Pink Floyd: The Story of Wish You Were Here Blu-ray Review

Written by General Jabbo

At the Live 8 concert in London, England, in 2005, Roger Waters joined his old mates in Pink Floyd for a show-stopping set. With the passing of keyboardist Richard Wright, it would be the last time the classic Dark Side Of The Moon lineup of the band would play together in public, making “Wish You Were Here,” a high point in their set, even more poignant. The scenes for this concert serve as the introduction to the Blu-ray about the album of the same name, Pink Floyd: The Story Of Wish You Were Here.

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Live at Knebworth - CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

While many festivals have boasted incredible lineups of music, the one held at Knebworth in June of 1990 has often been called the best British rock concert of all time. With a lineup featuring Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Elton John, Phil Collins, Genesis, Tears for Fears, Dire Straits, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, and Status Quo, it would be difficult to argue against that claim.

The artists chosen were previous winners of the Nordoff-Robbins Silver Clef Award, recognizing acts that make outstanding contributions to the British music industry. The concert itself was a benefit for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the Brit School of Performing Arts. The CD will raise money for those charities.

While the concert was an all-day affair, the CD features highlights of the bands, leading off with two songs from Tears for Fears, including a spirited version of their hit “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” Up next are Status Quo, who deliver a fine cover of John Fogerty’s “Rockin’ All Over the World” and Cliff Richard and the Shadows with legendary guitarist Hank Marvin doing “Do you Wanna Dance” and “On the Beach.”

Robert Plant’s set included the then popular “Hurting Kind” and “Tall Cool One,” but the real highlight was an appearance by Jimmy Page on the seldom-played Led Zeppelin classic “Wearing and Tearing.” Up next is Genesis with “Mama” and “”Turn it on Again,” the latter of which evolved into a medley of classic 1960s songs including “Somebody to Love,” “Satisfaction,” and “Twist and Shout.”

Phil Collins opens disc two with his version of “Sussudio,” while Eric Clapton plays a funky version of the Cream classic “Sunshine of Your Love.” Dire Straits offer “I Think I Love You Too Much” while Elton John has two songs, including a fun “Saturday Night’s All Right (For Fighting)."

Two heavyweights close the show in Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd, though only two songs are included from each act (“Coming Up” and “Hey Jude” and “Comfortably Numb” and “Run Like Hell” respectively). If there’s a problem with this set, it is this: McCartney’s set alone was roughly 45 minutes, including a John Lennon tribute not included here. While putting out the entire concert may not be feasible for the average buyer, perhaps a deluxe edition could have solved this with all of the performances, or perhaps individual CDs for the bigger artists at the show, with the proceeds from those going to charity as well.

For fans that just want an overview though, Live at Knebworth is an excellent document of this historic event. It’s not often one can find this many big names doing their biggest hits in one place.

David Gilmour Live in Gdansk CD/DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

In 2006, former Pink Floyd guitarist and singer David Gilmour was invited to play the Gdansk Shipyard in Poland to celebrate the 26th anniversary of Solidarity. That concert forms the basis of the Live in Gdansk collection. While there are a few versions of this package available including a 2-CD set, a 2-CD/1-DVD set, a 2-CD/2-DVD set and a 3-CD/2-DVD set, the one used for this review was the 2-CD/1-DVD version.

Backed by a crack band, including Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera (who co-produced the album) and former Pink Floyd bandmate, the late Richard Wright on keyboards, Live in Gdansk is the final show from Gilmour's 2006 On an Island tour and features the Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, who did the arrangements on Gilmour's On an Island disc.

As expected, a number of Pink Floyd classic are sprinkled throughout the set, including the opening three numbers, all from Dark Side of the Moon: Speak to Me," "Breathe," and "Time."

Disc 2 of the CD is entirely Floyd songs and includes two Syd Barrett tributes — "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and "Wish You Were Here" — both from the Wish you Were Here CD as well as Barrett's psychedelic classic, "Astronomy Domine," from the band's debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Gilmour dusts off "Fat Old Sun" from Atom Heart Mother and plays "A Great Day for Freedom" from 1994's Division Bell for the only time on the tour. The song was particularly appropriate given the subject matter — the struggles of post-Berlin Wall Poland and Germany. The true highlight though is "Echoes," performed in its 25-minute entirety. Wright's recent passing is all the more poignant given his huge importance in the sound of these Floyd classics.

For those who think Gilmour is all about nostalgia however, he plays all ten songs from On an Island, in a row no less, though not in the same order as the album. He does not play any material from his other solo releases however. Gilmour is in fine voice throughout and showcases his musical versatility, switching from guitar to saxophone to dobro to banjo. While the album does feature the Baltic Philharmonic on a number of tracks, they are merely used to color the songs and are often hard to notice except for when they are shown on the DVD.

The DVD cuts a number of songs from the CD, but includes all of the On an Island songs, as well as "Echoes" and "Astronomy Domine." Also included on the DVD is a Gdansk Diary, a 40-minute documentary about the show featuring interviews with the band members and crew, rehearsal footage, and Gilmour's meeting with Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland and leader of the Solidarity movement.

With a setlist almost identical to 2007's Remember that Night, Live at Gdansk is more of a companion piece than a must-have, but for fans of Pink Floyd and David Gilmour, especially those who don't already own the former, it is an excellent live document of this great talent.