Pink Floyd
Live in Rome Palaeur,June 20,1971

THE REVIEW

Pink Floyd Live in Rome Palaeur, June 20, 1971.
Bootleg sourced from magnetic tape (sound quality good but with a lot of hiss).

After the golden season with Barrett, the four-year period from '68 to '72 stands out as the peak musical expression period for the four Floyd members. We cannot overlook the fundamental importance of their live performances where they previewed (with slight modifications each time to test the public's reaction) tracks that later ended up on various albums (this until about 1976), various unreleased pieces, and their repertoire from the period, which was slightly extended, producing an even more mind-blowing effect.

Officially, the four left us with the live part of Ummagumma, the live in Pompeii, and three-four historical bootlegs like the BBC recordings, but they are, allow me to say, quite small compared to this magnificent live where at times we hear Floyd engaged in long improvisations that partly dispel the common belief that they are musically lacking.

The concert begins with the version of "Atom Heart Mother" already heard on other bootlegs, shorter than the official version, without the choirs, the central part, and without Geesin's orchestration. Mason hits hard giving the track that touch of majesty, and while Wright strikes deadly octaves, Gilmour strums his guitar like a mad steel file, and Waters' bass produces vibrating pops. Interesting is the first part of the choirs performed by a haunting voice (I believe it's Gilmour) very suggestive. This is followed by "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" in its most classic version, but it is in "Fat Old Sun" that the Floyd unleash their synergy, eclipsing the original on record, with a long improvised interlude. It continues with the unreleased "Embryo" a splendid example of a proto-suite composed in the early days, the archetype of Floyd, then the beautiful "Cymbaline" with a long half-musical interlude where it reprises the melody of "Careful With That Axe", and half-scenic partially reprising the legendary suite "The Man", Gilmour with a hoarse voice announces the next piece "The Return Of The Sons Of Nothing", which is none other than the future "Echoes" that will be released a few months later, and is played essentially like the one we know on record but without a single flaw.
Towards the end, the ever-present "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" with Waters' voice as evocative as ever and a long psychedelic ride as an interlude where cymbals and tambourines clash like racing cars, a splendid version of "A Saucerful Of Secrets" where Floyd let themselves go to furious improvisations and the sanctified "Astronomy Domine" identical to the one from Ummagumma complete this splendid evening where the audience listened in religious silence.

Amen.