Obscured by Clouds is the soundtrack to the Barbet Schroeder film La Vallée, and it plays that way. It's possible to make the argument that Pink Floyd's music of the early '70s usually played as mood music, similar to film music, but it had structure and a progression. Here, the instrumentals float pleasantly, filled with interesting textures. The real noteworthy numbers are the surprisingly heavy blues-rocker "The Gold It's in The.," which, as good as it is, is trumped by the stately, ominous "Childhood's End" and the jaunty pop tune "Free Four," two songs whose obsessions with life, death, and the past clearly point toward Dark Side of the Moon. ("Childhood's End" also suggests Dark Side in its tone and arrangement.)

In-stock now. Usually ships within 24 hours.