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E' giunto il momento di parlare anche di questo lavoro dei Pink. Diciamoci la verità: "Obscured by Clouds", colonna sonora del film "La Vallèe" di Schroeder, è forse il long-playing meno conosciuto del gruppo inglese, il lavoro più insapore della prima produzione floydiana, opera in sordina, ma non per questo da buttare via, anzi.
E' un lavoro importante dal punto di vista eziologico, dato che, per chi non lo sapesse, solo un anno dopo sarebbe uscito un certo "The Dark Side of the Moon", ed è impossibile pretendere che non vi sia un pur minimo punto di contatto tra i due lavori. Diciamo pure, comunque, che, come il precedente "More", è un disco perlopiù atipico, non genuinamente floydiano come gli altri perchè subordinato alle esigenze cinematografiche, legato a schemi conformisti che ne fanno un lavoro interessante perché sospeso tra libertà di espressione e dogmatismo.
Pieno di sonorità pop e soft-rock, attraverso le strumentali "When You're in" e "Obscured by Clouds" dà il la a quelle che come "Time" e "Money", saranno le splendide esecuzioni alla chitarra di Gilmour, mentre le divagazioni wrightiane alla tastiera ("Mudmen") saranno bissate in "The Great Gig in the Sky", capolavoro del successivo disco. C'è però, soprattutto, un piccolo capolavoro, un prodotto inquietante costretto ad adombrare tutti gli altri per via dello stridente contrasto tra ballabilità musicale e crudezza lessicale, quel mezzo hit che è "Free Four". Pezzo più significativo dell'album, fa riferimento al "Riding the Gravy Train" che sarebbe diventato cavallo di battaglia della magistrale "Have a Cigar" di tre anni dopo, al rischio di "cavalcare l'onda" tipico dei Pink Floyd, riferimento autobiografico secondo cui mettersi in gioco può significare insuccesso o apoteosi.
Tra le righe, i reiterati riferimenti alla morte, e nello specifico alla figura del padre di Waters, che prossimo oggetto di "The Wall" e "The Final Cut" darebbe già importanti indicazioni sull'imminente appopriazione delle velleità del gruppo da parte di Roger, ancor prima, quindi, di "Dark Side". Indicazioni importanti, dunque, da un'opera spesso sacrificata, lavoro comunque musicalmente valido e rassicurante.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
03 Burning Bridges (03:29)
Bridges burning gladly
Merging with the shadows,
Flickering between the lines.
Stolen moments floating softly on the air,
Borne on wings of fire and climbing higher.
Ancient bonds are breaking,
Moving on and changing sides.
Dreaming of a new day,
Cast aside the other way.
Magic visions stirring,
Kindled by and burning flames rise in her eyes.
The doorway stands ajar,
The walls that once were high.
Beyond the gilded cage,
Beyond the reach of ties.
The moment is at hand.
She breaks the golden band.
04 The Gold It's in The... (03:07)
Come on, my friends,
Let's make for the hills.
They say there's gold but I'm looking for thrills.
You can get your hands on whatever we find,
Because I'm only coming along for the ride.
Well, you go your way,
I'll go mine.
I don't care if we get there on time.
Everybody's searching for something, they say.
I'll get my kicks on the way.
Over the mountains, across the seas
Who knows what will be waiting for me?
I could sail forever to strange sounding names.
Faces of people and places don't change.
All I have to do is just close my eyes
To see the seagulls wheeling on those far distant skies.
All I want to tell you, all I want to say
Is count me in on the journey.
Don't expect me to stay.
05 Wot's... Uh the Deal (05:07)
Heaven sent the promised land
Looks alright from where I stand
Cause I'm the man on the outside looking in
Waiting on the first step
Show where the key is kept
Point me down the right line because it's time
To let me in from the cold
Turn my lead into gold
Cause there's chill wind blowing in my soul
And I think I'm growing old
Flash the readies
Wot's...uh the deal?
Got to make it to the next meal
Try to keep up with the turning of the wheel.
Mile after mile
Stone after stone
You turn to speak but you're alone
A million miles from home you're on your own
So let me in from the cold
Turn my lead into gold
Cause there's chill wind blowing in my soul
And I think I'm growing old
Fire bright by candlelight
And her by my side
And if she prefers we will never stir again
Someone sent the promised land
And I grabbed it with both hands
Now I'm the man on the inside looking out
Hear me shout "Come on in,
What's the news and where you been?"
Cause there's no wind left in my soul
And I've grown old
07 Childhood's End (04:31)
You shout in your sleep.
Perhaps the price is just too steep.
Is your conscience at rest
If one's put to the test?
You awake with a start
To just the beating of your heart.
Just one man beneath the sky,
Just two ears, just two eyes.
You set sail across the sea
Of long past thoughts and memories.
Childhood's end, your fantasies
Merge with harsh realities.
And then as the sail is hoist,
You find your eyes are growing moist.
And though the fear is never voiced
Still you have to make your final choice.
Who are you and who am I?
To say we know the reason why?
Some are born, some men die
Beneath one infinite sky.
There'll be war, there'll be peace.
But everything one day will cease.
All the iron turned to rust,
All the proud men turned to dust.
And so all things, time will mend.
So this song will end.
08 Free Four (04:15)
(One, Two, Free, Four...)
The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime.
You shuffle in gloom of the sickroom
And talk to yourself as you die.
Life is a short, warm moment
And death is a long cold rest.
You get your chance to try in the twinkling of an eye:
Eighty years, with luck, or even less.
So all aboard for the American tour,
And maybe you'll make it to the top.
And mind how you go, and I can tell you, 'cause I know
You may find it hard to get off.
You are the angel of death
And I am the dead man's son.
And he was buried like a mole in a fox hole.
And everyone is still in the run.
And who is the master of fox hounds?
And who says the hunt has begun?
And who calls the tune in the courtroom?
And who beats the funeral drum?
The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime.
You shuffle in gloom in the sickroom
And talk to yourself till you die.
09 Stay (04:05)
Stay and help me to end the day.
And if you don't mind,
We'll break a bottle of wine.
Stick around and maybe we'll put one down,
Because I wanna find what lies behind those eyes.
Midnight blue burning gold.
A yellow moon is growing cold.
I rise, looking through my morning eyes,
Surprised to find you by my side.
Rack my brain to try to remember your name
To find the words to tell you good-bye.
Morning dues.
Newborn day.
Midnight blue turned to gray.
Midnight blue burning gold.
A yellow moon is growing cold.
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Altre recensioni
Di zaireeka
"E' terribile il momento in cui ti accorgi di essere su quella linea d'ombra che separa la parte più vera di te dall’età dei compromessi."
"Childhood's End può essere considerato un matrimonio in forma embrionale fra Time e Shine On You Crazy Diamond."
Di Fausto91
Un disco assolutamente da ascoltare e rivalutare.
Un gruppo umile, vagamente bucolico, a proprio agio nella ricerca di un pop cantautorale di matrice tipicamente britannica.
