Pink Floyd ‘Obscured By Clouds’ Turns 50

‘Obscured by Clouds’, the seventh Pink Floyd album and the predecessor to ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ a year later, turns 50 years old today.

‘Obscured by Clouds’ was released on 2 June 1972.

The album was created as a soundtrack to the film ‘La Vallée’ and recorded over a two-week period in London while the band was also developing ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. Pink Floyd had a difference of opinion with the filmmakers of ‘La Vallée’ so the album was released by Pink Floyd as ‘Obscured by Clouds’ and not as the soundtrack to ‘La Vallée’.

One track, David Gilmour’s ‘Childhood’s End’ gave Floyd fans a preview of what was to come on ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. The drums sat as a template for ‘Time’ off ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. It was also the last David Gilmour Pink Floyd song feature Gilmour lyrics until ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ in 1987.

In Nick Mason’s current Saucerful of Secrets shows he performs ‘Obscured by Clouds’, ‘Childhood’s End’ and ‘When You’re In’ from the album. Mason’s show is entirely made up of pre-Dark Side of the Moon Floyd.

‘Obscured by Clouds’ reached no 6 in the UK, 44 in Australia and 46 in the USA.

Tracklist

Obscured By Clouds
When You’re In
Burning Bridges
The Gold It’s In The …
Wot’s … Uh The Deal
Mudmen
Childhood’s End
Free Four
Stay
Absolutely Curtains

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