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There’s a good chance you missed Pink Floyd‘s legendary Pompeii concert in person. After all, the band performed in the empty ruins of the excavated amphitheater, in front of only the film crew. But you can experience the concert in definition so high you’ll feel like you were there, because Pink Floyd released a 4K remaster of the film. Just want the tunes? There’s also a companion album on vinyl and CD.
Segments of the performance had previously been released onThe Early Years, but this marks the first time the entire concert will be released in full. The album dropped on May 2, and several of its variants are best sellers on Amazon’s CDs and Vinyl category, as of this writing. Pink Floyd also landed their first number one LP in over a decade on the UK’s Album Charts, according to Billboard.
Pink Floyd At Pompeii – MCMLXXII (Album)
$42.98
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The release is available as a double LP vinyl or as a two-disc CD, featuring extras like posters and photos from the performance.
Pink Floyd At Pompeii – MCMLXXII (Movie)
$29.98
buy now On Amazon
Buy Now at b&N
The concert film will be rereleased on Blu-ray concurrently with the release of the album, with the film remastered from the original 35mm footage.
Lana Topham restored the film, and recording engineer Steven Wilson remixed the audio. The film features footage of the concert as well as behind-the-scenes footage of Pink Floyd preparing to record Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road studios. The band performed seminal tracks like “Echoes,” “One of These Days,” and “A Saucerful of Secrets.”
The film was released in 1972, right before the band’s creative and commercial peak of the mid-1970s that saw the release of Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall. The film was directed by Adrian Maben.
The restoration was made possible after the film’s negatives were discovered among the band’s archives. In addition to the CD and vinyl release, the concert is also getting a Dolby Atmos mix, allowing for an immersive audio experience.
Rolling Stone spoke to Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason ahead of the album’s rerelease, who said of the ruins, “I think it sounds absurd, but I think we took it for granted. In a way, I seem to remember less about Pompeii and the movie than I do about almost any other period of Pink Floyd.
“But I remember the dust. Because it was a bit gritty and hot, it gave the film atmosphere. It was an alternative to having an audience, and it worked really well. I believe that we did very little cutting and redoing pieces. It was almost like a live gig.”
