How Pulse outperformed Delicate Sound of Thunder in the eyes of critics

When Pulse landed in 1995, critics almost unanimously agreed it was a superior live document to Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988). The main knock against the earlier set was that it sanded down the band’s edges—too polished, too safe. Pulse didn’t just restore the grit; it captured a band that had finally learned to relax into its own legacy.

Reviewers highlighted the 20-minute “Dark Side of the Moon” sequence as a highlight Delicate Sound never attempted, and praised the fuller, warmer mix by James Guthrie. Where Delicate Sound felt like a tidy souvenir, Pulse was hailed as a definitive live statement—one that finally let the post-Roger Waters lineup claim its own identity on stage.