Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 07- Obscured by Clouds

 

Pink Floyd nears their peak...

Album:  Obscured by Clouds

Year Released:    1972

Lineup:

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitars, VCS 3 synthesiser, bass guitar, vocals
• Nick Mason – drums, percussion
• Roger Waters – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
• Richard Wright – Hammond organ (2, 3, 5–7, 10), piano (5, 6, 9, 10), Farfisa organ (10), VCS 3 synthesiser, electric piano, vocals

Additional personnel

• Hipgnosis – album cover
• Mapuga tribe – chant on "Absolutely Curtains"

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Obscured by Clouds"                                           3:03

2.     "When You're In"                                                       2:18

3.     "Burning Bridges"                                                      3:29

4.     "The Gold It's in the..."                                              3:07

5.     "Wot's... Uh the Deal?"                                             5:08

6.     "Mudmen"                                                                 4:20

Total length: 21:25

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

7. "Childhood's End"                                                  4:31

8.     "Free Four"                                                               4:15

9.     "Stay"                                                                       4:05

10.   "Absolutely Curtains"                                                5:52

Total length: 23:30

Album Length:  46:47

Overall Thoughts:

The seventh album by Pink Floyd, Obscured by Clouds, was a soundtrack for a French film, La Vallée.  It's an album filled with instrumentals and short songs, instead of the longer progressive tracks they were known for.  

The music is good (better than 'More', their previous soundtrack)- more direct and focussed.  And there's some great ideas for songs (my favorite is probably "Childhood's End").  "Free Four" is a cheery sounding song about death and depression, a theme Waters will go back to often.  "Stay" is another Richard Wright song about treating groupies like trash (I sense he had issues...)

But the entire album feels rushed, and the songs would have been better if they had taken more time to develop.  Then again, their focus was probably on the album they were writing and interrupted to write this soundtrack.  We'll get to that album- Dark Side of the Moon- next time.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Meddle
2. A Saucerful of Secrets
3. Obscured by Clouds
4. Ummagumma
5. More
6. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
7. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Fearless", Meddle
2. "Let There Be More Light", A Saucerful of Secrets
3. "Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun", A Saucerful of Secrets
4. "Childhood's End", Obscured by Clouds
5. "Wot's.... Uh the Deal", Obscured by Clouds
6. "San Tropez", Meddle
7. "Remember A Day", A Saucerful of Secrets
8. "Cirrus Minor", More
9. "Flaming", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
10. "One of Those Days", Meddle