Pulse [DVD]

Description

Product Description Live performance from the legendary band, recorded live at Earls Court in London on 20th October 1994, and featuring classic tracks such as 'Breathe', 'Money', Us and Them' and 'Comfortably Numb'. desertcart.co.uk Review At long last Pink Floyd: Pulse has arrived on DVD, and Floyd fans already know it's a major cause to celebrate. The original VHS release was a milestone bestseller, but it seemed to take forever for the DVD to arrive, with numerous delays while Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and long-time Floyd producer James Guthrie labored to restore, re-edit, and remix this legendary concert video in 5.1-channel Dolby Surround Sound. The resulting two-disc set was well worth the wait: While the limitations of the original video source are still evident in the sometimes-hazy image quality (Gilmour would later admit the concert should have been captured on film), Floyd fans will unanimously agree that Pulse has never looked or sounded better, and only the absence of group co-founder Roger Waters prevents this from being the ultimate document of Pink Floyd in performance. (Even without Waters, it's easily one of the group's most impressive stage productions.) Gracefully directed with minimal intrusion by veteran music video and concert director David Mallet, and shot on video during Pink Floyd's two-week stint at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre in October 1994, this 145-minute performance (from Floyd's Division Bell tour) is a sonic marvel to behold. Under a massive arch festooned with then-state-of-the-art laser, lighting, and projection systems, the 1987 incarnation of Pink Floyd (Gilmour, keyboardist Richard Wright, and drummer Nick Mason) and their stellar supporting band kicks off with "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" (a loving tribute to Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett), followed by four tracks from The Division Bell, two from 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason, "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" from 1979's magnum opus The Wall, and leading into intermission with absolutely stunning performance of "One of These Days," the timeless opening track from 1971's Meddle.The centerpiece of Disc 2 is a near-perfect performance of 1974's Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety--reason enough to make this a must-have DVD for even the most casual Floyd admirers. And while no one will ever re-create the sheer magnificence of Clare Torry's original tour de force vocals on "The Great Gig in the Sky," it's safe to say that backup singers Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine, and Durga McBroom deliver the next best thing, in addition to seamless contributions throughout the concert. After the closing heartbeat of "Eclipse," the concert ends with encore performances of "Wish You Were Here," "Comfortably Numb," and a no-holds-barred, pyrotechnically explosive rendition of The Wall's "Run Like Hell," all showcasing Gilmour's guitar mastery with frequent close-ups of his picking and fret-work as seen throughout the concert. (Like Gilmour, Mason and Wright were never dynamic onstage, and that's true here as well, but their technical precision is fully evident, and while guitarist Tim Renwick and saxophonist Dick Parry are each given moments to shine, bassist Guy Pratt is a worthy substitution for Waters, especially when vocally sparring with Gilmour on "Run Like Hell.")With beautiful packaging, an 8-page booklet, and menu designs by long-time Floyd associate Storm Thorgerson, the DVDs offer an abundance of bonus features including "Bootlegging the Bootleggers," featuring surprisingly good-quality "boot" video performances of "What Do You Want From Me?," "On the Turning Away," "Poles Apart," and "Marooned." The surreal round-ratio screen films seen throughout the concert can all be viewed independently (still in round format, and several offered in both original and alternate versions). Music videos for "Learning to Fly" and "Take It Back" are included on Disc 1, along with "Tour Stuff" including maps, itineraries, and stage plans for the 1994 tour. "Say Goodbye to Life as We Know It" is a playful backstage video (mostly involving the production staff's ongoing quest for a good pint of beer), and after delivering a heartfelt introduction to Pink Floyd's 1996 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (with Roger Waters and Syd Barrett acknowledged by Gilmour), Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan joins Gilmour and Wright for a moving acoustic performance of "Wish You Were Here" (directed at Waters, perhaps?). Additional features include album cover art, a photo gallery, and the concert-only audio choice between a 448kbps audio bitstream or a higher-quality 640kbps stream for higher-quality DVD players. The system set-up feature ensures that audiophiles will achieve optimum speaker performance in keeping with Pink Floyd's exacting technical standards. In tandem with the superior concert presentation, these features make Pulse one of the best--if not the best--music DVDs of 2006, guaranteed to satisfy Floyd fans for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon Review: Out of this world! - I wish i could give P.U.L.S.E more than a mere 5 stars, it simply isn't enough! this is the most eye popping, jaw dropping, utterly astounding concert i have ever watched. In my opinion it is the greatest show on earth and is extremely unlikely to ever be topped, it's impact on me each time i watch it is more than i could put into words in this review but the description above will suffice. Starting with the packaging, i love the ''eyeballs on the beach'' art design by Storm Thorgerson, it's ''eye'' catching! perhaps that was the intention. Inside there is a 8 page booklet with some stunning images taken from the concerts at Earls Court in London back in '94. On both discs there is a cool menu design accompanied by '''atmospheric'' effects. There are 3 concert audio options Dolby 5.1 448 kbps the higher 640 kbps and stereo, i have only heard the stereo mix so i am unable to comment on the 5.1 mixes as i have only heard them downmixed to 2 channel stereo but it sounds absolutely revelationary to me, it is aural perfection. I think David Gilmour and James Guthrie did a fantastic job on it. visually its not a widescreen presentation but in 4:3 aspect ratio as it was shot on video not film so the picture quality isn't outstanding neither is it bad for that matter but if you have an upscaling DVD player, then it will possibly look better as i have found, upscaling to 1080i (or 720p) offers a significant improvement in colour and detail. David Mallet directed it, it's expertly shot and captures all the incredible visuals beautifully, too many of those moments to mention in this review! David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright are on stunning form and the backing musicians are excellent too, this concert has in my opinion the best ''Comfortably Numb'' guitar solo ever! i think it is awesome the way David builds the intensity gradually until it reaches into the stratosphere. How the music and visuals sync is simply spectacular. Marc Brickman was the lighting designer and what he created has to be seen to be believed, it is quite possibly like nothing you have ever seen before, I'm absolutely speechless everytime i watch the concert (''Event'' would probably be a more accurate term). just a few (there are too many to name!) of the visual highlights for me, Star Wars style lasers, a giant circular screen rigged with ''Vari- Lite'' that rotates like a UFO, a plane crashing, a giant glass ball that opens, huge inflatable pigs and just some of the aural highlights, ''Sorrow'' ''One of these days'' '' Comfortably Numb'' ''Us and Them'' ''The Dark Side Of The Moon'' album is performed in its entirety on Disc 2 and i believe it to be played to perfection, i actually prefer it to the album. There a few extras worth mentioning such as bootlegs there are four, one of them being ''Marooned'' a great photo gallery and 2 music videos which are ''Learning to fly'' and ''Take It Back'' To purchase this should be a no-brainer for Floyd fans, i can't recommend this DVD highly enough. If it is possible, i would love to see a Blu-Ray release of P.U.L.S.E in the not too distant future. Review: It does the flashing red light proud... - Now, I wasn't there; heaven forbid - I was only 13 when the concert was filmed - but, after years of playing my Pulse CD, miming the guitar solo to Comfortably Numb and managing to buy a pirate (?) DVD of this concert from a certain internet-based auction company, I can't think of any other concert DVD which has the same impact as this one. I consider myself to be fairly learned (and varied in taste) in music and, even though I have seen/heard some fairly amazing musical sights (U2 and, more importantly, Sigur Rós to name just a couple of recent ones), I fail to see how this DVD/Concert could have been bettered; it (well, at least the DVD I bought) has crystal clear sound quality, interesting and varied extras and manages to bring to life the Earl's Court gig of 1994. With regards to the setlist of the concert, it would have been impossible to please all Pink Floyd fans by including their entire back-catalogue on 2 DVDs (with extras - including an interesting editing of bootlegged films of thier concert performances and the videos used on stage) plus, in all fairness, it was the tour to promote their album The Division Bell, therefore there was only a certain amount of room left for "crowd-pleasers". I feel the ones they chose, i.e. the ENTIRE of Dark Side of the Moon and some classics from The Wall, make for a full and varied concert. The likes of this will NEVER be seen again - in fact, since 1994 it NEVER has - even U2's PopMart, although infinately impressive, was not in the same league. Buy this to reawaken the experience you had in 1994 (if you were lucky enough to get to one of their performances) or simply to listen, and watch, a GREAT rock concert. 5 stars awarded - as I can't see any better way of making the CD come to life...