Pink Floyd's Saint Tropez

Pink Floyd were filmed in concert a number of times in the early 1970s, and as such footage goes, this was not the best performance nor the most dramatically shot. The show filmed at and broadcast by KQED public television in San Francisco in April 1970, for instance, had more compelling performances, and the more familiar scenes shot for the Live at Pompeii movie were certainly filmed with more cinematic flair. But if you're a serious Pink Floyd fan and want even more, this is certainly a satisfactory, professionally made fivesong, 50minute concert film of an August 8, 1970 performance at the Saint Tropez Music Festival, originally done for broadcast on the French TV program Pop 2. The image and sound quality are good (though not great) on live versions of several of their oftperformed pieces of the period, including "Atom Heart Mother," "The Embryo," "Green Is the Colour," "Careful with That Axe, Eugene," and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun." Also included is a montage of Pink Floyd photos, soundtracked by a recording of "Cymbaline" done at the soundcheck. As a "bonus feature," the DVD also contains seven blackandwhite promotional clips done for Belgian television in February 1968. They're not nearly as interesting as that concert sequence, however, as they're fairly typical, if just slightly arty, pop promo films of the time, showing the band goofily romping around and miming to the studio versions of the early Pink Floyd songs "Astronomy Domine," "Corporal Clegg," "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun," "Paintbox," "See Emily Play," "The Scarecrow," and "Apples and Oranges." Three of these songs ("See Emily Play," "The Scarecrow," and "Apples and Oranges") actually featured Syd Barrett on lead vocals on those studio versions, and it's a little disconcerting to see other members of the band mouthing the lyrics, Barrett having left Pink Floyd just weeks before the clips were made. - Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide