Pink Floyd: Delicate Sound of Thunder - Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Bob Rapoport

This historic show was the first of the post-Roger Waters era and, to my ears, sounds the best of all the Pink Floyd shows ever recorded. The figurative sound of thunder may not have been exactly delicate with regard to the roiling interrelationships of the band members of Pink Floyd in the period leading up to the series of concerts given in 1988 at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York, that have been aggregated as Delicate Sound of Thunder. The very fact that there was a "Pink Floyd" (with that name) might be deemed something of a minor miracle, given the conflict between Roger Waters and David Gilmour in particular, and perhaps for that reason, there's an arguably slightly dissociative feeling to some of Delicate Sound of Thunder, despite a generally high level of musicianship and some of Pink Floyd's flair for showmanship in the ancillary elements of the concert like videos. I just surrendered myself to this iteration of the band, and for me, at least, they were the best I'd heard them since seeing them live in LA over the years.

Fans of the group will no doubt recognize the fact that at least some of the material outlined below in the setlist was co-written by Roger Waters, which might suggest this was a "no hard feelings" tour of sorts, even if several sources who should certainly know have indicated whatever truce may have been achieved had come not all that long before this tour was undertaken. As it stands, the "official" group here is limited to David Gilmour on guitars and vocals, Nick Mason on drums (playing with some kind of fun illuminated drumsticks that change colors), and Richard Wright on keyboards and vocals. There's a rather large backup band that includes more keys, guitars, percussion, and vocals, and Scott Page has some almost gonzo sax solos where he's hauling around more than one instrument at a time. While the concert does include a number of tunes from the then quite recent A Momentary Lapse of Reason, there's a smattering of songs from other albums, including, of course, The Dark Side of the Moon.

The set list for the concert includes the following songs:

• 1. Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5
• 2. Signs of Life
• 3. Learning to Fly
• 4. Sorrow
• 5. The Dogs of War
• 6. On the Turning Away
• 7. One of These Days
• 8. Time
• 9. On the Run
• 10. The Great Gig in the Sky
• 11. Wish You Were Here
• 12. Us and Them
• 13. Money
• 14. Comfortably Numb
• 15. One Slip
• 16. Run Like Hell

Video Quality: ​

Pink Floyd: Delicate Sound of Thunder is presented on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Pink Floyd Records with an encoded HEVC / H.265 transfer in 1.78:1. This is, by and large, a great-looking transfer of the 1988 film. The concert footage can sometimes look misty when the stage is bathed in foggy blue tones in particular (which it often is), as seen in several of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. Better-lit material has a much more finely resolved grain field, and fine detail, particularly, is more consistent in these moments. A lot of the cutaway material is considerably more detailed in general, and because so much of it is in brighter lighting conditions, the palette pops with more authority. There are some very minor signs of age, but for 38 years old, it's miraculous. It's Pink Floyd at their zenith, a historic show, the best they ever sounded live.

Audio Quality: ​

Pink Floyd: Delicate Sound of Thunder features LPCM 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks, though this is another live concert disc that has been authored to default to the stereo track, so have your remote handy if you want to experience the surround track. Both tracks offer sterling high fidelity. There's a very nice spacious quality in both the Stereo and the Multichannel versions, and there is some very forceful midrange and low end (the thumping quasi-tympani at the open of Dogs of War may rattle the floorboards for some). There is a nice precision to the layering of the instrumentation, and the rhythm instruments, in particular, pack some considerable punch. There are curious mix choices other than the vocals, as in some of the cutaways to the filmed material, where the background clamor of the audience is ever present, reminding us this is a live show, not a studio version. It's better than the original studio version of this song. It reaches 120 dB SPL dynamic range with ease, with no strain on your system because it's uncompressed. Go ahead, turn it up, that's what Hi Res Audio is meant for.

Special Features​

While there are no on-disc supplements, this is quite handsomely packaged, with a kind of cool die-cut slip box. The Digipack includes a slightly oversized booklet with some great stills, personnel lists (including the entire tour personnel, multitudinous), and songwriting credits.

Final Score: ​

Technical Specifications

• Aspect Ratio: ‎ 1.78:1
• Release date: ‎ November 20, 2020
• Actors: ‎ PINK FLOYD
• Audio: ‎ English (DTS-HD 5.1), English (PCM Stereo)
• Studio: ‎ WMG
• Run time: ‎ 1 hour and 55 minutes

Pink Floyd Records studio version available on Amazon.

Thanks for the review, Bob. I absolutely LOVE this concert... my all-time favorite. We had it on VHS and Laserdisc... still have the LD for nostalgia, if nothing else. I wore out one of the CD sets I had but bought another, although that was years ago. I no longer drive much in my truck being I'm retired, and my wife and I listen to XM or a USB drive when we are Jeep trail riding. I don't think any of our vehicles even have a CD player any longer.

I have the 4K version on Kaleidescape and have watched it several times already. I just ordered the Blu-ray version from Amazon to compare the two. I also want to see if I get the bonus tracks, which the 4K version doesn't include. I see where one Amazon buyer said there were no bonus tracks, so I'm skeptical now.

Sonnie Parker said:

Thanks for the review, Bob. I absolutely LOVE this concert... my all-time favorite. We had it on VHS and Laserdisc... still have the LD for nostalgia, if nothing else. I wore out one of the CD sets I had but bought another, although that was years ago. I no longer drive much in my truck being I'm retired, and my wife and I listen to XM or a USB drive when we are Jeep trail riding. I don't think any of our vehicles even have a CD player any longer.

I have the 4K version on Kaleidescape and have watched it several times already. I just ordered the Blu-ray version from Amazon to compare the two. I also want to see if I get the bonus tracks, which the 4K version doesn't include. I see where one Amazon buyer said there were no bonus tracks, so I'm skeptical now.

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How ironic that I would pick your favorite show to review first! I have so many great concerts to share, hopefully some that will be new to you. To be honest, I'm glad Roger is gone, I didn't miss him at all musically and he's kind of a dark person if you know what I mean.

For fans of concert films, this is the logical title for your first review. This is a landmark show and production.

A friend played his laserdisc of this show for me in college and I made him copy it onto SVHS for me until I could afford a laserdisc player of my own and bought the disc as well.

For many years I was using a rip of the laserdisc that I'd done with a terranex and captured it at 1080p and cleaned up a bit and brought the audio up to level. I was ecstatic when the blu-ray was announced, and it was in my first group of titles I purchased on Kaleidescape.

I'm not even that big of a Pink Floyd fan. This is just a great concert.

Travis Ballstadt said:

For fans of concert films, this is the logical title for your first review. This is a landmark show and production.

A friend played his laserdisc of this show for me in college and I made him copy it onto SVHS for me until I could afford a laserdisc player of my own and bought the disc as well.

For many years I was using a rip of the laserdisc that I'd done with a terranex and captured it at 1080p and cleaned up a bit and brought the audio up to level. I was ecstatic when the blu-ray was announced, and it was in my first group of titles I purchased on Kaleidescape.

I'm not even that big of a Pink Floyd fan. This is just a great concert.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts Travis, it's now twice as ironic that I chose to review this show first. We've been chasing the holy grail of high fidelity all these years and to see how far technology has come that it could allow us to see and hear it at home in 4K and Hi Res Audio is like a miracle to me.

Just when I thought I had enough Pink Floyd/Roger Waters Blu-rays and DVDs, I read this article and glowing comments about one I don't own. That is being rectified. Thanks for the review!

I saw them four times. This is a great piece that I've never seen before.