Pulse is the third live album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 29 May 1995 by EMI in the United Kingdom and on 6 June 1995 by Columbia in the United States. It was recorded during the European leg of Pink Floyd's Division Bell Tour in 1994.

Content and recording

Pulse includes a performance of the entirety of Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. It also features "Astronomy Domine", a Syd Barrett song not performed since the early 1970s. "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" features small portions of the songs "Another Brick in the Wall, Part I", "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Another Brick in the Wall, Part III".

Unlike the previous Pink Floyd live album, Delicate Sound of Thunder, no parts were re-recorded in the studio. However, the band and producer James Guthrie fixed songs that had bad notes (as heard on some bootlegs) by lifting solos and corrected vocal lines from other performances as the band recorded most of the European leg. The album was mixed in QSound, which produces a 3D audio effect even on a two channel stereo system.

Packaging

thumb|The outer packaging for Pulse with the light compartment and holder removed and placed on top.

Early CD versions came with a flashing red LED on the side of the case. This was designed by the EMI contractor Jon Kempner, using the now discontinued LM3909 LED flasher IC. The circuit was powered by a single AA battery; the battery life was stated to be over six months. Some versions were also made with two AA batteries and later editions of the CD set did not feature the blinking LED. Kempner was awarded a platinum disc.

Release

In the United States, despite a price of $34.99 () (which included flashing spine light and two AA batteries) Pulse debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 during the week of 24 June 1995 with 198,000 copies sold, it became the first multidisc album to top the Billboard 200 since the chart started using SoundScan data in May 1991. The next week it fell off to number three on the chart. It remained on the chart for twenty two weeks. It was certified two times platinum by the RIAA on 31 July 1995 for shipments of one million units. The video was certified eight times platinum by the RIAA on 31 July 2006 for shipments of 800,000 units. that a re-release of Pulse on DVD and a first-time release on Blu-ray format was on 18 February 2022. The packaging re-introduced the blinking LED featured with the original CD release from 1995.

The vinyl version was released as a four-LP box set and included "One of These Days" (also heard on the cassette release) as well as a large version of the photo booklet. The release of the album was promoted by a light show from the top of the Empire State Building in New York City with music simulcasted on a New York City radio station.

Reception

Writing for NME, Paul Moody wrote that Pulse comprised "a rehash of the usual prog meanderings ... Every perfectly recorded note and every immaculately reproduced photo tells you that this is music for the sort of hand-wringing hippies who still like to think they're in tune with the cosmos even though there's a BMW in the drive."

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! scope="row"| Greek Albums (IFPI)

|align="center"| 7

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!scope="row"|Italian Albums (FIMI)

|style="text-align:center;"|1

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!scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)

|style="text-align:center;"|1

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!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)

|align="center"|5

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{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

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! Chart (2022–2025)

! Peak<br />position

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! scope="row"| Greek Albums (IFPI)

| style="text-align:center" | 1

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{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+Weekly chart performance for Jewel case edition

!Chart (2006)

!Peak<br />position

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!scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)

|style="text-align:center"|13

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Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+1995 year-end chart performance for Pulse

!scope="column"|Chart (1995)

!scope="column"|Position

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!scope="row"|Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)

|align="center"|11

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!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)

|align="center"|38

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!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)

|align="center"|16

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!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)

|align="center"|27

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!scope="row"| Europe (European Top 100 Albums)

|align="center"|13

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!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)

|align="center"|16

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!scope="row"|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

|align="center"|18

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!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)

|align="center"|8

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!scope="row"|Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)

|align="center"|14

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!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)

|align="center"|43

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!scope="row"|US Billboard 200

|align="center"|85

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Certifications and sales

References

  • Pink Floyd Drums: The Division Bell PULSE Tour Drums