Eclipse Of The Sun (Sigma 84)
Tokyo Taiikukan, Tokyo, Japan – March 6th 1972
Disc 1 (47:34): Speak To Me, Breathe, On The Run, Time, Breathe (Reprise), The Great Gig In The Sky, Money, Us And Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage, Eclipse
Disc 2 (74:00): MC (Goro Itoi), tuning, One Of These Days, tuning, Careful With That Axe Eugene, Echoes, MC (Goro Itoi) & encore, tuning, A Saucerful Of Secrets
March 6th, 1972 was the first night of the six night Pink Floyd tour in Japan. The show was partially broadcast on the radio and a very good audience tape has been in circulation for many years. It was pressed many years ago from a high generation copy on Water’s Gate (TNT-940147/148). The hiss on the tape is louder than the actual music. This is one of the most hated bootlegs ever produced. A second silver pressing can be found on Live In Tokyo 1972 (Amsterdam AMS 9616-2-1/2) which represents an improvement over the TNT version.
Several years ago Sigma released the ultimate version of the Tokyo show on Acid Moon (Sigma 45), a three disc set with the audience tape and the radio broadcast. Eclipse Of The Sun is the the second Sigma release to focus on this show. It has only the audience tape, but a better sounding and more complete, including the tuning and Goro Itoi speeches.
Two weeks separate the end of the European tour and the beginning of Japan, yet the lay off really affected the momentum gained in the first couple months of the year regarding their new piece. The first half of the program, devoted to the new piece Dark Side, is very sloppy and uninspired. Granted they tinkered with arrangements throughout the year, but the first Tokyo performance lacks the cohesion and spark of later performances. It is evident early on with a stale run through of “Breathe” and leads into a quiet “On The Run.”
“Money” likewise has a very quiet beginning, sounding as if the band were learning how to play it again. Roger takes command of this performance. The track does turn out well even though Gilmour misses a cue in the lyrics. “Us & Them” sounds technically proficient, but things pick up with a spirited “Any Colour You Like.” Roger comes in too early for the first verse of “Brain Damage.”
He also forgets the start of the second verse, singing “the lunatics are in my…” forgetting that the lunatics are in the hall. There is a majestic ending for “Eclipse” and the audience give them a big applause.
The second half of the set is much better. “One Of These Days” is simply devastating in this recording with Gilmour’s slide emphasizing the insanity of the piece. “Careful With That Axe Eugene” is introduced as “a golden oldie” before they deliver a well throughout version of the piece.
“Echoes” is the true highlight of the evening. In twenty-five minutes they run the gamut of styles and emotions which leaves the audience breathless. The only encore is a thirteen minute running of “A Saucerful Of Secrets.” Unlike many tapes from this era this is complete with all the sections intact.
Eclipse Of The Sun (Sigma 84) is another very good upgrade on Sigma worth having.
4 Comments
I would actually prefer it without all the tune-ups & MC speeches, but it’s still a great release that I very much enjoy & recommend. And all the artwork is rather excellent, although not quite as great-looking as the likes of Nicole Taylor, Liz Cho, Nancy McKeon, Erin Gray, etc., etc.
Interesting question.
Your first point is correct. There IS that much tuning and speeches on disc two. They were edited out of Acid Moon. Specifically: the first Goro Itoi speech is 2:25, followed by 2:21 of tuning. There is 2:24 of tuning before “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” and Itoi’s second speech before the encore is 3:17. When the band finally hit the stage for the encore, they take 2:34 to tune before the thirteen and a half minute “A Saucerful Of Secrets.”
A friend pointed out to me that disc 2 of this title is an entire 13 minutes and 32 seconds longer than disc 2 of Acid Moon. Is there that much tuning or is disc 2 of Acid Moon edited in any way? Thanks for the review!
Thanks for the review.