{"id":16125,"date":"2019-02-22T05:30:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T10:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=16125"},"modified":"2019-02-19T09:42:00","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T14:42:00","slug":"learning-to-fly-without-waters-pink-floyds-delicate-sound-of-thunder-at-30-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/22\/learning-to-fly-without-waters-pink-floyds-delicate-sound-of-thunder-at-30-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning to Fly Without Waters: Pink Floyd’s ‘Delicate Sound of Thunder’ at 30 (Part Two)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One<\/a>…<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"When Nicholas Schaffner published his excellent Pink Floyd biography Saucerful of Secrets<\/i> \u2013 for many years the only definitive tome on Pink Floyd \u2013 the 1991 book included an appendix that featured the results of fanzine Amazing Pudding<\/i>\u2019s reader polls. One notable bit of information from that poll is that \u201cDogs of War\u201d was hands-down winner of the \u201cWorst Floyd Song\u201d designation. Today, \u201cDogs of War\u201d sounds much like a shameless attempt to write a \u201cnasty\u201d (as in, Roger Waters-like) song for addition into the modern-day Pink Floyd repertoire. Gilmour shouts in a hoary voice, and everyone involved seems to be trying just a bit too hard. \u201cDogs of War\u201d is arguably effective at achieving that Waters vibe (though with less impressive lyrical qualities) but it doesn\u2019t build on the strengths of what made the post-Waters band worth experiencing.<\/p>\n

Happily, \u201cOn the Turning Away\u201d does exactly that. Bringing forth the the pathos and melancholy conjured by Pink Floyd’s best instrumental moments, the beautiful yet simple melody features Gilmour singing almost unaccompanied (the synths provide a subtle bed). He\u2019s stretching to the upper end of his vocal range, and \u2013 unlike the studio version \u2013 he doesn\u2019t quite always hit those high notes; he\u2019s flat a number of times. But all is forgiven. The live version adds nearly two minutes to the studio version, but it doesn\u2019t drag. The gospel-flavored vocals soar, and the extended instrumental outro delivers plenty of Gilmour guitar goodness.<\/p>\n

Delicate Sound of Thunder<\/i>\u2019s second CD opens with \u201cOne of These Days.\u201d The malevolent instrumental from Meddle<\/i> represents 1988-era Pink Floyd\u2019s farthest venture into its past. Bassist Guy Pratt does a creditable job of recreating Roger Waters\u2019 Echoplexed bass line, though he does add a bit of modern day fretless-style playing into his reading of the tune. Courtesy of tape, Nick Mason takes his rare vocal turn mid-song.<\/p>\n

Before the audience cheers begin to subside, the pre-recorded chiming clocks of \u201cTime\u201d are introduced. Perhaps in a nod to the shortened attention span of modern-day audiences, the song is trimmed some 90 seconds from its The Dark Side of the Moon<\/i> studio version. Here, longtime Pink Floyd fans finally get the chance to hear Wright take a turn on lead vocals. The studio version\u2019s rumbling synthesizer lines are largely absent in this live reading, but the song maintain its power nonetheless.<\/p>\n

Joined by Renwick, Gilmour picks up an acoustic guitar for the first time during the concert to play the introduction to \u201cWish You Were Here,\u201d a crowd favorite. The plaintive tune features backing vocals that give the impression of the entire audience singing along. Though the recording doesn\u2019t capture the actual audience, I can attest (see below) that the assembled crowds for these shows did indeed join in.<\/p>\n

The Dark Side of the Moon<\/i>\u2019s \u201cUs and Them\u201d brings an understated, jazzy feel to the proceedings. The vocal chorus does an admirable job of copying the original arrangement, and Page exercises restraint on saxophone, sticking more or less to Parry\u2019s arrangement. The studio version segued into \u201cAny Colour You Like\u201d (not featured in the live set list), so the live song features a showbizzy ending that gives way to the crashing coin sounds of \u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cMoney\u201d is a kind of corollary to the Grateful Dead\u2019s \u201cTruckin\u2019.\u201d It doesn\u2019t sound like a lot of the other songs in the band\u2019s catalog, and it\u2019s one of the most beloved songs in the group’s body of work (especially among those only casually familiar with Pink Floyd\u2019s material). The live reading somehow swings a bit more than the studio version, and the female chorus lets loose with cries of \u201cMoney!\u201d while Gilmour peels off a solo. While the studio version runs a mere 6:22, in concert the band extends \u201cMoney\u201d to nearly ten minutes. In the concert setting, few would have minded, though the faux-reggae breakdown around the five-minute mark does seem somewhat gratuitous, and most listeners could have probably done without Guy Pratt\u2019s bass solo, not to mention the a capella interlude. Still, Gilmour has a bit of fun interpolating the signature lick from Memphis Slim\u2019s classic blues \u201cSteppin\u2019 Out\u201d into the song\u2019s midsection, engaging in a brief instrumental call-and-response with Pratt.<\/p>\n

Even if they didn\u2019t want to, Gilmour\u2019s Pink Floyd couldn\u2019t have skipped over \u201cAnother Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2.\u201d The disco-flavored song from The Wall<\/i> is \u2013 for better or worse \u2013 Pink Floyd\u2019s most well-known tune, even more ubiquitous than \u201cMoney.\u201d Pratt\u2019s funky, thumping bass works in the context of the song\u2019s dance floor vibe, but it\u2019s wholly out of character with the original. The tape-playback children\u2019s chorus gives the live reading a kind of reverse-karaoke feel. But Gilmour\u2019s note-perfect recreation of his studio solo delivers the best of what \u201cBrick\u201d has to offer.<\/p>\n

So, too, does Gilmour faithfully recreate \u201cComfortably Numb,\u201d arguably his crowning achievement from The Wall<\/i>. Few would classify Roger Waters as an accomplished vocalist, but it\u2019s here where his presence is missed the most. Gilmour\u2019s vocals are sweet and superb, but the auxiliary musicians cannot (and, to their credit, don\u2019t try to) sound like Waters. Standing in contrast to Gilmour\u2019s vocals, Waters\u2019 seething, sung\/spoken part on the song is part of what gives the studio take of \u201cComfortably Numb\u201d its power. Still, the \u201880s Floyd does what it can live onstage, and instrumentally the song is as majestic as it should be.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Closing the evening on an upbeat note, Pink Floyd launches into \u201cRun Like Hell.\u201d Gilmour\u2019s heavily-effected guitar introduces the tune; the rest of the band holds back for more than a minute before joining in. The malevolent tone Gilmour aimed for (relatively unsuccessfully) on \u201cDogs of War\u201d is achieved here, with help from the auxiliary players. In keeping with the vibe of a set-closer, the band extends \u201cRun Like Hell\u201d to more than seven minutes. The song gets a customary \u201cbig ending\u201d and the show comes to a conclusion.<\/p>\n

On a personal note, I attended one of Pink Floyd\u2019s November 1987 shows at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta. That run of of concerts was originally planned as the source material for the live album eventually released as Delicate Sound of Thunder<\/i>, but the results of the recordings were deemed unsatisfactory (though they do circulate in audio and video<\/a> among collectors). So it was that Pink Floyd recorded five nights worth of performances some nine months later in Long Island, NY (at Nassau Coliseum) and compiled Delicate Sound of Thunder<\/i> from those resulting tapes.<\/p>\n

A 2CD release, Delicate Sound of Thunder<\/i> rose to #11 on Billboard<\/i>\u2019s album chart, eventually earning Triple Platinum status. The album was also released on cassette and (in limited quantities) on 2LP vinyl. In Russia, the album was split into two volumes and released on state label Melodia. And the album has another Russian connection: in November 1988 the album (in cassette format) was brought along on a mission by the Soyuz TM-7 spacecraft docking with the space station Mir, earning the designation as the first album played in space. Both Gilmour and Mason attended the rocket\u2019s November 28 launch.<\/p>\n

In the 21st<\/sup> century Delicate Sound of Thunder <\/i>received worldwide reissue, including a 2017 vinyl pressing.<\/p>\n

\"\"It\u2019s worth noting that the Delicate Sound of Thunder<\/i> set list \u2013 and for that matter, the selection of songs performed on Pink Floyd\u2019s 1994 tour in support of The Division Bell<\/i>, as documented on PULSE<\/i> \u2013 completely sidesteps material from Animals<\/i> and The Final Cut<\/i>. Gilmour had made no secret of his lack of fondness for those projects, though the lack of a \u201cDogs\u201d live performance from the late-period Floyd does seem an opportunity missed. But as a document of the Waters-less Pink Floyd\u2019s return to active duty, Delicate Sound of Thunder<\/i> is a welcome audio document, one that (occasionally dated drum sounds and production choices notwithstanding) has stood the test of time reasonably well.<\/p>\n

Postscript: My 2018 book Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon<\/i> surveys the band\u2019s creative journey from its start through the landmark 1973 release. Had the book covered the post-Dark Side<\/i> era, the chapter on Delicate Sound of Thunder<\/i> would have looked very much like this critical essay. \u2013 bk<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One… When Nicholas Schaffner published his excellent Pink Floyd biography Saucerful of Secrets \u2013 for many years the only definitive tome on Pink Floyd \u2013 the 1991 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,65],"tags":[1705],"class_list":["post-16125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rawk","category-review","tag-pink-floyd","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16125"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16139,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16125\/revisions\/16139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}