In the late 1980s, Pink Floyd came roaring back with a decent studio album and an awesome stadium tour. Delicate Sound is a postcard from that tour that has the impossible task of capturing the spectacle of flying pigs and crashing beds. Also without the brood and bass of the departed Roger Waters, even a large backing band can't recreate the majesty of the original recording of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond." Still "On the Turning Away," from A Momentary Lapse of Reason, sounds better than the studio version and a smattering of Floyd's best cuts from The Wall and Darkside of Moon make this live album a decent collection. --Greg Emmanuel

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This live double-LP set documents Pink Floyd's enormously successful 1987-88 world tour. Although it was inevitable, releasing a live record is still a bit strange, since Pink Floyd's concerts have become about as musically exciting as a visit to the dentist's office — the show's the thing, and this album is the sonic equivalent of a glossy tour program.

Pink Floyd's previous record, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, had a suspiciously New Age ring to it, and even this, a live record, tends to fade into the background. Whereas the band used to match its special effects with headlong musical forays into the heart of the sun, it's now plying an often vacant slickness. Welcome to the McFloyd.

The band takes great pains to reproduce the studio versions of its classics, despite the departure of mastermind Roger Waters. But even some of the more emotional songs, such as "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Run Like Hell," are delivered by a group of musicians who seem to be just going through the motions; none of lead guitarist Dave Gilmour's solos catch fire.

No mention is made of where the tracks were recorded, although it doesn't make any difference; on this tour, one show was probably pretty much like the next. Pink Floyd is celebrating and cashing in on its past glories, playing all its hits for kids who wish they'd been around when Ummagumma came out.

Delicate Sound of Thunder went up with the first joint French-Soviet space mission, making it the first rock album to be played in space. That's fitting, since, at best, it's a decent record to space out to.

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In one respect, it's hard to fault David Gilmour for retooling Pink Floyd as a neo-oldies act with Momentary Lapse of Reason, since Roger Waters took the band over the brink with his obsessive, nonmusical The Final Cut. Fans were eager for an album that sounded like classic Floyd, which is what Momentary Lapse was. But what they really thirsted for was a live spectacle from Floyd, where they could hear the old tunes and see all the old stunts. That's what they got on the 1987/1988 Pink Floyd world tour, which is documented on the double-disc set The Delicate Sound of Thunder. Gilmour's reunited Floyd was intent on recreating the sound and feel of classic Floyd, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the oldies feel like the classic records, only with Gilmour taking each vocal. He and Floyd deliver well, but this is a recreation that makes less sense on record than it did on-stage, where the nostalgia was justified. Here, it feels passable but never compelling. This is professional, competent, and, often, even enjoyable music, yet, like many souvenirs, it never once feels necessary.