P-U-L-S-E

I only have the VHS version of Pulse because I am one of those people that don't immediately get the newest technological gadgets, instead waiting for the price of them to go down and have all of the bugs worked out of them. I now have a DVD player, and maybe someday will get the DVD version of this because the extras do look like their worth the trouble. Anyway, this review is for the VHS version only which contains just the footage of the concert at Earls Court in London.

First I must say, take some time off from other projects before watching this because the running time is about 2 1/2 hours. Pulse is probably the best live video of Pink Floyd available, however, video can't quite grab the essence of actually being there. I saw them in Philadelphia during the Division Bell tour and must say that no video recording device can really capture the essence of their light show, and particularly the sound. This is where "your own eyes" really are far superior than today's (or 1995's) technology. The video often gets overwhelmed when the stage lighting hits certain angles with respect to the camera positions. Your eyes can distinguish this much better, although there are moments at the end of Run Like Hell in which even human eyes are overwhelmed.

Musically, this is basically a track-for-track run of the corresponding Pulse CD released the same year, with the exception of Astronomy Domine, What Do You Want From Me, Hey You, and A Great Day for Freedom. On the flip side, Take It Back is not on the CD but is on the video. The sound is quite good, even for my not-so-impressive TV. I'm sure it's a much more enjoyable viewing on a larger screen. The band members' performances are quite well done, even though they tend to stand or sit still throughout much of the show. But Pink Floyd was always like this. They let there visual imagery and light show take front stage with the band mostly hovering about in the darkness playing their instruments. Now that they're a lot older (back in 1995), it's probably even more so.

This is most definitely a must-have purchase for Pink Floyd fans. For others, if it had more of their older material than the Division Bell and A Momentary Lapse of Reason stuff, I would say it would be a masterpiece. Otherwise, it's an excellent addition to your prog video collection and definitely worth four stars.