A long sustained chord is heard for while. It continues and continues as if its here to stay and then you imagine a boy in his simple and no-worries stage of life is walking over a huge field of crops with birds crisping and bees buzzing around as they do on a typical day when the sun is just out in the morning. On a center of dark stage there is an aged man who bends the note on the 16th fret of his shining red fender Stratocaster guitar and rings it creating that trademark sound which makes you close your eyes with immense immerging indulgence, you breath out saying “Alright, I think I can now die in peace”. That was Pink Floyd for me when I just started of this DVD. Although I, being a guitarist would relate more theDavid Gilmour [Lead guitarist/Vocals/Composer] however it is unimaginable to think Pink Floyd without legendary [Composer/Vocals/Bassist] Rogers Waters and Keyboardist Richard Wright with his complicated jazz compositions.
Pink Floyd started off around 60s, they have got history of lots of up and downs and calling on and off because of differences between band members(especially Gilmour and Waters, eventually they gigged Pulse without Waters) which for fans it was diplomatically put up as “creative differences” however what makes this very band different was there amazing sound mixing, “sound of the future” effects, unorthodox rhythm and hallucination indulging compositions. They had a complicated vision which you understand ones you hear the lyrics which talks about predicament, agony, failure of system/society, love, betrayal, lust etc… with music composed under influence of hallucination drugs which is evident when you hear most of their composition have a part which goes in repetitive pattern. They do easily qualify for being psychedelic rock band but in any day any Floyd fan would think of this band more than just a rock band with their insane experimentation with mixing, effects and tones.
Richard Wright died last October, it was a great loss. They were totally in my mind since end of the last year and also I thought I have matured enough to get into jazz/blues and classic rock, I mean enough of that thrash metal and rock with same distorted effect feeling. I enter the store and I brought this 2 cds packed DVD in around 5 mins. I couldn’t wait to reach home and check it out.
Picture this, Whole earls court stadium booked which huge stage setup with a big circle shaped screen placed in between where a video can be played and of course there are lot of surprises around(They are famous for huge melodramatic driven concerts). [Disc 1] Stage is lit up with stars and galaxies all over with Wright playing a melodic low tempo solo while Jon Cairn [Keyboards/synth] gives him the trademark sustained rhythm and then comes Gilmour with soulful solo on rhythm over keyboards while the video is shown which I had described when I started writing this. The boy represents no one else other than Syd Barrett who founded this band but had to part ways due to his abusive behavior and constant intake of alcohol. “Shine on you crazy diamond” is dictated to this ex-band member/founder who was so talented yet uncontrollable. Apart from a soulful low tempo intro there is an amazing yet another soulful saxophone solo.I was never into jazz till I heard Dick Parry, he pawned me when he followed the solo using trumpet. Its mind blowing to see how he got the breathe at such an age. Your foot starts tapping and head moving when Gary Wallis plays amazing rolls over percussion in “Learning to fly” track. I love his confidence moving along his whole body hitting high -hats and using the whole percussion set like a playground. The stage set up is lit by extraordinary laser lights flashing all over. This foot tapping song gets well attended byNick Mason(lead guitarist) solos and let me tell you his palm muted solos and tapping techniques is kick arse and stages him apart from Gilmour who moves around scales slowly with timings and ringing melodic targeted notes. I could only imagine a song which has intro with a bell getting rung and as simple as three notes played on Synth. “High Hopes” is one of those song which starts of with such soberness and hit’s the light on chorus. “The Grass was greener…., the light was brighter, the days were sweeter …the nights of wonder…with friends around us…” the lyrics no better than this can reminds us of those joyful and childhood days we miss when so much of chaos and confusion is around. A lovely acoustic solo played classical style in Takamine guitar and an amazing bright toned lap guitar solo with lovely slides ends the song with lot of spirit generated in ones heart. A treble full clean toned solo is heard over a sustained keyboard chord has to be typical Gilmour composition. “Coming back to life” is one of those very touching song with heartrending lyrics and soulful solo. “Where were you? When I was burned and broken…while the days slip by from my window watching” this kind of lyrics appeals most of us who have gone through breakup, hurt, cheated and going through the healing stages. From the melancholic intro solo to the amazing delay-filled-bright distortion solo at the end matches so much so with the chorus “I took a heavenly ride through our silence…I knew the moment has arrived…to kill the past and coming back to life”. Masterpiece.