(2006, 69:16, Private Release)
Does an album made by a Pink Floyd tribute band bring something extra and is it worth buying? That are the questions that I asked my self when I had a chance to hear 70 minutes of a concert done by The Pink Floyd Project at the Harmonie in Leeuwarden in Holland. This performance was recorded live on April 15th 2006. A large part of this show is now available and released on CD with the title “Live Part 1″.

Thank God can I answer the questions above positive. The CD recording shows that all the musicians involved sound like a real professionals. I do not know if founding member André Becker (guitar and vocals) had expected that everything turned out as he had wished. After seeing the real Pink Floyd on his TV during their Live 8 performance in 2005 became it clear for him that he wanted to play their music. His tribute band became a big succes and several concerts were done one year later. Even more live shows were done and planned in 2007. Everybody who has been to the live shows of The Pink Floyd Project and did hear their first release can only tell that they did a great job. Sure everything does not sound like the real versions on the original albums. But that’s not needed. You still can enjoy a strong song if it has a different arrangement or is it sung with a different sounding voice. A good example are the female lead vocals on “Mother”. They just sound perfect.

It was also a wise decision to perform material from Pink Floyd’s latest releases. A good example is a strong version of “One slip”. Maybe they could have played different encore’s as the original band had on their setlist. But then again a tribute band has all the reasons to copy everything from their heroes. So just enjoy their strong versions of “Wish you were here”, “Comfortably numb” and “Run like hell”. I am already looking forward to the release of “Live Part 2″. Hopefully will it contain the recordings of their 24 minutes version of “Atom Heart Mother” played with a band, a choir and a brass section. People who might have been curious about this album and the future live performances of this tribute band can check out the website.

**** (Henri Strik)
Background Magezine