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Pink Floyd - Delicate Sound of Thunder CD (album) cover

DELICATE SOUND OF THUNDER

Pink Floyd

Psychedelic/Space Rock


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lkbacon@yahoo
4 stars I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if you are a true Pink Floyd fan, you will love this live version. The music video is also wonderful. David Gilmour doesn't get any better than this!!! I can only hope they release this music video on DVD. Am eagerly awaiting for the tour, too!!! (hopefully)
Report this review (#32132)
Posted Friday, September 3, 2004 | Review Permalink
Chris S
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Great live album, disc 2 for me getting a bigger thumbs up. Pink Floyd were by now getting an even bigger reputation for mega live performances. The amount of money they invested in visuals, attention to details, special effects was mind boggling and Delicate Sound of Thunder lived up to it's repuation at the time of being a live gig from the ' Giants' of rock music ' One of these days' and ' Us and Them' the best pick of the bunch.If I recall it was also the first music used in the space shuttle for space musak! I could be wrong on this factoid though...Imagine looking at space in space with Shine on you Crazy Diamond playing...whew, enough said.
Report this review (#32133)
Posted Monday, September 6, 2004 | Review Permalink
Guillermo
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars With this album Pink Floyd was trying to be a "real band" again, even if Rick Wright still wasn`t an official member then. Very good performances of old songs. The songs from "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" are played better live. This album showed that "The Pink Floyd Sound" was alive again, and in the road to better things since 1975.
Report this review (#32134)
Posted Sunday, September 12, 2004 | Review Permalink
mrwrick@freem
3 stars In my opinion the recording (or mixing) could have been better (as it was so on P.U.L.S.E.). The saxophone can be hardly heard sometimes. The tracks of the Momentary Lapse of Reason album are much better on the studio album (exept for On the Turning Away, only because the guitar solo at the end is fully played and not faded out). Shine on You Crazy Diamond is good, but the PULSE and WYWH recording is better. Gilmour's vocals are simply not good in Learning to Fly (I am really sorry to write things like this, because I like Gilmour's music and voice). Yet Another Movie and The Dogs of War were the biggest disappointments for me. They just not appeal me. Sorrow is the only track that I can consider good, worth listening to. So, the 2nd CD is better. The 2nd side contains all the stuff that makes this album be worth buying. One of These Days proves that Pink Floyd is on stage. It is good to hear Time being played without Breathe(reprise). This track is very good quality. I think at this time is Gilmour at his best. And, after many years: we can hear Rick Wright's voice again! Wish You Were Here is a weaker moment (in my point of view the studio version is the only good one of the three of this(WYWH, DSoT and PULSE)). Us and Them... What can I say? Another classic. Not the best recording, but it can shine despite this fact. This long-verion Money is a bit other style. The Band's players does not do one-instrument solos. But in this case, Guy Pratt (bass) has got a half minute where he shows what he is capable of, and the Backing Vocals are in the Foreground for a while. These parts make the track be much other style than it was on Dark Side Of the Moon. Another Brick in the Wall Part II could have a better introduction (as it was on PULSE), but the guitar solo solves any bad feelings about this. Well, Comfortably Numb is one of the best Pink Floyd songs ever, but not at this time. It is not complete yet (again, PULSE is better, but there this song is the best track). This version of Run Like Hell is the best one. More touching than in The Wall, and not so long- introducted as it was on PULSE.
Report this review (#32137)
Posted Thursday, January 20, 2005 | Review Permalink
jamesong9@aol
4 stars Anyone who has anything negative to say about this album need to clear their ears and close their eyes. Dave's tone and solo's make this not just a reproduction of Floyd's earlier recordings, it makes the listener drift. On the Turning Away's solo has been edited for c.d, was cut too short in my opinion if you listen to the video or DVD you'll hear a great difference. Comfortably Numb was cut short on the video but thank christ the album has it in it's entirety. If there was anything bad to say about it, it wouldn't be for the sound but they should have made 3 c.d's not just 2, would have been able to fit all the concert in which may change a few peoples opinions.
Report this review (#32139)
Posted Wednesday, February 2, 2005 | Review Permalink
Cluster One
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars PINK FLOYD is a live band. In the studio they are brilliant...most of the time. But when their music is played live, it kind of takes on a feeling all its own. And it is almost always superior, with each performance being unique in some way. For any who have seen FLOYD live, you know exactly what I am talking about.

"Delicate Sound of Thunder" is no different. The music is taken variously from the Nassau Coliseum, NY concerts over a five night period; August 18-22, 1988 to be exact. The 2 disc set is a live testament to the "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" tour and is quite good. FLOYD is like the legendary phoenix of old, reborn from the ashes to mesmerize a new generation of fans. Yet even with all the extra musicians on stage, Nick Mason and Rick Wright's confidence was probably a little low and they had to have felt a bit rusty, since they hadn't effectively played live together as a group since 1981. For the record, Dave Gilmour shows no rust.

After an inspired version of 'Shine On...' the first disc offers a healthy dose of the new "AMLOR" music. All of which sounds pretty decent live, the exception being the poor 'The Dogs of War' (as always).

The second disc is even better than the first. It boasts all classic FLOYD tracks from the 1970's played live for a new generation. But no surprises here really, all the usual FLOYD staples float to the surface: 'Money', 'Another Brick', 'Run Like Hell', 'Time', 'Numb', 'WYWH', 'Us & Them' etc

The sole reason this FLOYD offering receives only a 3 star rating, is because there are (much) better official Live FLOYD releases, such as: "Ummagumma (the Live album)", "P*U*L*S*E", "Is There Anybody Out There: The Wall Live 1980-81" and the "Live at Pompeii" DVD. "DSOT" is not essential FLOYD music, but it is enjoyable. So if you come across it, pick it up! But don't go looking for it...

Report this review (#32142)
Posted Tuesday, March 8, 2005 | Review Permalink
4 stars This album was recorded during the post Roger Waters era. It opens up with shine on you crazy diamond which is a great listener. But for some reason features a lot of songs from A Momentary Lapse of Reason I'm not complaining or anything. Disc 2 opens up with "One of These Days" nice to have an early classic on this album. Also the major tracks from Dark Side of The Moon but where on earth is Great Gig in the Sky that's a major song for Pink Floyd. Overall a great album but there is room for improvment in my opinion. Careful With That Axe Eugene, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun or A Saucerful of Secrets would have been a great addition. In an overall score I will give this album a reasonable 4 1/2 out of 5.
Report this review (#32146)
Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | Review Permalink
Bj-1
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars I've never truly enjoyed later live material by Pink Floyd, this one is no exception. A very dull and uninspired live compilation recorded during the "Lapse of Reason" tour, with only a few decent stand-outs. Technically solid but generally lacking fire. Listened to it first time a few years ago and haven't since, I might have missed something since then but currently it only merits a "Collectors/Fans Only" status from me. You will surely enjoy it if you like the AMLOR album.
Report this review (#35707)
Posted Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | Review Permalink
Eclipse
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Not even close to PULSE, this live double-album still manages to be good, since we have excellent renditions on "One Of These Days" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". However, some of the songs of AMLOR are played a bit badly here, and that's the reason i always neglected their studio versions until i discovered them better. "Money" sounds a bit annoying, with those "uh uhs" back vocals through the song, and this "Another Brick In The Wall II" version is really weak. The other performances aren't bad, but i'd rather see this in a video than just listening to it, because in PULSE and in some ROIOS those songs are played lightyears better.

Report this review (#41361)
Posted Tuesday, August 2, 2005 | Review Permalink
sambo66@bigpo
5 stars Absolutely love this album. Have 2 copies one in bank vault one for home.The vault is it can be played at my demise coudn't think of better stuff to leave the planet with. Raw vocals fab lighting on video needs to be on DVD now!!!!! not when I can no longer hear it in 20 years time. For me 10/10.
Report this review (#65562)
Posted Thursday, January 19, 2006 | Review Permalink
3 stars Usually I don't like live albums... for this one, I bought it because I went to see Pink Floyd play live at Chateau de Chantilly and I really loved that concert. The album itself is good, but sure not essential.

Disc I starts with a nice version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" - quite different from the studio track. The rest of the songs are "Momentary lapse of reason" revisited live - not much to say about those except for "The Dogs Of War" that sounds a lot better than on "Momentary lapse of reason".

Disc II contains songs from the old days. "One Of These Days" is awesome here. "Money" is played in a soul fashion. "Comfortably Numb" is probably the best track here - it sounds much darker than on "The Wall". The other songs are correct, but not great.

Rating: 77/100 (disc 1) + 70/100 (disc 2)

Report this review (#68900)
Posted Thursday, February 9, 2006 | Review Permalink
2 stars The double-disc live release from Pink Floyd's 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' tour in 1988 marked the prog rock band's first official live release since the four-song 'Ummagumma' twenty years previously. Since then, the band escalated to international fame, helped innovate a whole new style of music and released a string of incredible and successful albums (it's estimated that 1 in every 14 American citizens own a copy of the band's magnum opus, 'Dark Side of the Moon.') As the first live album since 'Meddle,' 'Dark Side.,' 'Wish You Were Here,' 'Animals' and 'The Wall,' 'The Delicate Sound of Thunder' has a lot to live up to.

The 1980s were a turbulent and stressful time for Pink Floyd, a rock band whose popularity was dwindling from year to year. Jealous ex-bass player and totalitarian songwriter Roger Waters tried his hardest to destroy the band through courts, for the treacherous decision of its two official remaining members not to disband, and to continue using the successful Pink Floyd name. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way, and Waters eventually came out of court a loser, grumpier and ready to embark on a disappointing string of solo projects. Meanwhile, guitarist (and now full-time vocalist) David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason brought back keyboard player Rick Wright once again, and created 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' with the aid of a host of session musicians. Wright was originally fired from the band in 1979 by Waters and not officially reinstated by Gilmour until 1994. for some reason.

The 1987 album the tour promoted was fairly bland and disappointing. Could the live album fare better? Could the mixture of old and new material prove that the band still had what it takes? Have you seen the star-rating I've given to this thing?

Disc 1

It's difficult to decide whether the plethora of new material in the first half of the album demonstrates admirable confidence by Gilmour and associates (a.k.a. Pink Floyd) in their creations, or a desperate attempt at promoting a studio album with mediocre sales. Regardless of motive, this results in a largely unimpressive first disc, offerings such as 'Dogs of War' and 'Yet Another Movie'/'Round and Round' sounding entirely dispensable, and even a little insulting in light of all the excellent songs of the Pink Floyd back catalogue that fail to appear here. The tour sought to promote the new stuff, and as such the poppy and catchy 'Learning to Fly,' the epic 'Sorrow' and the reflective and sombre 'On the Turning Away' represent the highlights of the previous album.

Opinion differs on whether these official live versions improve upon the studio originals, but it's my opinion that they don't. They stand out a little more when isolated from the filler tracks on the studio release, but the mixing of instruments just isn't right on this release. We get to hear Gilmour's nice solo for 'Sorrow' in full, rather than the canonical rubbish fade-out, but the trademark Floyd sax can barely be heard, it's so low in the mix. Gilmour's gruff vocals are more grating than ever through this live show, even affecting the best song on disc one, the spacey prog classic 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V).' The perfectionist attitude to studio production of the band's 70s albums means that live versions will always seem somewhat inferior.

Disc 2

Put simply, and correctly (excluding 'Shine On'), disc one represents 'new stuff' and disc two features 'the classics.' All of these songs stem from the band's creative and successful peak throughout the 70s, showcasing every album from this classic period apart from the always overlooked 'Animals.' As I suggested above, none of these versions improve on the studio originals, but the collection is rendered collectable and valid for the band's rare 'improvisations' (however tried-and-tested that 'Money' jam may be) and departures from the rigid format of the original songs.

As with disc one, there are issues with production which affect the vocals and subsidiary instruments, including whatever the sound effects are projected from, as the iconic chimes and cash registers are so comparatively quiet against the instruments, it takes some time to notice that 'Time' has even started. Mason's rolling drum intro to that song also sounds much weaker than in the studio and other live versions, yet Gilmour's guitar always emerges from the mix unscathed. Conspiracy theorists could suggest an agenda behind emphasising the band's new 'leader' figure in Gilmour, but such people also claim that 'Dark Side of the Moon' was secretly created to synchronise flawlessly as the soundtrack to 'The Wizard of Oz,' despite the fact that the band clearly didn't intend this, and that it doesn't, even, anyway.

The rocky instrumental 'One of These Days' is perhaps the best cut here and, as something of a jam piece, benefits from the full band live presence. Even so, the volume levelling spoils the 'twist' half-way through as the song breaks into a faster, louder piece, as the difference between the two sections isn't as pronounced as it needs to be. Everything that follows is by-the-numbers Floyd live favourites: the afore-mentioned 'Time' is joined by its studio counterparts 'Money' and 'Us & Them,' the former extended to ten minutes by extending the sax solo and then simply repeating the infamous 7/4 riff for longer than necessary.

The mellow, semi-ballad offerings come in the form of the acoustic title track from 'Wish You Were Here' and Wall drugs classic, 'Comfortably Numb.' Both are excellent songs, and are played perfectly, but their necessity at live shows such as this robs them of the beauty present in the studio originals. The same can't be said of 'Another Brick in the Wall II,' one of the band's most well-known songs and also one of the most annoying in their discography ("we down't need now fort controw"). This live version falls flat, especially in the unsuccessful attempt to extend it at the end with backing vocals, but it was going to be on here regardless. Finally, 'Run Like Hell' is something of a surprise from 'The Wall,' played without embellishment and comparable to the original, but I've never really enjoyed the disco drum beat of this one.

'The Delicate Sound of Thunder' is an acceptable live album of the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' tour, and probably surpasses bootlegs, but it falls short as the first Floyd live album of the decade. Granted, the new material must be played, as must some of the more grating overplayed classics, and there's hardly enough space to include much else. But still, the band could have attempted more coverage of their legacy, especially pre-1973. The slight mix of styles works well here, comparing 'Learning to Fly' to 'Us & Them' and 'Run Like Hell' for example, and this could have continued by backtracking to the band's psychedelic and epic days. This is the band that won the rights to use the Pink Floyd name and play all the Pink Floyd songs, yet apart from Gilmour's licks it sounds more like a crowd-pleasing cover band.

This album would soon be usurped by 1995's 'P-U-L-S-E,' commemorating the tour of the follow-up album 'Division Bell' and including all the good songs from 'Delicate' (yes, every single one) as well as more impressive gems such as 'High Hopes,' 'Astronomy Domine' and the entire 'Dark Side of the Moon' album played from start to finish, just because the band can. It's alleged that 'P-U-L-S-E' was released partly as a sort of apology for the poor quality of 'Delicate,' and it certainly renders this earlier effort obsolete and unnecessary.

Its only real notable feat is that it was the first rock music played in space, as an advance cassette tape of the album was taken into orbit by Russian cosmonauts, leading to some handy 'First in Space' T-shirt merchandising by the band's promoters. Even with this historical significance, 'The Delicate Sound of Thunder' is a flimsy and temporary phenomena that makes a bit of noise and then goes forgotten, a companion piece to an equally dispensable come-back record.

Report this review (#83461)
Posted Tuesday, July 11, 2006 | Review Permalink
1800iareyay
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars The Delicate Sound Of Thunder is a solid, yet unisnspiring release. After hearing the fantastic .P.U.L.S.E., this just doesn't measure up. The album features material from the then recent Momentray Lapse of Reason as well as Floyd standards. Problem is, classics like Shine On and Money fall far short of the studio and P.U.L.S.E. rendtions. New tracks like Dogs of War are mediocre at best.

While the album isn't horrible, it fails to portray Floyd as the live juggernaut that it is. Buy P.U.L.S.E. instead and you'l get amazing versions of Comfortably Numb, Shine On, and Money.

Report this review (#102997)
Posted Wednesday, December 13, 2006 | Review Permalink
ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars The first live effort of the post-Waters era so far. Looking back into their discography, it is the second one after Ummagumma in ... 1969 ! Bearing in mind that "Live In Pompei" does not include any audience and that "The Wall - Live" was only released in 2000 (but performed in 1980 / 1981).

Everything that the Floyd undertakes in those days is enormous. To give you an idea, they had to hire fifteen persons to physically bring eight hunderd (800) hospital beds on a beach to shoot the cover only ! (reminds me the "Animals" story).

This tour was supporting "A Momentary Mapse" of course. On the first CD, the only non "Momentary" is the opener "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". This version is not the best one I know but is good. It will be superseded on "Pulse". Then we have five tracks from their last studio album (considering that "Yet Another Movie" + "Round and Around" are only one track. But except "Sorrow"and "On The Turning Away" nothing is really vital here.

Second CD covers four albums : only one number each for "Meddle" and "WYWH". Two from "DSOTM" of which "Money" which is their only hit from that album but is not my fave but. It is apparently for lots of fans. The album closes with three of the best numbers from "The Wall".

The sound is of course very good, and the show was gorgeous (have a look at the video /DVD).

During this tour, in their concert in West Berlin, there were several arrests as the crowd was shouting for the wall to be destroyed.

The tour was due to last for eleven weeks, but since tickets were selling like crazy, it lasted for more than 22 months !

The Floyd will be the first band to play at the Castle of Versailles. But, still the best is to come : a live concert in Venice. The band was playing opposite to St. Mark's Square : 200,000 thousand people watched the concert and more than 100 million viewers saw it on the television! The concert was almost cancelled two days before the official date. The superintendent of monuments declared that the vibration could damage the buildings. The Floyd played at reduced volume to avoid any trouble.

The battle with Roger was rageous though.

"You see, this is part of what's been going on for years. Roger's very good at belittling people, and I think over the years he managed to convince Rick completely that he was useless and more or less convinced Nick of the same thing. And they both did not play a major part on that record. But we put a touring band together, and by halfway through the first leg of the tour, Nick was starting to believe in himself again. And by the time we did the live album at the end of the first year, they were both playing absolutely great, and the drumming on the live album is all straight Nick. And Rick's playing is great."

"We'd spent a lot of money fighting him (Roger). We had to have a team of lawyers in every city ready and briefed in case it was suddenly in front of a judge and we had to get someone there in twenty minutes. It never happened, but we had to be prepared for it".

Both quotes are from David.

I will rate this live effort with three stars.

Report this review (#109270)
Posted Sunday, January 28, 2007 | Review Permalink
progaardvark
COLLABORATOR
Crossover/Symphonic/RPI Teams
3 stars The Delicate Sound of Thunder was officially the band's first live album, if you disregard one of the discs of the Ummagumma release. How a band that was notable for their live performances took more than 20 years to finally release something is beyond me. Of course, there were literally hundreds of bootlegs available, all of them with slightly acceptable to downright awful recordings. So it was exciting to finally get a really well done recording of Pink Floyd live, albeit missing much of the 1970s material we'd all love to hear. Unfortunately almost all of disc 1 consists of A Momentary Lapse of Reason material. I guess you can't blame them for that since this was from the tour for that album.

The selection on disc 2 is much more enjoyable as it has most of the fans' concert favorites. However, not everything they performed on this tour made it onto this album, from my prior knowledge of a 3-LP bootleg and actually attending one of their concerts in 1988. The most notable track worth mentioning would have been Echoes, which they performed as the opener during the first arm of the tour in 1987. And they performed the whole song! I suppose record executives would have frowned upon having that on a live album and making a 3-record set, which by the 1980s was extremely rare. Another track missing is One Slip, which was on the video of this concert.

The recording is great. The selection could have been better. Since their second live album, Pulse (released in 1995) is much better than this, I would recommend starting with that. Otherwise, this is a worthwhile purchase for Pink Floyd fans. Good, but not essential. Well deserving of three stars (3.5 would be better).

Report this review (#134295)
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2007 | Review Permalink
3 stars While I like most if not all of the songs on this album and I love live albums I just can not listen to this one. I would say that the first disc of this is the better one. While I don't like A Momentary Lapse of Reason as much as the other albums represented on this album I like most of this disc because David Gilmore is suppose to sing these songs. I can't stand Gilmore singing Waters parts. Waters voice is not as heavy as Gilmore's and I don't like hearing these soft spots sung by a heavy voice. If this was a live album with Waters on it it would be absolutely amazing, but because it has Gilmore singing where he shouldn't the album or the most part is just ruined. I give this album a three star rating because the songs are great but the singing in my opinion is not bery good. The songs that Gilmore is suppose to sing on just aren't as good and the ones that he isn't suppose to sing on are just ruined.
Report this review (#142814)
Posted Monday, October 8, 2007 | Review Permalink
5 stars I first saw this concert 13 years ago and it was on a video-tape during a session on a literary-circle;I've been a student that time and I must say it impressed me very much. I bought the vinyl and played it hundred times...again and again. Well, this is how a concert has to be!!!! Pink Floyd is a real live-band and the fact that the complex of structures, musically speaking, is quite overwhelming, the voice of David Gilmour is high. Remarkable is also the drum section, Wright's keyboards and excellent sax interventions. Here it is all that a PF fan should have. Tracks like Shine on you crazy diamond(the beginning of disc 1, IMO, the track sounds much better here than on the album!!!), Learning to fly, Yet Another Movie, Sorrow, Dogs of War a.s.o, are very well played live. Highly-recommended!!!!!
Report this review (#167753)
Posted Thursday, April 17, 2008 | Review Permalink
memowakeman
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Not bad at all, but neither the best.

Delicate Sound of Thunder was the first video taken from a concert that Pink Floyd released after Roger Waters left the band, also, the first one featuring songs from the first "Gilmour- era" album called "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" released in 1987 and that gave a different direction to Floyd's music; but here, I will not talk about that album, some may like it (like me), some may not.

So in 1988 this VHS saw the light and was received with great expectations because, as I said earlier, it marked a different era for the band, outside those huge scenarios (like The Wall), and supporting their (at the time) newest album.

But well, besides the above mentioned VHS, this concert was also recorded and released as a CD, it is actually a two- CD live album. In the first one, or show's first half, you will find Shine on You Crazy Diamond as the opener song, an older and epic song to open the show will always please the crowd; but immediately after, the "Lapse of Reason" show begins; "Learning to Fly", "Yet Another Movie (with Round and Round)", "Sorrow", "The Dogs of War" and "On the Turning Away" were excellently performed by the band, but somehow, the sound was a bit dark, I mean, there was something missing that would make the listener (me) enjoy better the music.

The second CD, may please more the people because it contains songs from older albums like The Wall or Dark Side; opening with "One of These Days" and finishing with "Run Like Hell", it is a very good concert in my opinion, the drums and guitar solos are outstanding, even those sax solos, but it is normal that you may want to compare it with PULSE, if you do it, then this CD wont please you.

Not bad at all, 3 stars.

Enjoy it!

Report this review (#278760)
Posted Tuesday, April 20, 2010 | Review Permalink
Bonnek
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars Now what do we have here? It looks like Pink, sounds like Floyd but it rocks like a bunch of old ladies in wheelchairs.

I am one of the few that really liked A Momentary Lapse of Reason though. I admit the album sounds overblown, that much of it falls back on old success formula's and that the absence of Waters left a brick-sized hole in the Pink Floyd experience. But somehow I always appreciated the songs very much and I felt an urge in Gilmour's playing to prove how essential he was to the Floyd sound, at least to that Floyd sound of Wish You Were Here where his involvement was more prominent.

There's none of those redeeming factors here. This is a man cashing in on his successes, blowing up the Floyd sound to unseen bombastic proportions and losing all edge this music once had. Much of the material comes from the maligned A Momentary Lapse of Reason album, and due to the lazy pace of the performance and the backing vocal kitsch, the songs really reveal how weak they are at the core. Stripped of that little bite they had on the studio album, only an empty carcass remains here.

The classic Floyd songs are OK-ish but everyone who has heard any random Floyd live album from 67-71 period will recognize that this is a routine and sterile show. Only the outrageous solo at the end of Comfortably Numb gives a glimpse why Gilmour is one of the best guitar players for me. His ability to get so much emotion out of so few sustained notes is a unique gift.

Not highly recommended to say the least, the rating should have told you that much.

Report this review (#279117)
Posted Friday, April 23, 2010 | Review Permalink
AtomicCrimsonRush
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars Gilmour, Mason and Wright, live in 1989!

'Delicate Sound...' is one of those live albums that is best seen and not just heard. I saw this live at an early age before I was into Pink Floyd heavily because someone recommended their light show. I was dazzled by it at the time but of course it has been far surpassed by "P-U-L-S-E', we all know that, but this was it as far as the new Pink Floyd. It took this long to eventually get the CD of the concert for me, simply because I had heard it enough on the video and was not overly impressed by the music. The concert was recorded primarily at the Nassau Coliseum, New York in 1988, and, like the video, it suffers purely from the set list which is missing so many definitive songs.

On the positive side, the classics are here that any Floyd fan would revel in; on demand you can indulge in the majesty of 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond', the chilling, top heavy droning 'One of These Days', the infamous 'Time', the acoustic classic 'Wish You Were Here', the lulling meandering 'Us and Them', the time sig bassline and sax of 'Money', the raucous Wall blaster 'Run Like Hell' and the showstopping Gilmour lead breaker 'Comfortably Numb', one of his best guitar virtuoso performances. They are all played with well executed musicianship, as we have come to expect, and the singing is fine and dominated by Gilmour. The three beautiful female voices are heard powerfully on the iconic 'The Great Gig In the Sky', especially songstress/diva Rachel Fury who overpowers the others for sheer vocal prowess.

There are many newer tracks (at the time) from 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' such as a favourite, the melodic soaring 'Learning to Fly' and 'Sorrow' with its long guitar intro, among others. Though tracks such as 'One Slip' we can well do without. We also have songs that rarely turned up on set lists again such as 'Yet another movie', 'Round and round' and 'Sorrow'. The concert ends with treats from 'The Wall' and 'DSOTM' but a lot of the sound is very commercial without Waters' input. I must admit I loved the versions here of 'One of These Days', and 'Shine On' and 'Money' are very lengthy versions.

Overall, I would definitely recommend getting the DVD rather than this CD as its the same virtually and the DVD is better as a visual treat in this case. You can forgive the poor set list when you are being dazzled by lights and beautiful singers grooving it out on the songs. But on CD this is quite a lacklustre album; the visual feast is the key component that holds the interest on this particular set list, so be warned. I can still award this 2 stars for it's great moments.

Report this review (#292621)
Posted Thursday, July 29, 2010 | Review Permalink
Evolver
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams
3 stars The Obligatory Flash Of Laser

I saw two different shows on this tour, one in an arena, the other in a football stadium. And the sound was incredible good, even in the outdoor venue. What you don't get on this album is the swirling surround sound used throughout the show. But the sound is still quite nice on this CD set.

As for the songs themselves, the abridges version of Shine On You Crazy Diamond is fine. But then, the remainder of the first disk is only songs from "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason". While the album would make a very good David Gilmour album, the other members of what was left of Pink Floyd just don't really add much to the music.

Disk 2 fares better, as it is the first official live release of those favorite Floyd fundamentals. Mason and Wright seem to perk up when playing the classics. Most of the songs are played fairly straight, but Money's solo section is where there is the most variation, with a reggae passage, and even a *gasp* bass solo. Another Brick In The Wall II (not one of my favorite Floyd songs), is okay, but bassist Guy Pratt gets a bit annoying with his pop and slap licks.

So this isn't a terrible album, but I still wish they had released a live recording of the "Animals" tour.

Report this review (#302882)
Posted Friday, October 8, 2010 | Review Permalink
4 stars As a Pink Floyd live album is not Pulse but is really good too. The set list has many tracks from A Momentary lapse of reason, but the versions of the old songs are superb and in some cases better than the ones in Pulse. Yes, the band sounds really polished.

The set list opens with a stunning version of Shine on you crazy diamond. In my opinion the best version ever of this classic. Wright and Gilmour shines both two with the solos. Then we have tracks from AMLOR. Learning to fly in a bit weak version. Yet another movie sounds great, and Sorrow too. On the turning away rather different than the original with a long electric solo.

The second cd is fantastic. Opens with a strong version of One of these days. The live version of Time is far better than the one on Pulse, and the same happens with Money and Wish you were here (the best version ever too). Another brick on the wall II is not so good here and Us and them just good. Comfortably numb sounds heavier than other versions but good. Run like hell closes the set list in a fantastic shape. This version of Run like hell is the best one I ever heard. Far better than the original, than the one from The Wall live and even better than the one on Pulse, just an amazing and really strong version. Four solid stars.

Report this review (#372318)
Posted Monday, January 3, 2011 | Review Permalink
octopus-4
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
3 stars I see that this live album is rated quite low, and I have to admit that 3 stars is probably the right rating, but how could I forget that this album is recorded during the Momentary Leapse of Reason tour which gave me the opportunity to see them live for the first time.

After the disbanding following The Final Cut I really had no hopes to see the Pink Floyd brand again. After TFC Waters released The Pros and Cons followed by Radio KAOS, Gilmour played on Mason+Fenn album and Wrigh tried an electro-dark adventure with Dave Harris. I thought Pink Floyd were dead and also the release of Momentary Leapse appeared mostly like a follow-up to Gilmour's About Face than like a Pink Floyd album.

But the live show was unforgettable. When they played in my city they cut Shine on you Crazy Diamond to more or less five minutes, and the first good thing of this live album is that the first half of the epic is played entirely.

About the rest, there aren't big differences from what I've seen live and the songs inside and this is a reason why I love this double live. It catches the essence of the show and this is the first quality that a live album must have.

In addition it features one of the best, IMO, version of the second solo of Comfortably Numb and probably the best live version of Run Like Hell. It's a pity that actually the lawsuit between Waters and the rest of the band was still at a peak so they didn't have the authorization to play Waters' songs, missing a big part of Dark Side Of The Moon, but this demonstrated that they had enough material, even without considering A Momentary Leapse Of Reason, to fill a gig.

It covers a period that starts from Meddle (One of These Days) and of course skips Animals and The Final Cut. This is the limit of this album: the Pink Floyd's story is only partially covered and also songs which could have been played without legal problems, like Fat Old Sun, are missing from the tracklist. This is why it's non-essential but it doesn't mean that it's not good.

Report this review (#451527)
Posted Tuesday, May 24, 2011 | Review Permalink
3 stars A big release when it was released, but has not survived the passing of time.

I was a big fan of this double album when it arrived in my local record shop back in 1988. I bought it and played it to death, not knowing the more exciting Pink Floyd period. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason was my exposure to this band and that album is occupying a lot of space on this live album. Far too much space.

In short; Delicate Sound Of Thunder is the brainchild of the 1980s with the AOR plastic fantastic sound Pink Floyd adopted then. In my ears anno 2011, this album is pretty good, but also pretty boring. This although it is a decade or so since I last heard it. Comfortably Numb is still a great song. The rest is, well, the renditions of the more older Pink Floyd sounds neutered and flat. The band arrives, put up a laser show while playing these songs, getting paid and then moves on to the next arena. Pink Floyd is by nature a laid back band. But these renditions is taking laid back to the extremes and almost life support.

No life, but still a good live album. It has dropped two points in my estimation since 1988.

3 stars

Report this review (#513153)
Posted Friday, September 2, 2011 | Review Permalink
jamesbaldwin
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars After "The Final Cut", which was in fact the record of a songwriter (Waters), not a group, Pink Floyd melts and Waters does a legal battle, which loses, to prevent Gilmour, Wright and Mason from keeping the name Pink Floyd. And so, under the leadership of Gilmour, the group's discography continues with the return of Wright and the more than good album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" (1987), dominated by Gimour: composer and singer of all tracks (with the help of the lyricists Ezrin and Carin and McGough, and sometimes other co-authors of the music).

The album is a great success and PF in 1988 make a world tour immortalized by the double live "Delicate Sound of Thunder". In this record we see Pink Floyd machine at work in its full efficiency, with Gilmour, Mason and Wright returned in great shape and helped by some session man (Gary Wallis on percussion, Guy Pratt on the bass, John Carin on keyboards and vocals, Tim Renwick on guitars and vocals). The show, with psychedelic lights, holophonic sound and stage interventions worthy of a theater, is impressive and sees Gilmour as the absolute protagonist: his voice getting older has become even more fascinating, his guitar solos are overwhelming. Ultimately, Gilmour has become a true singer-songwriter, what in PF he has never been, having composed only a few tracks throughout the group's discography. The first record, after the initial "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", executed with precision , includes all songs taken from Momentary Lapse of Reason and the result is excellent: the new songs do not disfigure. They are perhaps more atmospheric than those of Waters but keep the grit and the menacing sound of the last Pink Floyd's albums.

The best rock song is undoubtedly the martial "Dogs of War", worthy of "The Wall", while the melodic pearl is "On the Turning Away", that close the first disc. It is a masterpiece, embellished by the voice and the guitar solo by Gilmour. The lighter song is the single "Learning to Fly"; "Yet Another Movie" keeps the sound slow and heavily punctuated by PF, with guitars feedback effects . "Sorrow" is a guitaristic ballad (perhaps the least beautiful), The sound of the album is mammoth, you can feel that the group has aged and is weighed down with the various session men and singers but what it loses in agility, it gains in grandeur. it is a sound that puts awe, like that of a thunder.

The second disc sees Pink Floyd playing some of their old classics: "One of These Days" (from Meddle), "Time", "Money", "Us and Them" (from Dark Side of the Moon), "Wish You Were Here" (from the homonymous album), "Another Brick in The Wall Part II", "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell" (from The Wall). Gilmour tries to select songs where he participated as an author, but in two cases, Money and Another Brick in The Wall, he sings two pieces signed by Waters. Some tracks, like "Another Brick in the Wall Part II"and "Run Like Hell", are not very consistent, extrapolated from their context, instead others are very effective and are emotionally warmer, performed live, such as "One of These Days", "Wish You Were Here" and above all the absolute masterpiece "Comfortably Numb" that with extraordinary solo of Gilmour in closing will perhaps become the strong track of PF in concert. Years later, Waters and Gilmour will meet in concert and perform together this wonderful piece, emblem of their collaboration.

This abum had the function to introduce to Pink Floyd teenagers of the eighties like me, and it remains, even in the absence of Waters, a cult Lp, since the group had never previously released an album live. It is a great album, which documents live one of the groups who has made the history of rock even for its incomparable and unique stage performances.

Vote: 9. Rating: Five Stars.

Report this review (#2116002)
Posted Monday, January 7, 2019 | Review Permalink
3 stars Review #17

Almost every progressive rock band of the seventies has at least one live album published in that same decade (ELP has "Pictures at an exhibition", King Crimson has "USA", Gentle Giant has "Playing the fool", Camel has "A live record", Yes has "Yessongs", etc.) but Pink Floyd didn't publish a live album in the seventies, they published their first live album in 1988 when Roger Waters wasn't part of the band anymore and all the legal issues in what the band was involved were finally over.

"Delicate sound of thunder" is a double album recorded in New York as a part of the "A momentary lapse of reason" tour, so the album has many songs of this album among some hits from "The dark side of the Moon", "Wish you were here", "Meddle" and "The Wall".

Some songs in here were played really well but there are two versions in this album of early songs that I really don't like: "Money" and "One of these days"; the first one is played as a reggae song, (I adore Easy-Star All Stars' "Dub Side of the Moon" which is a reggae version of "The dark side of the Moon", but in here I found it really boring and I just want to skip to the next song), while the second one is played with a sad lack of passion because "One of these days" is a really hard rock song in which Nick Mason's drums are mind-blowing (the Pompeii version is exquisite) but in here Nick sounded like he was playing as we say in Mexico "con hueva" (very lazily).

About the rest of the album I'd only say that they made a nice performance, but if I want to listen to Pink Floyd playing live I'd rather listen to "Ummagumma", "Pulse" or "Is there anybody out there?", but this is an album which I rarely enjoy listening to. What I like the most about this album is the cover, the music not so much.

Report this review (#2474410)
Posted Monday, November 9, 2020 | Review Permalink

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