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(More customer reviews)The claim to fame of Pulse, Pink Floyd's two-CD live album released in 1995, is the live performance of Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. If you're a casual Pink Floyd fan, that's great; if you're a devoted fan, you're apt to be disappointed by the lack of nuance expressed in a concert setting. It has obviously been a few years since I listened to Pulse because my memory told me it was superior to 1988's Delicate Sound of Thunder live two-CD album - my memory was wrong. I'm not saying Pulse isn't a quality performance or that fans won't enjoy it, but to my ears it clearly lacks the sort of passion and energy that was captured on Delicate Sounds of Thunder. The two live albums of the reconstituted, post-Waters Pink Floyd share a number of songs in common, and I prefer the Thunder versions in almost every single case. Here, the long instrumental sections of Shine on You Crazy Diamond, for example, seem to drag on interminably, while on Delicate Sound of Thunder each minute of the music built up toward a pressurized unleashing of vocals.
The first disc features a healthy portion of material originating after Waters' acrimonious exit from the band. There are two tracks from 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Region (Sorrow and Learning to Fly) and five from 1994's The Division Bell (What Do You Want from Me, A Great Day for Freedom, High Hopes, Keep Talking, and Coming Back to Life). These are intermixed alongside some older Pink Floyd tracks: Shine on You Crazy Diamond from Wish You Were Here, Astronomy Domine from 1967's The Piper at the Gates, and two classic cuts from The Wall. Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two) is good but seems to lack a little oomph, but Hey You is delivered with the passion and energy that make it easily the most impressive song on either of the Pulse CDs.
Disc Two takes us through a complete version of Dark Side of the Moon; the live setting does take something away from the purity and magic of these songs, so your appreciation of the live set may depend upon the depth of your commitment to Pink Floyd itself. Three tracks are added on at the end in the form of musical encores. I have a feeling there would be rioting in the streets if Pink Floyd showed up and didn't play Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb, and Run Like Hell. I was impressed by the first of these three classic songs, but Comfortably Numb and Run Like Hell seem to fall short of their counterparts on the earlier Distant Sound of Thunder.
At first glance, Pulse looks like a no-brainer, a guarantee of musical nirvana courtesy of one of the greatest bands of all-time. As I listened to it, though, I just felt as if something were missing - something subtle and comparatively minor, but noticeably missing all the same. Still, this is Pink Floyd, and no Pink Floyd recording could ever be bad - but it seems to me that Pulse could have been more intense and musically dazzling than it is.
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Pulse (Non-Blinking)No Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: CDArtist: PINK FLOYDTitle: PULSEStreet Release Date: 10/10/1995
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