Pink Floyd

Coming back to life…

At long last, the ultimate rock-concert spectacle has arrived on DVD: Pink Floyd’s Pulse. It is this 1994 concert recording that captures the legendary prog-rockers (minus former leader Roger Waters) putting on perhaps the grandest display of light and sound in the history of rock performance. Each stop on Floyd’s mammoth Division Bell tour was an aural and visual marvel to behold, treating lucky audiences to a special-effects extravaganza of dazzling lights, lasers, and pyrotechnics—not to mention further props like screen films, glitterballs, and giant, inflatable pigs. The construction of the stage alone was a monumental task, requiring 48 trucks of steel, 120 men, and three days to erect it. Never mind that they did it over a 100 times in a global trek across Europe and North America, raking in over $103 million and becoming one of the highest-grossing tours of all time. This tour de force was the most massive production of its kind; a musical, visual, architectural, and logistical triumph.

Although the CD version of Pulse was culled from the best performances of the entire 1994 tour, the video version of Pulse was filmed on October 20th at London’s Earls Court. Pulse originally aired as a live television special and soon made its way to VHS, where it sold well to satisfied Floyd fans. But its natural sonic limits became more obvious with the introduction of the DVD format a few years later, leading fans to all but wonder if Pulse would ever get the better treatment. But, after several delays, it is here. Although not shot in widescreen or on film, Pulse shines as best it can in a hi-fi format with restored footage and reworked sound. Despite its inherent technical shortcomings, Pulse was destined to be experienced in a higher-definition format, so Floyd fans can now bask in the glory of this classic concert.

One of these days…

The Oct. 20th gig was the eighth of 14 consecutive shows at Earls Court. As such, Pulse finds Pink Floyd playing comfortably in their home country, sticking to their minimally changing set list for the tour. Except only tonight they’d be playing The Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety and filming it for the first (and probably only) time. For any Floyd fan, this is reason enough to own Pulse.

Pink Floyd is laid-back and in good spirits during the course of the concert, but are not a verbose bunch, instead preferring to let the music do the talking. In a live setting, the latter-day lineup of Pink Floyd plays with more verve and less stilt than in the studio, particularly in David Gilmour’s soothing and brooding English tenor. And while the other surviving members of Pink Floyd (drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright) can still play, they couldn’t do it without an entourage of touring musicians: guitarist Tim Renwick, bassist Guy Pratt, keyboardist Jon Carin, percussionist Gary Wallis, and saxophonist Dick Parry. There’s also a key trifecta of female backup singers (Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine, and Durga McBroom) who enrich the music with vocal support unique to the live show and integrate nicely into the performance with some choreographed dance.

The show must go on…

Overall, Pink Floyd turns in a stellar performance on this evening, even though it’s not always the note-for-note perfection of the CD version of Pulse (which was thoroughly remixed). Floyd begins the show with their 13-minute concert version of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and then alternates between popular tracks from their post-Waters period of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and The Division Bell. Toward the end of the first set they throw in their classic hit “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” and close with the definitive version of the fiery instrumental, “One Of These Days”. The second disc runs through the entire Dark Side album in a performance that eclipses much of the original in playing power and sound quality. The band then returns for three encores: the poignant “Wish You Were Here”, “Comfortably Numb”, and a literally explosive, adrenaline-pumping version of “Run Like Hell”. Without a doubt, Gilmour’s extended, mind-blowing guitar solo on “Comfortably Numb” is one of the best pieces of music ever played.

Like a fine wine, Pink Floyd sounds better in their 50s than they ever have. Pulse isn’t just a live document from the 1994 tour—it’s proof of a band at the peak of its performance prime. It’s no wonder that David Gilmour expressed no interest in a redux with or without Roger Waters, instead preferring to hang it up on last summer’s one-off Live8 reunion. A disappointment for fans, sure, but respectable nonetheless. Because, given the spectacular statement that the 1994 tour makes, how can they go out any more on top?

Shine on, you crazy diamond

On a coincidentally bittersweet note, Floyd founder Syd Barrett was pronounced dead from diabetes complications on the day that the Pulse DVD hit stores. Barrett had long since been separated from the band, but there is a deeper connection when you pair the two entities: The man who started it all, and his fully evolved vision. In a sense, the alpha and the omega.

DVD Details

Design

The two-disc set comes packaged in a DVD digipack with staggered disc storage that conserves space but makes the handling of the discs a little awkward when removing them. The renowned Storm Thorgerson, responsible for all of the contemplatively arty album covers since Floyd’s genesis, drew on his original Pulse art in creating new variations of it for the DVD incarnation. The cover photo is another take on the original beach-eyeball theme, and the similar-looking disc stomps are slick as well. On the DVD, the menus are laid out with a plain font and are easy to navigate. Thorgerson and designer Peter Curzon also came up with some cool satellite-transmission-like animations between menu selections. Finally, the DVD music consists of an atmospheric blend of Floydian sounds from the past that were part of the 1994 pre-show tape.

Video

You have to give Pulse some leeway in the video department because it wasn’t recorded with higher definition in mind. The presentation suffers a bit from not being in widescreen, but the epic 140-minute performance should make you forget about the 4:3 aspect ratio (fullscreen) in time. The picture contains some haze and grain but is generally copasetic, especially for veteran VHS viewers. The good news is that despite the lack of a true hi-fi output, Pulse’s multitude of lights and colors are as vibrant and splendid as ever, effectively outshining its technical limits.

Pulse is presented in such a way that when experienced in an optimum environment, watching it in your living room doesn’t seem like such a far cry from actually being there. The concert is aptly directed by David Mallet, who deftly balances a variety of camera angles between close-ups of the musicians (including some great fretplay) and wider shots of the stage. There are also close-ups of the screen films, sometimes overlayed with shots of the musicians. The shot selection in the DVD version mostly matches its VHS counterpart, but cuts more frequently to alternate camera angles. Some of Pulse’s best moments are when the lights and lasers are in perfect sync with the music—as if the band is playing not just the music, but also the lights.

Audio

The main reason this DVD was perpetually delayed is because Pink Floyd wanted to get the audio just right. The mastering process was an arduous one, with Gilmour sitting in with longtime Floyd sound engineer James Guthrie for long hours in a dogged attempt to perfect the concert’s surround sound. It was worth the wait. The audio is lush and clear, and everything from Guy Pratt’s punchy bass fills to Richard Wright’s subtle piano touches are more pronounced. And, as with the video aspect, the surround mix puts you as close to Earls Court without actually being there.

Pulse should please audiophiles, who have the option of toggling between two types of Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound: a standard 448kbps bitstream or a 640kbps output for higher-end DVD players. And for the less fortunate, there is a basic stereo option. Also included is a system setup that guides you in recommended speaker placement. The Floyd take their audio seriously.

Special Features

Thankfully Pink Floyd took the time to make sure Pulse had its share of extras. This section describes the most significant ones.

• Bootlegging the Bootleggers —The band turns the tables on would-be bootleggers with handheld footage of the following songs that weren’t featured on the DVD: “What Do You Want From Me”, “On The Turning Away”, “Poles Apart”, and “Marooned”. The camcorder sound quality is better than you’d think, and the video is edited between multiple camera angles. Be sure to watch the strobe-like circus sequence in “Poles Apart”, which feels like a psychoactive sojourn to another world.

• Wish You Were Here with Billy Corgan—Watch Pink Floyd’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan gives a nostalgic induction speech for a band he describes as a “strange anomaly.” It’s a little unclear why Corgan was the best candidate to induct legends like Pink Floyd, but he brings a worthy perspective. Corgan then joins Gilmour and Wright onstage for a sub-par, stripped-down version of “Wish You Were Here.” Moving, however, is Gilmour’s changing emotional state, his eyes welling up with tears during the performance. For as much acrimony and infighting this band has endured throughout its history, its factions agree on one thing: They wish that somehow, despite their creative differences, they could all still be together.

• Screen Films—This well-included feature allows you to view all of Pink Floyd’s screen films and animations up close on “Mr. Screen”, the large, circular projection panel that’s been a Floyd concert fixture. You can even watch older and alternate versions of screen films here, each set to music from the concert. One small complaint is that you can only watch the films in their cropped, circular format instead of in fullscreen.

• Say Goodbye To Life As We Know It—A 15-minute behind-the-scenes montage of candid camcorder clips taken by a few fairly obnoxious Floyd roadies. Mostly set to various Floyd tunes, this hodgepodge of segments gives an inside glimpse at life on the road with many lighthearted moments that tend to demystify the tour.

• Music Videos—Watch two of Pink Floyd’s more popular music videos: “Learning To Fly” and “Take It Back”.

• Tour Stuff—Includes the tour itinerary with maps that chart the stops (although it’s missing some). You can also view a slideshow of architectural sketches for the stage construction.

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