Floyd is my all-time favorite band, however when I first saw this DVD sitting in the music section of my local Wal-Mart, I took a pass on it believing it to be nothing more than a canned attempt to cash in on the Floyd legacy. Much like the myriad "unauthorized" interview discs you see out there.
Well my wife bought it for me for my birthday and boy was I pleasantly surprised! This disc was produced in full cooperation with the members of Pink Floyd. The interview segments are informative and interesting, providing little anecdotes that even I didn't know about. Plus, members of the band perform intimate acoustic versions of "Money" and "Breathe" among others. As well as giving a demo of how some of the trippy electronic effects were created.
The documentary gives a track-by-track history of the entire album (all save for "Any Colour You Like"). I particularly enjoy the segment on the song "The Great Gig In The Sky". I must have heard that song hundreds of times and yet Claire Torry's voice never ceases to raise goosebumps whenever I listen to it.
We are also treated to snippets of early takes of DSOTM tracks. An early version of "Money" truly reveals it's bluesy roots.
All of the interviews are handled individually and each appeared to filmed at different times at different locations. No two members of the Floyd are interviewed at the same time. However, each member genuinely seemed to enjoy recalling the making of this landmark album after all these years, and still appeared to have some fresh things to say.
In addition to the band, we are treated to comments by Storm Thorgerson, the creator of nearly every Floyd album sleeve to date, as well as Alan Parsons, the producer of the album who uses the mixing board to dissect individual tracks for us.
My only knock against this disc is that it wasn't longer. I could have easily watched another hour of this. A definite "must-buy" for any Pink Floyd or classic rock fan.
