{{Infoboks musikkalbum|
albumnavn      = Obscured by Clouds|
albumformat    = LP, CD|
bandnavn       = Pink Floyd|
coverbilde     = |
utgivelsesår   = 3. juni 1972|
innspillingsår = Chateau d'Herouville, Frankrike <br /> 
februar - mars 1972|
sjanger        = Progressiv rock<br />filmmusikk|
lengdeminutt   = 40|
lengdesekund   = 30|
plateselskap   = Harvest Records (Storbritannia) <br /> Capitol Records (USA)|
produsentnavn  = Pink Floyd |
anmeldelser    = |
forrige   = Meddle<br />(1972)|
dettealbum     = Obscured by Clouds <br />(1972)|
neste     = The Dark Side of the Moon<br />(1973)|
}}

'''''Obscured by Clouds''''' er et rockealbum fra det engelske bandet Pink Floyd. Det var laget som filmmusikk til ''La Vallee'' regissert av Barbet Schroeder. Albumet ble innspilt samtidig som bandet jobbet med ''Dark Side of the Moon''. Schroeder ønsket musikk der musikken skulle være en del av kulissene i filmen, og ikke bakgrunnslyd slik som ellers er vanlig som filmmusikk. ''Obscured by Clouds'' var det første albumet der Pink Floyd benyttet seg av synthesizeren VCS-3. På dette albumet var det i hovedsak gitarist David Gilmour som benyttet seg av synthesizeren, men senere ble det også brukt av Richard Wright og Roger Waters.

Albumet bestod for første gang siden ''More'' av flere kortere sanger, og gav et visst tegn på hva som ville komme på ''Dark Side of the Moon'', selv om det på ingen måte var noe konseptalbum. ''Obscured of Clouds'' har da også havnet i skyggen av etterfølgeren, og fikk variable mottakelser da det kom. Men albumet er godt likt av Pink Floyd-fansen. Også bandmedlemmene har i de senere år gitt uttrykk for at de synes resultatet var overraskende bra, spesielt med tanke på at bandet Pink Floyd bare brukte to uker til sammen på innspillingen.

David Gilmours «Childhood's End» er den siste Pink Floyd-sangen før Roger Waters forlot bandet i 1983, der Waters ikke bidrar til å skrive teksten. Teksten på sangen skal være inspirert av en roman Arthur C. Clarke skrev med samme navn. Låten var også en live-favoritt på bandets turneer til og med 1974. «Free Four» ble gitt ut som singel i enkelte land, men nådde aldri hitlistene. Kjærlighetsballaden «Stay» blir regnet som en av de mest utypiske Pink Floyd, men derimot typisk for annen musikk som kom på samme tid.

''Obscured by Clouds'' nådde 6. plass på den britiske albumlisten, mens det på det beste var det 46. bestselgende albumet i USA.

{{Infobox Album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name        = Obscured by Clouds
| Type        = Soundtrack
| Artist      = Pink Floyd
| Cover       = Obs-235.jpg
| Released    = June 3, 1972 <small>(UK)</small><br>June 15, 1972 <small>(U.S.)</small>
| Recorded    = February 23, 1972–February 29, 1972,<br>March 23, 1972–March 27, 1972 Château d'Hérouville, Pontoise, France
| Genre       = Rock, progressive rock
| Length      = 40:30
| Label       = Harvest, Harvest/Capitol, Capitol <small>(U.S.)</small>
| Producer    = Pink Floyd
| Reviews     = 
*Allmusic  [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8bkcu3u5an5k link]
*
| Chronology  = Pink Floyd soundtracks
| Last album  = ''Zabriskie Point''<br />(1970)
| This album  = '''''Obscured by Clouds'''''<br />(1972)
| Next album  = 
}}
'''''Obscured by Clouds''''' is a rock La Vallée'', by LP was released in the UK on U.S. on CD. A digitally remastered CD was released in March 1996 in the UK and August 1996 in the U.S.

== Overview ==
At this point in their career, the band was not new to scoring movies. They had already scored the films ''More'' and ''Zabriskie Point'' in 1969 and 1970 respectively. So when the band went into score the movie, they had a lot more experience and therefore produced a much finer product.

The band was already working on ''Dark Side of the Moon'' during this period, but production was interrupted when the band travelled to France to score the movie. Nick Mason refers to the project:

<blockquote>
"After the success of ''More'', we had agreed to do another sound track for Barbet Schroeder. His new film was called ''La Vallée'' and we travelled over to France to record the music in the last week of February... We did the recording with the same method we had employed for ''More'', following a rough cut of the film, using stopwatches for specific cues and creating interlinking musical moods that would be cross-faded to suit the final version... The recording time was extremely tight. We only had two weeks to record the soundtrack with a short amount of time afterwards to turn it into an album."<ref>Mason Nick; Inside Out: A personal History of Pink Floyd</ref>
</blockquote>

While recording the music, the band was free to use "Standard rock song construction" to their advantage, and was such the case for "Obscured by Clouds". The title track featured an early use of electronic drums, or "electric bongos" as Mason calls them. Rick Wright foreshadows what is to come later with his use of synthesizers on this album. A droning note (played on an EMS VCS3 synthesizer) begins the album. This song was often used to open their live shows in the following years. The band also used themes to their advantage. The melody played in  "Burning Bridges" is echoed later in "Mudmen". The song "Childhood's End" is said to have been inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name.

"Free Four" was the first Pink Floyd song to get significant airplay in the U.S., and the first to deal directly with the death of Eric Fletcher Waters, Roger Waters' father.

In an interview that appeared in the "Director's Cut" edition of ''sibilants in the vocal tracks, a problem that was corrected in later pressings.

''Obscured by Clouds'' was the first Pink Floyd album to feature the VCS 3 synthesiser.

==Track listing==
===Side one===
#"Obscured by Clouds" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters) – 3:03
#*Instrumental
#"When You're In" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters/Rick Wright/Nick Mason) – 2:30
#*Instrumental
#"Burning Bridges"  (Roger Waters/Rick Wright) – 3:29
#*Lead vocals: David Gilmour and Rick Wright
#"The Gold It's in the..." (David Gilmour/Roger Waters) – 3:07
#*Lead vocals: David Gilmour
#"Wot's... Uh the Deal" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters) – 5:08
#*Lead vocals: David Gilmour
#"Mudmen"  (David Gilmour/Rick Wright) – 4:20
#*Instrumental
===Side two===
#"Childhood's End" (David Gilmour) – 4:31
#*Lead vocals: David Gilmour
#"Free Four" (Roger Waters) – 4:15
#*Lead vocals: Roger Waters
#"Stay" (Roger Waters/Rick Wright) – 4:05
#*Lead vocals: Rick Wright
#"Absolutely Curtains" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters/Rick Wright/Nick Mason) – 5:52
#*Instrumental

== Live Performances ==
Pink Floyd opened their shows in 1973 with "Obscured By Clouds" and "When You're In."  Accompanied by smoke and a stellar light show, this remains one of their most effective openers.  They were also used as a vehicle for jamming with Gilmour taking the lead on the latter song.