First off, I would be the first to write a formal review for this one of a kind concert experience that ONLY Pink Floyd could put on a two DVD disc set. I will break my review down like this:
-Performance
-Video Quality
-Audio Quality
-Extras
-Presentation/Packaging
-Overall Score
Performance:
As many people know, Pink Floyd has not only been known for their super trippy music with outstanding guitar solos and a story, but also for their concert shows. Pink Floyd goes over the top with all of their lights, lazers, pyrotechnics and their circular screen projecting video and images of what song is being played that the time. And let’s not forget the inflatable pigs!!! In this DVD, Pink Floyd are at their finest with all of the original band members (except Roger Waters and Syd Barrett) playing their hearts out for their final tour known as PULSE. This concert took place on October 24th, 1994 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The performance starts of with a mixed first set of fan favorites such as: Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Learning to Fly, High Hopes, Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, and One of These Days. People are cheering in awe of the amazing performance that they are witnessing before their eyes. The second disc I think is better than the first. Simply because it is the FIRST EVER live concert DVD performance of the Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety!! Right when the first heartbeat thumps, everybody knows that it's for real! One of the songs that stood out was "On the Run" simply by having a 30 foot model plane fly over the crowd and crash and burst into flames. See what I mean about special effects? "The Great Gig in the Sky" was an AMAZING performance with all three ladies screaming their hearts out with passion!! It gave me Goosebumps and made my eyes well up the first time I saw it!!! From then on, it was still an amazing performance, but those two songs just stood out from the rest. After the entire album of Dark Side, there were the encores. The favorite sing along song "Wish You Were Here" got people on their feet sing along with David. Probably the song that the crowd cheered the loudest for in my opinion. After that was the spell-binding "Comfortably Numb" with the extended solo and glass ball dropping down over the middle of the crowd with lights shining on it. This gives a feeling of truly being comfortably numb!!! And finally the last song of the night was "Run Like Hell!" This gives the people the jumping they need with the chants, "Run! Run! Run! Run!" and the amazing fireworks! At the end, it concludes with the screen exploding in sparks and the whole hall going dark! The band bows and waves goodnight to a job well done and the crowd simply wants more. But it simply couldn't happen. David does say "...hope to see you again..." but it doesn't happen, since that was finally Pink Floyd's last world tour. Overall, this is THE BEST performance of ANY concert period! No one can do it quite like Pink Floyd. 5/5
Video Quality:
The video quality has been amped up for DVD standards which was a hard thing to do since it was shot on video and not film. David still regrets doing that. It is shot in a 4:3 standard TV format. The colors are bright and the visuals are clear, but sometimes the colors are too overwhelming and look too bright for a TV viewing. But is sure doesn't take away from what the experience is like watching Pink Floyd perform, and for it being shot on video rather than film, I'll let it slide. 4.5/5
Sound Quality:
Duh!!!! It's Pink Floyd!!! Sure the sound is spectacular!!!! Remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, you will wake your neighbors up with the heavy guitar solos and bassy drum kicks! There are two different sound settings. 448 kbps, which is normal, surround sound, but the 640 kbps audio stream offers a much higher quality sound from newer DVD players. Either way, is surely to knock you socks off everytime you watch it!! Just turn it up and you're in for a real treat!!! 5/5
Extras:
The extras span across both discs featuring everything from TV spots to the screen films that were used during the concerts. There are also a few documentaries about being on the road during this tour and some bootlegging videos just to name a few. One of the extras that I like would be the “Say Goodbye to Life as We Know It”, which is a backstage type documentary of being on the road with Floyd and always looking for a good ol’ glass of beer! It is a funny little thing to watch. But overall, extras should make any Floyd fan happy! I know I was! 5/5
Presentation/Packaging:
The DVD menus are easy to navigate and offer some cool animations. But the box cover is what it is all about!! Legendary Pink Floyd associate, Storm Thorgerson, is all about the overall design! He was the mastermind behind the Dark Side of the Moon prism. The discs are placed on top of each other, but halfway. It is hard for me to explain, but you’ll know what I mean when you buy it. There is a booklet just giving the band and DVD info, pictures of the concert and a nice “family tree” like DVD navigation graph on the last to pages so that you know where you will go when you hit what menus and submenus. Overall, I think that the overall design is great and the cover says a lot about the band! And from being created from the mastermind himself, I think it is awesome!!! 5/5
Overall:
Overall, Pink Floyd’s Pulse DVD is simply the best Pink Floyd concert DVD out there. Period. It was sadly their last world tour and is now captured on two DVD discs for anyone’s viewing pleasure. Not only, is it probably the BEST music DVD released so far this year, but EVER on DVD. I recommend this DVD to EVERY Floyd fan out there and even for those who don’t like Pink Floyd. I think they are the best band with the best concerts and stage performances ever performed. I give this classic DVD a perfect 5/5!
PLEASE GIVE ME FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS ON THIS SECOND REVIEW FOR ME!!!!!!
