Pink Floyd in Europe
AKA 'MTV Europe Pink Floyd Weekend'
Live Footage filmed at Estadop De Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal - July 23, 1994
Interview Segments filmed at Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian, Spain - July 25, 1994
Originally Aired on July 31, 1994

Reviewed by ash`

Tracks

(Full Videos Sourced From 'Delicate Sound Of Thunder' Unless Otherwise Noted)

Learning To Fly (1987 Promotional Video)
Time
Us and Them
On The Run
The Great Gig In The Sky
On The Turning Away (Live - 1987-11-03 - Atlanta, Georgia)
One Slip (Live - 1987-11-03 - Atlanta, Georgia)
Take It Back (1994 Promotional Video)
Wish You Were Here
Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) (1980 Promotional Video)
One Of These Days
High Hopes (1994 Backdrop Film)
Comfortably Numb
The Dogs Of War (Live - 1987-11-03 - Atlanta, Georgia)
Cheese Factor Nil if you just count the interviews, 8 if you throw on the videos.
Squirm Factor Nil if you just count the interviews, 10 if you add the videos that we've seen countless dozens of times already.
The Peak The interviews with the players and producers, as well as a few nice bits of new live footage.
The Abyss Having to watch all of these already-overplayed video clips AGAIN.
Fashion Crimes Gary Wallis, the man, the legend, the drummer, the human kangaroo.
Overall Picture / Sound Quality A+ / A

While the second MTV Rockumentary featuring Pink Floyd that aired in the U.S. was more of a glorified "video block" than anything resembling a true "tour documentary," the network's European sister channel devoted a two-hour chunk of programming time to the band, spending far more time looking behind the scenes and chatting with the principal players and key tour personnel (along with the obligatory selection of lame promotional videos to keep things from becoming *too* interesting). The chief reason for this huge difference in coverage is probably due to the fact that the European program aired just as 'The Division Bell' tour was getting started in that part of the globe (unlike the American program, which was screened shortly after the Northern American leg had ended).

Hosted by reasonably tolerable MTV Europe VJ Pip Dann, 'Pink Floyd In Europe' gives us plenty of looks at the stage set being prepared for that evening's show in San Sebastian, Spain (as well as some beautiful glimpses of the band's previous engagement in Lisbon). The chats themselves are pretty enjoyable for the most part, though most of the questions are of the usual softball level common to these kinds of productions ("what is your favorite part of the show, Rick?" and "how did this album get made, David?") with only a few instances where the band members are forced to turn off their interview autopilots and come up with a new standard reply. We also get some snickeringly conflicting takes on the business of mounting an enormous tour and the pressures of putting on a bigger show each time out, with opposing views kindly provided by a shockingly thin-looking David Gilmour, chummy-as-always Nick Mason and serene Rick Wright. Even better, we also get to chat very briefly later on with chuckling Guy Pratt, vaguely spaced-out Jon Carin, unashamedly old codger Dick Parry, and droopy-faced Tim Renwick (who comes off as almost apologetic for being a rhythm guitar player).

Really, these band interviews (teamed with brief chats with production geniuses Robbie Williams, Dave Russell, and a vaguely slimy Marc Brickman) are about the only thing really worth going after this video for. Aside from this, the only other highlights that I can come up with would be the bits of Dann talking to Mason while Mr. Screen is assembled, tested, and raised into pre-show position behind him, as well as an interesting look underneath the Perspex floor of the band's stage where all the wild roadies work (with Tim Renwick's guitar tech Adey Wilson as our humble guide).

After this, the rest of 'Pink Floyd In Europe' is made up almost entirely of the same old video clips we have seen and discussed before (most of them sourced from the European version of 'Delicate Sound Of Thunder' -- which means the "Us And Them" you see here has a different ending than the U.S. version did, hooray), with only some tantalizingly spiffy new live glimpses of "What Do You Want From Me," "Keep Talking," and "Learning To Fly" (not to mention plenty of weird-ass European commercials for clothes, cologne, and upcoming movies with a dozen different release dates flashed at the end ) to keep us awake otherwise.


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