Animals updates from Roger and Dave; remaster finally coming?
Posted by madhack on Jun 12, 2021
A recent interview with Rolling Stone with David Gilmour and Polly Samson covers many topics, but one has drawn the most attention: the remaster of Animals which was completed in 2018 and has yet to be released, which the interview confirms has been delayed due to a disagreement over inclusion of new liner notes.
Ahead of the release of the interview, Roger Waters released his own statement on those liner notes—and the contested notes themselves. The notes are clearly written from Roger's point of view (although it should be noted that he claims in the post that there's no disagreement on facts—a question David's interview never touches on). Roger also notes that he's in the middle of writing his memoirs, which no doubt promises much more grist for the rumor mill.
It is worth noting, however, that Roger has apparently approved the release without liner notes, so hopefully that's now imminent.
On a personal note, as someone who's long considered Animals a criminally overlooked album (perhaps understandably, bracketed as it is by the instant and unquestionable classics Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here on one side and the popular and critical pinnacle The Wall on the other), is it too much to hope that this will lead to the release of an Immersion Edition?
This is Not a Drill (this time)
Posted by madhack on Apr 8, 2021
Roger Waters has rescheduled and relaunched his planned "This is Not a Drill" tour for 2022, with most tickets on sale now. They're available at his his official site and, as usual, we've updated our Tour page.
That page has also been updated with the latest dates from Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets, also in 2022.
Catching up on videos from the band
Posted by madhack on Jan 20, 2021
As we all do, the current and former members of the Floyd are dealing with the limitations of life in a global pandemic in their own ways.
First up, Roger Waters's official Instagram page has shared a new (distanced) recording of "The Gunner's Dream" from The Final Cut, along with his musings on nuclear arms and the 1983 Soviet false alarm involving them.
Meanwhile, David Gilmour, on his family's ongoing Von Trapped Facebook livestream, has posted an at-home version of "Morning is Broken", as expanded on and popularized by Cat Stevens.
Enjoy a little bit of old/new music!
Us+Them film/album available for streaming and presale
Posted by madhack on Jun 17, 2020
A little good news for fans with both Roger's and Nick's current tours postponed: the official concert film of Roger Waters's Us+Them tour is now available to stream, and both it and the accompanying album can be preordered on physical media, for those of us still into that sort of thing. Links are here to buy or rent the film for Apple TV and Amazon Video or stream the first single, Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2), on either companies' services; or, pre-order a 3-LP, 2-CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray set at Roger's official store.
"Live at the Roundhouse" from Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets
Posted by madhack on Jan 30, 2020
Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets, as most fans already know, is a project featuring Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet), Guy Pratt (who handled most of the live bass duties, and some of the album ones, for Floyd post-Waters), Lee Harris, Dom Beken, and, of course, Nick himself. They've played some tour dates at small venues, but for fans who haven't been near enough to a show or able to get tickets, the band is releasing Live at the Roundhouse on CD/DVD, Blu-Ray, and vinyl on April 17.
The band's focus is on the Floyd's early work, before the break-out of Dark Side. The track list includes Piper- and earlier-era songs like Lucifer Sam, Interstellar Overdrive, and Astronomy Domine; chronologically, it ranges through to the title track from Obscured by Clouds plus When You're In and Childhood's End.
March 10 will also see a limited theatrical release, with tickets available soon.
Roger Waters 2020 North American tour dates announced
Posted by madhack on Jan 23, 2020
Roger Waters will be coming to the US and Canada in summer/fall 2020 for the "This Is Not a Drill" tour, with tickets going on sale on January 31. Dates are on his site and our Tour section.
Roger promised at the end of an interview with Rolling Stone last fall that this tour would be even more political than the Us+Them tour, and its election-year timing not even remotely a coincidence. Regardless of fans' opinions of that, the success of the Us+Them tour means that they should expect to find a full house of mostly like-minded people in attendance.
Roger also expressed a desire to have shows on this tour in Mexico, so there may be more dates still to come... we'll update our Tour page if and when any are announced.
The Later Years 1987-2019 box set coming in November
Posted by madhack on Aug 30, 2019
Pink Floyd's official site has announced the November 29 release of a new box set, The Later Years. The set covers the post-Waters era and contains 5 CDs, 6 Blu-Ray discs, and 5 DVDs, including remasters of A Momentary Lapse of Reason and Delicate Sound of Thunder, previously (officially) unreleased concerts from Venice in 1989 and Knebworth in 1990, and a ton of additional bonus material.
Pre-orders are available at all the usual places, including Amazon and the band's official store. The official store also lists a double LP and highlights CD, presumably for those unable or unwilling to spend nearly $500 on the full box set.
"Us+Them" concert film in theaters this October
Posted by madhack on Jul 10, 2019
The concert film of Roger Waters's Us+Them tour will be coming to theaters on October 2 and 6. Recorded in Amsterdam, the film includes live material from the classic Floyd albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall, as well as his most recent solo release, Is This the Life We Really Want?. Tickets are on sale at next Wednesdsay, July 17.
Black Strat sells for nearly $4 million
Posted by madhack on Jun 20, 2019
The Christie's auction for 120-odd of David Gilmour's guitars, with proceeds going to environmental defense charity ClientEarth, has just wrapped. His legendary black '69 Strat brought in $3,975,000 total, beating the record for any guitar ever sold at auction. That also broke a record set hours earlier for sale price for a Stratocaster, per Guitar World: $1,815,000 for the white Strat (serial number 0001). That guitar was used for rhythm on Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2; the 1955 Les Paul used on the solo sold for $447,000. Another record is $1,095,000 (highest for an acoustic guitar) for the Martin D-35 billed as Gilmour's primary acoustic and heard on the track Wish You Were Here, among many others.
On a personal note, the candy apple red 1983 57V reissue that led to my own interest in Stratocasters (and in guitars in general) sold for $615,000. It's easy to think it's unfortunate that the prices were so extravagant and out of reach for the average fan, but given that tens of millions of dollars were raised for charity, it's hard for this poster to be overly upset.
David Gilmour to auction 120+ guitars for charity
Posted by madhack on Jan 29, 2019
David Gilmour will be auctioning off over 120 of his own guitars this summer, with proceeds benefiting a number of charitable causes.
Rolling Stone has a couple of articles about the auction, with details about some of the other guitars for sale and an interview with the man himself. Gilmour insists that he has no intention of retiring just yet, though it's clear that his selection of instruments for future albums or shows will be much smaller.
Several guitars, such as the iconic black Strat and the white Strat used on Another Brick part 2, are expected to go for up to $150,000.
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