The WORST Floyd Performances

[CarefulWithThatAxe1472]

How about a good change of pace. We all know how spectacular Floyd is live, but what are some of their worst moments?

[DaveTheRave]

David’s singing on Man & the Journey was awful. I’m surprised he let Nick release that on Early Years.

[Alanko]

The 1969 Concertgebouw performance is an odd one. We are so lucky to have it in good fidelity. I love the Nightmare/Cymbaline performance but Dave's singing on the Narrow Way is rough. On the studio version he is singling in a falsetto head voice, multi-tracked and very close to the mic. On the live version he is singing in a regular head voice above his comfortable singing range so the intonation is pretty approximate. He is also transposing some vocal melodies on the fly as well. Not helped by the slightly spitty microphones and boxy-sounding PA picked up by the radio station microphones.

Another sacred cow, maybe, but the KQED performance seems a bit paint-by-numbers compared to the stoned bombast and unruly inventiveness of some 1970 shows? It is Pink Floyd clattering through a truncated, bang-average 1970 set in a slightly stilted, awkward manner, not helped by an intrusively echoey room. Careful with that Axe seems an especially tinder-dry smirk of a performance compared to other versions from 1970 that leave audiences audibly shocked.


Final sacred cow, I've never really enjoyed anything they played at Montreux in 1970 or 1971 and the convoluted mix of sources and versions doesn't add to any lingering i retest in these shows, for me. Anything in a 1970/71 set list called 'Blues' can be skipped over as well. Blues for the time Nick Mason lost his straw boater while punting up the River Cam, maybe?

[rontoon]

David’s singing on Man & the Journey was awful. I’m surprised he let Nick release that on Early Years.

Nick released it?

[kenensky]

1972 Syria Mosque, that train wreck in Time at the solo section when Rick goes into the Breathe reprise instead. Great recovery though - "wait, what's Rick doing? Everyone do that instead!" - that makes it a unique '72 show.

[Skinny12]

I always considered the first date in dortmund a tough nut to swallow, maybe they were a bit sloppy in rehearsals…

Best
Nils

[Hallucalation]

Not fond of their Syd-less live versions of Interstellar Overdrive. They ruined that powerful riff and generally didn't know what to do with that song. It is completely lacking any power and drive without Syd on stage.

[YASHA]

Not fond of their Syd-less live versions of Interstellar Overdrive. They ruined that powerful riff and generally didn't know what to do with that song. It is completely lacking any power and drive without Syd on stage.

That's not entirely true.

They tried to diversify this composition musically, but in the end they decided to leave it in the past.

Along with this powerful riff at the same time.
What a blessing that the guys were so ambitious in their musical development!!!

Otherwise...

[jaisonas]

Roger's vocals in Vienna 77. Something must have been wrong with his health.

[marksturdy]

Rotterdam 1967. Fascinating insight but also sad, you can hear the wheels coming off at that point.

[DaveTheRave]

Nick released it?

I have no inside info. But when I think of the promotion for the boxset and celebration of the band’s early work, I think of Nick as the driving force. My gut feeling is that David and Roger have little use for most of the pre-Dark Side material. Nick also released his photo book and of course keeps the old tunes going with his Saucerful book. Nick did a radio station tour for Early Years. I heard nothing from David and I read that Roger’s contribution was the naming of the discs. Maybe I’m wrong.

[GiveBirthToSmile]

Not fond of their Syd-less live versions of Interstellar Overdrive. They ruined that powerful riff and generally didn't know what to do with that song. It is completely lacking any power and drive without Syd on stage.

idk man i loved the performance on Santa Monica (17 October 1970) it's like a heavy version of the riff

[Simond]

I agree with Hal. Interstellar Overdrive with Syd was something special. I played the album version 100s of times when it came out and also the other versions that subsequently came to light. Post Syd, they seemed to perform it just because it was expected of them. I saw them do it a few times but always hated that bit they chucked in the middle….. du-du da-du-du da-du-du twiddle twiddle twiddle - you know the bit I mean. Heaven knows what Zappa made of it when he sat in with them

[MrFender]

Another sacred cow, maybe, but the KQED performance seems a bit paint-by-numbers compared to the stoned bombast and unruly inventiveness of some 1970 shows? It is Pink Floyd clattering through a truncated, bang-average 1970 set in a slightly stilted, awkward manner, not helped by an intrusively echoey room. Careful with that Axe seems an especially tinder-dry smirk of a performance compared to other versions from 1970 that leave audiences audibly shocked.

Final sacred cow, I've never really enjoyed anything they played at Montreux in 1970 or 1971 and the convoluted mix of sources and versions doesn't add to any lingering i retest in these shows, for me.

I don't know, these are two of my favorite. Maybe it's because the recordings have such good sound? Can't really stand to listen to distant/tinny/etc recordings and it may color my perception of their actual performance.

[rontoon]

I have no inside info. But when I think of the promotion for the boxset and celebration of the band’s early work, I think of Nick as the driving force.

Well, you're mistaken. Paul Loasby was in charge and hired an archive team for video and audio preservation. Both David and Nick were brought in after the fact for approvals, as was Roger.