Customer Reviews

Delicate Sound of Thunder: Live

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I believe there is something of a generation gap in terms of Pink Floyd fans' appreciation of this live double album released in 1988. Older fans who experienced all of the band's genius in the 1960s and 1970s may have had a little trouble adjusting to the reconstitution of the band (without Roger Waters) in the 1980s. As for me, I had only recently discovered the band at that time - 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason was actually the first Floyd CD I bought. I had seen The Wall and was somewhat familiar with some of the classic cuts from Dark Side of the Moon, but Delicate Sound of Thunder was essentially my first real introduction to the musical mystique of Pink Floyd. I happen to much prefer Roger Waters' vocals on vintage Floyd tracks, but I am still impressed with David Gilmour's vocals and the energy with which Waters' former band mates resurrected Pink Floyd after the bitter breakup of the band. The fact that I really learned such songs as Comfortably Numb and Time from Gilmour's versions on this live album actually allows me to appreciate Waters' original vocals even more while never looking down on these recordings as inferior versions. Had I been a fan of Pink Floyd since the beginning (and I would have been if I had been born a decade or two earlier), I imagine I would have had trouble adjusting to the Waters-less ensemble showcasing their wares here. The only unhappy feelings I personally have toward this album come from the fact that I didn't get the chance to see them perform in the concert tour from which this music is derived.

The fifteen tracks included on these two CDs represent a mix of the new and the timeless. Five of the ten songs from 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason are included: Learning to Fly, The Dogs of War, On the Turning Away, Yet Another Movie, and Sorrow. I happen to think AMLR was a great album, and the live performances of these songs really do them justice; On the Turning Away is a particularly incredible live track.

Of course, one's attention is always fixed most closely on the timeless Pink Floyd songs. Dark Side of the Moon is represented here by three songs: Time, Money, and Us and Them (of course, the second CD in 1995's Pulse contains a live performance of the entire Dark Side of the Moon album). The backup singers do get to be a little annoying on the drawn-out version of Money. Wish You Were Here supplies its own title track, an always-welcome addition to the fun, as well as this album's opening number Shine on You Crazy Diamond. One of These Days stands out as the only purely instrumental track on the double album. I am not a big fan of extended instrumental pieces, but Pink Floyd prove to be the exception to the rule - largely due to Gilmour's devastatingly impressive guitar work. Shine on You Crazy Diamond always reminds me a little bit of the old Doctor Who theme song, and that bit of nostalgia only makes me enjoy the music even more. This second disc closes with three songs from The Wall: the ever-popular Another Brick in the Wall Part II, Comfortably Numb (featuring a particularly scintillating guitar solo by Gilmour), and Run Like Hell.

Delicate Sound of Thunder has, in some ways, been superseded by 1995's Pulse double live album - but a number of the timeless tracks found here on Delicate Sound of Thunder cannot be found there. I can understand why some Floyd fanatics aren't overly impressed with this 1988 release, but a newly-reconstituted Pink Floyd (sans Waters) at slightly less than their best is still way, way better than almost everything else out there. The fact that Gilmour and the guys could deliver such quality performances of songs so intimately associated with Roger Waters proves just how timeless the music of Pink Floyd is.

As the years went by, PULSE somewhat made a lot of people to "forget" this jewel.
Of course Pulse has been more publicized in the media, has more songs and the complete performance of DSOTM, but...
Delicate Sound of Thunder was released by the time legal conflicts were still ongoing against Roger Waters. So the remaining Floydians, Mason and Gilmour had the enormous challenge of completing a new tour without Waters and originally Wright, and the not-less-important task to cash in on pretended success to cover expenses originated from the numerous legal affairs occuring at the same time (Mason had to sell one of his many collection cars to finance part of the tour, a sad goodbye for him to one of his most beloved -and expensive- collector items).
Rick Wright was legally separated from the band previously by Roger's attorneys and had to appear as a contractor, rather than as a permanent member of the band, situation that was corrected later, in time for the release of The Division Bell.
So, against all odds, Pink Floyd (read Gilmour & Mason + Wright and a whole bunch of session musicians) returned with a vengeance, the most successful tour of 1987, even more than the Roling Stones'.
All that sort of repressed anger became loose and transformed itself into unbelievable playing that, luckily for us, was trapped in Delicate Sound of Thunder.
If you had (I hope you will) the chance to watch the VHS of the same name (when will we have the DVD? Now that Pulse has been announced for DVD release, my hope returns), you'll notice that Gilmour has a big smile on his face most of the time, you can tell they are enjoying themselves and having fun. That sort of environment is felt in its audio portion, the CD.
Go buy it in case you're still "one of the few" "obscured by clouds". Unless you have "brain damage" or have been "eclipsed" by Pulse, you gotta get your hands on this excellent item.

There are numerous reasons to give this live double CD less than five stars, but in spite of those reasons I've listened to this CD for two days straight, at least ten times. While the CD may have its flaws, the dark, brooding sound and heavy wallowing bass matched my mood, and reminded me once more of Pink Floyd's eminence in Progressive Rock.

I have the advantage of being unfamiliar with Floyd's first live album, thus not having a comparison point. Comparing this album to the other live albums I've heard, the principal thing I noticed was that the crowd noise was reasonably minimal. Second, the bass is very heavy and either represents the mixing or the way Floyd plays in concert. I suspect that at least some of the bass is due to the mixing since one effect of the deeper bass would be to mute the crowd sound somewhat. The result is a live album that nearly has a studio album feel to it.

As for the songs themselves, many of them come across very well. I particularly like "The Dogs of War" and "Run like Hell," but many of the other songs come across quite nicely as well. The live versions of the songs from "Dark Side of the Moon" I thought were interesting and serviceable. Admittedly the sound is different without Roger Waters, but the songs still come across with the distinctive Pink Floyd sound.

Other reviewers have commented on the saxophone and the female backup singers. Being a fan of the saxophone I thought the sax on the songs helped distinguish the songs from the studio albums. I generally expect live versions to be different from studio versions. Sometimes the live version works well, other times not. In this case I enjoyed the unique contributions of the saxophone. As for the female backup singers, there are a few places where they are a bit obtrusive and add little to the songs, but fortunately those places are relatively few.

The difficulty with recommending this CD is that Pink Floyd fans are technically astute people, and I think many Floyd fans will prefer the mathematical precision of a studio album over a loosely choreographed live album. Pink Floyd's music is well arranged and created in the fashion of classical music and the extrinsic distractions of crowd noise and special effects can spoil the effect for some fans. I enjoy the variations from the studio albums, and the generally low crowd noise was not a distraction to me. If you are seeking an album to relive a live Floyd experience, sans Roger Waters, this album is a good one. If you are looking for a collection of Pink Floyd's best through the time of "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," but are not particularly interested in a live album, then you may want to pass this one by.

What "Delicate Sound of Thunder" has that "Pulse" doesn't is originality, and more notably, a purpose. Released in 1988, in the wake of the post-split trauma and legal battles with former member Roger Waters, this ably recorded double live set was the group's first release of live material since the psychedelic-era "Ummagumma" in 1969. After the phenomenal success of "Dark Side of the Moon" in 1973, Pink Floyd became an essential live act, their grand stadium/arena shows becoming a musical and visual spectacle that aficionados went so far as to call "a necessary experience in life." So naturally, after the bitter split with Waters, who had asserted himself as the band's principle visionary, Pink Floyd was presumed dead, until longtime members David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and (slightly later) Richard Wright regrouped (but not without a fight). A resulting studio album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" hit the Top 10 in both the US and UK, and the next step was a no-brainer; Floyd had proved they were still alive in the studio, now it was time for a 200-date concert tour to regain their territory as live kings.
"Delicate Sound of Thunder" contains many features that make it an essential piece in the Floyd catalog. The first disc is mostly made up of material from the "Lapse" album, and what makes them so spectacular is that the presence of Mason and Wright is much more abundant and notable than they were in the studio versions (due to that album's long list of session players). Mason's skilled drumming is "all over the album" as Gilmour proudly put it, and Wright's keyboards make these songs sound much more like Pink Floyd music than they did on the studio album. 'On the Turning Away' is given such a magical treatment that is becomes a full-blown stadium anthem. The second disc is dedicated to familiar Floyd classics, and the results are predictably startling. Session player Scott Page's saxophone compliments and makes variations on the original sax contributions of Dick Parry, and Guy Pratt's bass is much more flexible and notable than that of Roger Waters (especially on 'Another Brick in the Wall Part 2'). It's interesting to see 'Us and Them' placed before 'Money' due to the fact that on the original "Dark Side" album, the latter segued into the former, but it still works and sounds great. The midsection of 'Money' is turned into a much more funky, loose jam, complete with fitting female backing vocals. Speaking of vocals, the verses of 'Comfortably Numb' replace Waters with a more slow, haunting, ghostly-melancholy rendition, which is very appropriate to the mood of the song, making it the best live version of the Floyd classic, complete with Gilmour's extended, emotional guitar solos. The closing crowd-pleaser 'Run Like Hell' even features synthesizer work in short notes that replicates high pitched strings.
This is the document of a great band reclaiming their place in music, and reminding everyone of the power and startling feeling each musician placed into his performance. 1995's double live "Pulse" contained several of the same songs featured here and a less than perfect live rendition of "Dark Side of the Moon" (and the first pressings had a blinking light on the packaging for extra measure), but it was nowhere near as inspired as "Delicate Sound of Thunder," an essential document that saw a legendary band breathing with new life.

I like to think of this as the improved version of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. It's got the highlights from that album and the best songs from the rest of their career. The biggest issue I have with this is David Gilmour's vocals on some of the songs (ex. Another Brick In The Wall). Besides that, it's pretty cool. Probably my favorite song on here is One Of These Days. In my opinion, it's superior to the Meddle version. Another problem I have is Money. I don't like hearing this song live. If you've heard the Pulse version, it's basically the same. It just has too much of that "hoo" vocal stuff on it. Anywho, besides whatever, this is a pretty decent album. If you had to pick between this or AMLOR, go with this.

I own both sets, and listen to them regularly. I even went to see Floyd live during the Division Bell tour. But, the bottom line is the sound of David Gilmour's guitar is much better on Delicate Sound of Thunder. Gilmour's work on Pulse is way over-processed, and that's his doing (you should see the TWO racks of digital processing equipment he uses.) Don't believe me? Do a side-by-side comparison of "Sorrow", "Time" or "Money". His guitar just sounds bigger and clearer on the DSoT versions.

Additionally, he sings with much more passion (compare the versions of "Money", for instance) on this older release. Often times, Gilmour sounds bored on Pulse, even though his playing is as fiery as ever.

While I was a bigger fan of The Division Bell (and the songs from it) than Momentary Lapse of Reason, Delicate Sound of Thunder remains the definitive live Pink Floyd document.

I didn't expect to love this album. The egalitarian live dynamic that made Pink Floyd so incredible from 1969 to 1972 was completely lost by the time this was recorded, with David Gimour dominating the sound, Rick Wright and Nick Mason in the background, and Roger Waters replaced by a studio bassist. The setlist is a combination of stuff most would consider the Floyd's "greatest hits;" good pop songs, but certainly nothing like "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" or "A Saucerful of Secrets," which made the live disc of Ummagumma one of the best albums in my entire collection. Oh. And did I mention that this was performed in front of a giant arena crowd that may or may not have cared all that much about the music? Yipes. Doesn't sound like much fun to me.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Disc 1 especially stands out. It starts off with the absolute BEST version of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" I've ever heard. David tackles the vocals briliantly and the sax solo goes places I never thought it could. Then, the AMLOR material, which sounded just OK on the album, is brought to life in the most spectacular manner possible. I honestly could not believe that such... well... tacky songs could sound so good and be performed so tastefully. Of special note is "On The Turning Away," which has won a special spot in my heart as a true Floyd classic due mainly to this album. The lyrics... the music... it's just phenominal that the Floyd could pull it off without Roger Waters.

Disc 2 is decent, but certainly not on my "frequent play" list. Except for "One of These Days" (which I'm convinced is impossible for any incarnation of Pink Floyd to mess up), it mostly sounds like a cover band of some sort; I don't really feel that special vibe the way I do on Disc 1. Out of the "classic" songs, I'd say "Money" and "Comfortably Numb" are probably the best-rendered, but I've heard much better versions of each.

I was tempted to give this four stars because this is, in essence, a five-star CD and a three-star CD packaged together, but Disc 1 is just so amazing that I feel the need to inflate my rating a bit.

This is absolutly the best CD i've ever heard by Pink Floyd.
i listen to it all the time

A lot of people didn't think Gilmour and company would (or could) do it, but they did. And, boy, did they! I can remember when Gilmour, Mason, and Wright took it on the road; it was all I heard about for months. I surprised a lot of people by not attending any of the shows myself, but circumstance and money didn't allow it to happen. So, I wound up getting the "Delicate Sound" recording, and the video version on VHS. And, of course, I played them to death.

A lot of this music doesn't sound very different from their studio counterparts, and I see why some would have a problem with this. But even the selections rendered note-for-note, have a different ambience to them, and the mood of these performances is conveyed nicely. Where some detractors say the band is only going through the motions, and Gilmour sounds and looks bored, I would have to disagree. I think he's relaxed. The video version shows the band at ease, smiling and laughing, apparently at some inside jokes, and just enjoying what they are doing. They are good, and they know it. Performing without their full compliment, sans Waters, they seem to be a lesser entity, but they more than make up for this with a stellar roster of support on this particular tour, in 1987-88. On "Momentary Lapse," Waters was replaced with Tony Levin, of King Crimson fame, and here, he is replaced with Guy Pratt. Nick Mason is playing drums, but percussionist Gary Wallis is drumming as well, and is adding all the little percussion parts. Rick Wright is playing keyboards as well as doing some singing (not sounding as good as he once did, but still enjoyable) here, and is backed up by Jon Carin, also on keys and vocals. Scott Page is playing guitar and saxophone, and the astonishing thing about him, apart from his killer sax playing, is he is probably the only rock musician in the world to have never heard "The Dark Side Of The Moon" before joining the band. What rock was he living under? Tim Renwick is playing rhythm guitar, as well as some of the guitar solos, and Gilmour gives him plenty of room to do as he pleases. This line-up is capped off with Margaret Taylor, Durga McBroom, and the stunningly beautiful Rachel Fury on backing vocals.

They go through the repertoire, seemingly by rote, but considering the scale of the production, there is very little wiggle-room. The first half of the set is largely material from "Momentary Lapse Of Reason," the new release at the time, the exception being parts I through V of "Shine On, You Crazy Diamond." There is an authenticity when Waters sings this, but he's not present. And I prefer Gilmour's voice on this song, anyway. They give you "Learning To Fly," "Dogs Of War," "On The Turning Away," "Yet Another Movie," "Round And Around," and "Sorrow," all played competently, but not very different from the originals, only the sound itself. But as I said earlier, the difference in the sound itself is worth hearing, especially if you pay attention to these things.

The second half delves into the vintage material, a good sounding "One Of These Days" kicks it off, leading into "Time," but for some reason, they left out the "Breathe Reprise." It sounds incomplete, because the last line says, "...Thought I'd something more to say...," then trails off. They go through the older songs, to the delight of the die-hard fans, but my huge disappointment here, is the omission of "The Great Gig In The Sky." This, as well as "On The Run" are on the video, but here, they are conspicuous in their abscence. Wright plays the opening bars to "Great Gig," and you see the women gearing up. Rachel Fury takes the first part, and does a good job, the music quiets down, and Durga McBroom takes over, gently singing the middle vocal. THEN! Fasten your seat belt, because Margaret Taylor sings the finale, and if the hair on your arm doesn't stand on end, and your eyes don't tear up, there's something wrong with you. I am really, really disappointed this isn't on the CD or the audio cassette. I'll never know why this was omitted.

And so it goes, until the encores, "Wish You Were Here," "Comfortably Numb," and "Run Like Hell." They are probably very tired of playing these songs, so many, many times, but the fans will always want them. And I still like them. Always will.

Only 3.5 stars over all is surprising. I would give it 4.5 as it is an excellent live album that you don't have to listen to endless amounts of applause. We don't have to beat an album up because of who is in the band and who isn't, truth is the music is nothing short of awesome. I would recommend this cd to anyone without hesitation and I own all floyd discs. A very enjoyable listen IMHO although, I don't hold a doctorate in Floydology as some reviewers feel they have.