Pink Floyd: Pink Floyd At Pompeii MCMLXXII

Listening to any Pink Floyd these days, now over fifty years since the release of Dark Side of the Moon (Capitol, 1972) compels all manner of 'What if?...' hypotheses. And hearing At Pompeii MCMLXII, work preserved for posterity during the gestation of the aforementioned breakthrough album, evokes particularly thought-provoking notions about the evolution of this quartet (or subsequent line-ups) if the musicians had retained the proclivity to improvise as in their earliest days as a band.

It is not even necessary to watch the latest version of the film (or that included in The Early Years 1972 Obfusc/Ation (Pink Floyd Records, 2017) to conjure such thoughts. Given the musicians' obviously intense concentration, how much of a leap of faith would it be to fully and intricately interact in the spirit of the moment, even on a number as relatively abbreviated as "Pompeii Intro?"

Naturally, to proceed with such spontaneity would preclude (or at least limit) carefully-timed orchestration of the lights and other production effects that eventually adorned Floyd concerts. But savvy and courageous practitioners of probing musicianship would certainly find a welcome challenge of creativity on both "Echoes Part 1" and "Echoes Part 2"; the ghostly vocals on both pieces would present ideal contrast and complement to extensive instrumental work.

The optimum sound quality that has earmarked Pink Floyd releases over the years—here in the form of a Steven Wilson remix—would also become an even more invaluable asset under those circumstances. Discerning the nuances of David Gilmour's guitar or Richard Wright's panoply of keyboards during "Careful With that Axe, Eugene") might not be much more fascinating than Nick Mason's drums during the early interludes on this unedited "A Saucerful Of Secrets."

Appearing on the second CD of this set along with an alternate version of the former title, that number conjures further fantasies about Pink Floyd jamming outside the kinetic arrangement of "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun." Collective interplay could become just as intriguing as the structure of the composition itself, for which bassist Roger Waters' banging of a gong would provide dramatic punctuation.

Given the checkered history of At Pompeii film releases over the last half-century or so, plus the multiplicity of bootlegs from the era, it boggles the mind that this MCMLXII package is the first official audio-only release from the project. But the aforementioned technical work of Wilson's is certainly a distinction unto itself.

The resulting sonics, less loud and bright than the 2016 reworking, are far more suitable to the shadowy, evocative substance of the source material and the pointedly restrained musicianship Pink Floyd devotes to it.