Album · Soundtrack
Obscured by Clouds
Obscured by Clouds is Pink Floyd's soundtrack to La Vallée, a French film directed by Barbet Schroeder. It followed Meddle and came out in June 1972 on Harvest. The band recorded it in two sessions in France while in the middle of touring, and produced it themselves. It was their second soundtrack album, and their seventh studio record.
It is often seen as a stopgap, since work had already begun on The Dark Side of the Moon. Its only single was "Free Four", and the album reached number six in the UK and number 46 in the US. Opinion has been mixed over the years, but some critics hear in it pointers to the band's later material, which makes it a rewarding listen for anyone tracing the road to their biggest records.
Obscured by Clouds: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 40:23Tracklist
- 1Obscured by CloudsDavid Gilmour and Roger Waters3:04
- 2When You’re InGilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright2:30
- 3Burning BridgesRoger Waters and Richard Wright3:29
- 4The Gold It’s in The…David Gilmour and Roger Waters3:07
- 5Wot’s… Uh the DealDavid Gilmour and Roger Waters5:08
- 6MudmenDavid Gilmour and Richard Wright4:20
- 7Childhood’s EndDavid Gilmour4:32
- 8Free FourRoger Waters4:15
- 9StayRoger Waters and Richard Wright4:05
- 10Absolutely CurtainsGilmour, Tribe, Mason, Waters, Wright5:52
- Produced by
- Pink Floyd
- Recorded at
- Château d'Hérouville, Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France
- Recorded
- 23 February – 6 April 1972
- Label
- Harvest
- Length
- 40:23
Line-up
- David Gilmour · analog synthesizer, electric guitar, slide guitar, lead vocals, lap steel guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals
- Nick Mason · drums (drum set), electronic drum set, percussion, tambourine, cymbal
- Roger Waters · analog synthesizer, electric bass guitar, handclaps, background vocals, lead vocals
- Richard Wright · analog synthesizer, Hammond organ, piano, lead vocals, vibraphone, Rhodes piano, farfisa, Wurlitzer electric piano, tack piano
- Mapuga Tribe · choir vocals · guest
Singles
- “Free Four” · 10 July 1972 (US)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1972 | 6 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1972 | 46 |
| Danish Albums (Tracklisten) · 1972 | 3 |
| Dutch Albums · 1972 | 3 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) · 1972 | 5 |
| German Albums · 1972 | 19 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1972 | 32 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1972 | 44 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Germany · 1972 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2025 | Gold |
| United States · 1994 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
79.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
241k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
20k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 2 June
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1969
Ummagumma
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The Best of The Pink Floyd
1970
Atom Heart Mother
1970
Relics
1971
Meddle
1971
The Dark Side of the Moon
1973
A Nice Pair
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Wish You Were Here
1975
Animals
1977
The Wall
1979
A Collection of Great Dance Songs
1981
The Final Cut
1983
Works
1983
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
1987
Delicate Sound of Thunder
1988
Live at Pompeii
1990
Shine On
1992
The Division Bell
1994
London 1966/1967
1994
p·u·l·s·e
1995
1967: The First 3 Singles
1997
Is There Anybody out There? The Wall Live: 1980–1981
2000
Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd
2001
Oh by the Way
2007
Discovery
2011
A Foot in the Door: The Best of Pink Floyd
2011
The Endless River
2014
1965: Their First Recordings
2015
The Early Years: 1965–1972
2016
The Later Years: 1987–2019
2019
8‐Tracks
2026
The best of 1972
All of 1972 →
More on Harvest
The label →The Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd · 1973
The Wall
Pink Floyd · 1979
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd · 1975
Animals
Pink Floyd · 1977
Meddle
Pink Floyd · 1971
Ummagumma
Pink Floyd · 1969
Atom Heart Mother
Pink Floyd · 1970
Killers
Iron Maiden · 1981
A Nice Pair
Pink Floyd · 1973
A Collection of Great Dance Songs
Pink Floyd · 1981
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1972-06-02 vs 1972-07-10 (musicbrainz), 1972-06-03 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 10 July 1972 | ignored lone early release dated 1972-06-03 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 2 June 1972 | |
| Wikidata | 3 June 1972 | |
| US release | 1972 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 3 June 1972 | earliest UK or European date |
42 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | GR | Harvest | other | |
| — | GB | Harvest | other | |
| 1972 | FR | Harvest | other | |
| 1972 | DE | Harvest | other | |
| 1972 | US | Harvest | other | |
| 1972 | IT | Harvest | other | |
| 1972 | NL | Harvest | other | |
| 1972 | CA | Harvest | other | |
| June 1972 | CA | Harvest | other | |
| 3 June 1972 | GB | Harvest | original | |
| 10 July 1972 | JP | Harvest | other | |
| 1974 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1974 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1978 | FR | Harvest | other | |
| July 1983 | US | Capitol Records | other | |
| 1986 | ES | EMI‐Odeon, S.A. | other | |
| 1987 | DE | EMI | 077774638524 | other |
| 1987 | XE | EMI | 077774638524 | other |
| 1987 | US | Capitol Records | 077774638524 | other |
| 6 April 1987 | JP | EMI | 4988006609235 | other |
| 6 April 1987 | JP | EMI | 4988006609235 | other |
| 1989 | US | Capitol Records | 077774638524 | other |
| 1990 | HU | Gong | other | |
| 1995 | XE | EMI | 724383560929 | other |
| 1995 | US | Capitol Records | 077774638548 | other |
| 1995 | CA | EMI Music Canada | 724383560929 | other |
| 1995 | GB | EMI | 724383560929 | other |
| 1996 | CA | Capitol Records | other | |
| 27 March 1996 | JP | EMI | 4988006715561 | other |
| 2001 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006791787 | other |
| 31 October 2007 | JP | EMI | 4988006859258 | other |
| 2011 | AR | EMI | 5099908424327 | other |
| 26 September 2011 | XE | EMI | 5099902894324 | other |
| 27 September 2011 | US | Capitol Records | 5099902894324 | other |
| 28 September 2011 | JP | EMI | 4988006887374 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Columbia | 886445635928 | other |
| 2016 | XE | Pink Floyd Records | 5099902894324 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Pink Floyd Records | 886445613254 | other |
| 15 January 2016 | US | Pink Floyd Records | 888751709027 | other |
| 23 September 2016 | US | Pink Floyd Records | 888751842410 | other |
| 23 September 2016 | XE | Pink Floyd Records | 0190295996970 | other |
| 1 November 2017 | JP | Pink Floyd Records | 4547366312638 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |