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Rating:
The delicate sound of thunder... a perfect title for this live album by the indomitable PINK FLOYD, who, as usual, know how to combine power and crystalline beauty.
The recording of this double CD dates back to 1987, during the tour of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. The quality of the recording is simply fantastic, so much so that it can compete with ''studio'' albums.
Let's start with CD 1.
The atmospheric beginning introduces us to Shine On You Crazy Diamond, practically indispensable in every Pink Floyd concert since '75. A very light layer of keyboards and the touch of master David Gilmour's guitar are just the beginning... now all the instruments come in: the execution is impeccable. Gilmour's voice, slightly rougher, fits perfectly, although the ''pumped'' drums typical of the '80s production seem somewhat out of place.
All the other songs on the first disc are from their latest effort, ''A Momentary Lapse Of Reason''. It starts with their hit Learning To Fly: powerful, relaxing, and very catchy. In the live version, the keyboards in the middle section of the track are emphasized; also, I find the ending very well constructed: an interesting combination of drums and drum-machine replaces the fade-out of the studio version. However, Yet Another Movie/Round And Around does not change a note from the ''A Momentary... ''version. Gilmour again confirms his magic in the various guitar solos (initial, central, and final) of Sorrow, a very gritty composition with very interesting atmospheres. In The Dogs Of War, the sounds from the studio version, which simulated the growl of an angry dog, are replaced by keyboards; the guitar sounds very muffled, and the saxophone in the middle section is very rough and sharp. Despite the live rearrangement, the song does not stand out much, so that many fans consider it the lowest point in the Floydian career. It beautifully closes with On The Turning Away: this is once again a carbon copy of the studio version, but it was and remains splendid!
Now let's make a clear leap into the past with CD 2.
One Of These Days, the ''oldest'' song performed at this concert, is totally revisited in the '80s style. The initial bass line is made of the same notes as the original but has totally different sounds... less dry and much more fluid. The final part, although it is significantly simplified in rhythm and despite the drums having that ''pumped'' sound already described in Shine On You Crazy Diamond, is masterful (with the guitar always to the fore). That said, I can safely say that, in my opinion, One Of These Days is the most successful piece of the entire concert. A perfect performance of Time follows, probably one of the most beautiful songs, if not the most beautiful, in the entire group’s repertoire (although here, strangely, it is deprived of Breathe Reprise present in the original, which leaves a bit of a sense of something unfinished). The levels remain excellent with the very famous and acoustic Wish You Were Here... needless to say, the performance is flawless, and it is truly a pleasure to hear the crowd singing along with Gilmour! The dreamy Us And Them is perhaps the only episode of the double album where the electronic sound of the drums stands out quite a bit, so much as to be quite annoying in some passages. After Us And Them, another track from ''The Dark Side Of The Moon'' follows: the evergreen Money, extended to allow room in the middle section for various solos and jams by all the band members: a good way to showcase their undeniable qualities. Another Brick In The Wall Part II could not be missed (unfortunately, the wonderful introduction The Happiest Days Of Our Lives is not played...), where the singer's lower and gruffer tone almost sounds better than the original version. The other highlight of the album, Comfortably Numb, follows. Here the same exact discussion made earlier for One Of These Days applies, i.e., we find ourselves with an impressive restyling in perfect '80s style. Moreover, the final distorted guitar solo, extended to the extreme, is something absolutely irreplicable. I have no words: it’s a version worth listening to, and alone it justifies the purchase of ''Delicate Sound Of Thunder''!. The closure is entrusted to Run Like Hell. After the initial minute of pure guitar wizardry (incredible guitar feedback), the actual song begins, which is pure energy... the best way to close the concert.
In conclusion... it is difficult to rate this concert: if, like me, you're a fan of both Pink Floyd and the '80s, then this will be your definitive album! If you're a ''traditional'' fan of the group, honestly, Pulse is better. If, finally, you're from that group that considers them dead after Roger Waters’ departure, you will surely prefer Is There Anybody Out There or Live at Pompeii.
It's up to you to make the tough decision, and, as always, happy listening!
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
02 Learning to Fly (05:29)
Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction holding me fast
How can I escape this irresistible grasp?
Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted, just an earth-bound misfit, I
Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings, I thought I thought of everything
No navigator to find my way home
Unladened, empty and turned to stone
A soul in tension that's learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try
Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I
Above the planet on a wing and a prayer,
My grubby halo, a vapour trail in the empty air,
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night
There's no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss
Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I
03 Yet Another Movie (06:23)
One sound, one single sound
One kiss, one single kiss
A face outside the window pane
However did it come to this?
A man who ran, a child who cried
A girl who heard, a voice that lied
The sun that burned a fiery red
The vision of an empty bed
The use of force, he was so tough
She'll soon submit, she's had enough
The march of fate, the broken will
Someone is lying very still
He has laughed and he has cried
He has fought and he has died
He's just the same as all the rest
He's not the worst, he's not the best
And still this ceaseless murmuring
The babbling that I brook
The seas of faces, eyes upraised
The empty screen, the vacant look
A man in black on a snow white horse,
A pointless life has run its course,
The red rimmed eyes, the tears still run
As he fades into the setting sun
05 Sorrow (09:30)
The sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land
Plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky:
A man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers,
But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking
He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise
In his youth or a dream, he can't be precise
He's chained forever to a world that's departed
It's not enough, it's not enough
His blood has frozen & curdled with fright
His knees have trembled & given way in the night
His hand has weakened at the moment of truth
His step has faltered
One world, one soul
Time pass, the river rolls
And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication
And silent replies that swirl invitation
Flow dark and troubled to an oily sea
A grim intimation of what is to be
There's an unceasing wind that blows through this night
And there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight
And silence that speaks so much louder that words,
Of promises broken
08 Time (05:18)
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.
Home, home again.
I like to be here when I can.
When I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire.
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells.
09 Wish You Were Here (04:51)
So, so you think you can tell heaven from hell?
Blue skies from pain?
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
Did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year
Running over the same old ground
What have we found?
The same old fears
Wish you were here
10 Money (09:51)
Money, get away.
Get a good job with more pay and you're okay.
Money, it's a gas.
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I'll buy me a football team.
Money, get back.
I'm all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack.
Money, it's a hit.
But Don't give me that do goody good bullshit.
I'm in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet.
Money, it's a crime.
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today.
But if you ask for a raise it's no surprise that they're giving none away.
''{spoken} HuHuh! I was in the right!
Yes, absolutely in the right!
I certainly was in the right!
You was definitely in the right. That geezer was cruising for a bruising!
Yeah!
Why does anyone do anything?
I don't know, I was really drunk at the time!
I was just telling him, he couldn't get into number 2. He was asking why he wasn't coming up on freely, after I was yelling and screaming and telling him why he wasn't coming up on freely.
It came as a heavy blow, but we sorted the matter out.''
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By hypnosphere boy1
Pink Floyd cubistically-analytically deconstructed that expressive idiom, to synthetically reassemble it in unheard, deformed forms.
How much poetic delicacy and strength can be in the sound of a leaf falling, of a drop of water in a half-filled glass, of a thunder preceded by the blinding blue light of the lightning.
