Pulse (Pink Floyd album)

Pulse
Live album by Pink Floyd
Released	29 May 1995 (UK) 6 June 1995 (US)
Recorded	August–October 1994
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	147:59 76:09 (Disc 1) 71:50 (Disc 2)
Language	English
Label	EMI (Europe) Columbia (elsewhere)
Producer	James Guthrie, David Gilmour
Pink Floyd live albums chronology
Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988) Pulse (1995) Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 (2000)
Singles from Pulse
"Wish You Were Here" Released: 20 July 1995

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Pulse (stylized as P·U·L·S·E) is a live double album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released through EMI Records on 29 May 1995^[3] in the United Kingdom and by Columbia Records on 6 June 1995 in the United States, containing songs from their albums.

The album was recorded during the band's Division Bell tour in 1994, specifically the UK and European leg, which ran from July to October 1994 (See Pink Floyd live performances). The tour was sponsored in Europe by Volkswagen, which also issued a commemorative version of its top-selling car, the Golf Pink Floyd, one of which was given as a prize at each concert. It was a standard Golf with Pink Floyd decals and a premium stereo, although it had Volkswagen's most environmentally friendly engine, at Gilmour's insistence.^[4] The special version, that could have been released in 1996, on June 2, was cancelled.

Content and recording

The album includes a complete live version of The Dark Side of the Moon and features a booklet with many photos from performances on this tour. It also features "Astronomy Domine", a Syd Barrett song not performed since the early 1970s.

Unlike Delicate Sound of Thunder, David Gilmour and producer James Guthrie have stated that no parts of the songs were re-recorded in the studio (James Guthrie confirmed this in an interview with Pink Floyd fanzine Brain Damage). However, the band and Guthrie fixed songs that had bad notes (as heard on some bootlegs) by lifting solos and corrected vocal lines from other performances as the band recorded most of the European leg.

Release history

In the U.S., Pulse debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in June 1995 (briefly dethroning Hootie and the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View for a week before Hootie regained the number one spot in the US) and was soon certified Double Platinum by the RIAA on 31 July 1995.^[5]

On 10 July 2006, the Pulse DVD was released of the concert performed on 20 October 1994, at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London. The video version also featured the song "Take It Back," and a nearly complete performance from their 20 October show at Earl's Court, London.^{[citation needed]}

The vinyl version comes in a four-LP box set and includes "One of These Days" as well as a large version of the photo booklet.

The original CD cover features an "eye-like" machine that has clock pieces inside, there is a planet in its centre, and on the outside it shows evolution as it moves backwards. It starts in the sea, moves to the bacteria which evolve into fishes, then into egg type creatures, then into eggs that hatch birds, and birds follow the trail of an aeroplane. There are six pyramids in the desert, and in the bottom of the sea, one can observe a city in the shore.

A Volkswagen Golf Pink Floyd Edition

LED packaging

Early CD versions came with a blinking red LED on the side of the case. This was designed by EMI contractor Jon Kempner, who was awarded the platinum disc, using the now discontinued LM3909 LED flasher IC. The circuit was powered by a single AA cell; the battery life was stated to be over 6 months. Some versions were also made with 2 AA batteries and later editions of the CD set did not feature the blinking LED.

'Essentially, it's a device which we thought was entertaining. It's an idea of Storm Thorgerson's which related to Dark Side and the pulse, and it's a live album so the box is "alive". After that, in terms of seriously deep meanings, one might be struggling a bit.'

— Nick Mason, ^[6]

The debut of the album was highlighted by a light show from the top of the Empire State Building in New York City with music simulcasted on a New York City radio station.

Quotes

“	"The reason for Pulse is Dark Side of the Moon, obviously," says Gilmour, stirring his cappuccino. "We weren't going to do a live album for this tour; it seemed a bit superfluous having just done one a few years ago. But, as we started out on the tour, we were looking for ways to change the show around and make ourselves a little more flexible and have a little fun, and Dark Side of the Moon was one of the ideas that came across. We thought, 'That'll be easy, we're already playing half the songs.' But it took us about three months to put all the bits of sound-effect tape into it, besides getting all the old film and making one or two new bits of the ones that were too ancient or damaged. So we did it on the end of our American tour, and then when we carried it over to Europe, we started thinking, 'Well, it would be nice for us-and for posterity-to have a live version of Dark Side of the Moon,' which I always particularly wanted. We, in fact, discussed it years ago-even when Roger was still in the band-about putting a live version of Dark Side of the Moon back together and recording it, because we don't have a record of it ourselves. So, I thought that would be a very nice idea. Of course, discussing it, we finally thought it was daft to just put out Dark Side of the Moon-we might as well put out the whole thing."	”
—David Gilmour, 1995[7]

Track listing

Disc one

Lead vocals performed by David Gilmour unless stated otherwise.

1. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I II III IV V VII)" (David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright) – 13:35
   • Earls Court, London on 20 October 1994
2. "Astronomy Domine" (Syd Barrett) – 4:20
   • Earls Court, London on 15 October 1994
   • Lead vocals: David Gilmour and Richard Wright
3. "What Do You Want from Me" (Gilmour, Wright, Polly Samson) – 4:10
   • Rome, 21 September 1994
4. "Learning to Fly" (Gilmour, Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin, Jon Carin) – 5:16
   • Earls Court, London on 14 October 1994
5. "Keep Talking" (Gilmour, Wright, Samson) – 6:52
   • Hannover, 17 August 1994
6. "Coming Back to Life" (Gilmour) – 6:56
   • Earls Court, London on 13 October 1994
7. "Hey You" (Waters) – 4:40
   • Earls Court, London on 13 and 15 (last verse) October 1994
   • Lead vocals: David Gilmour and Jon Carin
8. "A Great Day for Freedom" (Gilmour, Samson) – 4:30
   • Earls Court, London on 19 October 1994
9. "Sorrow" (Gilmour) – 10:49
   • Rome, 20 September 1994
10. "High Hopes" (Gilmour, Samson) – 7:52
    • Earls Court, London on 20 October 1994
11. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" (Waters) – 7:08
    • Earls Court, London on 21 October 1994
    • Lead vocals: David Gilmour and Guy Pratt

Bonus track on cassette and LP editions

12. "One of These Days" (Gilmour, Waters, Wright, Nick Mason) – 6:45
    • Earls Court, London on 16 and 20 (last part) October 1994

Disc two

The Dark Side of the Moon

1. "Speak to Me" (Mason) – 2:30
   • Earls Court 20 October 1994
2. "Breathe" (Gilmour, Waters, Wright) – 2:33
   • Earls Court 20 October 1994
   • Lead vocals: David Gilmour and Jon Carin
3. "On the Run" (Gilmour, Waters) – 3:48
   • Earls Court 20 October 1994
4. "Time" (Gilmour, Waters, Wright, Mason) – 6:47
   • Explosion recorded in London, 15 October 1994. Intro recorded in Modena 17 September 1994. The rest of song and most of "Breathe (Reprise)" was recorded in Rome, 20 September 1994. Ending of "Breathe Reprise" recorded in London, 20 October 1994.
   • Lead vocals: David Gilmour and Richard Wright
5. "The Great Gig in the Sky" (Wright, Torry) – 5:52
   • London, 20 October 1994
   • Lead vocals: Sam Brown, Durga McBroom and Claudia Fontaine
6. "Money" (Waters) – 8:54
   • Modena, 17 September 1994
7. "Us and Them" (Waters, Wright) – 6:58
   • London, 20 October 1994. Second and third choruses London, 19 October 1994.
8. "Any Colour You Like" (Gilmour, Wright, Mason) – 3:21
   • London, 23 October 1994. Last part recorded in London, 19 October 1994.
9. "Brain Damage" (Waters) – 3:46
   • London, 19 October 1994
10. "Eclipse" (Waters) – 2:38
    • London, 19 October 1994
11. "Wish You Were Here" (Gilmour, Waters) – 6:35
    • Rome, 20 September 1994
12. "Comfortably Numb" (Gilmour, Waters) – 9:29
    • London, 20 October 1994
    • Lead vocals: David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Jon Carin and Guy Pratt
13. "Run Like Hell" (Gilmour, Waters) – 8:36
    • London, 15 October 1994
    • Lead vocals: David Gilmour and Guy Pratt

Bonus track on the cassette edition

14. "Soundscape" (Gilmour, Wright, Mason) – 22:00
    • An ambient piece that was played before the 1994 concerts

Personnel

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – electric, acoustic and lap steel guitars, lead vocals, duet on "Comfortably Numb" (choruses)
• Nick Mason – drums, percussion
• Richard Wright – keyboards, backing vocals, duet on "Astronomy Domine", "Time", and "Comfortably Numb" (verses)

Additional musicians

• Sam Brown – backing vocals, first lead vocalist on "The Great Gig in the Sky", duet on "Comfortably Numb" (choruses)
• Jon Carin – keyboards, backing vocals, programming, duet on "Hey You", "Breathe", and "Comfortably Numb" (verses)
• Claudia Fontaine – backing vocals, third lead vocalist on "The Great Gig in the Sky"
• Durga McBroom – backing vocals, second lead vocalist on "The Great Gig in the Sky"
• Dick Parry – saxophones
• Guy Pratt – bass guitar, backing vocals, duet on "Comfortably Numb" (verses) and "Run Like Hell"
• Tim Renwick – guitars, backing vocals
• Gary Wallis – percussion, additional drums (played and programmed)

Sales chart performance

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1995	UK Albums Chart	1[8]
1995	The Billboard 200	1[9]
1995	Norwegian Record Charts	1[10]
1995	Australian ARIA Albums Chart	1[11]
1995	Swiss Charts	1[12]

Sales and certifications

Country	Certification	Sales
Brazil - ABPD	Diamond[13]	125,000+

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1995	"What Do You Want from Me"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	13[citation needed]

References

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2011 [last update]). "Pulse - Pink Floyd | AllMusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r828821. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
2. ^ O'Connor, Rob (2011 [last update]). "Pulse by Pink Floyd | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/pulse-19950824. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
3. ^ "esounds". EMI. http://www.esounds.com/esounds/EN/Details.aspx?ProductID=M0724383270019&VariantID=0724383270026. Retrieved 2007-07-08. 
4. ^ The Spiegel-Translation
5. ^ "Gold and Platinum Database Search". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Pink%Floyd&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50. Retrieved 2009-10-05. 
6. ^ Phil Sutcliffe (July 1995). "The 30 Year Technicolor Dream". Mojo Magazine. http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1484-gilmour-mason-wright-30-year.html#post23744. Retrieved 2011-07-23. 
7. ^ "Inside the Mind of Pink Floyd: David Gilmour" interview, Guitar, September 1995, retrieved 28 July 2010
8. ^ "Chart Stats - Pink Floyd - Pulse". www.chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=652. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
9. ^ "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Pink Floyd". www.billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=61137&model.vnuAlbumId=768708. Retrieved 2009-07-02. 
10. ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Pink Floyd - P.U.L.S.E.". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Pink+Floyd&titel=P%2EU%2EL%2ES%2EE%2E&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-07-02. 
11. ^ "australian-charts.com - Pink Floyd - P.U.L.S.E.". australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Pink+Floyd&titel=P%2EU%2EL%2ES%2EE%2E&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
12. ^ "Pink Floyd - P.U.L.S.E. - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Pink+Floyd&titel=P%2EU%2EL%2ES%2EE%2E&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
13. ^ ABPD | Associaусo Brasileira de Produtores de Disco

External links

• Pink Floyd Drums: The Division Bell PULSE Tour Drums

Preceded by Cracked Rear View by Hootie & the Blowfish	Billboard 200 number-one album 24–30 June 1995	Succeeded by HIStory by Michael Jackson
Preceded by Singles by Alison Moyet	UK number one album 10–23 June 1995
Preceded by Tuesday Night Music Club by Sheryl Crow	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album 25 June - 1 July 1995