Pulse (Pink Floyd Album)
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''Pulse'' is the third
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the English rock band
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
. It was released on 29 May 1995 by
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
in the United Kingdom and on 6 June 1995 by Columbia in the United States. The album was recorded during the European leg of Pink Floyd's Division Bell Tour in 1994.


Content and recording

The album is notable for including a complete live version of ''
The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...
''. It also features "
Astronomy Domine "Astronomy Domine" (alternative "Astronomy Dominé") is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by the original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, is the opening track on their debut album, ''The Piper at the Ga ...
", a
Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
song not performed since the early 1970s. The track "
Another Brick in the Wall, Part II "Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera ''The Wall,'' written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a child ...
" features small portions of the songs "Another Brick in the Wall, Part I", "
The Happiest Days of Our Lives "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" is a song by Pink Floyd. It appeared on ''The Wall'' album in 1979. Composition The song is approximately one minute, 46 seconds in length, beginning with 24 seconds of a helicopter sound effect, followed by the sc ...
" and "Another Brick in the Wall, Part III". Unlike the previous live album ''
Delicate Sound of Thunder ''Delicate Sound of Thunder'' is a live album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was recorded over five nights at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, in August 1988 and mixed at Abbey Road Studios in September 1988. It was ...
'', no parts of the songs were re-recorded in the studio. However, the band and Guthrie fixed songs that had bad notes (as heard on some bootlegs) by lifting solos and corrected vocal lines from other performances as the band recorded most of the European leg. The album was mixed in
QSound QSound is the original name for a positional three-dimensional (3D) sound processing algorithm from QSound Labs that creates 3D audio effects from multiple monophonic sources and sums the outputs to two channels for presentation over regular ste ...
, which produces a 3D audio effect even on a two channel stereo system.


Release history

In the United States, despite a price of $34.99 (which included flashing spine light and two AA batteries) ''Pulse'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 during the week of 24 June 1995 with 198,000 copies sold, it became the first multidisc album to top the ''Billboard'' 200 since the chart started using
SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
data in May 1991. The next week it fell off to number three on the chart. It remained on the chart for twenty two weeks. It was certified two times platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
on 31 July 1995 for shipments of one million units. On 1 July 1995 the video version of ''Pulse'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'''s
Top Music Videos The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
chart with 16,500 units sold. The video was certified eight times platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
on 31 July 2006 for shipments of 800,000 units. The video version (on VHS and Laserdisc) also featured the song "
Take It Back "Take It Back" is a song by the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released as the seventh track on their 1994 in music, 1994 album ''The Division Bell''. It was also released as a single on 16 May 1994, the first from the album, and Pink Floyd's f ...
," and an almost complete performance from their 20 October show at Earl's Court, London. The ''Pulse'' DVD was released on 10 July 2006. On 16 December 2021, the band announced on social media platforms that a re-release of "Pulse" on DVD and a first-time release on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
format will be on 18 February 2022. The packaging will re-introduce the blinking LED featured with the original CD release from 1995. The vinyl version was released as a four-LP
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
and included "One of These Days" (also heard on the cassette release) as well as a large version of the photo booklet. The original CD cover features an "eye-like" machine that has clock pieces inside, there is a planet in its centre, and on the outside it shows evolution as it moves backwards. It starts in the sea, moves to the bacteria which evolve into fishes, then into egg type creatures, then into eggs that hatch birds, and birds follow the trail of an aeroplane. There are six pyramids in the desert, and in the bottom of the sea, one can observe a city in the shore. The debut of the album was highlighted by a light show from the top of the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
in New York City with music
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
ed on a New York City radio station.


LED packaging

Early CD versions came with a flashing red
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
on the side of the case. This was designed by EMI contractor Jon Kempner, who was awarded the platinum disc, using the now discontinued LM3909 LED flasher IC. The circuit was powered by a single AA battery; the battery life was stated to be over six months. Some versions were also made with two AA batteries and later editions of the CD set did not feature the blinking LED. File:Pink Floyd Pulse Light Case.jpg, The outer packaging for ''Pulse'' with the light compartment and holder removed and on top. File:Pink Floyd Pulse Light Battery Compartment.jpg, The flashing light compartment (2 AA version) from an original ''Pulse'' release with batteries removed. File:Pink Floyd Pulse Battery Warning Sticker.jpg, The battery warning sticker that was on the inside of the packaging.


Track listing


Personnel


Pink Floyd

*
David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...
 – lead vocals, lead guitar and lap steel guitar (on "One of These Days", "High Hopes" and "The Great Gig In the Sky") *
Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
 – drums, percussion (on "Time") * Richard Wright – keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Astronomy Domine", co-lead vocals on "Time", "Us and Them" and "Comfortably Numb"


Additional personnel

*
Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...
 – bass, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Run Like Hell" *
Jon Carin Jon Carin (born October 21, 1964) is a musician, singer, songwriter and producer who has been a longtime collaborator with the bands Pink Floyd and The Who, and the solo careers of David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, Kate ...
 – keyboards, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Hey You" * Sam Brown – backing vocals, first vocalist on "The Great Gig in the Sky" *
Durga McBroom Durga McBroom is an American singer who has performed backing vocals for Pink Floyd and is a member of the house music band Blue Pearl, best known for their hit single " Naked in the Rain". She works as an actress, dancer, and singer in the Unit ...
 – backing vocals, second vocalist on "The Great Gig in the Sky" *
Claudia Fontaine Claudia Fontaine (26 August 1960 – 13 March 2018) was an backing vocalist from Peckham, London. Career During the 1980s, Fontaine and fellow backing vocalist Caron Wheeler (and later, third member Naomi Thompson) were known as Afrodiziak. S ...
 – backing vocals, third vocalist on "The Great Gig in the Sky" *
Tim Renwick Timothy John Pearson Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is an English guitarist. He is best known for his association with Al Stewart in his early career and for his long-standing role as lead guitarist for the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. His single ...
 – guitar, backing vocals * Dick Parry – saxophone *
Gary Wallis Gary Wallis is a British drummer, percussionist, drum programmer, producer and musical director. He has worked with a wide range of artists and bands, including Nik Kershaw, Pink Floyd, 10cc, Il Divo, Westlife, Girls Aloud, Atomic Kitten, Pau ...
 – percussion, additional drums *
Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...
, Ron Lewter – mastering at The Mastering Lab


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


References


External links

* *
Pink Floyd Drums: The Division Bell PULSE Tour Drums
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pulse Albums with cover art by Storm Thorgerson Albums produced by David Gilmour Albums produced by James Guthrie (record producer) Pink Floyd live albums 1995 live albums Columbia Records live albums EMI Records live albums