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69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Must For Any Pink Floyd Collection, June 16, 2000
One of the more obscure of the Pink Floyd albums, "Obscured By Clouds" was written as a soundtrack for Barbet Schroeder's film, "La Vallee," about a group of hippies seeking enlightenment in a lost valley in New Guinea. The album opens with two instrumentals, the synthesizer-driven "Obscured By Clouds," followed by the guitar-heavy "When You're In." A ballad, written by Roger Waters and Rick Wright, "Burning Bridges," has a certain quality, a sound, that seems to be a harbinger of "Dark Side Of The Moon." Another cut, with the unlikely title of "Wot's...Uh, The Deal," is a terrific song, somewhat wistful and introspective, and is the highlight of the album; it's right up there with any of Floyd's best songs. Another Waters-Wright composition is the somewhat melancholy "Stay," which has a sense of quiet intensity about it. Then there's the rollicking "Free Four," which is tremendously upbeat, especially when you consider the dark content of the lyrics; it's one of the first instances in which Roger Waters deals (musically) with the death of his father, which would become a recurring theme later on, especially in "The Wall," and on "The Final Cut." The last track on the album is "Absolutely Curtains," which ends with the chanting of the Mapuga Tribe of New Guinea, which was recorded on location in New Guinea; an interesting cut, to say the least. Though one of the lesser-known pieces of the Pink Floyd canon, "Obscured By Clouds" is, nevertheless, a remarkable album in it's own right; and it definitely must be included in any Pink Floyd collection.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated, November 14, 2001
1972's Obscured by Clouds is the most unjustly overlooked album in Pink Floyd's catalogue. Its instrumentals, the title track; "When You're In;" "Absolutely Curtains" and especially "Mudmen," are some of the finest wavy, lavalamp psychedelica I have ever heard. "Childhood's End;" "Free Four" (the first song in which Roger Waters, deals with the death of his father in WW2) and "Stay," (sung seamlessly in keyboardist, Richard Wright's dry hum) feature on a new, humanistic approach to the band's songwriting. The clear, trancelike sound and down-to-earth subject matter are fine precursors to the style employed on Floyd's legendary works, Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. If you love those albums, Obscured by Clouds is certainly well worth considering.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very atmospheric soundtrack with some heavier moments , June 10, 2006
This 1972 soundtrack for the Barbet Schroeder film "La Vallee" was recorded during two, one-week sessions, between which a tour of Japan was sandwiched. Interestingly, the album works as a cohesive whole, in spite of the short recording time, and the "dry" production (especially on Nick Mason's drums) lends the album a very tight feel. It has been written that Obscured by Clouds is the last true group effort and I pretty much agree. The album also finds the band poised on the cusp of massive, global superstardom, which would become fully realized with the mega-smash, mega-million selling album The Dark Side of the Moon (1973).
Lyrically, Roger Waters begins to reflect on issues that he would develop further, including his war-victim father (Free Four) and Dave Gilmour refers to science fiction with Childhoods End, which is the title of Arthur C. Clarke's classic from the genre. I guess it is worth noting that Childhood's End was recorded without the final verse and that Roger would write all lyrics for the group following this album, thus "relieving" Dave of this responsibility. Dave's vocals are also excellent and he really comes across as a confident singer. His guitar playing is also in top flight too. In addition to tracks with lyrics, there are quite a few instrumentals as well.
Musically, I think Pink Floyd was in fine form on this album. My favorite cuts include the atmospheric, VCS3 synthesizer heavy instrumental tracks Obscured by Clouds, Mudmen, and Absolutely Curtains (loads of Rick Wright's sustained Hammond organ), along with the heavy instrumental When You're In. Burning Bridges, Wot's...uh the Deal, and Stay are also superb and feature the trademark drifting and spacey Floyd sound. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the thunderous The Gold It's in the..., which reminds me somewhat of the bone-crushing Nile Song (from More, 1969). Free Four is the only bouncy and lighthearted track on the album, which stands in stark contrast with Water's dark subject matter - the ruminations of someone on their deathbed.
With respect to this 1994 remaster it is just OK and features good sound quality, images from the film, and all lyrics.
All in all, this excellent album is a personal favorite and is very highly recommended along with Atom Heart Mother (1970), Meddle (1971), Wish You Were Here (1975), and Animals (1977).
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by Pink Floyd 
