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I have always held this 'Official Sound-Track' in high regard. It's definately not one of Floyd's best, though aptly displays the band's willingness to experiment (as most early Floyd albums do) and offers some great contrasts - being music to a film, the songs cover many different styles and moods. Film soundtracks seem to allow certain freedoms to the musicians recording them, of course, that's within the confines of what is featured in the film and its script - infinite possibilities through creative brainstorming can yield some fairly original work, as opposed to a band's, perhaps, more focused approach to an album proper (not to say that proper albums aren't as experimental), it's just that the inspiration is totally different and can present the composer(s) with something of a challenge, one that connects the audio with the visual successfully. Now (after that rather (wishful) philosophical observation) onto the songs.

Opening with twittering bird-song, 'Cirrus Minor' takes us on a tranquil journey through softly sung verses backed with acoustic guitars and subtle organ washes, only to finish with an almost hymn-like passage where keyboardist Rick Wright immerses himself in a day-dream on his Farfisa organ. A very beautiful song for sure. 'The Nile Song' is quite a heavy song, heavy for Floyd, and heavy for the time, too. It's built on a repeating riff, which constantly ascends after each verse, searing acid-guitar from David Gilmour being the highlight, his harsh vocal delivery not. 'The Crying Song' is again a soft, acoustic song with some tinkling vibes and a brief electric guitar solo at the end. Pleasantly mysterious. 'Up The Khyber' is an avant-garde, psychedelic track with a great drum rhythm from Nick Mason which carries Wright's angular piano notes into the very trippy organ solo which ends the piece. Great stuff !! 'Green Is The Colour' is a live classic (always segued into Careful With that Axe, Eugene), but here remains a largely acoustic song with soft, falsetto vocals from Gilmour, some playful piccolo and more piano and organ work. 'Cymbaline' is another classic, especially live, sung by Dave and really has a great groove to it, with quite hypnotic Farfisa work - a trait that dominates this album, and a sound I admire a lot. 'Party Sequence' is a little hand percussion arrangement with piccolo soloing.

Second side features the dynamic, spacey 'Main Theme', a tune which conjures up images of intrigue and mystery, a great bass-line from Roger Waters, some spacious lead guitaring and melodic organ lines. 'Ibiza Bar' is very similar to 'The Nile Song', without the ascending verses. 'More Blues' is a simple 12 bar instrumental tune, but the occasional interjections of Mason's drumming makes it a little more interesting. 'Quicksilver' is the long track (over 7 mins.), its purpose being atmospheric (almost KRAUTROCK) and, although many find this piece meandering and pointless, I believe it reflects PF's unique approach to experimenting - given that it features just shimmering (aah, I didn't want to use that word) organ, cascading guitar glissandos and a good dose of (possibly) Waters hitting his gong, it sounds 'full' and is quality space-music. 'A Spanish Piece' is a brief song with flamenco-styled guitaring, seldom heard in Floyd ('High Hopes' middle section comes to mind), and some Spanish accented mumbling. 'Dramatic Theme' is a variation of 'Main Theme' with a 'brighter' sound. Great drumming from Mason. 4.5 stars.