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"Obscured by Clouds".
Shrouded by the clouds.
"Childhood's End".
It's terrible the moment you realize you're on that shadow line that separates the truest part of you from the age of compromises. Waters, Gilmour, and company must have realized, in June '72, what was happening, that their dreaming and unfortunate friend Syd was truly dying, inside them, inside their music.
"Burning Bridges"
That the bridges that would allow us to go back "are now burning".
"Stay"
So, stay with us, Syd, "help us to end the evening".
Shortly after the release of "Obscured By Clouds" the Pink Floyd released an album that would be among the absolute bestsellers (if not the absolute) in the history of pop music. Some notes (among the most important and the most melancholic) of the forever dead innocence in Obscured By Clouds resurface there, almost evaporated in the morning of a new and radiant day. From then on, Pink Floyd would sell millions of records worldwide and become stars of popular music on a global level.
(To Llewelyn)
"This side of the truth,
You may not see it, my son,
King of your blue eyes in the land
Of blinding youth,
That everything is undone
Under the indifferent skies,
Of innocence and guilt
Before you embark
on a gesture of the heart or mind,
Is gathered and dispersed
In the swirling darkness
Like the dust of the dead"
P.S. 1 - For those who don't like reviews that are too "sentimental": I don't know if this album is, as some say, better than Dark Side of the Moon. What can be said is that many of the ideas of Dark Side (but also of Wish You Were Here) are already present here. For example, in my very humble opinion, Childhood's End (its initial part) can be considered an embryonic marriage between Time and Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Similarly, in Mudmen appear for the first time those guitar solos that Gilmour would use in the future very often, almost to the point of nausea.
P.S. 2: The verses are not mine nor of the Pink Floyd, but are taken from a wonderful poem by Dylan Thomas, the greatest Welsh poet, who unfortunately left us a few years ago.
Cheers.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
03 Burning Bridges (03:29)
Bridges burning gladly
Merging with the shadows,
Flickering between the lines.
Stolen moments floating softly on the air,
Borne on wings of fire and climbing higher.
Ancient bonds are breaking,
Moving on and changing sides.
Dreaming of a new day,
Cast aside the other way.
Magic visions stirring,
Kindled by and burning flames rise in her eyes.
The doorway stands ajar,
The walls that once were high.
Beyond the gilded cage,
Beyond the reach of ties.
The moment is at hand.
She breaks the golden band.
04 The Gold It's in The... (03:07)
Come on, my friends,
Let's make for the hills.
They say there's gold but I'm looking for thrills.
You can get your hands on whatever we find,
Because I'm only coming along for the ride.
Well, you go your way,
I'll go mine.
I don't care if we get there on time.
Everybody's searching for something, they say.
I'll get my kicks on the way.
Over the mountains, across the seas
Who knows what will be waiting for me?
I could sail forever to strange sounding names.
Faces of people and places don't change.
All I have to do is just close my eyes
To see the seagulls wheeling on those far distant skies.
All I want to tell you, all I want to say
Is count me in on the journey.
Don't expect me to stay.
05 Wot's... Uh the Deal (05:07)
Heaven sent the promised land
Looks alright from where I stand
Cause I'm the man on the outside looking in
Waiting on the first step
Show where the key is kept
Point me down the right line because it's time
To let me in from the cold
Turn my lead into gold
Cause there's chill wind blowing in my soul
And I think I'm growing old
Flash the readies
Wot's...uh the deal?
Got to make it to the next meal
Try to keep up with the turning of the wheel.
Mile after mile
Stone after stone
You turn to speak but you're alone
A million miles from home you're on your own
So let me in from the cold
Turn my lead into gold
Cause there's chill wind blowing in my soul
And I think I'm growing old
Fire bright by candlelight
And her by my side
And if she prefers we will never stir again
Someone sent the promised land
And I grabbed it with both hands
Now I'm the man on the inside looking out
Hear me shout "Come on in,
What's the news and where you been?"
Cause there's no wind left in my soul
And I've grown old
07 Childhood's End (04:31)
You shout in your sleep.
Perhaps the price is just too steep.
Is your conscience at rest
If one's put to the test?
You awake with a start
To just the beating of your heart.
Just one man beneath the sky,
Just two ears, just two eyes.
You set sail across the sea
Of long past thoughts and memories.
Childhood's end, your fantasies
Merge with harsh realities.
And then as the sail is hoist,
You find your eyes are growing moist.
And though the fear is never voiced
Still you have to make your final choice.
Who are you and who am I?
To say we know the reason why?
Some are born, some men die
Beneath one infinite sky.
There'll be war, there'll be peace.
But everything one day will cease.
All the iron turned to rust,
All the proud men turned to dust.
And so all things, time will mend.
So this song will end.
08 Free Four (04:15)
(One, Two, Free, Four...)
The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime.
You shuffle in gloom of the sickroom
And talk to yourself as you die.
Life is a short, warm moment
And death is a long cold rest.
You get your chance to try in the twinkling of an eye:
Eighty years, with luck, or even less.
So all aboard for the American tour,
And maybe you'll make it to the top.
And mind how you go, and I can tell you, 'cause I know
You may find it hard to get off.
You are the angel of death
And I am the dead man's son.
And he was buried like a mole in a fox hole.
And everyone is still in the run.
And who is the master of fox hounds?
And who says the hunt has begun?
And who calls the tune in the courtroom?
And who beats the funeral drum?
The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime.
You shuffle in gloom in the sickroom
And talk to yourself till you die.
09 Stay (04:05)
Stay and help me to end the day.
And if you don't mind,
We'll break a bottle of wine.
Stick around and maybe we'll put one down,
Because I wanna find what lies behind those eyes.
Midnight blue burning gold.
A yellow moon is growing cold.
I rise, looking through my morning eyes,
Surprised to find you by my side.
Rack my brain to try to remember your name
To find the words to tell you good-bye.
Morning dues.
Newborn day.
Midnight blue turned to gray.
Midnight blue burning gold.
A yellow moon is growing cold.
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Other reviews
By Eneathedevil
"Obscured by Clouds is perhaps the least known long-playing of the English group, the most bland work of the early Floyd production, a work in the shadows."
"Free Four… an unsettling product forced to overshadow all the others due to the strident contrast between musical danceability and lexical harshness."
By Fausto91
Whether one likes it or not, the approach to a certain pop dimension is nonetheless fundamental for the future of the band.
Instrumental passages are by far the most successful: a couple of simple riffs are worth more than a thousand-note solo.
