Published by Prelude Et Fugue, 30 October 2003

Available to buy through this special link.

The range of non-English language books on Pink Floyd is quite a bouyant one, and here's another French title to accompany "Welcome To The Machine" (also reviewed on this site), and some of the other Gallic titles on your bookshelves.

Published at the end of October 2003, coinciding with the opening of the Interstellar exhibition in Paris, this 288 page book, slightly bigger than a standard paperback, is part of the "Portrait" collection. It has an interesting cartoon cover (see the picture to the left) of which, I guess, the characture of Roger Waters seems to be the most successful and recognisable!

The author, Jean-Michel Oullion, has principally produced a French-language encyclopedia of Pink Floyd, but unlike Vernon Fitch's (excellent) work, it is not too dry a reference work.

Despite my French being a bit rusty, Oullion has produced a lively and well-written collection of information, from biographical details, to album analysis, including track listings, release dates, and lyrics in English and translated into French.

One or two of the lyrics are slightly out, although I'm sure that to the French ear, some must be hard to decifer.

Bang up to date, the book covers events right up to the 30th anniversary SACD of Dark Side Of The Moon, and the Director's Cut of Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii. There is no mention of the Interstellar exhibition though, but I guess that's clutching at straws for inclusions!

The book starts with a brief history of the band and its musicians, before launching into the text proper. This runs the gamut from About Face to (the late Frank) Zappa; significant people connected to the band are covered in good detail - the aforementioned Zappa is joined here by Ezrin, Jenner, Geldof and more, which fleshes out the story well.

For non-French speakers, the book still has value - there is a nice photo section in the middle, spanning sixteen pages. Mainly in colour, there are nice reproductions of: the band in London's Piccadilly Circus 1967, shots from the EMI contract signing, a live shot from the UFO, a new Top Of The Pops picture, a nice study of the band in Abbey Road for the Piper At The Gates Of Dawn recording sessions, a collection of Syd photos, Ballet shots, Rotterdam 1970 amongst other live pics from that era (including a great shot of Roger wearing a customised John Denver tshirt!). There's Wall concert pictures, plenty of post-split live shots including Venice 1989 and Berlin 1990, Roger in Bangkok 2002, and David performing with The Who in 1996.

For many, the pictures will make this book a required purchase, despite any language barriers for the main text. A good effort by Oullion, and worth picking up.

The book is currently available from Amazon by following this special link.