Pink Floyd – One of These Days (Live at Pompeii: MCMLXXII) Review

Pink Floyd fans have had a long enough wait for a true release of the Pompeii gig. Yes, there are bootlegs available and a live film too, but a pressing on vinyl is not far off, and what we have received so far sounds wonderful. One of These Days provides another tease of that quality. Where the band may come under fire for the sheer number of re-releases, the Pompeii set was in desperate need of reworking. It beats having yet another edition of The Dark Side of the Moon, that is for sure. A beautiful instrumental piece from the often-overlooked album, Meddle, is given a well-needed polish. Listen to the billow of wind, the Roger Waters-led groove which begins a song of sincerely brilliant proportions. It is a fine feather in the Pink Floyd cap, which sounds influenced by their film soundtrack work.  

Meddle’s opening number is a beast of a song which can be used as a bridge to other works. For this snipper of the Pompeii set, One of These Days serves as a five-minute palette cleanser. It clears the mind, gives the senses a hard reset and confirms what many already know about Pink Floyd. Their instrumental direction immediately following the departure of Syd Barrett is a huge leftfield turn which would hear the group develop a progressive rock sound. That is what you hear on One of These Days. This is a development which would steer the group towards some of their very best works. Every instrument is given room to breathe, and you can chart many of the band’s best pieces, from The Dark Side of the Moon to Wish You Were Here, back to this developing instrumental performance. A vibrancy from the wailing guitar cuts in occasionally, giving listeners a breath of fresh air from the well-delivered foundations the rest of the group provides.  

David Gilmour proves himself one of the guitar greats with this performance. A roaring success which encompassed everything the band had done up to this point. There is a refreshing reliance on the feeling the amphitheatre itself gives. What extra echoes and knocks it brings to the instrumentals can be heard when listening to the studio version right after. Contrast the volatility with the quiet, with the history. Pompeii is a beautiful location for any artistic sense, let alone a gig where Pink Floyd comes to terms with their stance as a band and what the future may hold for both artist and listener. One of These Days is an instrumental reawakening for the group, which transfers well even without the visual aid.  

But we should expect nothing but that from Pink Floyd. Fine musicians with a finer grasp of the ever-evolving rock sound. One of These Days is one of their first great instrumental pieces, and you can hear those overlaps in percussion, in keystrokes, as the group carves a route through to the future. One of These Days is still a song which will be for the seasoned Pink Floyd listener, but after a few spins of those classics, this edition is particularly worth visiting. Not just a piece of history to get your head around the band as an outfit of change but a thorough and quality instrumental piece. A rare moment like Shine On You Crazy Diamond which pools all of the positives of the band together.