Eclipse On Hamburg 1972 (Highland HL651/652)
Ernst-Merck Halle, Hamburg, Germany – November 12th, 1972
Disc 1 (45:59): Speak To Me, Breathe, On The Run, Time/Breathe (reprise), The Great Gig In The Sky, Money, Us & Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage, Eclipse
Disc 2 (57:14): One Of These Days, Careful With That Axe Eugene, Echoes, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Pink Floyd’s date in Hamburg on November 12th was the third date on their tour of the continent and their first in West Germany following two nights at the KB Hallen in Copenhagen, Denmark. The tape source used for Eclipse On Hamburg 1972 is a very good to excellent stereo audience source that is full of depth and ambiance.
This comes from the actual master tape that surfaced recently. Minor levels of hiss are unfortunately present but is pushed to the background during the majority of the music so it really isn’t an issue. A tape flip between “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” is the only cut present, losing several seconds. Several cdr titles were circulated with this tape with German Tour 1972 Vol. 3 being the most well known. The Highland is an improvement since this runs at the correct speed.
The set list follows the pattern for the year with entire Dark Side being played for the first half. It is a typical rendition of the suite with “Great Gig In The Sky” sounding much more menacing than previous versions with an aggressive Hammond organ carrying the melody. This would be one of the final performances of this, and “Speak To Me”, before being rearranged for the official release.
“One Of These Days” begins the second set and the audience reacts to the first bass notes coming out of the wind. It sounds very ominous on this tape with Mason getting a vigorous workout. “Echoes” sounds very stately in this performance. “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” is the encore and would actually be dropped by the time the band play France in December. The rare “Childhood’s End”, which was played on several dates in the spring, would be added.
This is a great release from the very busy Highland label. They’ve been releasing many really interesting titles this year. The front cover artwork has the expected Dark Side prism. The insert has a photograph by a fan in Iowa who painted his van with the LP’s artwork. Highland released the Frankfurt show two years ago as One Of Germany Night, and the Hamburg show is another very nice addition to the catalogue of the well documented final tour of 1972.
This is the last of Pink Floyd’s busy years since they would cut back considerably on their touring in the future. We can look at these documents as the last of the cult Pink Floyd before they became the arena rock behemoth. Not that is necessarily bad, but such songs as “Saucerful Of Secrets” and “Careful With That Axe Eugene” would be rarly if ever played again. Eclipse On Hamburg 1972 is a great concert and a wonderful release by Highland and is very recommended.
