Pink Floyd – Delicate Sound Of Thunder (2019 Remix) [Live] (2020) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

If the end of the 80’s sounded the death knell for many sacred monsters at the top of their art a decade or even fifteen years ago, they were the synonym of a new birth for Pink Floyd. The band has already had two lives, one with and then without Syd Barrett. When in 1985, Roger Waters left the adventure, he tried at all costs to prevent his former Playmates from retaining the name of the formation for their future projects. After a long legal battle, Gilmour, Mason, and Wright won the right to continue using Pink Floyd’s surname. In 1987, A Momentary Lapse of Reason was released, the first album of the post-Waters era. This was followed by a pharaonic tour that gave birth to the live Delicate Sound of Thunder the following year. A one-of-a-kind album in the band’s history for several reasons. First because it is the first real official Floyd live (although Ummagumma released in 1969 included two records, a live and a studio). Then because it was a huge success at the time on two levels, thanks to its different audio and video formats, new proof that the group has long grasped the primordial role played by images to accompany its music (the film Live At Pompeii released sixteen years earlier is a perfect example). Finally because it is the first album to have been played in space thanks to Soviet cosmonauts having taken it with them aboard the Soyuz TM-7 shuttle towards the Space station Mir. Its remixed and especially completed reissue brings this live having made debate into a new era.

While the end of the 80s signalled the end for a lot of great bands who had been around for the last ten or fifteen years, it meant rebirth for Pink Floyd. The group had already lived two lives – one with and one without Syd Barrett. When Roger Waters left in 1985 he tried as hard as he could to stop the band from using the same name for future projects. After a long legal battle, Gilmour, Mason and Wright won the right to carry on using Pink Floyd. A Momentary Lapse of Reason came out in 1987, the first post-Waters album. A phenomenal tour followed which gave us the live album Delicate Sound of Thunder the following year. The album was different from the group’s other records for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was Pink Floyds first real live album (yes, there was Ummagumma but that was made up of two discs – one studio, one live). Secondly, it was a hugely successful tour, largely thanks to their use of both audio and visuals – images had long played a crucial role in their music (the film Live at Pompeii released 16 years earlier is a good example of this). And finally, it was the first album to ever be played in space thanks to the Soviet astronauts who took it aboard the Soyuz TM-7 shuttle when travelling to the Mir space station. This completed remixed re-release takes the acclaimed live album into a new era.

Having stood out before for its (almost too) perfect sound recording and mixing, Delicate Sound of Thunder can now be enjoyed in a remixed hi-fi version that makes you feel like you’re right there in the mobile studio doing the live recording. It’s a unique experience for the senses, even if it does slightly do away with their psychedelic touch. Pink Floyd now belonged to Gilmour and he chose to focus a large part of the concert on A Momentary Lapse of Reason before going for an all-too-short segue into their best hits, mostly coming from Dark Side of the Moon. Despite this decision (which might be a bit annoying for die-hard fans) there are enough classics from albums like Shine On You Crazy Diamond, One of These Days and Wish You Were Here to keep you satisfied. In 1988, media formats forced the band to remove some songs from their tracklist due to a lack of space. This remixed version restores the forgotten tracks to reveal a complete concert with the addition of 7 songs and guitar solos that were shortened in the first version. This gives added flavour to a performance that went down in history alongside their other live album Pulse which was released in 1995 and was met with resounding success. This record just goes to show that Pink Floyd’s concerts really were immersive experiences. – Chief Brody

Tracklist

1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5) [2019 Remix] [Live]
2. Signs Of Life (live)
3. Learning To Fly (live)
4. Yet Another Movie (live)
5. Round And Round (live)
6. A New Machine Pt. 1 (live)
7. Terminal Frost (live)
8. A New Machine Pt. 2 (live)
9. Sorrow (live)
10. The Dogs Of War (live)
11. On The Turning Away (live)
12. One Of These Days (live)
13. Time (live)
14. On The Run (live)
15. The Great Gig In The Sky (live)
16. Wish You Were Here (live)
17. Welcome To The Machine (live)
18. Us And Them (live)
19. Money (live)
20. Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2 (live)
21. Comfortably Numb (live)
22. One Slip (live)
23. Run Like Hell (live)