PINK FLOYD OBSCURED BY CLOUDS RARE ORIG '72 HARVEST LP IN SHRINK w/STICKER MINT

$

291

WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 300  LISTED ITEMS

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·       PINK FLOYD - OBSCURED BY CLOUDS - ORIGINAL 1972 HARVEST / CAPITOL RECORDS STEREO LP ST-11078  (NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SECOND PRESSING (1976) WITH A CATALOG NUMBER  SW-11078)

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

·       ORIGINAL YELLOW HARVEST LABEL WITH GREEN ROGER DEAN-DESIGNED “AMOEBA” LOGO  , SUCH AS THE ONE SHOWN BELOW, FROM OUR PREVIOUS AUCTION

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

·       ORIGINAL, THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)

·       COVER IS STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL SHRINK (CELLOPHANE) WRAP WITH A NIFTY STICKER STILL AFFIXED TO THE WRAP.

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

·       MATRIX NUMBER IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX) ENDS WITH '-F2/-F2'

(►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll get.  GUARANTEED!)

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Two steps forward, one step back. After finally getting their act together on Meddle, it would seem more logical for Pink Floyd to try and preserve the momentum by coming up with material for a follow-up rather than doing another film soundtrack. To be fair, that was their original plan, and by the time they recorded Obscured by Clouds, they were already working on a piece that was to become The Dark Side of the Moon a year later. But for some reason they decided to take this soundtrack job first, so off they went to France and came up with enough material for a full-length in a matter of ten days. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that the material on Obscured by Clouds can't compete with that of the albums that surround it, but unlike More, it at least shows a band in control of what they're doing.

Whereas a good portion of More had been filled with perfunctory instrumentals that served little purpose besides accompanying a specific scene in the film, Obscured by Clouds does this only once: The closing "Absolutely Curtains" is little more than a droning atmosphere piece that later segues into an Aboriginal chant recorded for the movie, and it's easily the album's low point. All the other tracks though, both the instrumentals and the sung pieces, are proper compositions that can stand on their own without the film, which isn't to say they're all good. When the band tries to write straightforward songs, the results aren't much more confident or tuneful than similar attempts on More and Atom Heart Mother. Maybe the band simply didn't have the time to come up with better ideas during the album's short recording session, but neither "The Gold It's in the..." nor "Wot's... Uh the Deal?" (and what terrible titles, too!) are able to convince with their half-baked melodies and strained vocals by Gilmour. Waters tries to be clever by juxtaposing the cheerful sing-along melody of "Free Four" with his most cynical lyrics yet, but he goes so far towards both extremes that the end result is an awkward mixture of banality and grumpiness. "Childhood's End" sounds like a dry run for "Time" whose big chorus never comes. "Stay" does have a big chorus, but its dramatic outburst of emotion feels out of place among the casualness of the rest of the song.

The more abstract pieces however are much better. Besides introducing the magnificent sound engineering that graces much of Pink Floyd's 70s output - with a crisp, clear drum sound and perfect instrument separation - the instrumental title track also sounds at least five years ahead of its time thanks to the synthesizer drone that underpins Gilmour's harsh guitar lead. The following riff-rocker "When You're In" (also instrumental) is somewhat simplistic and repetitive, but together the two make for a nice opening sequence. Even better are "Burning Bridges" and "Mudmen", both of which are built around permutations of a shared six-note motif that sounds like it came straight out of Dark Side of the Moon. The former features some gorgeous Gilmour/Wright vocals, while the latter allows Gilmour to let his now fully developed soloing style, where he minimizes the number of notes he plays in order to maximize the impact of each, come to the fore.

Compared to More, Obscured by Clouds is a huge step up, showcasing a more confident band that is able to write distinctive songs even in the shortest period of time. But by 1972, the yardstick by which Pink Floyd's accomplishments are measured had been raised dramatically, and sandwiched between two records as good as Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon, it's no wonder that this album ends up being neglected even by ardent Pink Floyd fans. It offers more good material than any album from their "experimental" phase, and it's perfectly listenable even in its weaker moments, but very little of it rises beyond the level of "pretty good". If you're a big fan of Pink Floyd's use of atmospherics and/or film soundtracks, give it a listen, otherwise skip this one.

 (EXCERPT FROM AN ANONYMOUS ONLINE REVIEW)

For additional historical or discography information on this album, including track listing ►click here

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·       CONDITION:

·       THE RECORD

 (IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL  AS  NEAR MINT. Some VERY LIGHT AND SUPERFICIAL abrasions – mostly sleeve scuffs -  are (barely) visible, but are probably inaudible,  and do not affect visual integrity or beauty of the vinyl. The original luster is very much intact, and the vinyl shines and sparkles almost like new.

(b)          The record is  apparently pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

(c)           Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

·                               THE COVER

COVER IS STRONG NEAR MINT,  STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL ►SHRINK WRAP (A TINY PIECE OF SHRINK WRAP IS MISSING)

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

-         Cover has JUST A HINT of ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 1.

-         Cover has a few tiny wrinkles along the bottom seam  (BARELY VISIBLE)

-         Minor shelf wear noted on the opening side (nothing significant)

NO OTHER VISIBLE FLAWS OR IMPERFECTIONS ON THE  COVER

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

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