Pink Floyd has released a new clip from the restored concert film “Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII.” The clip shows the band recording their classic album “The Dark Side of the Moon” at Abbey Road Studios in London in 1972. In the video, band members Rick Wright, David Gilmour, and Roger Waters discuss their use of modern equipment, especially synthesizers. They reflect on the potential dangers of relying too heavily on technology.
“I doubt the equipment could take over,” Gilmour says. “We do rely on it a lot. We couldn’t do what we do as we do it without it.
We could still do a good entertaining musical show, I suppose, without it, but all those things are down to how you control them.”
Wright adds, “It’s a danger that we could become slaves of all our equipment, and in the past, we have been, but what we’re trying to do is to sort it all out so that we’re not.”
Waters emphasizes the practical use of technology. “It’s just a question of using the tools that are available when they’re available. And more and more now, there’s all kinds of electronic goodies which are available for people like us to use, if we can be bothered.”
As the segment continues, Gilmour and Waters discuss how synthesizers democratized music-making.
Gilmour notes, “You’ve got to have it inside your head to be able to get it out at all anyway.
Pompeii restored for modern audiences
And the equipment isn’t actually thinking of what to do any of the time.
It couldn’t control itself.”
Waters agrees, saying, “It’s like saying, ‘Give a man a Les Paul guitar and he becomes Eric Clapton,’ you know. And it’s not true.”
“Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii,” originally directed by Adrian Maben, features the band performing without an audience at the ancient Roman amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy. The film, released in 1972, captures the band’s live performance before the release of “The Dark Side of the Moon.”
Drummer Nick Mason said, “‘Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii’ is a rare and unique document of the band performing live in the period prior to ‘The Dark Side of the Moon.'” The film was re-released in 1974 with additional footage of the band recording and being interviewed at Abbey Road Studios.
The newly restored version, titled “Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII,” has been digitally remastered in 4K from the original 35-millimeter footage. The audio has been remixed by acclaimed studio engineer Steven Wilson. The restored film will be shown in select traditional cinemas and IMAX theaters starting April 24.
“Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII” will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 2, along with a companion live album available as a two-CD set, a two-LP vinyl package, and in digital formats, including Dolby Atmos. This marks the first time that the music from the film is released on vinyl and in Dolby Atmos. The track list for the “Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII” album includes classic songs like “Echoes,” “Careful with That Axe, Eugene,” “A Saucerful of Secrets,” and “One of These Days.”
