Pink Floyd - Total Eclipse (A Retrospective 1967 - 1993) 4-Cd Boxed Set
Format: 4CD
Catalog: GDR CD 9320 Great Dane Records
Misc.: SIAE, ADD stereo
Produced: Italy 9/1993
Date: 67
Cover: 11 x 5 x 1/2 Opens like a book with the discs placed 2 on inside cover (front) and 2 on back inside cover. 36 page booklet in-between. Outside front cover pale green in colour. Artwork by A. Patelis, consists of a colage of various images relating to different albums of PF. Pyramids and an eclipse of the sun (DSotM), a face of what looks like a cross between a pig and a dog (Animals), and a brick wall (the Wall). Back cover: The sun in the early stages of an eclipse. Titles of all the songs listed on the right-hand side and lower left-hand side.
Sources: 1967- 1990 - See Track Source Listing in Comments
Hires-coverscans: <no info>
MP3-Soundsample: <no info>
Tracks:
Disc 1
1. Arnold Layne 2:56
2. Candy And A Currant Bun 2:46
3. See Emily Play 2:53
4. Flaming 2:49
5. The Scarecrow 2:02
6. The Gnome 2:11
7. Mathilda Mother 3:22
8. Scream Thy Last Scream 4:41
9. Vegetable Man 2:28
10. Apples And Oranges 3:08
11. Pow R. Toc H. 2:56
12. Jugband Blues 3:49
13. Nick's Boogie 11:48
14. It Would Be So Nice 3:44
15. Julia Dream 2:25
16. Let There Be More Light 3:42
17. Murderistic Women 3:50
18. Massed Gadgets Of Hercules 2:51
19. Point Me At The Sky 3:34
20. Baby Blue Shuffle in 'D' Minor 4:03
Total Time Disc 1 72:00
Disc 2
1. The Embryo 3:26
2. Green Is The Colour 3:28
3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 7:15
4. The Narrow Way part 1 4:37
5. Biding My Time (Work) 5:06
6. Oneone/Fingal's Cave 8:11
7. Rain In The Country 7:01
8. The Violence Sequence 4:33
9. If 4:27
10. Cymbaline 10:50
11. Atom Heart Mother 20:13
Total Time Disc 2 79:09
Disc 3
1. Blues 5:07
2. Breathe 3:00
3. On The Run 6:22
4. The Great Gig In The Sky 4:32
5. Money 1:43
6. Brain Damage/Eclipse 3:27
7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-5 23:31
8. Raving And Drooling 10:45
9. You've Gotta Be Crazy 13:10
Total Time Disc 3 71:39
Disc 4
1. Echoes 21:25
2. Pigs On The Wing parts 1 & 2 3:35
3. Comfortably Numb 2:39
4. When The Tigers Broke Free 2:55
5. Mother 6:40
6. What Shall We Do Now? 4:42
7. Bring The Boys Back Home 1:47
8. Outside The Wall 4:09
9. The Hero's Return parts 1 & 2 3:58
10. Run Like Hell 7:24
11. On The Turning Away 6:48
12. Money 11:33
Total Time Disc 4 77:37
Total for all 4 Discs 5 hrs 0:25
Band:
Syd Barrett
Roger Waters
Rick Wright
Nick Mason
David Gilmour
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Quality: Sup/Ex
studio tracks---Sup -DAN
live tracks-----EX -DAN
selected track list for 4 CD's---Sup -DAN
Comments: I saw Total Eclipse repackaged. It is in a white folder type thing that looks like a fairly cheap plastic holder. I assume it folds open and has two discs on each side (it was that sort of size). The artwork is a faded version of the original, sporting the Great Dane dog head on the spine but no catalogue number or bar code on the back. No clue about the book inside... It was retailing for $80. Looks to me like the people that have brought us the continued Meddler and Azimuth have added this to their stable... - DAve.
TOTAL ECLIPSE was conceived in 1993, well into Great Dane's ambitious "Pink Floyd Project." Great Dane had wanted to put out a box set that would appeal to the fans who had been terribly dissapointed with "Shine On," Pink Floyd's official release. It's purpose was to attempt to bring to the fans a comprehensive overview of the band's career, substituting rare material and alternative tracks wherever possible. This is the reason why many of the early singles and B-sides were included (which many people question). Much "Top Gear" material was also included because not only were the sound sources believed to be the better than on any previously released RoIO, but also because it seemed that these tracks should also be represented in the band's history. TOTAL ECLIPSE was meant to be chronological (although a few tracks are out of order) and comprehensive; something that could be listened to from beginning to end.
In retrospect, things probably could have been different. Originally TOTAL ECLIPSE was planned to be a 5 CD set, but Great Dane wanted to utilize it's 4 CD "Book" format, presenting 2 CD's on the insides of the front and back covers (this was the first of many Great Dane releases to be packaged in this manner), with an extensive booklet sandwiched between. Although the 5 CD set was ready to go into production (as far as the remastered DATS were concerned), remastering had to start all over again, and cuts had to be made.
In hindsight, the extensive "Nick's Boogie" could have been omited, making room for a few other early tracks, as well as some of the material from DSOTM ("Breath," "On The Run," and "The Great Gig In The Sky"), previously issued on other RoIO's. This might have left room for rare tracks such as "Main Theme From More," "Obscured By Clouds" and "When You're In," and the much requested "Childhood's End." The recent live singles an B-sides from 1987's DSOT tour, "Run Like Hell," and "Money," could also have made room for these rarities. Quality was also a major factor, this being the reason why certain desirable rarities were omitted. Perhaps the biggest regret was the omission of "Lucy Leave" and "King Bee", whose authenticity were still questionable at the time. It was not worth taking the risk of compromising the integrity of this release with a few possibly bogus recordings.
But the efforts put forth, warts and all, seemed to have paid off. Over three years later, it seems that the fans hold TOTAL ECLIPSE in very high regards, and that was my intention to begin with.
Unfortunately, once all of the material (remastered tapes, photos, text, and original artwork) were assembled and shipped to Italy, the production and manufacturing were out of my hands, Great Dane's releases got more elaborate, more ambitious, and certainly more professional over the years, so I'm glad that I wasn't asked to produce TOTAL ECLIPSE at the start of the great "Pink Floyd Project" (which was to release definitive CD's representing each of the band's major tours).
Not being RoLO's, these projects obviously had their limitations. I helped to produce these CD's not only to preserve the best of my audio collection on a (hopefully) longer lasting and more durable format, I wanted to present something that I would buy for myself. I also wanted to show respect for the fans, offering them something that had some thought behind it, making it worth their hard earned cash.
TOTAL ECLIPSE went through three pressings before Great Dane went under due to the Gat Treaty. The second pressing had two even columns on the back cover displaying the track listing. The image on the cover was also sharper and closer to the color of the original artwork. Almost ten thousand copies were produced and undoubtedly sold.
To address other issues stated in comments concerning this RoIO, the "barely readable articles" were included, not to be "read," but for "artistic" purposes only. For some unknown reason, "Murderistic Women" was omitted (although it was included in the liner notes), and "The Massed Gadgets..." was split into two tracks (although it plays out seamlessly). If any tracks seem speeded up or too slow, that is unfortunately the nature of some RoIO's, and the lack of sophisticated equipment (at the time) on my end to make those corrections.
I'd have to say that I've been pretty happy with most of the public's response to Total Eclipse, although I really wish I could do it all over again....
Future comments on TOTAL ECLIPSE, good or bad, are most welcomed to this web page - ANON
Listed times of tracks and actual times differ. The selection of tracks is phenomenal for this important collection. The tracks are basically in chronological order. CD 4 is just fantastic with rare tracks not known to be released elsewhere. Snowy White's guitar riff on Pigs On The Wing parts 1 & 2 only before released on 8-track tape. Mother and What Shall We Do Now? are both taken from the digital laser disc version of the movie "The Wall".
Booklet has many great photos of the group and of album covers and a selection of newspaper articles (barely readable interview w/ Barrett from Melody Maker issue from March 17 (27?) of 1971. Also various articles from "The Wall".
Artwork on cover is not anything like Gerald Scarfe's work but none-the-less interesting.
The new Total Eclipse batch is out. The back is different. Where on the first batch the tracklist was in two columns (the right- most containing the first part and a smaller leftmost one have the rest, the new batch has two equal columns with the first half on the left and the rest on the right. Also, the colour on the CD's itself changed, from green to yellow. And the box itself is a bit different in colour. Mine was very green, this one is more 'ochre' (pale-brown/green). -PIET
_Murderistic Woman_ seems to be missing on Total Eclipse, but they cut _Massed Gadgets_ into two parts so the total track number still fits. -ANON
The version of AHM is about 8% (1/2 step) too slow, adding about 1:30 to the piece. Also, did they really need "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play", "Nick's Boogie," (all common rolo CD tracks) and so much Top Gear material? -ANON
Included in this RoIO is a 36 page booklet with a 4 page history of Pink Floyd. Here are the last 3 paragraphs of that story...
In 1993, Pink Floyd released Shine On, a 9 CD box representing the band's history. It consisted of 7 previously released albums, with no alternate, rare, or live tracks. Included as a bonus was a book, postcards, special packaging and other bonuses.
This box set is meant to represent a comprehensive, chronological retrospective of the band's music. Rare, live, or alternate versions were used wherever possible. Because this collection was designed as a 4 CD set, there was a limit to the amount of material selected, with a great regard to sound quality. Unfortunately, many rare recordings were cut because of this reason.
"Total Eclipse" is for you, the fans. You deserve better than the Shine On box set, but the powers that be are more interested in making money than giving the fans what they really want (and what every other major artist has done for their fans), this is the best we could do. So for those who delve deeper into the lyrics, feel the passion of the music, and hold the name Pink Floyd in a very special place in their hearts...shine on.
Track Source Information:
Disc One
1. Arnold Layne (Barrett) The Pink Floyd's first single, released in the UK March 11th, 1967, was one of a handful of tracks that was laid down at their first studio recording session. Produced by Joe Boyd at Sound Techniques Studios in Chelsea on January 27th, 1967, "Arnold Layne" was chosen because unlike the other tracks it was short enough to release as a single. The Pink Floyd made three appearances on BBC-TV's "Top Of The Pops" promoting its release. Of the title itself Barrett stated, "I thought that Arnold Layne was a nice name and it fitted very well into the music I had already written." It charted number 20 in the UK.
2. Candy and a Currant Bun (Barrett) The B-side to "Arnold Layne" was recorded at the same session along with an early version of "Interstellar Overdrive". Originally titled "Let's Roll Another One" the lyrics were changed due to the obvious drug inferences. Waters commenting on the BBC's attitude towards the track, recalled "They didn't like that at all. Very under the arm." The song dates back to the Floyd's Free School repertoire.
3. See Emily Play (Barrett) The Second single by the Floyd, was recorded on May 23rd, 1967, at Sound Techniques Studios after sessions at EMI failed to capture the essence found on Arnold Layne. Two of the Floyd's biographers, Miles and Karl Dallas, dispute Emily's origins. Miles states that the track is a reworking of the "Games For May" concert performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12th 1967, while Dallas says that "Emily" was performed April 29th at the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream in Aid of the International Times. Mick Schaffner's book states that "Emily" was in real life the daughter of Lord Kennet (Wayland Young) who was well known to the UFO club crowd. Schaffner also reports that David Gilmour, who was coincidentally at the session with his band Joker's Wild, first noticed Syd's mental decline. Released on June 16th, 1967, it charted number 6 in the UK and 134 in the US.
4. Flaming (Barrett) Deleted from the US release of "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", "Flaming" later appeared as a single on August 5th, 1967. Performed live for a brief period, as well as BBC and French TV appearances.
5. The Scarecrow (Barrett) 6. The Gnome (Barrett) 7. Mathilda Mother (Barrett) All three tracks appear on the first Floyd album "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". These cuts were the first of many recorded for the John Peel's "Top Gear" show on BBC radio, and was first broadcast on September 30th, 1967.
8. Scream Thy Last Scream (Barrett) 9. Vegetable Man (Barrett) Recorded in August, 1967, "Scream Thy Last Scream" was planned as the Floyd's third single. The song was performed live during 1967, and was also entitled "Scream Thy Last Scream Old Woman With A Casket" and the shorter "Old Woman With A Casket".
Also recorded in August of 1967 was the unreleased "Vegetable Man". Manager Pete Jenner recalls the origins of the song. "Syd was around at my house just before he had to go to record - and because a song was needed, he just wrote a description of what he was wearing at the time, and threw in a chorus that went 'Vegetable Man, where are you?'."
This is one of the last sessions featuring Syd Barrett with the Pink Floyd. These two tracks are the actual August 9th, 1967 sessions.
10. Apples And Oranges (Barrett) A third single that fared poorly in the charts. The track was recorded in August of 1967 and released on November 18th. A promotional film featured a Barrett-less Floyd, with Roger Waters lip-syncing to Syd's vocal. Waters' recollection of the track was that it was a "fucking good song," that "was destroyed by the production." All around, producer Norman Smith seems to have become the fall-guy for the failure of this single.
11. Pow R. Toc H. (Barrett/Mason/Waters/Wright) 12. Jugband Blues (Barrett) "Pow R. Toc H." is from "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "Jugband Blues" was recorded at the time of "Apples and Oranges". So disappointing was the reaction to "Apples and Oranges" that their manager, Pete Jenner, proposed releasing "Jugband Blues" in its place. "Jugband Blues" was used by the Central Office of Information for a promotional film about Britian that was distributed in the US and Canada.
For the track Syd Barrett brought a Salvation Army band into the studio, instructing them to "play what you want to." These tracks are taken from the second session they did for John Peel's "Top Gear" show, broadcast on 12/19/67.
13. Nick's Boogie (Barrett/Mason/Waters/Wright) A studio outtake that was recorded in April of 1967 for the soundtrack to the film "Tonite Let's All Make Love In London". "Nick's Boogie" has only been officially available as a CD bonus track since the soundtrack album was released in 1990. This extended instrumental is a variation of "Interstellar Overdrive."
14. It Would Be So Nice (Wright) The Floyd's fourth single released on April 12th, 1968. "Fucking awful that record, wasn't it?" recalls Nick Mason about the track. There was a general feeling at the time that the band needed a commercial hit and this single was an attempt at that. The version released to the stores mentions the London evening newspaper The Evening Standard, but the BBC, fearful of advertising, made the Floyd change the Lyric to The Daily Standard. "At that period we had no clear direction," stated Mason.
15. Julia Dream (Wright) 16. Let There Be More Light (Waters) 17. Murderistic Women (Waters) 18. Massed Gadgets of Hercules (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Taken from the June 25th, 1968 Top Gear session, these tracks are some of the first recorded performances of Pink Floyd with David Gilmour (there had been a brief period with both Barrett and Gilmour in the line-up). Julia Dream had been the B-side to "It Would Be So Nice" and featured David Gilmour on vocals.
"Let There Be More Light" was released in the US as a B-side to "Remember A Day", and the 1981 release of the remixed "Money".
"Murderistic Women" was an earlier, shorter version of "Careful With That Axe, Eugene". Up until the "In The Flesh" tour of 1977, Pink Floyd regularly tried out new tracks in front of live audiences, often with very different titles from the finished piece. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" was also the B-side to their next single.
19. Point Me At The Sky (Waters) Their fifth single, released on December 17th, 1968 was produced by Norman Smith. It failed so badly in the charts that the Floyd did not release another single until "Another Brick In The Wall - Part II" in 1979. The promotional film for "Point Me At The Sky" features the Floyd flying in a yellow biplane, and photos from this promo film appear on the double compilation album "A Nice Pair". As he did with "Apples and Oranges", Roger Waters defended the song, blaming its failure on the poor production.
20. Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor (Gilmour) "Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor" was the working title for what would later become "The Narrow Way - Part 1" on "Ummagumma". This was written by David Gilmour as his contribution to the solo section of the album.
Disc Two
1. Embryo (Waters) "Embryo" was originally recorded for the album "Ummagumma" but was dropped in favor of the individually written tracks concept. The unfinished track was chosen as Pink Floyd's entry on the Harvest (the Floyd's UK publisher) label's sampler album "Picnic". The album cover features a typical Hipgnosis design that actually foreshadowed some of the images from "The Wall", with a family sitting on a sparse beach, wearing gas masks. The Floyd themselves were dismayed by the songs appearance, and have prevented the album being reissued. David Gilmour recalls that "For some reason we never actually finished the recording of it... EMI got Norman Smith, I think, to mix it, and they released it without our okay."
Nonetheless, the Floyd played the track on John Peel's show in
January of 1969, and on tours throughout 1970 and 1971. The song was also performed with free-form sections against a background of pretaped sound effects (most notably that of children playing), extending the 3 minute song up to as long as 30 minutes. The track was also issued in the US on the "Works" compilation album. These two tracks are from the "Top Gear" recording session of January 1969.
2. Green Is The Colour (Waters) 3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) 4. The Narrow Way - Part 1 (Gilmour) Three tracks taken from the BBC "Top Gear" broadcast of July 25th, 1969. The first, "Green Is The Colour", was originally titled "The Beginning", the opening sequence of the concept suite "The Journey". The song appeared on the soundtrack album "More", which was also released in July of 1969 and stayed in the Floyd repertoire through 1971.
"Careful With That Axe, Eugene" was originally titled "Keep Smiling People",then "Murderistic Women" before being included in "The Journey" entitled "Beset By The Creatures Of The Deep". "Axe" also turned up as part of the "Committee" soundtrack, and on "Zabriskie Point" as "Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up". The song appeared as a B-side to "Point Me At The Sky" on the compilation album "Relics", and a live version was released on the double album "Ummagumma" in 1970. It was filmed live on a number of occasions, once for "Live At Pompeii" and again in 1973 as a promo film available on the "Superstars In Concert" video.
"The Narrow Way", originally titled "Baby Blue Shuffle In D Minor", was David Gilmour's solo composition for the album "Ummagumma". Gilmour confessed to a certain amount of desperation in trying to compose a track by himself.
5. Biding My Time (Waters) Originally titled "Work and Afternoon", this track originated from the concept piece "The Man", and the track has only been released officially on the compilation album "Relics". This version is taken from the Concert Gebow, Amsterdam show of August 17th, 1969.
6. Oenone/Fingal's Cave (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) 7. Rain In The Country (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Recorded for the movie "Zabriskie Point", but never used in the film or on the soundtrack album. These two outtakes are from the studio sessions in Rome, December 1969. Track 7 is now available on the official Zabriskie Point 2 CD re-release.
8. The Violence Sequence (Wright) This track, originally composed for the film "Zabriskie Point" would later become "Us And Them" on "Dark Side Of The Moon" two years later. Of the film sequence itself, Nick Mason recalls that "there was a lot of news film, of cops and students fighting it out, all with no soundtrack apart from this very lyrical piano thing which Rick played as a solo." This version comes from the Theatre Champs D'Elyses show, January 23rd, 1970.
9. If (Waters) Recorded for the album "Atom Heart Mother", released in 1970, "If" clearly indicates the future direction of Waters' songwriting. With a pleasantly disarming acoustic guitar line, Waters delivers some stark and disturbing lyrics about being insane. The track was essentially a filler on the album, and was not widely performed, although Roger Waters did revive it for his solo tours of 1984 and 1987. This recording is taken from the Paris Theatre, London, September 16th, 1970.
10. Cymbaline (Waters) 11. Atom Heart Mother (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Recorded at Pepperland, San Rafael on October 17th, 1970, "Cymbaline" appeared on the soundtrack to "More" and was performed throughout the 70/71 era.It has been suggested that the song, about dreams and dreaming, was a reference to Shakespeare's "Cymbaline", but given the Floyd's failure to read Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" for the aborted 1972 Roland Petit Ballet project, this seems unlikely.
"Atom Heart Mother" was a landmark for the Floyd as it devoted the entire side of an album to one piece, paving the way for "Echoes" and ultimately "Dark Side of the Moon". The track also brought together many of the sound effects that Waters had been interested in, along with an orchestra. The Floyd briefly toured with "Atom Heart Mother" accompanied by a live orchestra but had to rework the composition when played as a quartet. This version, performed without the orchestra, was also played during a 1970 TV broadcast from KQED studios in San Francisco.
Disc Three
1. Blues (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) A generic blues number from the Paris Theatre show of September 30th, 1971. These jams were a frequent, yet undocumented part of the Floyd shows of the early 70s. They were usually short free-form departures from the band's standard repertoire, and would occasionally appear on bootlegs with titles such as "Pink's Blues", etc.
2. Breathe (Gilmour/Waters/Wright) 3. On The Run (Gilmour/Waters) Taken from the Rainbow Theatre concert of February 17th, 1972, this was the first official performance of "Dark Side Of The Moon". "Breathe" is slightly different from its incarnation on the album, and "On The Run" features a powerful, driving riff by Gilmour with a bluesy accent. This was eventually dropped and replaced by the now familiar sound effects/VCS3 synthesizer track.
4. The Great Gig In The Sky (Wright) This version of "The Great Gig In The Sky" was taken from the Hollywood Bowl concert of September 22nd, 1972.
5. Money (Waters) A snippet of the demo performed by Waters, playing an acoustic guitar. It is important as it shows the difference between the original demo and the finished product, and indicates just how much influence the whole band has in shaping the final piece, despite what the credits say.
6. Brain Damage/Eclipse - Alternate Mix (Waters) The climax to "Dark Side Of The Moon". This mix was made some weeks after the initial release of the album, which differs from the quadraphonic release. It contains some alternate guitar overdubs, some of which can be seen being laid down in the film "Live At Pompeii". "Too much feedback?" remarks Gilmour during the session. "Don't worry about that. Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"
7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Gilmour/Waters/Wright) Taken from the Empire Pool Wembley show of November 14th, 1974, this version predates the release of the album "Wish You Were Here". "Shine On" saw the first use of the revolving mirror disc that was to become a staple of their shows for the rest of the decade. 32,000 people saw the Floyd those four night sat the Empire Pool, indicating the success of "Dark Side", yet ironically the band were unhappy with their performances. In particular, David Gilmour recalled this show with a sour note, describing it as "the worst we've done on the whole tour." The technical side of the show had some major hitches, although the audiences didn't seem to notice.
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" was Waters tribute to Syd Barrett, who said of the track "I wrote that song, above all, to see the reaction of people who reckon they know and understand Syd Barrett. I wrote and rewrote and rewrote that lyric because I wanted it to be as close as possible to what I felt... and even then it hasn't altogether worked out right for me." The inspiration for the song was Gilmour's guitar riff. "I think it was a guitar line of Dave's that sparked me off," recalls Waters. "It's actually the signature tune from a radio show 'Take if from Here.'"
The track was performed through the 1977 tour and again for the 1987 World Tour, ending at a rain soaked Knebworth in 1990.
8. Raving And Drooling (Waters) 9. You've Gotta Be Crazy (Gilmour/Waters) Along with "Shine On," these two tracks made their debut during the French tour of 1974. Ultimately, they would become "Sheep" and "Dogs", forming the core of 1977's "Animals" album. In this earlier version the lyrics do not have the animal motifs that would become so familiar, but instead are about the stresses and strains of everyday work.
"Raving And Drooling" features a thunderous bass line by Waters and finishes with the blistering guitar solo from Gilmour.
"You've Gotta Be Crazy" also shows off Dave's virtuosity and has both Waters and Gilmour sharing the vocals. This recording is from the Nassau Coliseum, New York, June 16th, 1975. The 1975 tour also marked the last time that Pink Floyd previewed their new material, as the shows became more elaborate in terms of staging.
Disc Four
1. Echoes (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Recorded at A.I.R. (EMI) studios, the Floyd finally shrugged off the legacy of Syd Barrett and confidently found their own direction, paving the was for "Dark Side of the Moon". Released in November 1971 on the album "Meddle", the track proved to be a milestone in the history of the band, and like "Atom Heart Mother" took up the entire side of an album.
Originally "Echoes" was recorded in January of '71 as a series of individual pieces that were collectively known as "Nothing - Parts 1-24". Gilmour explained that "We never know what an album will be called or what it will sound like right up until the finish." Nick Mason added that "By the end of January we had thirty-six different bits that sometimes cross-related and sometimes didn't. 'Echoes' was made up from that." The piece was first performed at Norwich University on April 22nd, 1971 and at this stage was called "The Return of the Son of Nothing", although Roger Waters would later introduce the piece as "The March of the Dambusters", "Looking Through The Hole in Granny's Wooden Leg" and We Won The Double".
2. Pigs on the Wing - Parts 1 & 2 (Waters) Taken from the 8-track release of "Animals". To accommodate the 8-track repeat feature this version has an added bridging guitar sequence between the two tracks. The riff was performed by Snowy White, who was the Floyd's back-up guitarist during the 1977 tour. This version has not been released on any other format, although the bridge was added to "Pigs on the Wing - Part 2" when performed live, as a coda.
3. Comfortably Numb (Gilmour/Waters) Originally the riff was written by Gilmour and recorded at the Bear Les Alps studios for his first solo album. It was resurrected for "The Wall", when Waters was searching for musical ideas to accompany his lyrics, inspired by his own experiences of being forced on stage when very sick.
Performed live the song is perhaps the crowning moment in the history of Pink Floyd, as all the elements came together perfectly. At this stage of the show the Wall is already complete, as Waters, dressed in a white doctors coat, tries to coax his patient in. Back lit by an orange arc light, Gilmour, his shadow cast wide across the audience, performed a searing guitar solo from the top of the wall.
Recognizing the importance of the track, Gilmour performed the song on his 1984 "About Face" tour, and was climax to Pink Floyd's 1987/90 World Tour where the mirror-ball made a welcome reprise. This track is a snippet of Gilmour's demo from 1978.
4. When The Tigers Broke Free (Waters) A track that was specially written for the film "Pink Floyd - The Wall". Released as a single in the US and the UK (where it charted at number 39). It was to have been a part of the upcoming album "Spare Bricks", a collection of new material from the film. When that project was dropped for "The Final Cut", so did an album release for the song. The track was also released on a promotional CD for Roger Waters' Berlin 1990 concert.
5. Mother (Waters) 6. What Shall We Do Now? (Waters) The film version of "The Wall" reworked some of the familiar tracks of the album, and the most radically changed track was "Mother". The flow of the song was broken up to accommodate the linear story telling, and the acoustic guitar was replaced by an orchestra. This version of the song has previously been unreleased and is taken from the digital laser disc version.
"What Shall We Do Now?" was left off of the original album at the last minute, although the lyrics were printed on the record sleeve. The song, a lis of obsessions that Pink is faced with to compensate for the "Empty Spaces" in his life, was however performed live to great effect. This version is again from the film, where it was reinstated with brilliant animation of Gerald Scarfe's sexually provocative flowers.
7. Bring The Boys Back Home (Special Version) (Waters) Released as a B-side to "When The Tigers Broke Free" this promotional 12-inch mix is different from the film and the more common 7-inch release.
8. Outside The Wall (Waters) This version of the track was used as the epilogue and end title sequence of the film. What is different about this version is that the back-up vocals that repeat Waters' vocal is missing, and a Salvation Army-like orchestration is added. The music for the film was produced by David Gilmour, although technically only Waters appears on this track.
9. The Hero's Return - Parts 1 & 2 (Waters) "The Hero's Return" was written for the album "The Final Cut" and was released as a B-side to the single re-dubbed version of "Not Now John". The 12-inch and 7-inch versions feature "The Hero's Return - Part 2", an extra verse of the song performed by Waters. "Part 2" could possibly be a demo version since the sound is distinctly different from that of "Part 1".
10. On The Turning Away (Gilmour/Moore) 11. Run Like Hell (Gilmour/Waters) "On The Turning Away" was the third single released from "AMLoR" marking the new Gilmour-lead era of the band. A video of this live cut was produced, recorded at the Omni, in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Run Like Hell", from "The Wall", was released as a single in the US and Europe, backed by "Don't Leave Me Now". Like "Comfortably Numb", "Run Like Hell" was originally intended for Gilmour's first solo album and was played during both his 1984 tour and the Pink Floyd 87/90 tour, in which it was the show stopper. The song in context of "The Wall" illustrates Pink turning into a fascist, manipulating racially oriented hate crimes in the name of fascism. Out of context "Run Like Hell" is a great rock number that really gets going.
Both these performances are from the Omni Atlanta, November 5th, 1987, and appeared as a bonus cut on the release of the "On The Turning Away" CD single.
12. Money - From Knebworth. The sax-player on Money is Candy dulfer (and is announced by Gilmour).
As the flagship RoIO box set, and a sizable investment for those of you that can afford to buy it (legally, that is), I've felt for a while that Total Eclipse needs a track-by-track review, since so many newbies use it as their guidepost (myself included), and it's also a valuable point of departure for X-referencing some of the more convoluted RoIOs out there...so, in my foolishness, I've ventured to dissect the whole thing (and try and clear up some errors). Overall I'd have to say I'm quite happy with Total Eclipse, though at times I wish they'd concentrated a bit more on the live rarities and a bit less on Arnold Layne and other easily available tracks. Also the presence of as many as three tracks from the 16 Sep 1970 is a little displeasing; it would have been nice to have some material from Hokkaido or Montreux (not to mention, say, Boeblingen 1972). But it's absolutely gorgeous -- Great Dane's reputation for class is well-deserved -- and the tracks (especially the later ones) seem to be taken from excellent sources. The below is, of course, basically a VERY subjective collection of my opinions on TE, so feel free to disagree, and please correct me when I'm wrong -- but please double-Czech your facts before you do, to ensure that no more misinformation is spread. -MT
Disc 1
1. Arnold Layne, 2. Candy and a Currant Bun, 3. See Emily Play: all Sup. The sound is perhaps not the best I've heard for tracks 1 and 3, but is still pretty much flawless, if somewhat lacking in punch.
4. Flaming: Ex+. Something about this track bothers me a bit; there's a sort of crackly, brittle quality to it, especially in the first verse vocals, that gets on my nerves (it sounds like less than pristine No-Noised vinyl) and there are shifts in level and high-frequency response towards the end of the song. It would be fine were this a rare track, but it's not...
5. The Scarecrow: Ex-/VG+. Little treble at times, and clearly variable HF response that gets a little annoying, especially in the vocals. But quite listenable, if not that exciting.
6. The Gnome: Ex-/VG+. More hiss than 5., with similar HF problems (especially in the beginning).
7. Mathilda Mother: Ex-/VG+. Similar to 5. & 6., with odd bass response towards the end as well.
8. Scream Thy Last Scream: Sup. A touch murky, but who knows how much of that is native to the original material...and a song that all people who claim to be Syd buffs should know, of course.
9. Vegetable Man: Ex-. Much murkier than 8., though plenty listenable.
10. Apples And Oranges: Sup. Standard RoLO sound.
11. Pow R. Toc H.: Ex-/VG+. The recording isn't as good perhaps as the source for 5.-7., but it doesn't have the "wow" variability that makes them less enjoyable. On the other hand it's faded a bit early.
12. Jugband Blues: VG-. Pretty murky, though still very listenable, but many a generation (or refrigerator magnet?) has this tape source seen.
13. Nick's Boogie: Sup. RoLO sound. Nothing to complain about here, and a treat after "Jugband Blues" if you're listening to the tracks in order.
14. It Would Be So Nice: Sup. As above. And IMHO Nick Mason was right...pretty kitschy.
15. Julia Dream: Sup/Sup-. Far better than the preceding "Top Gear" tracks. Clear, solid sound, maybe a bit lacking in body but quite good nonetheless.
16. Let There Be More Light: Sup-. Slightly the inferior of Julia Dream, but still very good.
17. Murderistic Women: Not to be found, it's indexed as the first half (3:50) of --
18. Massed Gadgets of Hercules: Ex-. Of definitely lower quality than 15.-16., with a little distortion (but not of objectionable sort). I find it hard to listen to this through headphones because of the timbre of the recording -- at times it takes on a somewhat strident quality...but it's early aSoS, and as such, is certainly interesting.
19. Point Me At the Sky: Sup. As the other RoLO tracks.
20. Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor: VG-. Rather stereotypical "No-Noised bad (vinyl?) source sound", and IMHO not all that interesting musically, but certainly not unpleasant to listen to. There may be a half-step speed problem, depending on whether Gilmour was tuned down. By the way, the title of this one has always befuddled me -- sure sounds like D major (or in this case D-flat major ;-) to me!
Disc 2
1. The Embryo: Ex+. Clear, though not without murkiness. Straightforward stuff.
2. Green Is The Colour, 3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene: Sup. These tracks are *not* taken from the BBC "Top Gear" broadcast of July 25th, 1969 (as listed in the liner notes), but, based on an A-B of these tracks and the RoIO "Focus" (which IMHO has slightly better sound), are rather from the "Libest Spacement Monitor" BBC broadcast of September 16, 1970. (cf. "The Complete Top Gear Sessions" for how this mislabeling may have begun.) Regardless, nearly flawless sound (one or two nearly imperceptible bits of noise), and great vocals and playing, make these tracks a joy, as always.
4. The Narrow Way part 3 (*not* part 1): Ex. Normal Top Gear quality. Relatively typical performance and sound. Again, pretty straightforward/unremarkable.
5. Biding My Time (Work): VG+-. The sound is rather murky (little treble), and a little "distant" (though the sound effect at the beginning is crystal clear), so technically I have to give it an VG+-...but I find that for this particular track I don't mind its shortcomings at all -- it gives it a certain ambience. A nice version, bluesy and mellow, that sounds great played quietly, late at night.
6. Oenone/Fingal's Cave: Ex-/VG+. As above, I believe that the murky sound on this track is actually fairly atmospheric, particularly on Oenone (*not* "Oneone"). Enjoyable.
7. Rain in the Country: VG+. The sound quality here is not really to my taste, it's got a somewhat "bad vinyl" sound to it...but certainly it's unobjectionable. Not really my cup of tea, the song strikes me as a bit uninspired, mostly an amalgam of Baby Blue/Narrow Way Part 1 and the second part of Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast.
8. The Violence Sequence: G-. Easily the worst sound on Total Eclipse. It's got a whine in the 1000-1500 hz range (I've not pinpointed it exactly) that is nearly as loud as the music; when I first put the track on I thought there were some VERY loud crickets that night. Even besides that, the sound is pretty bad in its own right. But actually, once you get used to it, it's not really that obnoxious. (And, it's a historic performance, right?) Interestingly (and understandably -- I'm *still* not sure if I hear drums on this track ;-) I've heard of no CD RoIOs of this concert (Theatre Champs D'Elysees, 23 Jan 70 -- "Water's Gate", on the LP database, claims that date as its origin).
9. If: Sup. More 16 Sep 70 (LSM) material, and though it's a tiny bit inferior to Tracks 2-3 (a slight "vinyl roar") it's still perfectly dandy.
10. Cymbaline, 11. Atom Heart Mother: Ex-/VG+. From Pepperland. First of all, AHM has *no* speed problems (a typo for SOYCD on the part of ANON?). A pretty good audience recording, everything's reasonably clear, with less hiss than you might expect. Perhaps for me, the "footsteps" sequence gets a little lengthy in "Cymbaline" (and the audience seems to agree, getting slightly restless -- cf. the wag at 6:41, "I'm scared!" :-) He's a good way to ID this track, by the way), but this is a nice, intimate performance at what sounds like a small venue. Not PF's most exciting show, but plenty good nonetheless, and the boys sound like they're having fun.
Disc 3
1. Blues: Sup. For reasons similar to those given above under GitC/CwTAE, I think that this is actually from the 30 Sep 71 "One of These Days" sessions (its particular "color" strongly resembles TSP's "One of These Days", which has 3 of the tracks from the 5-song concert). Great stuff, with one tiny query -- it *might* have a speed problem. On a fairly impromptu track like this, there's no way of really knowing, but usually when they do a blues jam of this sort (cf. "More", for one) it's in G, whereas this one's a half-step down, in F-sharp (or G-flat). On the other hand, they may have been tuned down 1/2 step; this would make sense had they played "Echoes" immediately before or afterward (for which I think they tune down) -- but the FAQ (#20, part 2) indicates otherwise. But this is all academic: whether they played it in F-sharp or G, it sounds great, with only the slightest rasp/buzz to the sound.
2. Breathe, 3. On The Run: Sup. Taken from the famous 17 Feb 72 DSOTM set at the Rainbow. Great sound, perhaps a soundboard recording (though admittedly half a notch below the sound on the previous track and the LSM material). Energetic, driving OtR jam.
4. The Great Gig in the Sky: Ex-. Good, not great sound -- a solid audience recording. Rick's synth has, er, "interesting" intonation, to say the least...;-)
5. Money: Sup. The demo. Amusing, but how often are you going to listen to this?
6. Brain Damage/Eclipse: Sup-. A basically clean copy of the quadraphonic mix, but a touch of treblelessness makes it a tiny bit "off" to my ears, though that might just be from being used to DSotM.
7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-9 (not 1-5): VG+(SP). In sharp contrast to Track 1 on this disc, here the speed issue is very definite, and a problem. It's still only a half-step, but it drags the song down: the tempo crosses the line from slow to plodding, and the vocals are burdened in terms of tone color -- the slow speed accentuates that "off-night heaviness". But all this aside, it's still very listenable, and a good, clear audience recording not unlike tracks 8-9 on this disc. I'm a bit unsure about the Empire Pool Wembley, 14 (apparently actually15) Nov 1974 date; on the one hand it correlates with the "Black Holes in the Sky" entry, wrong speed and all -- but unless I'm missing something, I don't hear any of Gilmour's oft-cited "guitar trouble"...thoughts?
Addendum -- I fed this track into my computer and using a digital signal processing program boosted it up a half-step, thus correcting the pitch problem. It's really surprising what a difference it makes -- if you manage to get a pitch-corrected copy of this material, you'll notice a much crisper, more energetic "feel" to the track. It's a great audience recording, actually, and with the pitch corrected is one of the better ones I've heard by far--this track would earn an Ex, certainly (I haven't heard the others from this date, though). Perhaps someday some RoIO maker could take it upon themselves to do a little work and reissue this concert with the pitch corrected...
8. Raving and Drooling, 9. You've Gotta Be Crazy: Ex. From Nassau Coliseum, in New York, 16 June 75. The crowd is quiet, and though it's very definitely an audience recording, it's a great one: everything is captured clearly, with steady, crisp sound (when I turn the treble way up, I get this sudden feeling of being there -- to me, it makes the recording sound fifteen years more recent) and both songs *rock*, especially Raving and Drooling which has a great intro that could go on forever (but was dropped when the song became Sheep). Out of everything on TE, I probably listen most to these tracks and Biding My Time.
Disc 4
1. Echoes: Ex+. 18 June 75, Boston Gardens. At times (especially the quiet parts), the somewhat whistle-happy crowd gets on my nerves (who would have thought a New York crowd would be better behaved than a Boston one?) and I find the performance somewhat disappointing (particularly the vocals, which are kind of sloppy and strangely remind me of Barney from "The Simpsons"...). On the other hand, the sound is VERY clear, distinctly better than the last two tracks on disc 3, with great stereo (cf. 0:19, right channel -- "I hope they play the whole thing." :-) Another great track ID for you X-referencers.) The bottom line is that I don't enjoy this track nearly as much as other versions I have (though over time I've gotten used to it -- at first I hated it, now I can enjoy it to a certain extent, particularly the "jam", which is good); the band sounds tired and uninspired, though the playing is competent. I think the sax is somewhat out of place on this song ("Us and Echoes"?). Moreover, it just doesn't have the atmosphere present on earlier recordings -- that special, transcendent "Echoes vibe" just ain't there for the majority of the song. Then again, TSP's "One of These Days" has kind of spoiled me ;-). Supposedly, a poll taken concerning preferences between the Nassau date and this one, with Boston emerging the winner -- I recall one comment on the Nassau date about the band sounding "tired and sloppy" (!?) -- but if these tracks are any indication, I feel the opposite is true.
2. Pigs on the Wing parts 1 & 2: Ex-(SP). A half-step flat, and besides that there are some problems with high-end dropout. A little silly that this was put out with a speed problem, which admittedly is not that big a deal, but still...
3. Comfortably Numb: Ex+. Demo, with a WEIRD initial couple seconds -- an almost sinister sort of ...wwwwWAAAAHHH before the song really starts. Like the Money demo, amusing, but not really something you listen to more than two or three times.
4. When the Tigers Broke Free, 5. Mother, 6. What Shall We Do Now?, 7. Bring The Boys Back Home, 8. Outside The Wall: all Sup+. Laserdisc (or maybe vinyl for WtTBF, but if so then utterly pristine vinyl indeed), digital, flawless. After listening to the three other discs while writing this review, the wonderful sound on WtTBF was an absolute joy...but why *five* tracks of movie material?
9. The Hero's Return parts 1 & 2: Sup. Same comments that apply for all the other RoLO releases, and pretty interesting as well. However, IMHO Roger made the right choice in leaving that extra verse out...
10. Run Like Hell, 11. On the Turning Away: Sup+. Live RoLO. Nuff said. Some of you who spend their life savings on pricey RoIOs of Momentary and Bell tour stuff should Czech out these EPs; I didn't think I really liked the post-Waters Floyd, but I really get into RLH.
12. Money: Sup/Sup-. The sound is great, though not as well-blended as the above tracks (you'll really hear the difference in clarity, from tracks 10-11, when playing straight through). I *really* don't like Candy Dulfer's playing
but that aside, your standard live Knebworth material. -MT
Just wanted to let the word out that the edition of the Total Eclipse RoIO that's currently being sold is a pale copy of the original. Be warned!!! This is not the original set put out by Great Dane records...they are long gone.
Someone took one of the original sets and copied the 4 CD's (unlike the AzCO single sets which used the original pressing). I don't know how well they were remastered or if they went from the original disks to a new "glass master" for the factory to reproduce. I know they're not the original disks because they are missing all of the track listings (the originals have all the tracks screened on them).
Also, the cover and liner notes are much more contrasty, and washed out. The type appears much thinner in the new booklets...a copy was definately made from the original, and some quality was lost in reproducing it.
Other than that, it might be okay to buy, as long as you know what you're getting. Alot of folks are still looking for this treasure, it's one of the highest rated RoIO's of all time. And, at least the new edition tried to keep the integrity of the original.
But until anyone can compare the new CD's with the originals....buyers beware! - ANON
As of early 1997, there are new green versions of TE available, and I briefly compared a new one with an old green one. They look the same to me. In 1994 there were gold ones which aren't identical to the new or old green ones. IMO, the gold ones are TE originals and the green ones are copies. Piet's notes suggest the opposite, but I've had them side by side and I'm sure of my conclusion.
The artwork of the green one is fuzzier and contrastier, as a photographic copy would be -- intentionally out of focus to reduce the telltale moiree effect of interference patterns caused by making a halftone of a halftoned photograph for the lithographic process. However, the copies look sharp enough if you don't have the originals to compare them to. The green TE is missing a small illustration that is in the original gold one but you wouldn't notice the omission except by comparing the two versions page by page.
The text is on toned colored backgrounds, so it would have been obviously out of focus if it had been copied photographically. On the green TE version the typesetting had to be done over. Whoever did it tried to match the original but didn't have identical fonts, so the text is slightly less attractive. The typographical errors are different in the two versions. On green ones the book is bound with two staples, and the gold ones used four staples. Overall I'd say that the green ones were copied as carefully as they could be by whoever did it, and they're of good quality (as roios go). The green version is just fine if you need TE. - DEEP TROUT.
Just finished listening to my copy of the new set of Total Eclipse pressings. I don't know where they come from, whether they really are GDR, and I know there have been concerns over the quality.
Overall, I would say the quality was pretty good. The comments in the database are on the mark. My additional comments:
There _are_ drums on The Violence Sequence.
Pigs On the Wing has some tape speed variation problems, and definitely does not warrant the Ex- because of this, I would have said a VG. But this just shows that different people find different things objectionable - I was less bothered by some of the "murkiness" on earlier tracks.
https://tinyurl.com/t24ruuk
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Catalog: GDR CD 9320 Great Dane Records
Misc.: SIAE, ADD stereo
Produced: Italy 9/1993
Date: 67
Cover: 11 x 5 x 1/2 Opens like a book with the discs placed 2 on inside cover (front) and 2 on back inside cover. 36 page booklet in-between. Outside front cover pale green in colour. Artwork by A. Patelis, consists of a colage of various images relating to different albums of PF. Pyramids and an eclipse of the sun (DSotM), a face of what looks like a cross between a pig and a dog (Animals), and a brick wall (the Wall). Back cover: The sun in the early stages of an eclipse. Titles of all the songs listed on the right-hand side and lower left-hand side.
Sources: 1967- 1990 - See Track Source Listing in Comments
Hires-coverscans: <no info>
MP3-Soundsample: <no info>
Tracks:
Disc 1
1. Arnold Layne 2:56
2. Candy And A Currant Bun 2:46
3. See Emily Play 2:53
4. Flaming 2:49
5. The Scarecrow 2:02
6. The Gnome 2:11
7. Mathilda Mother 3:22
8. Scream Thy Last Scream 4:41
9. Vegetable Man 2:28
10. Apples And Oranges 3:08
11. Pow R. Toc H. 2:56
12. Jugband Blues 3:49
13. Nick's Boogie 11:48
14. It Would Be So Nice 3:44
15. Julia Dream 2:25
16. Let There Be More Light 3:42
17. Murderistic Women 3:50
18. Massed Gadgets Of Hercules 2:51
19. Point Me At The Sky 3:34
20. Baby Blue Shuffle in 'D' Minor 4:03
Total Time Disc 1 72:00
Disc 2
1. The Embryo 3:26
2. Green Is The Colour 3:28
3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 7:15
4. The Narrow Way part 1 4:37
5. Biding My Time (Work) 5:06
6. Oneone/Fingal's Cave 8:11
7. Rain In The Country 7:01
8. The Violence Sequence 4:33
9. If 4:27
10. Cymbaline 10:50
11. Atom Heart Mother 20:13
Total Time Disc 2 79:09
Disc 3
1. Blues 5:07
2. Breathe 3:00
3. On The Run 6:22
4. The Great Gig In The Sky 4:32
5. Money 1:43
6. Brain Damage/Eclipse 3:27
7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-5 23:31
8. Raving And Drooling 10:45
9. You've Gotta Be Crazy 13:10
Total Time Disc 3 71:39
Disc 4
1. Echoes 21:25
2. Pigs On The Wing parts 1 & 2 3:35
3. Comfortably Numb 2:39
4. When The Tigers Broke Free 2:55
5. Mother 6:40
6. What Shall We Do Now? 4:42
7. Bring The Boys Back Home 1:47
8. Outside The Wall 4:09
9. The Hero's Return parts 1 & 2 3:58
10. Run Like Hell 7:24
11. On The Turning Away 6:48
12. Money 11:33
Total Time Disc 4 77:37
Total for all 4 Discs 5 hrs 0:25
Band:
Syd Barrett
Roger Waters
Rick Wright
Nick Mason
David Gilmour
Xref: <no info>
Quality: Sup/Ex
studio tracks---Sup -DAN
live tracks-----EX -DAN
selected track list for 4 CD's---Sup -DAN
Comments: I saw Total Eclipse repackaged. It is in a white folder type thing that looks like a fairly cheap plastic holder. I assume it folds open and has two discs on each side (it was that sort of size). The artwork is a faded version of the original, sporting the Great Dane dog head on the spine but no catalogue number or bar code on the back. No clue about the book inside... It was retailing for $80. Looks to me like the people that have brought us the continued Meddler and Azimuth have added this to their stable... - DAve.
TOTAL ECLIPSE was conceived in 1993, well into Great Dane's ambitious "Pink Floyd Project." Great Dane had wanted to put out a box set that would appeal to the fans who had been terribly dissapointed with "Shine On," Pink Floyd's official release. It's purpose was to attempt to bring to the fans a comprehensive overview of the band's career, substituting rare material and alternative tracks wherever possible. This is the reason why many of the early singles and B-sides were included (which many people question). Much "Top Gear" material was also included because not only were the sound sources believed to be the better than on any previously released RoIO, but also because it seemed that these tracks should also be represented in the band's history. TOTAL ECLIPSE was meant to be chronological (although a few tracks are out of order) and comprehensive; something that could be listened to from beginning to end.
In retrospect, things probably could have been different. Originally TOTAL ECLIPSE was planned to be a 5 CD set, but Great Dane wanted to utilize it's 4 CD "Book" format, presenting 2 CD's on the insides of the front and back covers (this was the first of many Great Dane releases to be packaged in this manner), with an extensive booklet sandwiched between. Although the 5 CD set was ready to go into production (as far as the remastered DATS were concerned), remastering had to start all over again, and cuts had to be made.
In hindsight, the extensive "Nick's Boogie" could have been omited, making room for a few other early tracks, as well as some of the material from DSOTM ("Breath," "On The Run," and "The Great Gig In The Sky"), previously issued on other RoIO's. This might have left room for rare tracks such as "Main Theme From More," "Obscured By Clouds" and "When You're In," and the much requested "Childhood's End." The recent live singles an B-sides from 1987's DSOT tour, "Run Like Hell," and "Money," could also have made room for these rarities. Quality was also a major factor, this being the reason why certain desirable rarities were omitted. Perhaps the biggest regret was the omission of "Lucy Leave" and "King Bee", whose authenticity were still questionable at the time. It was not worth taking the risk of compromising the integrity of this release with a few possibly bogus recordings.
But the efforts put forth, warts and all, seemed to have paid off. Over three years later, it seems that the fans hold TOTAL ECLIPSE in very high regards, and that was my intention to begin with.
Unfortunately, once all of the material (remastered tapes, photos, text, and original artwork) were assembled and shipped to Italy, the production and manufacturing were out of my hands, Great Dane's releases got more elaborate, more ambitious, and certainly more professional over the years, so I'm glad that I wasn't asked to produce TOTAL ECLIPSE at the start of the great "Pink Floyd Project" (which was to release definitive CD's representing each of the band's major tours).
Not being RoLO's, these projects obviously had their limitations. I helped to produce these CD's not only to preserve the best of my audio collection on a (hopefully) longer lasting and more durable format, I wanted to present something that I would buy for myself. I also wanted to show respect for the fans, offering them something that had some thought behind it, making it worth their hard earned cash.
TOTAL ECLIPSE went through three pressings before Great Dane went under due to the Gat Treaty. The second pressing had two even columns on the back cover displaying the track listing. The image on the cover was also sharper and closer to the color of the original artwork. Almost ten thousand copies were produced and undoubtedly sold.
To address other issues stated in comments concerning this RoIO, the "barely readable articles" were included, not to be "read," but for "artistic" purposes only. For some unknown reason, "Murderistic Women" was omitted (although it was included in the liner notes), and "The Massed Gadgets..." was split into two tracks (although it plays out seamlessly). If any tracks seem speeded up or too slow, that is unfortunately the nature of some RoIO's, and the lack of sophisticated equipment (at the time) on my end to make those corrections.
I'd have to say that I've been pretty happy with most of the public's response to Total Eclipse, although I really wish I could do it all over again....
Future comments on TOTAL ECLIPSE, good or bad, are most welcomed to this web page - ANON
Listed times of tracks and actual times differ. The selection of tracks is phenomenal for this important collection. The tracks are basically in chronological order. CD 4 is just fantastic with rare tracks not known to be released elsewhere. Snowy White's guitar riff on Pigs On The Wing parts 1 & 2 only before released on 8-track tape. Mother and What Shall We Do Now? are both taken from the digital laser disc version of the movie "The Wall".
Booklet has many great photos of the group and of album covers and a selection of newspaper articles (barely readable interview w/ Barrett from Melody Maker issue from March 17 (27?) of 1971. Also various articles from "The Wall".
Artwork on cover is not anything like Gerald Scarfe's work but none-the-less interesting.
The new Total Eclipse batch is out. The back is different. Where on the first batch the tracklist was in two columns (the right- most containing the first part and a smaller leftmost one have the rest, the new batch has two equal columns with the first half on the left and the rest on the right. Also, the colour on the CD's itself changed, from green to yellow. And the box itself is a bit different in colour. Mine was very green, this one is more 'ochre' (pale-brown/green). -PIET
_Murderistic Woman_ seems to be missing on Total Eclipse, but they cut _Massed Gadgets_ into two parts so the total track number still fits. -ANON
The version of AHM is about 8% (1/2 step) too slow, adding about 1:30 to the piece. Also, did they really need "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play", "Nick's Boogie," (all common rolo CD tracks) and so much Top Gear material? -ANON
Included in this RoIO is a 36 page booklet with a 4 page history of Pink Floyd. Here are the last 3 paragraphs of that story...
In 1993, Pink Floyd released Shine On, a 9 CD box representing the band's history. It consisted of 7 previously released albums, with no alternate, rare, or live tracks. Included as a bonus was a book, postcards, special packaging and other bonuses.
This box set is meant to represent a comprehensive, chronological retrospective of the band's music. Rare, live, or alternate versions were used wherever possible. Because this collection was designed as a 4 CD set, there was a limit to the amount of material selected, with a great regard to sound quality. Unfortunately, many rare recordings were cut because of this reason.
"Total Eclipse" is for you, the fans. You deserve better than the Shine On box set, but the powers that be are more interested in making money than giving the fans what they really want (and what every other major artist has done for their fans), this is the best we could do. So for those who delve deeper into the lyrics, feel the passion of the music, and hold the name Pink Floyd in a very special place in their hearts...shine on.
Track Source Information:
Disc One
1. Arnold Layne (Barrett) The Pink Floyd's first single, released in the UK March 11th, 1967, was one of a handful of tracks that was laid down at their first studio recording session. Produced by Joe Boyd at Sound Techniques Studios in Chelsea on January 27th, 1967, "Arnold Layne" was chosen because unlike the other tracks it was short enough to release as a single. The Pink Floyd made three appearances on BBC-TV's "Top Of The Pops" promoting its release. Of the title itself Barrett stated, "I thought that Arnold Layne was a nice name and it fitted very well into the music I had already written." It charted number 20 in the UK.
2. Candy and a Currant Bun (Barrett) The B-side to "Arnold Layne" was recorded at the same session along with an early version of "Interstellar Overdrive". Originally titled "Let's Roll Another One" the lyrics were changed due to the obvious drug inferences. Waters commenting on the BBC's attitude towards the track, recalled "They didn't like that at all. Very under the arm." The song dates back to the Floyd's Free School repertoire.
3. See Emily Play (Barrett) The Second single by the Floyd, was recorded on May 23rd, 1967, at Sound Techniques Studios after sessions at EMI failed to capture the essence found on Arnold Layne. Two of the Floyd's biographers, Miles and Karl Dallas, dispute Emily's origins. Miles states that the track is a reworking of the "Games For May" concert performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12th 1967, while Dallas says that "Emily" was performed April 29th at the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream in Aid of the International Times. Mick Schaffner's book states that "Emily" was in real life the daughter of Lord Kennet (Wayland Young) who was well known to the UFO club crowd. Schaffner also reports that David Gilmour, who was coincidentally at the session with his band Joker's Wild, first noticed Syd's mental decline. Released on June 16th, 1967, it charted number 6 in the UK and 134 in the US.
4. Flaming (Barrett) Deleted from the US release of "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", "Flaming" later appeared as a single on August 5th, 1967. Performed live for a brief period, as well as BBC and French TV appearances.
5. The Scarecrow (Barrett) 6. The Gnome (Barrett) 7. Mathilda Mother (Barrett) All three tracks appear on the first Floyd album "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". These cuts were the first of many recorded for the John Peel's "Top Gear" show on BBC radio, and was first broadcast on September 30th, 1967.
8. Scream Thy Last Scream (Barrett) 9. Vegetable Man (Barrett) Recorded in August, 1967, "Scream Thy Last Scream" was planned as the Floyd's third single. The song was performed live during 1967, and was also entitled "Scream Thy Last Scream Old Woman With A Casket" and the shorter "Old Woman With A Casket".
Also recorded in August of 1967 was the unreleased "Vegetable Man". Manager Pete Jenner recalls the origins of the song. "Syd was around at my house just before he had to go to record - and because a song was needed, he just wrote a description of what he was wearing at the time, and threw in a chorus that went 'Vegetable Man, where are you?'."
This is one of the last sessions featuring Syd Barrett with the Pink Floyd. These two tracks are the actual August 9th, 1967 sessions.
10. Apples And Oranges (Barrett) A third single that fared poorly in the charts. The track was recorded in August of 1967 and released on November 18th. A promotional film featured a Barrett-less Floyd, with Roger Waters lip-syncing to Syd's vocal. Waters' recollection of the track was that it was a "fucking good song," that "was destroyed by the production." All around, producer Norman Smith seems to have become the fall-guy for the failure of this single.
11. Pow R. Toc H. (Barrett/Mason/Waters/Wright) 12. Jugband Blues (Barrett) "Pow R. Toc H." is from "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "Jugband Blues" was recorded at the time of "Apples and Oranges". So disappointing was the reaction to "Apples and Oranges" that their manager, Pete Jenner, proposed releasing "Jugband Blues" in its place. "Jugband Blues" was used by the Central Office of Information for a promotional film about Britian that was distributed in the US and Canada.
For the track Syd Barrett brought a Salvation Army band into the studio, instructing them to "play what you want to." These tracks are taken from the second session they did for John Peel's "Top Gear" show, broadcast on 12/19/67.
13. Nick's Boogie (Barrett/Mason/Waters/Wright) A studio outtake that was recorded in April of 1967 for the soundtrack to the film "Tonite Let's All Make Love In London". "Nick's Boogie" has only been officially available as a CD bonus track since the soundtrack album was released in 1990. This extended instrumental is a variation of "Interstellar Overdrive."
14. It Would Be So Nice (Wright) The Floyd's fourth single released on April 12th, 1968. "Fucking awful that record, wasn't it?" recalls Nick Mason about the track. There was a general feeling at the time that the band needed a commercial hit and this single was an attempt at that. The version released to the stores mentions the London evening newspaper The Evening Standard, but the BBC, fearful of advertising, made the Floyd change the Lyric to The Daily Standard. "At that period we had no clear direction," stated Mason.
15. Julia Dream (Wright) 16. Let There Be More Light (Waters) 17. Murderistic Women (Waters) 18. Massed Gadgets of Hercules (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Taken from the June 25th, 1968 Top Gear session, these tracks are some of the first recorded performances of Pink Floyd with David Gilmour (there had been a brief period with both Barrett and Gilmour in the line-up). Julia Dream had been the B-side to "It Would Be So Nice" and featured David Gilmour on vocals.
"Let There Be More Light" was released in the US as a B-side to "Remember A Day", and the 1981 release of the remixed "Money".
"Murderistic Women" was an earlier, shorter version of "Careful With That Axe, Eugene". Up until the "In The Flesh" tour of 1977, Pink Floyd regularly tried out new tracks in front of live audiences, often with very different titles from the finished piece. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" was also the B-side to their next single.
19. Point Me At The Sky (Waters) Their fifth single, released on December 17th, 1968 was produced by Norman Smith. It failed so badly in the charts that the Floyd did not release another single until "Another Brick In The Wall - Part II" in 1979. The promotional film for "Point Me At The Sky" features the Floyd flying in a yellow biplane, and photos from this promo film appear on the double compilation album "A Nice Pair". As he did with "Apples and Oranges", Roger Waters defended the song, blaming its failure on the poor production.
20. Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor (Gilmour) "Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor" was the working title for what would later become "The Narrow Way - Part 1" on "Ummagumma". This was written by David Gilmour as his contribution to the solo section of the album.
Disc Two
1. Embryo (Waters) "Embryo" was originally recorded for the album "Ummagumma" but was dropped in favor of the individually written tracks concept. The unfinished track was chosen as Pink Floyd's entry on the Harvest (the Floyd's UK publisher) label's sampler album "Picnic". The album cover features a typical Hipgnosis design that actually foreshadowed some of the images from "The Wall", with a family sitting on a sparse beach, wearing gas masks. The Floyd themselves were dismayed by the songs appearance, and have prevented the album being reissued. David Gilmour recalls that "For some reason we never actually finished the recording of it... EMI got Norman Smith, I think, to mix it, and they released it without our okay."
Nonetheless, the Floyd played the track on John Peel's show in
January of 1969, and on tours throughout 1970 and 1971. The song was also performed with free-form sections against a background of pretaped sound effects (most notably that of children playing), extending the 3 minute song up to as long as 30 minutes. The track was also issued in the US on the "Works" compilation album. These two tracks are from the "Top Gear" recording session of January 1969.
2. Green Is The Colour (Waters) 3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) 4. The Narrow Way - Part 1 (Gilmour) Three tracks taken from the BBC "Top Gear" broadcast of July 25th, 1969. The first, "Green Is The Colour", was originally titled "The Beginning", the opening sequence of the concept suite "The Journey". The song appeared on the soundtrack album "More", which was also released in July of 1969 and stayed in the Floyd repertoire through 1971.
"Careful With That Axe, Eugene" was originally titled "Keep Smiling People",then "Murderistic Women" before being included in "The Journey" entitled "Beset By The Creatures Of The Deep". "Axe" also turned up as part of the "Committee" soundtrack, and on "Zabriskie Point" as "Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up". The song appeared as a B-side to "Point Me At The Sky" on the compilation album "Relics", and a live version was released on the double album "Ummagumma" in 1970. It was filmed live on a number of occasions, once for "Live At Pompeii" and again in 1973 as a promo film available on the "Superstars In Concert" video.
"The Narrow Way", originally titled "Baby Blue Shuffle In D Minor", was David Gilmour's solo composition for the album "Ummagumma". Gilmour confessed to a certain amount of desperation in trying to compose a track by himself.
5. Biding My Time (Waters) Originally titled "Work and Afternoon", this track originated from the concept piece "The Man", and the track has only been released officially on the compilation album "Relics". This version is taken from the Concert Gebow, Amsterdam show of August 17th, 1969.
6. Oenone/Fingal's Cave (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) 7. Rain In The Country (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Recorded for the movie "Zabriskie Point", but never used in the film or on the soundtrack album. These two outtakes are from the studio sessions in Rome, December 1969. Track 7 is now available on the official Zabriskie Point 2 CD re-release.
8. The Violence Sequence (Wright) This track, originally composed for the film "Zabriskie Point" would later become "Us And Them" on "Dark Side Of The Moon" two years later. Of the film sequence itself, Nick Mason recalls that "there was a lot of news film, of cops and students fighting it out, all with no soundtrack apart from this very lyrical piano thing which Rick played as a solo." This version comes from the Theatre Champs D'Elyses show, January 23rd, 1970.
9. If (Waters) Recorded for the album "Atom Heart Mother", released in 1970, "If" clearly indicates the future direction of Waters' songwriting. With a pleasantly disarming acoustic guitar line, Waters delivers some stark and disturbing lyrics about being insane. The track was essentially a filler on the album, and was not widely performed, although Roger Waters did revive it for his solo tours of 1984 and 1987. This recording is taken from the Paris Theatre, London, September 16th, 1970.
10. Cymbaline (Waters) 11. Atom Heart Mother (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Recorded at Pepperland, San Rafael on October 17th, 1970, "Cymbaline" appeared on the soundtrack to "More" and was performed throughout the 70/71 era.It has been suggested that the song, about dreams and dreaming, was a reference to Shakespeare's "Cymbaline", but given the Floyd's failure to read Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" for the aborted 1972 Roland Petit Ballet project, this seems unlikely.
"Atom Heart Mother" was a landmark for the Floyd as it devoted the entire side of an album to one piece, paving the way for "Echoes" and ultimately "Dark Side of the Moon". The track also brought together many of the sound effects that Waters had been interested in, along with an orchestra. The Floyd briefly toured with "Atom Heart Mother" accompanied by a live orchestra but had to rework the composition when played as a quartet. This version, performed without the orchestra, was also played during a 1970 TV broadcast from KQED studios in San Francisco.
Disc Three
1. Blues (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) A generic blues number from the Paris Theatre show of September 30th, 1971. These jams were a frequent, yet undocumented part of the Floyd shows of the early 70s. They were usually short free-form departures from the band's standard repertoire, and would occasionally appear on bootlegs with titles such as "Pink's Blues", etc.
2. Breathe (Gilmour/Waters/Wright) 3. On The Run (Gilmour/Waters) Taken from the Rainbow Theatre concert of February 17th, 1972, this was the first official performance of "Dark Side Of The Moon". "Breathe" is slightly different from its incarnation on the album, and "On The Run" features a powerful, driving riff by Gilmour with a bluesy accent. This was eventually dropped and replaced by the now familiar sound effects/VCS3 synthesizer track.
4. The Great Gig In The Sky (Wright) This version of "The Great Gig In The Sky" was taken from the Hollywood Bowl concert of September 22nd, 1972.
5. Money (Waters) A snippet of the demo performed by Waters, playing an acoustic guitar. It is important as it shows the difference between the original demo and the finished product, and indicates just how much influence the whole band has in shaping the final piece, despite what the credits say.
6. Brain Damage/Eclipse - Alternate Mix (Waters) The climax to "Dark Side Of The Moon". This mix was made some weeks after the initial release of the album, which differs from the quadraphonic release. It contains some alternate guitar overdubs, some of which can be seen being laid down in the film "Live At Pompeii". "Too much feedback?" remarks Gilmour during the session. "Don't worry about that. Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"
7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Gilmour/Waters/Wright) Taken from the Empire Pool Wembley show of November 14th, 1974, this version predates the release of the album "Wish You Were Here". "Shine On" saw the first use of the revolving mirror disc that was to become a staple of their shows for the rest of the decade. 32,000 people saw the Floyd those four night sat the Empire Pool, indicating the success of "Dark Side", yet ironically the band were unhappy with their performances. In particular, David Gilmour recalled this show with a sour note, describing it as "the worst we've done on the whole tour." The technical side of the show had some major hitches, although the audiences didn't seem to notice.
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" was Waters tribute to Syd Barrett, who said of the track "I wrote that song, above all, to see the reaction of people who reckon they know and understand Syd Barrett. I wrote and rewrote and rewrote that lyric because I wanted it to be as close as possible to what I felt... and even then it hasn't altogether worked out right for me." The inspiration for the song was Gilmour's guitar riff. "I think it was a guitar line of Dave's that sparked me off," recalls Waters. "It's actually the signature tune from a radio show 'Take if from Here.'"
The track was performed through the 1977 tour and again for the 1987 World Tour, ending at a rain soaked Knebworth in 1990.
8. Raving And Drooling (Waters) 9. You've Gotta Be Crazy (Gilmour/Waters) Along with "Shine On," these two tracks made their debut during the French tour of 1974. Ultimately, they would become "Sheep" and "Dogs", forming the core of 1977's "Animals" album. In this earlier version the lyrics do not have the animal motifs that would become so familiar, but instead are about the stresses and strains of everyday work.
"Raving And Drooling" features a thunderous bass line by Waters and finishes with the blistering guitar solo from Gilmour.
"You've Gotta Be Crazy" also shows off Dave's virtuosity and has both Waters and Gilmour sharing the vocals. This recording is from the Nassau Coliseum, New York, June 16th, 1975. The 1975 tour also marked the last time that Pink Floyd previewed their new material, as the shows became more elaborate in terms of staging.
Disc Four
1. Echoes (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Recorded at A.I.R. (EMI) studios, the Floyd finally shrugged off the legacy of Syd Barrett and confidently found their own direction, paving the was for "Dark Side of the Moon". Released in November 1971 on the album "Meddle", the track proved to be a milestone in the history of the band, and like "Atom Heart Mother" took up the entire side of an album.
Originally "Echoes" was recorded in January of '71 as a series of individual pieces that were collectively known as "Nothing - Parts 1-24". Gilmour explained that "We never know what an album will be called or what it will sound like right up until the finish." Nick Mason added that "By the end of January we had thirty-six different bits that sometimes cross-related and sometimes didn't. 'Echoes' was made up from that." The piece was first performed at Norwich University on April 22nd, 1971 and at this stage was called "The Return of the Son of Nothing", although Roger Waters would later introduce the piece as "The March of the Dambusters", "Looking Through The Hole in Granny's Wooden Leg" and We Won The Double".
2. Pigs on the Wing - Parts 1 & 2 (Waters) Taken from the 8-track release of "Animals". To accommodate the 8-track repeat feature this version has an added bridging guitar sequence between the two tracks. The riff was performed by Snowy White, who was the Floyd's back-up guitarist during the 1977 tour. This version has not been released on any other format, although the bridge was added to "Pigs on the Wing - Part 2" when performed live, as a coda.
3. Comfortably Numb (Gilmour/Waters) Originally the riff was written by Gilmour and recorded at the Bear Les Alps studios for his first solo album. It was resurrected for "The Wall", when Waters was searching for musical ideas to accompany his lyrics, inspired by his own experiences of being forced on stage when very sick.
Performed live the song is perhaps the crowning moment in the history of Pink Floyd, as all the elements came together perfectly. At this stage of the show the Wall is already complete, as Waters, dressed in a white doctors coat, tries to coax his patient in. Back lit by an orange arc light, Gilmour, his shadow cast wide across the audience, performed a searing guitar solo from the top of the wall.
Recognizing the importance of the track, Gilmour performed the song on his 1984 "About Face" tour, and was climax to Pink Floyd's 1987/90 World Tour where the mirror-ball made a welcome reprise. This track is a snippet of Gilmour's demo from 1978.
4. When The Tigers Broke Free (Waters) A track that was specially written for the film "Pink Floyd - The Wall". Released as a single in the US and the UK (where it charted at number 39). It was to have been a part of the upcoming album "Spare Bricks", a collection of new material from the film. When that project was dropped for "The Final Cut", so did an album release for the song. The track was also released on a promotional CD for Roger Waters' Berlin 1990 concert.
5. Mother (Waters) 6. What Shall We Do Now? (Waters) The film version of "The Wall" reworked some of the familiar tracks of the album, and the most radically changed track was "Mother". The flow of the song was broken up to accommodate the linear story telling, and the acoustic guitar was replaced by an orchestra. This version of the song has previously been unreleased and is taken from the digital laser disc version.
"What Shall We Do Now?" was left off of the original album at the last minute, although the lyrics were printed on the record sleeve. The song, a lis of obsessions that Pink is faced with to compensate for the "Empty Spaces" in his life, was however performed live to great effect. This version is again from the film, where it was reinstated with brilliant animation of Gerald Scarfe's sexually provocative flowers.
7. Bring The Boys Back Home (Special Version) (Waters) Released as a B-side to "When The Tigers Broke Free" this promotional 12-inch mix is different from the film and the more common 7-inch release.
8. Outside The Wall (Waters) This version of the track was used as the epilogue and end title sequence of the film. What is different about this version is that the back-up vocals that repeat Waters' vocal is missing, and a Salvation Army-like orchestration is added. The music for the film was produced by David Gilmour, although technically only Waters appears on this track.
9. The Hero's Return - Parts 1 & 2 (Waters) "The Hero's Return" was written for the album "The Final Cut" and was released as a B-side to the single re-dubbed version of "Not Now John". The 12-inch and 7-inch versions feature "The Hero's Return - Part 2", an extra verse of the song performed by Waters. "Part 2" could possibly be a demo version since the sound is distinctly different from that of "Part 1".
10. On The Turning Away (Gilmour/Moore) 11. Run Like Hell (Gilmour/Waters) "On The Turning Away" was the third single released from "AMLoR" marking the new Gilmour-lead era of the band. A video of this live cut was produced, recorded at the Omni, in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Run Like Hell", from "The Wall", was released as a single in the US and Europe, backed by "Don't Leave Me Now". Like "Comfortably Numb", "Run Like Hell" was originally intended for Gilmour's first solo album and was played during both his 1984 tour and the Pink Floyd 87/90 tour, in which it was the show stopper. The song in context of "The Wall" illustrates Pink turning into a fascist, manipulating racially oriented hate crimes in the name of fascism. Out of context "Run Like Hell" is a great rock number that really gets going.
Both these performances are from the Omni Atlanta, November 5th, 1987, and appeared as a bonus cut on the release of the "On The Turning Away" CD single.
12. Money - From Knebworth. The sax-player on Money is Candy dulfer (and is announced by Gilmour).
As the flagship RoIO box set, and a sizable investment for those of you that can afford to buy it (legally, that is), I've felt for a while that Total Eclipse needs a track-by-track review, since so many newbies use it as their guidepost (myself included), and it's also a valuable point of departure for X-referencing some of the more convoluted RoIOs out there...so, in my foolishness, I've ventured to dissect the whole thing (and try and clear up some errors). Overall I'd have to say I'm quite happy with Total Eclipse, though at times I wish they'd concentrated a bit more on the live rarities and a bit less on Arnold Layne and other easily available tracks. Also the presence of as many as three tracks from the 16 Sep 1970 is a little displeasing; it would have been nice to have some material from Hokkaido or Montreux (not to mention, say, Boeblingen 1972). But it's absolutely gorgeous -- Great Dane's reputation for class is well-deserved -- and the tracks (especially the later ones) seem to be taken from excellent sources. The below is, of course, basically a VERY subjective collection of my opinions on TE, so feel free to disagree, and please correct me when I'm wrong -- but please double-Czech your facts before you do, to ensure that no more misinformation is spread. -MT
Disc 1
1. Arnold Layne, 2. Candy and a Currant Bun, 3. See Emily Play: all Sup. The sound is perhaps not the best I've heard for tracks 1 and 3, but is still pretty much flawless, if somewhat lacking in punch.
4. Flaming: Ex+. Something about this track bothers me a bit; there's a sort of crackly, brittle quality to it, especially in the first verse vocals, that gets on my nerves (it sounds like less than pristine No-Noised vinyl) and there are shifts in level and high-frequency response towards the end of the song. It would be fine were this a rare track, but it's not...
5. The Scarecrow: Ex-/VG+. Little treble at times, and clearly variable HF response that gets a little annoying, especially in the vocals. But quite listenable, if not that exciting.
6. The Gnome: Ex-/VG+. More hiss than 5., with similar HF problems (especially in the beginning).
7. Mathilda Mother: Ex-/VG+. Similar to 5. & 6., with odd bass response towards the end as well.
8. Scream Thy Last Scream: Sup. A touch murky, but who knows how much of that is native to the original material...and a song that all people who claim to be Syd buffs should know, of course.
9. Vegetable Man: Ex-. Much murkier than 8., though plenty listenable.
10. Apples And Oranges: Sup. Standard RoLO sound.
11. Pow R. Toc H.: Ex-/VG+. The recording isn't as good perhaps as the source for 5.-7., but it doesn't have the "wow" variability that makes them less enjoyable. On the other hand it's faded a bit early.
12. Jugband Blues: VG-. Pretty murky, though still very listenable, but many a generation (or refrigerator magnet?) has this tape source seen.
13. Nick's Boogie: Sup. RoLO sound. Nothing to complain about here, and a treat after "Jugband Blues" if you're listening to the tracks in order.
14. It Would Be So Nice: Sup. As above. And IMHO Nick Mason was right...pretty kitschy.
15. Julia Dream: Sup/Sup-. Far better than the preceding "Top Gear" tracks. Clear, solid sound, maybe a bit lacking in body but quite good nonetheless.
16. Let There Be More Light: Sup-. Slightly the inferior of Julia Dream, but still very good.
17. Murderistic Women: Not to be found, it's indexed as the first half (3:50) of --
18. Massed Gadgets of Hercules: Ex-. Of definitely lower quality than 15.-16., with a little distortion (but not of objectionable sort). I find it hard to listen to this through headphones because of the timbre of the recording -- at times it takes on a somewhat strident quality...but it's early aSoS, and as such, is certainly interesting.
19. Point Me At the Sky: Sup. As the other RoLO tracks.
20. Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor: VG-. Rather stereotypical "No-Noised bad (vinyl?) source sound", and IMHO not all that interesting musically, but certainly not unpleasant to listen to. There may be a half-step speed problem, depending on whether Gilmour was tuned down. By the way, the title of this one has always befuddled me -- sure sounds like D major (or in this case D-flat major ;-) to me!
Disc 2
1. The Embryo: Ex+. Clear, though not without murkiness. Straightforward stuff.
2. Green Is The Colour, 3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene: Sup. These tracks are *not* taken from the BBC "Top Gear" broadcast of July 25th, 1969 (as listed in the liner notes), but, based on an A-B of these tracks and the RoIO "Focus" (which IMHO has slightly better sound), are rather from the "Libest Spacement Monitor" BBC broadcast of September 16, 1970. (cf. "The Complete Top Gear Sessions" for how this mislabeling may have begun.) Regardless, nearly flawless sound (one or two nearly imperceptible bits of noise), and great vocals and playing, make these tracks a joy, as always.
4. The Narrow Way part 3 (*not* part 1): Ex. Normal Top Gear quality. Relatively typical performance and sound. Again, pretty straightforward/unremarkable.
5. Biding My Time (Work): VG+-. The sound is rather murky (little treble), and a little "distant" (though the sound effect at the beginning is crystal clear), so technically I have to give it an VG+-...but I find that for this particular track I don't mind its shortcomings at all -- it gives it a certain ambience. A nice version, bluesy and mellow, that sounds great played quietly, late at night.
6. Oenone/Fingal's Cave: Ex-/VG+. As above, I believe that the murky sound on this track is actually fairly atmospheric, particularly on Oenone (*not* "Oneone"). Enjoyable.
7. Rain in the Country: VG+. The sound quality here is not really to my taste, it's got a somewhat "bad vinyl" sound to it...but certainly it's unobjectionable. Not really my cup of tea, the song strikes me as a bit uninspired, mostly an amalgam of Baby Blue/Narrow Way Part 1 and the second part of Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast.
8. The Violence Sequence: G-. Easily the worst sound on Total Eclipse. It's got a whine in the 1000-1500 hz range (I've not pinpointed it exactly) that is nearly as loud as the music; when I first put the track on I thought there were some VERY loud crickets that night. Even besides that, the sound is pretty bad in its own right. But actually, once you get used to it, it's not really that obnoxious. (And, it's a historic performance, right?) Interestingly (and understandably -- I'm *still* not sure if I hear drums on this track ;-) I've heard of no CD RoIOs of this concert (Theatre Champs D'Elysees, 23 Jan 70 -- "Water's Gate", on the LP database, claims that date as its origin).
9. If: Sup. More 16 Sep 70 (LSM) material, and though it's a tiny bit inferior to Tracks 2-3 (a slight "vinyl roar") it's still perfectly dandy.
10. Cymbaline, 11. Atom Heart Mother: Ex-/VG+. From Pepperland. First of all, AHM has *no* speed problems (a typo for SOYCD on the part of ANON?). A pretty good audience recording, everything's reasonably clear, with less hiss than you might expect. Perhaps for me, the "footsteps" sequence gets a little lengthy in "Cymbaline" (and the audience seems to agree, getting slightly restless -- cf. the wag at 6:41, "I'm scared!" :-) He's a good way to ID this track, by the way), but this is a nice, intimate performance at what sounds like a small venue. Not PF's most exciting show, but plenty good nonetheless, and the boys sound like they're having fun.
Disc 3
1. Blues: Sup. For reasons similar to those given above under GitC/CwTAE, I think that this is actually from the 30 Sep 71 "One of These Days" sessions (its particular "color" strongly resembles TSP's "One of These Days", which has 3 of the tracks from the 5-song concert). Great stuff, with one tiny query -- it *might* have a speed problem. On a fairly impromptu track like this, there's no way of really knowing, but usually when they do a blues jam of this sort (cf. "More", for one) it's in G, whereas this one's a half-step down, in F-sharp (or G-flat). On the other hand, they may have been tuned down 1/2 step; this would make sense had they played "Echoes" immediately before or afterward (for which I think they tune down) -- but the FAQ (#20, part 2) indicates otherwise. But this is all academic: whether they played it in F-sharp or G, it sounds great, with only the slightest rasp/buzz to the sound.
2. Breathe, 3. On The Run: Sup. Taken from the famous 17 Feb 72 DSOTM set at the Rainbow. Great sound, perhaps a soundboard recording (though admittedly half a notch below the sound on the previous track and the LSM material). Energetic, driving OtR jam.
4. The Great Gig in the Sky: Ex-. Good, not great sound -- a solid audience recording. Rick's synth has, er, "interesting" intonation, to say the least...;-)
5. Money: Sup. The demo. Amusing, but how often are you going to listen to this?
6. Brain Damage/Eclipse: Sup-. A basically clean copy of the quadraphonic mix, but a touch of treblelessness makes it a tiny bit "off" to my ears, though that might just be from being used to DSotM.
7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-9 (not 1-5): VG+(SP). In sharp contrast to Track 1 on this disc, here the speed issue is very definite, and a problem. It's still only a half-step, but it drags the song down: the tempo crosses the line from slow to plodding, and the vocals are burdened in terms of tone color -- the slow speed accentuates that "off-night heaviness". But all this aside, it's still very listenable, and a good, clear audience recording not unlike tracks 8-9 on this disc. I'm a bit unsure about the Empire Pool Wembley, 14 (apparently actually15) Nov 1974 date; on the one hand it correlates with the "Black Holes in the Sky" entry, wrong speed and all -- but unless I'm missing something, I don't hear any of Gilmour's oft-cited "guitar trouble"...thoughts?
Addendum -- I fed this track into my computer and using a digital signal processing program boosted it up a half-step, thus correcting the pitch problem. It's really surprising what a difference it makes -- if you manage to get a pitch-corrected copy of this material, you'll notice a much crisper, more energetic "feel" to the track. It's a great audience recording, actually, and with the pitch corrected is one of the better ones I've heard by far--this track would earn an Ex, certainly (I haven't heard the others from this date, though). Perhaps someday some RoIO maker could take it upon themselves to do a little work and reissue this concert with the pitch corrected...
8. Raving and Drooling, 9. You've Gotta Be Crazy: Ex. From Nassau Coliseum, in New York, 16 June 75. The crowd is quiet, and though it's very definitely an audience recording, it's a great one: everything is captured clearly, with steady, crisp sound (when I turn the treble way up, I get this sudden feeling of being there -- to me, it makes the recording sound fifteen years more recent) and both songs *rock*, especially Raving and Drooling which has a great intro that could go on forever (but was dropped when the song became Sheep). Out of everything on TE, I probably listen most to these tracks and Biding My Time.
Disc 4
1. Echoes: Ex+. 18 June 75, Boston Gardens. At times (especially the quiet parts), the somewhat whistle-happy crowd gets on my nerves (who would have thought a New York crowd would be better behaved than a Boston one?) and I find the performance somewhat disappointing (particularly the vocals, which are kind of sloppy and strangely remind me of Barney from "The Simpsons"...). On the other hand, the sound is VERY clear, distinctly better than the last two tracks on disc 3, with great stereo (cf. 0:19, right channel -- "I hope they play the whole thing." :-) Another great track ID for you X-referencers.) The bottom line is that I don't enjoy this track nearly as much as other versions I have (though over time I've gotten used to it -- at first I hated it, now I can enjoy it to a certain extent, particularly the "jam", which is good); the band sounds tired and uninspired, though the playing is competent. I think the sax is somewhat out of place on this song ("Us and Echoes"?). Moreover, it just doesn't have the atmosphere present on earlier recordings -- that special, transcendent "Echoes vibe" just ain't there for the majority of the song. Then again, TSP's "One of These Days" has kind of spoiled me ;-). Supposedly, a poll taken concerning preferences between the Nassau date and this one, with Boston emerging the winner -- I recall one comment on the Nassau date about the band sounding "tired and sloppy" (!?) -- but if these tracks are any indication, I feel the opposite is true.
2. Pigs on the Wing parts 1 & 2: Ex-(SP). A half-step flat, and besides that there are some problems with high-end dropout. A little silly that this was put out with a speed problem, which admittedly is not that big a deal, but still...
3. Comfortably Numb: Ex+. Demo, with a WEIRD initial couple seconds -- an almost sinister sort of ...wwwwWAAAAHHH before the song really starts. Like the Money demo, amusing, but not really something you listen to more than two or three times.
4. When the Tigers Broke Free, 5. Mother, 6. What Shall We Do Now?, 7. Bring The Boys Back Home, 8. Outside The Wall: all Sup+. Laserdisc (or maybe vinyl for WtTBF, but if so then utterly pristine vinyl indeed), digital, flawless. After listening to the three other discs while writing this review, the wonderful sound on WtTBF was an absolute joy...but why *five* tracks of movie material?
9. The Hero's Return parts 1 & 2: Sup. Same comments that apply for all the other RoLO releases, and pretty interesting as well. However, IMHO Roger made the right choice in leaving that extra verse out...
10. Run Like Hell, 11. On the Turning Away: Sup+. Live RoLO. Nuff said. Some of you who spend their life savings on pricey RoIOs of Momentary and Bell tour stuff should Czech out these EPs; I didn't think I really liked the post-Waters Floyd, but I really get into RLH.
12. Money: Sup/Sup-. The sound is great, though not as well-blended as the above tracks (you'll really hear the difference in clarity, from tracks 10-11, when playing straight through). I *really* don't like Candy Dulfer's playing
but that aside, your standard live Knebworth material. -MTJust wanted to let the word out that the edition of the Total Eclipse RoIO that's currently being sold is a pale copy of the original. Be warned!!! This is not the original set put out by Great Dane records...they are long gone.
Someone took one of the original sets and copied the 4 CD's (unlike the AzCO single sets which used the original pressing). I don't know how well they were remastered or if they went from the original disks to a new "glass master" for the factory to reproduce. I know they're not the original disks because they are missing all of the track listings (the originals have all the tracks screened on them).
Also, the cover and liner notes are much more contrasty, and washed out. The type appears much thinner in the new booklets...a copy was definately made from the original, and some quality was lost in reproducing it.
Other than that, it might be okay to buy, as long as you know what you're getting. Alot of folks are still looking for this treasure, it's one of the highest rated RoIO's of all time. And, at least the new edition tried to keep the integrity of the original.
But until anyone can compare the new CD's with the originals....buyers beware! - ANON
As of early 1997, there are new green versions of TE available, and I briefly compared a new one with an old green one. They look the same to me. In 1994 there were gold ones which aren't identical to the new or old green ones. IMO, the gold ones are TE originals and the green ones are copies. Piet's notes suggest the opposite, but I've had them side by side and I'm sure of my conclusion.
The artwork of the green one is fuzzier and contrastier, as a photographic copy would be -- intentionally out of focus to reduce the telltale moiree effect of interference patterns caused by making a halftone of a halftoned photograph for the lithographic process. However, the copies look sharp enough if you don't have the originals to compare them to. The green TE is missing a small illustration that is in the original gold one but you wouldn't notice the omission except by comparing the two versions page by page.
The text is on toned colored backgrounds, so it would have been obviously out of focus if it had been copied photographically. On the green TE version the typesetting had to be done over. Whoever did it tried to match the original but didn't have identical fonts, so the text is slightly less attractive. The typographical errors are different in the two versions. On green ones the book is bound with two staples, and the gold ones used four staples. Overall I'd say that the green ones were copied as carefully as they could be by whoever did it, and they're of good quality (as roios go). The green version is just fine if you need TE. - DEEP TROUT.
Just finished listening to my copy of the new set of Total Eclipse pressings. I don't know where they come from, whether they really are GDR, and I know there have been concerns over the quality.
Overall, I would say the quality was pretty good. The comments in the database are on the mark. My additional comments:
There _are_ drums on The Violence Sequence.
Pigs On the Wing has some tape speed variation problems, and definitely does not warrant the Ex- because of this, I would have said a VG. But this just shows that different people find different things objectionable - I was less bothered by some of the "murkiness" on earlier tracks.
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My only talent is being able to share bootlegs from various forums, blogs and private hubs. Thanks to all who taped, shared, uploaded and everyone else I might have missed .
If any thing I have shared that you discovered to be officially released please inform Edge of guitars 101 or leave a comment to such or pm me and I will remove the thread.
My only talent is being able to share bootlegs from various forums, blogs and private hubs. Thanks to all who taped, shared, uploaded and everyone else I might have missed .
If any thing I have shared that you discovered to be officially released please inform Edge of guitars 101 or leave a comment to such or pm me and I will remove the thread.
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