enjoy it even if they are not so compelled by personality and historic significance. 3 1/2 rounded to four as this band does so well led by that stunning guitar work.