P-U-L-S-E

In light of the success of the recent Live 8 reunion concert put on by the FLOYD, I finally dug up my old VHS version of the 1994 "P*U*L*S*E" concert from Earl's Court. To my surprise, the concert is/was as good now as it was ten years ago, plus there is actually video footage of Rick Wright playing keys, unlike Live 8 ;-).

Complimenting the fantastic setlist (a little different than the Double-CD audio version of P*U*L*S*E but still containing the full Dark Side of the Moon) the show frequently boasted an all-original silent film sequence developed by Storm Thorgerson (of Hipgnosis fame). FLOYD is truly a multi-media extravaganza and Thorgerson's work on Mr. Screen only adds to the multi-sensory experience that is FLOYD. Pay particular attention to the excellent film sequence during 'Time' with its many references to Division Bell symbols.

The best way to describe the music and video from this concert is that it almost figuratively 'washes' over you. Words like ambient, surreal, and atmospheric can all properly describe the effect the multi-million dollar lazer-light show, video sequence and music have on the viewer. One of the biggest, most expensive musical tours ever, the 1994 Division Bell Tour grossed over 100 million USD and required 3 different complex stages, one for the last city's show that took a while to be torn down, one stage for the current city's show, and another stage being set up in a city to be visited next. The logistics required to stage these concerts were of galactic proportions! A veritable PINK FLOYD army of trucks (and even an airship!) criss-crossed North America.

I had wanted to wait until "P*U*L*S*E" was released on DVD before I reviewed it, but after multiple official release dates came and went, I gave up on that idea. One day soon, "P*U*L*S*E" will be released on DVD with lots of 'bonus features' and camera angles etc, until then enjoy this excellent out-of-print VHS version if you are lucky enough to own it.

An excellent concert film that gives the viewer the best feel of what the modern FLOYD show looked like, without actually being there. 4.5/5 stars, if only because it is still missing Roger Waters' scowls onstage.

DVD review - 27 July 2006 The P-U-L-S-E DVD had one of the top three best first week's sales in the U.S. of any music DVD in history. The hunger for Floyd material amongst the band's fandom is still insatiable. As always, the band and production team have not disappointed, and good thing, this release has been years in construction... From its high-quality digipack, to the ethereal Storm Thorgerson-designed menus on the DVD's, one realizes straight away that this Floyd product exudes quality right down to its tiniest of details. The total running time of both DVD's is just over 4 hours!

P-U-L-S-E has something for every level of Floyd fan, including never before seen video-bootleg footage of songs not released on the earlier 1995 VHS offering: 'What Do You Want From Me?', 'On The Turning Away', 'Marooned' and my all-time favourite 'Poles Apart'. Unfortunately the 1994 tour opener 'Astronomy Domine' was not included.

Bonus features include music videos, photo galleries, tour stuff, detailed digital album artwork and even the entire collection of screen films (including those designed by Thorgerson specifically for their landmark Division Bell Tour) that played behind the band on "Mr. Screen".

Oh, and then there's the concert itself. It has been remastered, restored and presented in its original 4:3 aspect ratio. The video quality is SO good, that as one Floyd fan site says "you can even see the [individual] hairs on David's arms in certain shots" (quote taken from www.brain-damage.co.uk) And for audiophiles, the new 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix can be heard on two different audio streams/bitrates. Audio geeks rejoice!

A veritable goldmine of material for Floyd fans everywhere, and the benchmark for quality for all music DVDs to come.