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Rating: The 1974 tour brought Pink Floyd to worldwide consecration:
David Gilmour, by then at the peak of his guitar and composition skills, flaunted superb solos abound;
Roger Waters, the brains of the group, in the full swing of his creativity;
Richard Wright, the greatest keyboardist of all time, whose calm touch provided the right drive to the group's sound, making it what we know;
Nicholas Mason, meanwhile, showcased his great talent behind the drums and, especially in this live of which I will now tell you, highlighted his genius as a drummer.
Many of us already know that there are no official albums from the "The Dark Side Of The Moon" tour, so we must resort to the much-praised bootlegs. As I was saying before, this was one of the most important tours for the group, reaching its magnificence on November 16, 1974, at the Empire Pool, Wembley. This was what was said about this live, a quote taken from the Melody Maker, an English newspaper:
"It's time for Pink Floyd to redesign their live show. They perform in vast, windy arenas but do nothing to make their concerts more 'human': the atmosphere that results is that of a few thousand robots responding to a computer. Wednesday night at the Empire Pool, Wembley was no exception. It was like sitting in the dark at home and listening to their records at a volume a bit higher than our neighbors would allow, with more highs than anyone would want to hear. Is this rock? A band performing its last two albums with as few variations as possible? It was all so cold, impeccable, and detached. The Floyd have changed the entire concept of rock; they've turned the stage into a live recording studio, giving up the human bond between artist and audience."
This makes us understand that in their live performances, Pink Floyd have offered, since the beginning, an innovative visual and musical experience, becoming a reference point for subsequent eras. In England, they were the first with the help of Mike Leonard, to create what is defined as a light show: in this type of show, the musicians are a secondary figure in the choreography of the performance, which features lights, lasers, smoke, fireworks, and various special effects as the protagonists. They were also among the first bands to tour with their own lighting system, in addition to innovative quadraphonic sound diffusion systems, which over the years expanded more and more, reaching impressive dimensions.
But let's talk about this live now. The audio is exceptional, so much so that it makes this bootleg seem like a real official live, in some ways much better than the live version of Ummagumma. The setlist consists, of course, of the entire "Dark Side of the Moon" performance with the addition of the majestic suite Echoes, taken from Meddle.
The heartbeat, the ticking of a clock, sparse laughter here and there, a cash register, Richard Wright pronounces words that seem nonsensical... the show begins. The balance is broken by a superhuman scream, introducing a much darker and longer version of "Breathe". These dreamlike and dreamy atmospheres tell us not to succumb to the frantic rhythm imposed by work; sometimes it would be better to stop for a breath (Breathe) of air. Everything then flows into "On the Run", also equipped with that dark touch and lasting about 5 minutes. Richard Wright's synthesizer reigns supreme over all other instruments. At 1 minute and 54 seconds from the start, another voice is heard, this time Roger Manifold, the Floyd's tour manager, exclaims: "Seize the moment, tomorrow doesn’t exist. That's just how I am." An exclamation that refers to the passage of time... "Time" unleashes the duet of voices between David and Richard, culminating with a long and fantastic solo, bringing to life a whirlpool of unique emotions that only Pink Floyd can offer. That psychedelic vein, which has never abandoned the group throughout their career, immediately shows itself and consecrates this version to monumental execution. In a fade-out, Richard Wright plays a piano, showing us the great gig in the sky: the screams seem to echo across the universe, foreshadowing the imminent arrival of old age and death... an obvious continuation of "Time". "Money" remains more or less the same as the studio version, except for a decidedly more driving and aggressive tone, and a guitar solo that steps out of the progressive boundaries, even reaching blues, a love Gilmour has never denied. A long keyboard interlude introduces "Us and Them", provided with much more pathos than the original version, thanks also to Dick Parry’s jazzier sax. A long, instrumental and experimental version of "Any Colour You Like" (in which there are also some vocals added, all absolutely improvised) shows us Nick Mason in great shape, especially in the finale. "Brain Damage", much slower and melancholic, introduces a solemn "Eclipse" which closes the performance of this great cornerstone of music. The spectators exalt and praise the band, which then decides to close in style: "Echoes" is introduced, the suite par excellence. I dare not elaborate much on the magnificence of this piece (I've already said a lot in my review about Meddle), I just say that this version is perhaps one of the best ever performed (also there is sax, absent in the studio version).
Perhaps one of the best unofficial live performances of the band, recommended for all Pink Floyd fans and music enthusiasts in general.
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