cobl04
45:33
Pink Floyd Thread
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
What I don't understand is why people want to judge Great Gig as if it's some normal PF song. Clearly they were trying something different, and had the idea to have a wordless vocal. It's a an interlude of sorts.
Now I understand that there are those who don't like this kind of vibe or scat singing or whatever but there's very little to compare it to rock music. And to call it awful is disingenuous, especially when you compare it to a true disposable, pointless piece of crap like Wild Honey Pie by The Beatles. There's a tremendous amount of craft on Great Gig from all the people involved.
Now I understand that there are those who don't like this kind of vibe or scat singing or whatever but there's very little to compare it to rock music. And to call it awful is disingenuous, especially when you compare it to a true disposable, pointless piece of crap like Wild Honey Pie by The Beatles. There's a tremendous amount of craft on Great Gig from all the people involved.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
That's just a straight up passionate, soulful vocal. One of the best I've ever heard as far as communicating a sentiment/fear wordlessly. The whole song is great though. The melody is soft and vaguely comforting, but it also haunts the listener because of a powerful, dynamic instrumental performance by the band. I also love the soothing pedal steel guitar.
I can't talk to Axver about vocalists. He thinks hairy Vikings growling about elves is more OK than this amazing performance.
I can't talk to Axver about vocalists. He thinks hairy Vikings growling about elves is more OK than this amazing performance.
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I can't talk to Axver about vocalists. He thinks hairy Vikings growling about elves is more OK than this amazing performance.
Hey, that was ten years ago!
(Though it probably is still more listenable.)
liamcool
Blue Crack Addict
I don't like soul music, especially female soul singers singing in the sense that Torry sings on Great Gig.
But hey, that's my own inadequacy, not a track that's inherently flawed. I prefer listening to the original version of The Mortality Sequence, but that would probably stick out really badly in the context of Dark Side.
But hey, that's my own inadequacy, not a track that's inherently flawed. I prefer listening to the original version of The Mortality Sequence, but that would probably stick out really badly in the context of Dark Side.
I listened to two more albums over the past couple of days. Nothing really stood out, but there you go.
A Saurceful of Secrets (3/5)
Still pretty much influenced by late-1960s psychedelia and I can still hear a lot of Revolver/Sgt Pepper's era Beatles (that Lucy in the Sky namedrop on Let There Be More Light gives it away, I guess). I don't mean it just in terms of sound, but also the studio experimentation (even small things like pushing the boundaries of how stereo sound could be used). My favorite songs here were probably Let There Be More Light and the title track. While nice for historical reasons, I am not sure I will go back to this album at all in the future.
More (2/5)
I'm not entirely sure why I decided to listen to this one, as it could conceivably be left off the list, but it's generally included as a studio album. Very forgettable, but not unpleasant. It works as background music (well, it's a soundtrack, so it should work as background music). Nile Song was my favorite thing here. But yeah, I won't listen to it again.
A Saurceful of Secrets (3/5)
Still pretty much influenced by late-1960s psychedelia and I can still hear a lot of Revolver/Sgt Pepper's era Beatles (that Lucy in the Sky namedrop on Let There Be More Light gives it away, I guess). I don't mean it just in terms of sound, but also the studio experimentation (even small things like pushing the boundaries of how stereo sound could be used). My favorite songs here were probably Let There Be More Light and the title track. While nice for historical reasons, I am not sure I will go back to this album at all in the future.
More (2/5)
I'm not entirely sure why I decided to listen to this one, as it could conceivably be left off the list, but it's generally included as a studio album. Very forgettable, but not unpleasant. It works as background music (well, it's a soundtrack, so it should work as background music). Nile Song was my favorite thing here. But yeah, I won't listen to it again.
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
When I was younger, I knew a lot of PF fans and no one ever expressed anything but good things for Great Gig. This is actually the first time I've heard such hatred for the song. Many years ago, I dated a lady who was a PF fan too and we used to listen to DOS during our "romantic time". When we got to Great Gig, we'd push the romance into the next gear. Good times!
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
I really don't understand the dislike for Great Gig as I absolutely adore it. I thought it was also pretty well universally liked, but apparently not.
Nick Mason's drumming is definitely the unsung hero of this track, and that slide guitar near the beginning is so simple but so pretty and complements the piano part amazingly.
I get how some people might not get behind Clare Torry's vocal, as it took me a little while to warm up to it, but I don't think the song would have worked nearly as well with anything else, or no vocals at all. The "soft and beautiful then build up then chaotic climax then soft landing" dynamics are really what elevate the song into the stratosphere, and I think it works beautifully between Time and Money.
For me Great Gig is one of the emotional highlights of Dark Side, and I would rather listen to it than pretty well anything else on there other than Us and Them. I think it's at least as good as Time or Money.
Nick Mason's drumming is definitely the unsung hero of this track, and that slide guitar near the beginning is so simple but so pretty and complements the piano part amazingly.
I get how some people might not get behind Clare Torry's vocal, as it took me a little while to warm up to it, but I don't think the song would have worked nearly as well with anything else, or no vocals at all. The "soft and beautiful then build up then chaotic climax then soft landing" dynamics are really what elevate the song into the stratosphere, and I think it works beautifully between Time and Money.
For me Great Gig is one of the emotional highlights of Dark Side, and I would rather listen to it than pretty well anything else on there other than Us and Them. I think it's at least as good as Time or Money.
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
I guess I'll just reiterate once again that since first listening to DOS, I've simply regarded it as one piece of music. A 42 minute long song. When I listen to it, I listen to it all the way through. Not just skip to certain tracks.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
How is "DOS" an acronym for Dark Side Of The Moon?
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
I thought it was pretty common knowledge that Great Gig in the Sky is a very polarizing track.
I am pretty damn fond of it, though.
I am pretty damn fond of it, though.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
Please take that sentiment to the Unpopular Opinions thread.
cobl04
45:33
When I was younger, I knew a lot of PF fans and no one ever expressed anything but good things for Great Gig. This is actually the first time I've heard such hatred for the song. Many years ago, I dated a lady who was a PF fan too and we used to listen to DOS during our "romantic time". When we got to Great Gig, we'd push the romance into the next gear. Good times!
More like MrPryck2Her
cobl04
45:33
DUUUUUUUUUUUDE. Cymbaline. Fucking beautiful.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Cymbaline instantly makes More worth at least a 3/5.
liamcool
Blue Crack Addict
Nah, Cymbaline is a good song, but it's far better in a live context, where they added a guitar solo, an organ solo and then some tape loops. It's similar to The Embryo, where the studio version is a hint at how good of a song it is, and the live versions demonstrate this potential.
I like More, but most of it is incidental music without a massive amount of substance, and the songs that worked the best on that album (such as Green Is The Colour, Cymbaline and Main Theme) were vastly improved on live.
I think it also makes more sense when you understand the context of The Man and The Journey, and how pieces from that concept piece were extracted for use in More and Ummagumma.
I like More, but most of it is incidental music without a massive amount of substance, and the songs that worked the best on that album (such as Green Is The Colour, Cymbaline and Main Theme) were vastly improved on live.
I think it also makes more sense when you understand the context of The Man and The Journey, and how pieces from that concept piece were extracted for use in More and Ummagumma.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
I find the live versions of Cymbaline overly bombastic and they lose some of that melancholy, acid-fried atmosphere that makes the whole soundtrack worth a listen.
That being said, I totally get why others would prefer the live versions and am quite fond of them myself. It's like comparing the In Rainbows version of Videotape to the pre-release live versions that were WAY more expansive.
That being said, I totally get why others would prefer the live versions and am quite fond of them myself. It's like comparing the In Rainbows version of Videotape to the pre-release live versions that were WAY more expansive.
liamcool
Blue Crack Addict
Yeah, I think putting a guitar solo in the middle of the track is a bit much; it probably could have sufficed being the relaxed song it was in the studio, then transitioning to B minor with Wright's organ solo and into the tape section.
It's too bad this is incomplete and doesn't include The Embryo at the ending, but this is a great "piece" they never recorded for an album.
It's too bad this is incomplete and doesn't include The Embryo at the ending, but this is a great "piece" they never recorded for an album.
MrPryck2U
ONE love, blood, life
iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
Are there listenable bootlegs of live Cymbaline out there? Most of the stuff I have tried to hear from that era is barely discernible as live music.
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
This is the best version I've heard available online:
I have the MP3 version of this show and it's marginally better quality, but not by much.
EDIT: I just found this, and I'm not sure whether it's hilarious or stupid: https://www.reddit.com/r/pinkfloydcirclejerk
I have the MP3 version of this show and it's marginally better quality, but not by much.
EDIT: I just found this, and I'm not sure whether it's hilarious or stupid: https://www.reddit.com/r/pinkfloydcirclejerk
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liamcool
Blue Crack Addict
Here's a video! (tw: dailymotion)
Pink Floyd - Cymbaline (Extended Version) Live KQED TV 1970 - Remastered - Vìdeo Dailymotion
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
That's a way better version than the one I found.
iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
Ah shit that is cool. Love the organ in there. Rick Wright FTW. Thanks for sharing.
cobl04
45:33
I have only ever had that Concertgebouw version, thanks Liam
Interesting how all of them have always looked 60 years old.
Interesting how all of them have always looked 60 years old.
cobl04
45:33
Although listening to both I prefer the Concertgebouw version, it doesn't nearly stop entirely musically through the middle.
Alright, fair enough. Went back to it and it is a good song indeed. But it's lost in the middle of a pretty nondescript album, in my opinion. It barely caught my attention when I listened to the whole thing for the first time.
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