Obscured by Clouds

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Obscured by Clouds
Soundtrack by Pink Floyd
Released	June 3, 1972 (UK) June 15, 1972 (US)
Recorded	February 23-29, 1972 Château d'Hérouville, Pontoise, France March 23-27, 1972 Château d'Hérouville, Pontoise, France
Genre	Instrumental rock Hard rock Progressive rock
Length	40:30
Label	Harvest, EMI (UK) Harvest/Capitol, Capitol (US)
Producer(s)	Pink Floyd
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Progarchives link Robert Christgau (C) link
Pink Floyd chronology
Meddle (1971)	Obscured by Clouds (1972)	The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

Obscured by Clouds is a rock album by Pink Floyd based on their soundtrack for the French film La Vallée. The LP was released in the UK on June 3, 1972 on Harvest/EMI and then in the U.S. on June 15 on Harvest/Capitol. The album reached #6 on the UK album charts and #46 on the U.S. album charts (where it was certified Gold by the RIAA in March, 1994).

In 1986, the album was released on CD. A digitally remastered CD was released in March 1996 in the UK and August 1996 in the U.S.

In an interview that appeared in the "Director's Cut" edition of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, Roger Waters stated that early pressings of the album contained excessive sibilants in the vocal tracks, a problem that was corrected in later pressings.

"Free Four" was the first Pink Floyd song to get significant airplay in the U.S., and the first to deal directly with the death of Eric Fletcher Waters, Roger Waters' father. The title track, one of the album's several instrumentals, became something of a Floyd concert staple for a time, often as the band's opening number. The song "Childhood's End" is said to have been inspired by the Arthur C. Clarke novel of the same name.

Obscured by Clouds was the first Pink Floyd album to feature the VCS 3 synthesiser.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Obscured by Clouds" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters) – 3:03
   • Instrumental
2. "When You're In" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters/Rick Wright/Nick Mason) – 2:30
   • Instrumental
3. "Burning Bridges" (Roger Waters/Rick Wright) – 3:29
   • Lead vocals: David Gilmour and Rick Wright
4. "The Gold It's in the..." (David Gilmour/Roger Waters) – 3:07
   • Lead vocals: David Gilmour
5. "Wot's... Uh the Deal" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters) – 5:08
   • Lead vocals: David Gilmour
6. "Mudmen" (David Gilmour/Rick Wright) – 4:20
   • Instrumental
7. "Childhood's End" (David Gilmour) – 4:31
   • Lead vocals: David Gilmour
8. "Free Four" (Roger Waters) – 4:15
   • Lead vocals: Roger Waters
9. "Stay" (Roger Waters/Rick Wright) – 4:05
   • Lead vocals: Rick Wright
10. "Absolutely Curtains" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters/Rick Wright/Nick Mason) – 5:52
    • Instrumental

[edit] Singles

• (1972) Free Four / Stay (US only release)
• (1972) Free Four / The Gold It's in the... (Italy only release)
• (1972) Burning Bridges / Childhood's End (some states on release)

[edit] Credits

• David Gilmour - guitars, vocals, VCS3
• Roger Waters - bass guitar, vocals, VCS3
• Richard Wright - keyboards, vocals, VCS3
• Nick Mason - drums, percussion

also:

• Hipgnosis - cover

[edit] Charts

Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1972	Pop Albums	46

[edit] External link

• Album trivia, quotes and more

Pink Floyd
David Gilmour • Richard Wright • Nick Mason Syd Barrett • Bob Klose • Roger Waters
Discography
Studio albums	The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) • A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) • Ummagumma (1969) • Atom Heart Mother (1970) • Meddle (1971) • The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) • Wish You Were Here (1975) • Animals (1977) • The Wall (1979) • The Final Cut (1983) • A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) • The Division Bell (1994)
Soundtracks	Tonite Let's All Make Love in London (1968) • More (1969) • Zabriskie Point (1970) • Obscured by Clouds (1972)
Live albums	Ummagumma (1969) • Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988) • P*U*L*S*E (1995) • Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81 (2000)
Compilations	Relics (1971) • A Nice Pair (1973) • Masters of Rock (1974) • A Collection of Great Dance Songs (1981) • Works (1983) • Shine On (The Early Singles) (1992) • 1967 Singles Sampler (1997) • Echoes (2001)
Films
Live at Pompeii • The Wall • Delicate Sound of Thunder • La Carrera Panamericana • London '66-'67 • The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon • P*U*L*S*E • The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story
Related articles
Alan Parsons • Storm Thorgerson/Hipgnosis • Steve O'Rourke • Contributors • Live performances • Trivia • A Tree Full of Secrets • Pigs • Publius Enigma • Dark Side of the Rainbow • The Man and the Journey • List of ROIOs
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