new PF tune - didn't see that coming...

[montymole]

It's obviously not as neutral as the David/Roger Hoping Foundation charity gig they did together in 2006, but it's still charity.

I actually completely forgot about that - but you're also right that it's a charity and not some war fund. It could be argued that this record is not so much stoking the fires, but more picking up the pieces for those affected by the aftermath. I don't know though, the tune sounds more like a battle cry than anything else. Something you'd play to charge up the troops, so to speak?

And yes, this does seem more like a personal rather than ideological decision on Gilmour's part.

[keleven]

Am I the only person who doesn't see the huge contradiction in the way the Floyd brand is being used a political tool?

One of the main bones of contention a few years back was the matter of Roger Waters promoting his views on the plight of the Palestinian people - in a struggle that is actually very black and white. Just the lightest of reading into the history of the Middle East will inform you of that much. The oppressed and the oppressors are very much clear to see.

The ones stabbing pregnant women in the head, firing missiles at playgrounds, and sending suicide bombers into pizza parlors would be the oppressors, right? Oh wait - did you mean it the other way around?

To the extent your larger point is "this rock band wrote a song about war that totally fails to account for geopolitical complexities," well, that's not anything new for rock music in general or the Pink Floyd catalog in particular. Did you think Roger's dozens of songs with the theme "war is bad because people die, drone strikes are bad because people die" were painting a complete picture of all the issues at stake?

[Pottel]

back to the song itself, after finding it VERY weird initially, i've grown to really like it
As a bit of a gilmour whore, i obviously really like his playing on here (was also underwhelmed by that originally)
but it is the whole song that i have really come to like.

[JerryIsBored]

I'd like to start off this post by apologizing if you haven't heard it yet, but the "reworked" version of "A Great Day for Freedom" is already available on streaming services, and I have to say, other than mixing the synth lower during the verses, the only things that appear to be "reworked" to me are the vocals (which were completely re-recorded by David, somewhat sloppily during the 1st verse) and the guitar (also re-recorded). I personally prefer the PULSE version (I think that version has the best vocals) over both this and the original version.

Anyone else have any opinions on this new mix?

[Kit Rae]

I'd like to start off this post by apologizing if you haven't heard it yet, but the "reworked" version of "A Great Day for Freedom" is already available on streaming services, and I have to say, other than mixing the synth lower during the verses, the only things that appear to be "reworked" to me are the vocals (which were completely re-recorded by David, somewhat sloppily during the 1st verse) and the guitar (also re-recorded). I personally prefer the PULSE version (I think that version has the best vocals) over both this and the original version.

Anyone else have any opinions on this new mix?

The tempo has been increased about 7% and the whole song is mixed and EQ'd slightly different from the original. Overall is a bit drier and more up front compared to the original mix, which has a lot more room/plate reverb.

The vocals were not completely rerecorded. Most of it is identical to the original mix, but a few verses are not. I think David just mixed in some vocals from a different take to make this mix a bit different.
The whole "ship of fools" through "paper doves in flight" verses are a different take.
"now frontiers shift" is different, but the rest of that verse is the same take.

The guitar solo is identical to the original, just EQ'd differently.

The orchestra from the middle of the song and the under the guitar solo has been entirely removed.

There are new backing vocals that start at the 3:08 mark, similar to the Meltdown version. They may have been buried in the original mix and they were just brought up more for this version.

[JerryIsBored]

The tempo has been increased about 7% and the whole song is mixed and EQ'd slightly different from the original. Overall is a bit drier and more up front compared to the original mix, which has a lot more room/plate reverb.

The vocals were not completely rerecorded. Most of it is identical to the original mix, but a few verses are not. I think David just mixed in some vocals from a different take to make this mix a bit different.
The whole "ship of fools" through "paper doves in flight" verses are a different take.
"now frontiers shift" is different, but the rest of that verse is the same take.

The guitar solo is identical to the original, just EQ'd differently.

The orchestra from the middle of the song and the under the guitar solo has been entirely removed.

There are new backing vocals that start at the 3:08 mark, similar to the Meltdown version. They may have been buried in the original mix and they were just brought up more for this version.

You're apparently a much better listener than I am. Didn't even notice most of these things, only the vocals and guitar differences.

[nipote]

The tempo has been increased about 7%

I found the same.

The music is the same, but faster than TDB (+6,5%)

For my crazy brain, I put on left 1994, right 2022, they used the the same backing track from 1994 without various overdubs. The guitar solo is also the same. In my opinion, the "new" singing has been picked up from some old takes, the music has been speeded up to put things together.

[ruben77]

I really don't like this new version, and very much prefer the old ones. Even when performed live in Gilmour's solo concerts it sounded more pleasant to my ears than this cut.

Anyone knows if there was any contractual or legal reason to "re-work" A Great Day For Freedom (à la Collection of Great Dance Songs) that forced the release of this monstrosity instead of just releasing the original Division Bell (or Pulse) version?

[thebelgiangnome]

Maybe just the idea of proposing something "new"...

[JerryIsBored]

After listening through Niptote's mix a couple of times, I think I have deduced what was actually done with the vocals:

During the changed lines ("ship of fools" and "new frontiers shift"), an alternate take was obviously used, but this take was not recorded in 1994. Listening to Niptote's mix made me realize that there is a marked difference between David's voice in 1994 and his voice now. The replaced lines in this new mix have that faint rasp in them (that is, his voice now has a "rough" quality), just like a lot of David's other vocal recordings from recent years. If these alternate takes had been recorded in 1994, I would think that they would sound smoother, like the original vocal.

Either way, it probably would have made more sense to just release the original version.