Let's say just right now before we get into the meat of this review that this is not one of Pink Floyd's more memorable nights, but it's not so much this performance itself as what it was originally intended for that makes this one of the more interesting 87-88 VOIOs.

Depending on whom you believe, 'Omni Atlanta GA 11.3.87' was either shot on November 3 in its entirety (according to the title itself), November 5 in its entirety (according to Glenn Povey and Ian Russell's 'Pink Floyd: In The Flesh - A Complete Performance History'), or over the entire three-night span of concerts the band performed in Atlanta (Vernon Fitch's 'The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia'). Judging as how David Gilmour looks *exactly* the same in every single song on here, I'd tend to believe Povey and Russell's one-night stand theory, but with productions of this scale, the other possibility shouldn't be discounted entirely.

Whatever the performance date(s) may have been, all of the footage that makes up 'Omni Atlanta GA 11.3.87' was professionally shot and at least partially edited together for a possible cinematic / video release (a proposed showing on European TV in 1988 was scuttled at the last minute) but instead wound up being utilized as promotional video clip fodder - the MTV-aired clips of "Signs Of Life," "On The Turning Away, "The Dogs Of War," and "One Slip" all originated from this shoot. While most of this footage may have been thrown out, a few shots visible during the running time of this recording strongly recall specific edits in 'Delicate Sound Of Thunder,' suggesting that the band quite liked a few camera angles and isolated shots (the lone light pod traversing the empty stage set, the gratuitous T&A, the look at Gary Wallis doing the laser-drumstick lasso routine, the tracking shot over the outside of the opening mirror ball, et cetera). Otherwise, it appears that the rest of the show never made it past the early editing stage (the most notable "rough edge" we see here is a quick glimpse of a digital clapperboard marking the time in front of the rear-venue camera just before the start of "Comfortably Numb").

Considering that it was reportedly filmed with 23 Panavision cameras, it would therefore be logical to assume that 'Omni...' is by default the best quality non-officially released live product on the Pink Floyd collector's market, and in several areas, I'm inclined to say this would be a correct assumption. However, the idea of the band underwriting such a big, expensive venture as this only to ditch the half-finished results in the vault instead of releasing them on video should raise a few red flags, and after watching this footage it's not too hard to see why the retail release of this performance was ultimately scuttled ...

* Compared to 'Delicate Sound Of Thunder,' this is a far stodgier, less "accessible" production. Depending on your sensibilities, a lot of this may come off as a little dry at times.

* While the songs here are unedited in length (which is nice in the case of "Comfortably Numb"), there are quite a few rough edges discernible in the form of blown notes ("Shine On You Crazy Diamond") and sub-par vocals ("Time").

* Picture and sound quality seem to vary a bit on this collection. Video-wise, this is likely due to generational issues, but sonically is another story - a few pieces of the audio track (i.e., the intro to "Time," Gilmour addressing the audience after "Learning To Fly") are either drastically reduced in volume or missing entirely.

* While it's apparent from the track list that this is nowhere near a complete show, there are some puzzling substitutions of tracks on this tape from alternate sources ("Signs Of Life" was taped directly from MTV's Pink Floyd Weekend coverage, and I believe that "On The Turning Away" was sourced separately as well)

* We get the laser-drum into to "Yet Another Movie/Round And Around" and nothing else? Yeesh.

* Gilmour looks comparatively hulking and bedraggled here, as opposed to the breezy, "suave and debonair" look he sports during 'Delicate Sound ...' Consider yourselves warned, Dave fans.

Once you can deal with the above, there are a few nice little bonuses offered up here for VOIO collectors ...

* 'Omni ...' features a one-time-only expanded vocal lineup for the band as additional backing singers Durga McBroom, Lorelei McBroom, and Roberta Freeman were added for the show (Durga was then retained for the rest of the 87-89 tour and returned in 1994).

* While the films shown on Mr. Screen are quite obviously composited here, this is done without the elaborate trickery too-easily noticeable on 'Delicate Sound ...' and it's nice to see most of them near-complete and in full screen.

* This is the only way to watch a complete, pro-shot "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (with a very nice, extended synth intro at that).

* More close-up Rachel Fury-in-tight-pants-and-top shots than you ever dared wish for.

And hey! If you're lucky, you may even wind up with a nice bonus song tacked onto the end of "Run Like Hell" in the form of an encore showing of the same freakin' "Dogs Of War" clip we were just shown not a half-hour earlier. Thanks, Easter bunny!

'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'	'Learning to Fly'
'Time'	'On the Run'