Regarded by many as one of their finest live performances, at least of the post-
Roger Waters era,
Pink Floyd's appearance at 1990's Knebworth Festival was buoyed by a casual sense of camaraderie and freshness. Having taken a much-needed break after two years of globe-trotting in service of 1987's
A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the one-off show in rural Hertfordshire marked the band's return to the stage. Considered to be the festival's headliners over fellow U.K. legends like
Paul McCartney,
Eric Clapton, and
Phil Collins,
the Floyd dazzled nearly 120,000 fans with career bullet points like "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Comfortably Numb" along with a more recent entry in
David Gilmour's sonorous guitar showcase, "Sorrow." Even the band itself has been said to have felt a certain magic in their performance, which, until its inclusion on the mammoth 2019 Later Years box set, had only been available in bootleg form. This 2020 edition, remixed by
Gilmour and engineer
Andy Jackson, should help cement
Knebworth's place in the group's expansive canon. ~ Timothy Monger