Pink Floyd - Obscured by Clouds 12" Vinyl LP Album

- First Italian Pressing

Pink Floyd's "Obscured By Clouds" first Italian pressing is a coveted vinyl gem. Identified by a Catalognr and EMI/Harvest Logo on the front, this edition lacks album details, enhancing its mystery. The back cover bears "EMI Italiana," affirming its origin. Stamper codes reveal a May 4, 1972 manufacture. S.I.A.E. stamped record labels ensure authenticity. Beyond its collector's appeal, the album, recprded in England for the film "The Valley," encapsulates Pink Floyd's 1972 musical brilliance.

"Obscured By Clouds" Album Description:

In the ever-evolving world of vinyl records, collectors seek not only the music but also the nuances of each pressing, making the hunt for rare editions an exciting endeavor. One such gem in the realm of Pink Floyd enthusiasts is the first Italian pressing of "Obscured By Clouds" on a 12" vinyl LP.

Identifying Features:

The keen collector's eye will discern specific features that set this particular pressing apart. On the album front cover, located in the top-left corner, you'll find the Catalognr alongside the EMI/Harvest Company Logo in distinctive blue lettering. Below the logo, the word "STEREO" is elegantly printed.

A characteristic of this edition is the absence of the album title and the band's name on the front cover, adding an enigmatic touch to the visual presentation. On the back cover, a crucial detail is the presence of "EMI Italiana" printed near the bottom center, providing a clear marker of its Italian origin.

Catalog Number and Stamper Codes:

Take note of the Catalognr: Harvest 3C 064-05054. Additionally, inspect the stamper codes on the inner groove area of the vinyl. For the first Italian pressing, you should find the codes 05054-A 4-5-72 I and 05054-B 4-5-72 I, indicating the manufacturing date of 4th May 1972.

Record Label and Printing:

The record label is adorned with the S.I.A.E. stamp and print, emphasizing its authenticity and compliance with Italian copyright regulations. This stamp assures collectors that the album is an officially licensed product.

Musical Context:

"Obscured By Clouds" is not just a collectible item; it represents a pivotal moment in Pink Floyd's musical journey. Produced by Pink Floyd and recorded in England, the album served as the soundtrack for the film "The Valley." Its release in 1972 coincided with a dynamic period in the band's history, marked by experimentation and evolution in their sound.

Vinyl Identification 101: All You Need to Know
To identify this particular pressing of "Obscured By Clouds".
  • Album Front Cover Top Left Corner: Catalognr, EMI/Harvest Company Logo in Blue lettering, STEREO Printed below logo's
  • Album Title and Band-name missing on album front cover
  • Album back cover: EMI Italiana printed near bottom center
  • Catalognr: Harvest 3C 064-05054
  • Stamper codes: 05054-A 4-5-72 I / 05054-B 4-5-72 I
  • Record label: S.I.A.E. Stamped and Printed:

Production & Recording Information:

Music Genre:

Psych Acid, Progressive Rock Music

Album Production Information:

Music from the film: "The Valley"

Produced by Pink Floyd, recorded in England

Album Cover Artwork: Hipgnosis

  • Hipgnosis – British album cover art design group

    Hipgnosis is my favorite proof that a record sleeve can be a full-on mind game, not just a band photo with better lighting.

    Hipgnosis is the legendary London-based art design group that turned rock sleeves into visual myths. The core duo, Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powell, were childhood friends of the Pink Floyd inner circle in Cambridge—a connection that allowed them to bypass the stiff mandates of EMI’s in-house design department in 1968. Their debut, "A Saucerful of Secrets," was only the second time in EMI history (after The Beatles) that an outside firm was granted creative control. The very name "Hipgnosis" was a piece of found art; Syd Barrett, during one of his more enigmatic phases, scrawled the word in ballpoint pen on the door of the South Kensington flat he shared with the duo. Thorgerson loved the linguistic friction of it: the "Hip" for the new and groovy, and "Gnosis" for the ancient, hidden knowledge. While Peter Christopherson later joined as a third partner in 1974, that initial Barrett-endorsed moniker defined a decade of surrealist mastery for bands like Led Zeppelin, Genesis, and 10cc, before the group dissolved in 1983.

  • Label & Catalognr:

    Harvest 3C 064-05054
    Stamper codes: 05054-A 4-5-72 I / 05054-B 4-5-72 I

    Media Format:

    12" Full-Length Vinyl LP
    Album weight: 210 gram

    Year & Country:

    1972 – Made in Italy

    Band Members / Musicians:

    Band Line-up:
    • David Gilmour – Guitars, Vocals
    • David Gilmour – Guitar, vocals

      David Gilmour is the voice-and-fingers combo I hear whenever Pink Floyd turns from “spacey” into straight-up cinematic: he joined in 1967 and basically helped define what “guitar tone with emotions” even means.

      David Gilmour is, for me, the calm center of Pink Floyd’s storm: an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose playing can feel gentle and devastating in the same bar. His earliest band period worth name-dropping is Jokers Wild (1964–1967), before he stepped into Pink Floyd in 1967 as Syd Barrett’s situation unraveled. From there his main performing era is Pink Floyd (1967–1995), including the post-Roger Waters years where the band continued under his leadership and released "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" (1987) and "The Division Bell" (1994), with a later studio coda in "The Endless River" (2014). Outside Floyd, he’s had a long solo run (1978–present) with albums ranging from "David Gilmour" (1978) to "Luck and Strange" (2024), and he even did a sharp side-quest in 1985 with Pete Townshend’s short-lived supergroup Deep End. And for one historic night, the classic lineup reunited at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London on 2 July 2005—one of those “you had to be there (or at least press play)” moments.

    • Roger Waters – Bass Guitar, Vocals
    • Roger Waters – Bass, vocals, songwriter

      Roger Waters is the guy I blame (politely) when a Pink Floyd song stops being “spacey vibes” and starts staring straight through you with lyrics that feel like a courtroom cross-examination.

      Roger Waters is, to my ears, Pink Floyd’s razor-edged storyteller: bassist, singer, and the main lyric engine who pushed the band from psychedelic drift into big, human-scale themes. His key band period is Pink Floyd (1965–1985), where he became the dominant writer through the 1970s and early 1980s, before leaving and launching a long solo career (1984–present). After years of public tension, he briefly reunited with Pink Floyd for a one-off performance at Live 8 in London on 2 July 2005—basically the musical equivalent of spotting a comet: rare, bright, and gone again. Since the late 1990s he’s toured extensively under his own name, staging huge concept-driven shows that revisit Floyd classics like "The Dark Side of the Moon" (notably on the 2006–2008 tour) and "The Wall" (2010–2013), because apparently subtlety is not the point when you’ve got something to say.

    • Richard Wright – Keyboards, Vocals
    • Richard Wright – Keyboards, vocals

      Richard Wright is the secret atmosphere machine in Pink Floyd: the guy who can make one chord feel like a whole weather system, and then casually add a vocal harmony that makes it hit even harder.

      Richard Wright (born Richard William Wright) is, for me, the understated genius of Pink Floyd: co-founder, keyboardist, and occasional lead vocalist whose textures are basically baked into the band’s DNA. His main performing period with Pink Floyd runs from 1965 to 1981 (including the early albums through the massive arena years), then he returned as a full member again from 1987 to 1994 for the later era tours and albums. In between those chapters, he didn’t just vanish into a fog machine: he released a solo album, "Wet Dream" (1978), and later "Broken China" (1996), and he also had a proper side-project moment with Zee (1983–1984), which produced the album "Identity" (1984). He passed away in 2008, but his playing still feels like the part of Pink Floyd that makes the air shimmer.

    • Nick Mason – Drums, Percussion
    • Nick Mason – Drums, percussion

      Nick Mason is the steady heartbeat I always come back to in Pink Floyd: the only constant member since the band formed in 1965, quietly holding the whole weird universe together while the rest of the planet argues about everything else.

      Nick Mason is Pink Floyd’s drummer, co-founder, and the one guy who never clocked out: his main performing period with Pink Floyd runs from 1965 to the present, and he’s the only member to appear across every Pink Floyd album. Outside the mothership, he’s had a very “I’m not done yet” second act: in 2018 he formed Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets (2018–present) to bring the band’s early psychedelic years back to the stage. He’s also stepped out under his own name with projects like the solo album "Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports" (released 1981), which is basically him taking a left turn into jazz-rock just to prove he can. And yes, he was part of that blink-and-you-miss-it full-band moment at Live 8 in London in 2005, when the classic lineup briefly reunited and reminded everyone why this band still haunts people.

    Complete Track-listing:

    Tracklisting Side One:
    1. Obscured by Clouds
    2. When You're In
    3. Burning Bridges
    4. The Gold is in The ...
    5. Wots .. Uh The Deal
    6. Mudmen
    Video: Pink Floyd - Wot’s… Uh The Deal (Official Music Video)
    Tracklisting Side Two:
    1. Childhood's End
    2. Free Four
    3. Stay
    4. Absolutely Curtains
    Video: Pink Floyd - Free Four (Official Audio)
    Album Front Cover Photo
    Front cover of Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds, Italian first pressing on Harvest Records. The artwork, created by Hipgnosis, is a blurred photographic effect showing an indistinct human figure reaching outward among a soft explosion of circular light spots, resembling bokeh in shades of blue, white, and green. The design emphasizes abstraction and mystery, with no band name or album title on the cover, and a small EMI/Harvest logo in the upper left corner identifying the label.

    The album front cover depicts the front cover of Pink Floyd’s Obscured by Clouds, the 1972 Italian first pressing released on Harvest Records. Designed by Hipgnosis, the artwork uses a blurred photographic technique that transforms an ordinary scene into something dreamlike and abstract.

    Across the cover, the viewer sees a human figure reaching outward, their form indistinct as though seen through mist or fog. The foreground is dominated by glowing, circular orbs of light in shades of white, blue, and pale green, creating a soft bokeh effect that obscures detail while amplifying atmosphere.

    The overall impression is hazy and surreal, reflecting both the album’s psychedelic qualities and its cinematic origins as a film soundtrack. Notably, there is no band name or album title anywhere on the cover, heightening its enigmatic aura. Only a small EMI/Harvest logo in the top left corner identifies the record label and pressing details.

    Album Back Cover Photo
    Back cover of Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds, Italian first pressing on Harvest Records. The design continues the blurred photographic bokeh theme of the front cover, with soft blue, white, and grey circular light patterns. Superimposed on this abstract background are four circular images: at the top a group of riders on horseback in a forest, in the center a blue disc with track listing and credits, and at the bottom two images—one of people dancing in front of huts, another of open fields with mountains in the distance. The bottom edge bears the EMI Italiana S.p.A. imprint, confirming the Italian manufacture.

    This is the back cover of Pink Floyd’s Obscured by Clouds, the 1972 Italian first pressing released by Harvest Records. Like the front, the background features a hazy bokeh pattern of circular light spots in cool tones of blue, grey, and white, evoking an atmosphere of dreamlike obscurity.

    Set against this abstract backdrop are four circular insets. At the top, a striking photo shows a group of riders on horseback moving through a dense green forest. At the center, a large blue circle contains the full track listing, songwriter credits, and production notes, clearly stating that the music was composed and produced by Pink Floyd for the film La Vallée.

    Below, two smaller circles present additional scenes: one depicts a man joining villagers in a dance outside thatched huts, while the other shows a vast landscape of rice fields with distant mountains under a bright sky. At the bottom edge, the text “EMI Italiana S.p.A.” identifies the pressing’s Italian origin and authenticity.

    Close-up of Record Label
    Close-up of the Side A record label from Pink Floyd's 1972 album Obscured by Clouds, Italian first pressing on Harvest Records. The label is a bright yellow-green with the distinctive large Harvest logo in dark green on the right side, featuring an abstract circular figure. At the top are the words STEREO and PINK FLOYD, with the Harvest imprint prominently displayed. Below, the catalog number 3C 064-05054 A identifies the pressing. The text includes the album title 'Obscured by Clouds' and notes that it is music from the film The Valley. The tracklist for Side A is printed, listing six songs: Obscured by Clouds, When You’re In, Burning Bridges, The Gold It’s In The..., Wot’s… Uh the Deal, and Mudmen. Additional credits include 'Produced by Pink Floyd,' publishing details, and the S.I.A.E. rights society stamp applied at the top of the label. The outer rim text states 'Made in Italy' and copyright notices in Italian.

    This close-up shows the Side A record label of Pink Floyd’s Obscured by Clouds, the Italian first pressing from 1972 issued by Harvest Records. The label is printed in a vivid yellow-green background with contrasting dark green text and graphics.

    Dominating the right side is the iconic Harvest logo: a bold circular abstract figure enclosed within sweeping lines. Above, the words STEREO and Pink Floyd are printed clearly, while the Harvest imprint stretches across the center.

    The catalog number 3C 064-05054 A appears alongside, confirming this Italian pressing. The album title, “Obscured by Clouds”, is followed by the note that it is music from the film “The Valley.” Beneath, the full tracklist for Side A is displayed: “Obscured by Clouds,” “When You’re In,” “Burning Bridges,” “The Gold It’s in the...,” “Wot’s… Uh the Deal,” and “Mudmen.”

    Additional details include Produced by Pink Floyd, copyright information, and a small rectangular box showing the Italian rights society S.I.A.E. stamp. The rim text surrounding the label reads “Made in Italy” with legal copyright disclaimers in Italian, emphasizing authenticity and origin.

    Italy Label
    Side designation
    A (printed as 3C 064-05054 A)
    Rights society
    S.I.A.E. stamp visible on the label
    Catalogue number
    3C 064-05054
    Record company logo
    Large stylized Harvest logo in dark green
    Band/Performer logo
    No separate band logo, only printed text “Pink Floyd”
    Rim text language
    Italian – “RISERVATI TUTTI I DIRITTI DEL PRODUTTORE FONOGRAFICO E DEL PROPRIETARIO DELL’OPERA RIPRODOTTA – VIETATA DUPLICAZIONE, PUBBLICA ESECUZIONE, RADIODIFFUSIONE DI QUESTO DISCO – MADE IN ITALY”
    English translation: “All rights of the phonographic producer and the owner of the reproduced work are reserved – Duplication, public performance, broadcasting of this record is prohibited – Made in Italy.”
    Track list layout
    Six tracks for Side A listed in block text under the album title
    Rights info placement
    Boxed S.I.A.E. credit placed to the left of the spindle hole
    Pressing info
    Text at rim: “Made in Italy” confirming local manufacture
    Background image
    Solid yellow-green label background with black rim of vinyl visible

    Index of PINK FLOYD's Obscured By Clouds Vinyl Album Discography and Album Cover Gallery

    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds 1st ( Index Page )
    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (France 1st Pressing) 12" Vinyl LP
    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (France 1st Pressing) album front cover

    Harvest 2C 064-05.054 , 1972 , France

    Pink Floyd's "Obscured by Clouds" 1st release from France, a coveted 12" Vinyl LP Album, encapsulates the early 1970s era. Serving as the soundtrack for "The Valley," its unique features include rounded corners and the intriguing inscription "STEREO PEUT ETRE UTILISE AVEC UN LECTEUR MONO." Distinguished by exclusive label text, it stands as a genuine collector's gem, embodying the convergence of music and film in a bygone vinyl era.

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    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (France II) 12" Vinyl LP
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     Harvest 2C 066-05.054 , 1972 , France

    Pink Floyd's 1972 "Obscured by Clouds" 12" Vinyl LP Album, a French release with rounded corners, embodies the musical experimentation of the era. Serving as a soundtrack for the film "The Valley," the album, produced by Pink Floyd in England, encompasses Psychedelic, Acid, and Prog Rock genres. Its unique physical features, including the rounded album cover corners and French origin, make it a distinctive and collectible piece from the early 1970s.

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    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (Greece) 12" Vinyl LP
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      EMI Harvest 2J 062-05054 , 1972 , Greece

    Explore the unique allure of Pink Floyd's "Obscured by Clouds" with the rare Greek pressing, diverging from the norm with straight/rectangle corners on the album cover. Released in 1972, this psychedelic gem seamlessly blends Progressive Acid Rock with its role as a soundtrack for "The Valley." Produced by Pink Floyd and manufactured in Greece, the vinyl LP becomes a collector's delight, encapsulating the band's evolution in the dynamic music culture of the early '70s.

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    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (Gr Britain) 12" Vinyl LP
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    EMI Harvest SHSP 4020 , 1972 , Gt Britain

    Pink Floyd's "Obscured by Clouds," a genuine UK pressing, holds significance as a 1972 soundtrack for the film "The Valley." Recognizable by the EMI and Harvest logos, its rounded corners denote authenticity. Produced in England with catalognr EMI Harvest SHSP 4020, the album blends progressive rock and OST elements. Reflecting the era's musical innovation, it stands as a testament to Pink Floyd's iconic contribution within the context of the time.

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    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (Holland) 12" Vinyl LP
    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (Holland) album front cover

     Harvest 1A 064-05054 / 5C 062-05054 , 1972 , Holland

    Pink Floyd's 1972 album "Obscured by Clouds," a 12" Vinyl LP, holds a unique place in music history. Produced by the band and recorded in England, the Dutch edition by BOVEMA/EMI Haarlem is a testament to Pink Floyd's global influence. With its fusion of progressive rock and cinematic elements, the album, associated with the film "The Valley," showcases the band's innovative spirit and enduring impact in the dynamic musical landscape of the early 1970s.

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    Updated PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds Italian 1972 first pressing album front cover vinyl LP album https://vinyl-records.nl
    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (Italy) 12" Vinyl LP

    Pink Floyd’s 1972 soundtrack Obscured by Clouds first Italian pressing blends psych-acid and prog rock. Issued on Harvest 3C 064-05054, it features EMI Italiana marks, May 4, 1972 stamper codes, and S.I.A.E.-stamped labels. With Hipgnosis artwork and music for the film The Valley, this pressing captures Floyd’s early-70s brilliance and rarity.

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    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (USA) 12" Vinyl LP
    PINK FLOYD - Obscured by Clouds (USA) album front cover

    SW-11078 , 1972 , USA

    Pink Floyd's "Obscured by Clouds" USA Release, SW-11078, is a collector's gem from 1972. The vinyl LP's front cover omits essential details, adding mystery. Its alternative back cover features unique band photos. Serving as a soundtrack for "The Valley" film, the album showcases Pink Floyd's sonic innovation. Recorded in England and made in the USA, this release captures the band's impact during the transformative musical landscape of the early '70s.

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