Pink Floyd surprise-release 12 live albums to streaming services

Pink Floyd have quietly released an even dozen live albums to streaming services.

Covering the period of 1970-1972 – just before the band released their star-making 1973 blockbuster LP, Dark Side of the Moon – the albums were released without fanfare, and all feature similar covers. 

Notably, one of the sets – Live, Lyon 12 June 1971, Tokyo 16 March 1972 – features loose, early performances of almost every song on Dark Side of the Moon. 

A cursory, quick spin through the recordings reveals that they certainly haven't been remastered, and are generally of bootleg quality. Rolling Stone suggested that the recordings may have been given an haphazard, under-the-radar release as a means of preventing them from falling into the public domain under European copyright law.

Iffy sound quality aside though, the recordings provide a comprehensive window into a crucial period for Pink Floyd, one where – after years of experimentation following the firing of their one-time frontman and creative anchor, Syd Barrett, in 1968 – the band finally began to find their creative footing.

Also documented in the live albums are sets recorded shortly before and after the band's legendary October 1971 performance at the Amphitheatre of Pompeii.

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the full list of live albums is as follows: 

They Came in Peace, Live, Leeds University 1970/Washington University 1971
Live at Grosser Saal, Musikhalle, Hamburg, West Germany 25 Feb 1971
Mauerspechte Berlin Sportpalast, Live 5 June 1971
Live, Lyon 12 June 1971, Tokyo 16 March 1972
Live in Rome Palaeur 20 June 1971
Amsterdamse Bos Free Concert 26 June 1971 (Live)
Live in Montreux 18 & 19 Sept 1971
KB Hallen, Copenhagen, Live 23 Sept 1971
KB Hallen, Copenhagen, Vol II, Live 23 Sept 1971
Over Bradford Pigs on the Groove Bradford University, Live 10 Oct 1971
Embryo, San Diego, Live 17 Oct 1971
The Screaming Abdabs Quebec City, Live 10 Nov 1971