| Pulse | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live album by Pink Floyd | ||||
| Released | 29 May 1995 (UK) 6 June 1995 (US) |
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| Recorded | August–October 1994 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 147:59 76:09 (Disc 1) 71:50 (Disc 2) |
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| Language | English | |||
| Label | EMI (Europe) Columbia (elsewhere) |
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| Producer | James Guthrie, David Gilmour | |||
| Pink Floyd live albums chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pulse | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| 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, and 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.
Contents |
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.
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.
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.
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.
| “ | "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." | ” |
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—David Gilmour, 1995[7] |
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Lead vocals performed by David Gilmour unless stated otherwise.
| 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] |
| Country | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil - ABPD | Diamond[13] | 125,000+ |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "What Do You Want from Me" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 13 |
| 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 |
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| Preceded by Tuesday Night Music Club by Sheryl Crow |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album 25 June - 1 July 1995 |