| Having lost their two figureheads over the years--first Syd Barrett, then Roger Waters--the remaining members of Pink Floyd reformed, augmented by a multitude of back-up musicians, and hit the road. This double-CD is the result, its 18 tracks covering a broad selection of the band's 30-year career, from early classics (the still-magnificent "Astronomy Domine") through to more recent cuts, such as "Learning To Fly" and "Keep Talking". Occasionally the desire to replicate the "live" atmosphere becomes annoying (except on "Another Brick In The Wall, Part Two", where it seems almost appropriate)--particularly when you consider that most of this band's great music has been about paranoia and isolation, rather than any notion of community. Equally puzzling is the decision to devote the second CD to a performance of Dark Side Of The Moon which, though played in its entirety, adds precisely nothing to its original incarnation. Mostly, though, Pulse is every bit as vast and impressive as you'd expect. --Andrew McGuire |
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