This review is going to get downvoted like crazy by the people on here, judging by the legion of delusional 10-star reviews, but stick with me.
I consider myself a huge fan of the Floyd and consider Dave Gilmour to be among the best lead guitar players in history but Pulse was such a massive disappointment after I'd seen all the stellar grades from fellow fans. The first DVD is almost entirely skippable because of the laughable songs chosen for the set list. Who needed 35 minutes+ of consecutive tracks from the band's generic post-Waters releases? These songs are dull as hell on the records and nothing is added in a live performance except some synchronized laser lights, which they also use during much better songs like "Shine On..."
Also, who put this band together? The bass player is a complete dork who looks like he was born after "Animals" came out. As soon as I saw him playing that headstock-less bass I knew it was going to be bad and then he's doing slap bass playing like he's the white Victor Wooten during "Another Brick." WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? And don't even get me started on the other lead guitar player who tries to show up Gilmour and thinks he's Steve Vai with the finger-tapping crap. Did they get this guy at one of those Guitar Center battle of the bands competitions?
Then there's the ridiculous percussionist who is jumping around like he's in an aerobics class while he's drowning out Nick Mason. Why was that necessary at all?
Also, Gilmour looks disinterested half the time and his aloofness keeps the audience at arm's length most of the time. You know it's a weak concert film when the entire crowd is sitting down the ENTIRE TIME. Contrast this with Roger Waters' 2013 concert film of him doing "The Wall" in its entirety, where you've got everyone on their feet, screaming the lyrics and even crying at several points. That's what Pulse was sorely lacking: the human touch and natural chemistry that Waters brought to the band in its best days. Of the three core members on stage during Pulse, only Mason looks like he's having fun most of the time.
What I will give this film credit for is the sound quality and the faithfulness to the studio recordings that they achieved, but doesn't that kind of defeat the whole point of a live album? Everything is safe and as expected here and that's not what I want when I sit down with the Floyd.
One more thing: get that annoying-ass circular screen out of the way. If I wanted to see a bunch of dopey, half-baked visuals over Pink Floyd music without actually getting to see the band members, I'd watch "The Wall" movie!
I consider myself a huge fan of the Floyd and consider Dave Gilmour to be among the best lead guitar players in history but Pulse was such a massive disappointment after I'd seen all the stellar grades from fellow fans. The first DVD is almost entirely skippable because of the laughable songs chosen for the set list. Who needed 35 minutes+ of consecutive tracks from the band's generic post-Waters releases? These songs are dull as hell on the records and nothing is added in a live performance except some synchronized laser lights, which they also use during much better songs like "Shine On..."
Also, who put this band together? The bass player is a complete dork who looks like he was born after "Animals" came out. As soon as I saw him playing that headstock-less bass I knew it was going to be bad and then he's doing slap bass playing like he's the white Victor Wooten during "Another Brick." WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? And don't even get me started on the other lead guitar player who tries to show up Gilmour and thinks he's Steve Vai with the finger-tapping crap. Did they get this guy at one of those Guitar Center battle of the bands competitions?
Then there's the ridiculous percussionist who is jumping around like he's in an aerobics class while he's drowning out Nick Mason. Why was that necessary at all?
Also, Gilmour looks disinterested half the time and his aloofness keeps the audience at arm's length most of the time. You know it's a weak concert film when the entire crowd is sitting down the ENTIRE TIME. Contrast this with Roger Waters' 2013 concert film of him doing "The Wall" in its entirety, where you've got everyone on their feet, screaming the lyrics and even crying at several points. That's what Pulse was sorely lacking: the human touch and natural chemistry that Waters brought to the band in its best days. Of the three core members on stage during Pulse, only Mason looks like he's having fun most of the time.
What I will give this film credit for is the sound quality and the faithfulness to the studio recordings that they achieved, but doesn't that kind of defeat the whole point of a live album? Everything is safe and as expected here and that's not what I want when I sit down with the Floyd.
One more thing: get that annoying-ass circular screen out of the way. If I wanted to see a bunch of dopey, half-baked visuals over Pink Floyd music without actually getting to see the band members, I'd watch "The Wall" movie!