Delicate Sound of Thunder is the first live album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd [provided one discounts Disc 1, Ummagumma.] It was recorded over five nights at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York in August 1988 and mixed at Abbey Road Studios in September 1988. It was released on 22 November 1988, through EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States.

Recording
The band recorded and filmed their series of shows at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia in November 1987 for a potential live concert film and album. However, the band was not happy with the results. Consequently, the material from these shows would make up videos and B-sides for the A Momentary Lapse of Reason singles and later these shows were released as bootleg recordings entitled Pink Floyd: The Calhoun Tapes and Would You Buy a Ticket to This Show. Then in August 1988, the band went to Nassau Coliseum and filmed and recorded their five night stand at the end of the initial Momentary Lapse 1987/88 tour.

Release and reissue
The album was released in 1988 as a double LP, double cassette, and a double CD, each format containing a slightly different track listing. The album includes many works from A Momentary Lapse of Reason as well as tracks from older Pink Floyd albums. The double LP release did not have "Us and Them" on the track listing. Both the double LP and the double cassette had "Wish You Were Here" between "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" and "Comfortably Numb".

Although David Gilmour stated around the time of its release and on a radio interview in 1992 that the album contained no studio overdubbing whatsoever, he embellished the tracks during mixing with some extra acoustic guitar on "Comfortably Numb", according to engineer Buford Jones. In addition, some harmonies were replaced by studio re-takes: Richard Wright re-did his vocal on "Us and Them" and Sam Brown replaced Rachel Fury's part in "Comfortably Numb" but the rest of the album was what was played at the shows.

Along with A Collection of Great Dance Songs, Delicate Sound of Thunder was reissued on 180g heavyweight vinyl LP in November 2017.  Its artwork will replicate that of the original 1988 LP release.

Chart performance
Delicate Sound of Thunder reached #11 on the Billboard 200 and is currently listed as Triple Platinum in U.S. sales — it was certified Gold and Platinum on 23 January 1989 and Triple Platinum in April 1997. In Canada, it was #57 in the 1989 year-end chart. 

In space
Delicate Sound of Thunder became the first rock album to be played in space, as Soviet cosmonauts took it aboard Soyuz TM-7.

The double LP was also the band's only album to be officially released in the Soviet Union by the state-owned label Melodiya. (Wikipedia)