OBSCURED BY CLOUDS

One of my favorite albums by the Floyd! I don't see these tunes as throwaways at all, excluding perhaps ABSOLUTELY CURTAINS. This album was thrown together very quickly, but this work comes from what was probably the Floyd's peak era as a productive (and democratic) BAND, 1971-1973. This means Rick Wright gets more stage time than on perhaps any other album: his signature is all over STAY, MUDMEN, BURNING BRIDGES, & ABSOLUTELY CURTAINS. David Gilmour shows his stuff throughout for perhaps the first time ever; WOTS...UH THE DEAL, WHEN YOU'RE IN, THE GOLD IT'S IN THE..., and CHILDHOOD'S END show his voice and/or guitar licks in top form. And Waters gives us a very telling glimpse into the future with FREE FOUR; definitely a "lost" Floyd classic! The only bad things I can say about this album are that the final track seems very un-fleshed out and tacked-on, and the sound quality is not good at all. It's very muddy in some places, especially the first verse of BURNING BRIDGES. I don't know if it was meant to sound like that or not, but it annoys me. If you are a Floyd fan, give this album a spin and see if you fall into the "love it" or "hate it" category.