Almost at the same time, the two ex 'Pink-Floyd', 'Nick Mason' and 'Roger Waters' release their respective album from their last tour and these two concerts are absolutely not redundant because, as if they had wanted to take each twos eras of the legendary progressive rock band, 'Nick Mason' chose to perform tracks from the early period of 'Pink-Floyd' up to 'Atom Heart Mother' and 'Roger Waters' swept the period starting at 'The Dark Side Of The Moon', the only common title being 'One of these Days' from 'Meddle' which is located between the two albums mentioned above.
First of all, 'Nick Mason' and his loyal band of musicians, with the bassist who accompanied him with 'David Gilmour' in the post 'Roger Waters' period for the big shows of 'Pink-Floyd' in the 80s/90s, guitarist 'Gary Kemp' from 'Spandau Ballet', guitarist 'Lee Harris' and keyboardist 'Dom Beken', released 'Live at the Roundhouse' in early September 2020. This concert was recorded in the famous London hall, 'The' Roundhouse' and, unlike 'Roger Waters', it is a show on a human scale but this is not at all pejorative because the DVD/Blue Ray remains essential to fully immerse yourself in the psychedelic mood of the late 60s and I must say that the light show with a riot of rainbow colors contributes generously in this direction. We find the two facets of the beginning of the 'Floyds' with the first albums until 'Atom Heart Mother', first of all songs that were influenced by the pop of the time with of course in first line the 'Beatles' like 'If' or 'Green Is the Color' or even 'Remember a Day' but which prefigure the rapid evolution of 'Pink Floyd' towards rock which we will call progressive thereafter with essential titles like 'Interstellar Overdrive', 'Astronomy Domine', 'A Saucerful Of Secrets' or even 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun' to lead to the brilliant 'Atom Heart Mother', which remains for me, one of my major musical discoveries, tracks that allowed 'Pink Floyd' to move in musical directions that only a few pioneers of electronic music in the 1950s had already explored such as the one considered to be one fathers of electro-acoustic music 'Pierre Henry' and his fabulous 'Mass for the present time' . The other point to emphasize is that unlike some concerts which come too close to the original recording, the troupe at 'Nick Mason' brings other instrumental arrangements which are quite remarkable and which allow to perceive all these legendary titles from another angle with, of course, an irreproachable production and obviously a modern sound.
In summary, this 'Nick Mason' concert is a really nice gift for all 'Pink Floyd' fans, of which I am a part and takes us back decades when the 'Floyds' were exploring new musical paths in the world of rock and which will quickly make many followers, I named what is now called progressive rock... | |
