IN THE FLESH - LIVE

The difference between the commercially successful Pink Floyd live albums and Water's In The Flesh is huge. Not only does the setlist reflect other sides of Floyd, also the production choices are entirely different. Considering this is also recorded by an 11 members counting band, the sound is still quite organic. Nothing like the overblown pathos of Gilmour's take on the Floyd material, but his guitar playing is very much missed here.

Actually, the guitar playing is one of the two worst aspects of this album. Even with 3 guitar players in the band, they stumble clumsily through the material and manage to get all life, tone, feel and sensuality out of Gilmour's original solos. It's a clear proof that Gilmour's so-called easy guitar parts aren't all that easy to render in the end.

A second disappointment are the vocals. Waters hadn't got much of a voice at all in the last 20 years and making up for that by those cliché female soul choirs all over the live performances isn't the brightest idea that both Waters and Gilmour ever had.

Finally, the sluggish pace and lifeless playing kicks any remaining life out of this music. But there is some good news as well. Jon Carin proves to be an excellent vocalist and he does an amazing performance on Dogs. Also Welcome to The Machine comes in a new and refreshing arrangement and Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun is simply essential. Of course, this eastern tinged gem had always been one of my Floyd favourites. The version here deviates a lot from the original but still does it justice. The songs from Dark Side of The Moon don't work at all for me without Gilmour's vocals and guitar.

I've never cared much for Waters' solo albums and the material here can't convince neither, though It's A Miracle and Each Small Candle have their moments.

For Pink Floyd fans, and count me in for sure, you will need to hear this album and maybe see the DVD at least once. I wish you a good public library to fulfil that need.