The story of the album "Obscured by Clouds" by Pink Floyd: recording, facts, success and tracks

This record is a long way not the most popular work Pink Floyd. However, they do carry weight - at least for the band's drummer! In some of his interviews. Nick Mason sincerely expressed his love for the album "Obscured by Clouds"which, incidentally, is the soundtrack to the French film "The Valley.".

For some music lovers. seventh studio work So - we decided to correct this misunderstanding and shed light on the history of creation, as well as some curious details related to "Obscured by Clouds"! And if this album is familiar to you - our today's article will be a great reason to enjoy your favourite tracks once again.

History of creation: the idea and the recording process

Today, critics call "Obscured by Clouds" a temporary measure of the band, who at that point began work on their next - iconic album "The Dark Side of the Moon". For this reason, the record is also known as "Hidden in the clouds is the dark side of the moon.". In fact, Pink Floyd never planned to record it. They were on tour at the time the director Barbe SchröderWith whom the musicians have previously collaborated, approached them with an offer to record the soundtrack for his new film "The Valley.". Rockers agreed, and carved out some time for the job.

The album was recorded with limited time in mind, so everything was done quite quickly, which is atypical for Floyd. The band didn't even think about some cool solos, and resorted to the acoustic guitarwhich dominates "Obscured by Clouds". Nevertheless, as true professionals of their craft - they recorded a great set of structured songs that fit perfectly into the film! Despite the fact that the record passed by for many listeners, it was included in the drummer's list of personal favourites Nick Masonwho expressed his genuine affection for her in interviews.

Remarkably, this story was not without scandal. Immediately after the recording was finished, Floyd managed to quarrel with the film company! In fact, the album was originally going to be called "The Valley" - just like the film. But amidst the scandal, it was decided to rename it "The Valley". "Obscured by Clouds".

Track list

The album includes 10 tracksand despite the fact that the record was recorded literally "at short notice", the duration of the record is a full-length. 40 minutes. Sure, it's a bit less than some of the previous albums, and still - it's an amazing result considering the extreme conditions under which the work was simmering.

As we've emphasised above, the main draw of Obscured by Clouds was. acoustic guitarThe lyrics are mostly centred around love, which may not be Floyd's style, but they are in the spirit of the film itself. It may not be Floyd's style, but it's in the spirit of the film itself. So - the rockers have done their job on 100%!

Remarkably, the song "Free Four." was the only single from the release. In general, the tracks from "Obscured by Clouds" were not particularly revered by both fans and Floyd themselves during live performances. Nevertheless, there were rare exceptions. Another interesting fact - "Free Four" was the band's first single since "See Emily Play", which became very popular in the States! And now - we offer you to listen to the full list of songs.

"Obscured by Clouds"

"When You're In"

"Burning Bridges."

"The Gold It's in the..."

"Wot's... Uh the Deal."

"Mudmen."

"Childhood's End"

"Free Four."

"Stay."

"Absolutely Curtains."

Success and impact

It cannot be said that "Obscured by Clouds" was an impressive success (although the record did go far in the charts of some countries). Both critics and even loyal fans of the band treated it with a misunderstanding. There were some good reviews, but overall - ambiguous there was more. As the years passed, it was forgotten, and even bypassed some music lovers altogether. But still, it had a small impact. And mostly on the musicians themselves. Pink Floyd. According to some observers, the band subsequently drew on this experience repeatedly when working on new records.

One last fact of note: the album cover artwork features man in a tree! It is not easy to guess this, for the photo was deliberately made unfocussed. The cover was designed Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell.and, according to them, the team didn't initially want "anything interesting."

"They didn't want to do a good cover because they realised it would lead to possible competition with the cover of 'The Dark Side of the Moon'. But I said: "We can't just pick up and give a damn about it! We have to make at least an interesting cover to live up to the best Pink Floyd tradition!", recalled director Schroeder.