NickMason’s Saucerful of Secrets have released their spellbinding live version of Pink Floyd’s iconic ‘Echoes’ on streaming platforms. An ATMOS mix by Steven Wilson, it was recorded at their show on August 1st, 2024, at the Centennial Hall in Frankfurt, Germany, and was originally a Record Store Day vinyl-only release. When the band (Nick Mason, Gary Kemp, Guy Pratt, Dom Beken, and Lee Harris) was founded, it was with one simple ambition – to play and celebrate the early music of Pink Floyd. Following a handful of shows in the back room of a pub, their 2019 debut tour was met with huge acclaim from music critics and Pink Floyd fans alike, but inevitably they asked themselves “what next?”, and ‘Echoes’ felt like a natural answer!The undertaking of playing ‘Echoes’ live is something that should not be understated. The track is a complex 23+ minute record. It swoops and dives, there are dynamic shifts in mood, tempo and instrumentation moving from tranquil, atmospheric passages to intense soundscapes – even the thought of undertaking playing such a track live, let alone one that holds such significance to millions of fans worldwide, is beyond comprehension to many, but it was a challenge Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets embraced with stunning results.They started playing the track as part of The Echoes Tour that was delayed until 2022 due to Covid. Like their debut tour, it was met globally with huge acclaim and ‘Echoes’ stood out in their set and was lauded by the critics as the reviews below contest.
Daily Telegraph – “… Its labyrinthine movements veered from space-station bleeps, through Kemp’s ferocious fret-mangling, to second guitarist Lee Harris seemingly turning his six-string into a theremin. The whole Hall was brought to its feet in awe.”
Uncut – “New for this tour is a compelling version of Meddle’s side-long epic ‘Echoes’, with the band using whatever modern equipment they can to immerse themselves in the song’s 50-year-old sonic world. Lee Harris cleverly orchestrates feedback, controlling his guitar like a Theremin while manipulating the volume knob; Kemp starts by playing scratchy, disruptive textures through effects pedals and ends by playing a Hank Marvin-goes-freakbeat solo using the tremolo arm; Dom Beken gets into a roaring Hammond solo. But the star is Mason, providing a series of languid rolls, traversing every tom-tom on his kit without breaking into a sweat.”
Prog Magazine – “… the epic Echoes comes to define the evening… This is where music crosses the line into art, as it becomes an all-encompassing experience. Sight and sound overwhelm the senses as more than a few members of the audience are seen wiping tears from their eyes.
Louder Than War – “… a jaw dropping 23-minute Echoes, which the band knocked out of the park and down the Thames like it was their most recent hit single.”
Bring The Noise – “It’s an unbelievable song to hear live still after all these years the reproduction of this track is played to absolute perfection so hats off to all five band members who were working their arses off on that stage!”
