Pink Floyd
Pulse - DVD

Pulse DVD, the last concert of Pink Floyd, has been released after numerous delays even on DVD. Inside, besides the concert, we will find many gems; but let's take it in order. In 1994 the group released "The Division Bell" and, despite commercial success, the three decided to retire from the scene and gifted the London audience with a concert in 1995 called "Pulse". In this show, they perform pieces from a group that made musical history from the '60s to the '90s and that will never fade away.

The concert is divided over two DVDs. The first part opens with "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" in a shorter version compared to the studio one but it offers the same emotions. Then comes a sequence of songs that refer to the band's last two albums, where "High Hopes", "Take It Back", and "Coming Back To Life" stand out most. Then the group's classics begin like "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)", with a simply fantastic guitar solo by the good David Gilmour, and "One Of These Days", a piece from "Meddle" of 1971 that on this double DVD takes on a less angry form thanks to the sound of Guy Pratt, the replacement for the historical bassist Roger Waters.

The second DVD opens with the entire performance of "The Dark Side Of The Moon". A questionable choice in itself, but when you listen to it, all skeptics can convince themselves that this is a music masterpiece because it is performed flawlessly and pieces like "Time", "Money", "Brain Damage" but especially "The Great Gig In The Sky" and "Us And Them" take the listener to a new dimension never explored by anyone. At the end of "Eclipse", the audience explodes in an obligatory Standing Ovation. Forty-five minutes of pure enjoyment for the ears... and for the eyes.
Right after, the encores begin and the group really doesn't hold back by staging three real final trump cards: the first is the magnificent "Wish You Were Here" which, even though it's been thirty-one years since its release, still leaves the listener breathless. It continues with "Comfortably Numb" taken from Waters' masterpiece "The Wall" and in this live performance, you can feel the absence of the author especially for the interpretation of the lyrics and as a grand finale, the group performs a magnificent version of "Run Like Hell", which opens with a solo by the third leader David Gilmour, excellent performance and end to the best concert possible.

This concert has gone down in history like "Live At Pompeii" and the great "Live In Venice" of 1989 and the footage directed by David Mullet crowns a work that lasted for years and years. These two DVDs also contain some special content including "Wish You Were Here" played with Billy Corgan, leader of the Smashing Pumpkins, on acoustic guitar.

A brilliantly done work that encapsulates nearly thirty years of career of a group that became rock history. A must-buy.