Pink Floyd Album: “Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd [Remaster]”

Not even a double CD can come close to getting the complete "best" of Pink Floyd, and for a band whose music translates so well as complete albums (Dark Side, Animals, The Wall), some purists will bristle at this collection of singles. Also, while fans will be pleased to see so many albums represented, the selection of songs is sometimes curious. But beyond that, ECHOES is a welcome collection of 26 tunes with a real unique arrangement that hops around from 1967 to 1994 almost at random... and yet really well. Check out, for example, the psychedelic (yet relatively innocent) chords of See Emily Play as they fade into the trademark helicopter sounds of Happiest Days... or the back-to-back instrumentals of Marooned (obscure even for a Division Bell inclusion, but neat) right into the classic Great Gig... ECHOES has a great ability to showcase the three periods of Pink Floyd: pre-Dark Side, the "fab four" of Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, and then the two excellent Roger-less albums, Momentary Lapse and Division Bell. Even the normally-ignored The Final Cut gets a nod with Fletcher Memorial (why that song, and not the more digestible The Gunner's Dream or Not Now John?). The inclusion of When the Tigers Broke Free, alone, (from the movie The Wall), makes Echoes an absolute MUST have for fans, even if the set does force feed us Barrett/pre-Dark Side era songs apparently at random like Jugband Blues (why two songs from Saucerful of Secrets??) and Bike (available on the extra CD in the 1992 Sine On boxed set). Still, it is such a treat to pop Echoes in and just hear what comes next as the songs jump from the 60s to the 90s to the 70s to the 80s. The album does a good job of getting plenty of must-haves in, like Comfortably Numb, Money, One of These Days, Wish You Wer Here, and Another Brick 2... though putting these Floyd 101 tunes on the same album as Astronomy Domine (great open) and Sorrow (great close to CD 1) is a real enjoyable culture shock varying from overplayed to rarely-heard tunes. Everyone will have their list of "What about?" songs missing from the set (my list includes Take it Back, One Slip, Welcome to the Machine, Green is the Color, and Run Like Hell). The amazing Animals set is once again represented by the time-efficient Sheep, (as on A Collection of Great Dance Songs) but Dogs is better! Still, after 7 years without a studio release from these guys (and nearly 10 years without a new Waters album), it was great to something Floyd on the shelves, and nice to even HAVE a new set list to debate. With a band like Floyd and their large arsenal of great music, not even a double CD will please everyone perfectly. Yet this is all timeless music, and therefore, even the scattered arrangement gets my highest rating.

Most "best of" collections for most groups seem to lack something. My expectations for "Echoes" were low. I was wrong about "Echoes." I have many "greatest hits" and many "best of," and this one, for one of the greatest progressive rock groups, is an absolute gem. While this album can never capture the greatness of Pink Floyd, it can intrigue you enough to go buy their albums.

I am least familiar with Syd Barrett's work in early Pink Floyd. The songs "Astronomy Domine," "See Emily Play," "Arnold Layne," "Jugband Blues," and "Bike," all written and sang by Syd Barrett, urged me to obtain Pink Floyd's early albums "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "A Saucerful of Secrets." This music is psychedelic and imaginative, and now I know why there is a "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-7)."

I think it is a nearly bizarre truth that there is almost no such thing as bad Pink Floyd music. There is weak Pink Floyd music, and Pink Floyd music that is difficult to appreciate. However, Pink Floyd at their worst is still musically a force. When I listen to this music I remember the promise and potential of progressive rock through what many consider to be the glory years of progressive rock. Music from "Dark Side of the Moon," which set all sorts of longevity records on the charts, is represented, of course. However, Pink Floyd in the post-Barrett years has always been more than one album. There was the wonderful "Wish You Were Here," the epic "The Wall," and the bizarre and complex "Animals." Then there is the sonically pleasing "The Division Bell," and the often derided "A Momentary Lapse of Reason." There are also the albums "The Final Cut" and "Meddle." This album also includes one song from the movie "The Wall."

Note that this CD is listed as a "Special Edition." Pardon my cynicism, but, big whoop. The only thing "special" about this edition over the previous version of "Echoes" is the biodegradable plastic cover. If you have the original "Echoes" and tossed the plastic wrapper into the trash, I think you can rest assured that it is too late to get that plastic back into a barrel of oil. Buying another copy may help someone's bottom line, but not yours. There are three reasons to buy this album.

(1) You have to have every album released by Floyd (the definition of Floyd fanatic).

(2) You are just getting into the group and you want an overview of their career to see if you should buy more.

(3) You absolutely have to have the song "When the Tigers Broke Free" from the movie "The Wall," which does not appear on the CD "The Wall."

Listening to these songs in the order on the CD is almost surreal as the album cuts back and forth between decades and band lineups. As I listen to this music I remember all that I love about rock, particularly progressive rock, and what I love about life and Pink Floyd, and then I wonder how we got here, and why David Gilmour thought Pink Floyd had run its course when it really had not. There is still time. We can only hope that one day the members of Pink Floyd realize that they were always greater than the sum of their parts. Until that time, cherish all the music from Pink Floyd you can get, because Pink Floyd is one of the few groups that managed to find the middle ground between art and entertainment. These songs and instrumentals will always be diamonds in my collection, and they will carry me forward and backward in time, until there is no time left.

I can't speak to the hardcore Floyd-fans, here. I mean, I thought I was a devoted follower, but some people here lament the trimming down of songs (specifically the title track) and argue that this disc set is a waste of time and money. I suppose, if you are a die-hard enthusiast for this group, what you have here isn't altogether new. And what IS new (namely, the manner in which the songs have been mixed and blended) may, in fact, be a nuisance to you.

Speaking as one who loves the group (but isn't IN love with the group), I found this collection to be remarkable. It is a rare thing for me to feel compelled to simply sit and listen to a CD straight through without doing anything else (ah, we, the generation of the multi-taskers), but this album hooked me as soon as the first song slid gracefully and seamlessly into the second. They have taken Floyd's typically powerful music, it's sub-sonic lyrical genius, and remastered it into what almost sounds like one long (and moving) song.

The operatic quality of this product is in no way heavy-handed or ponderous, and it's amazing to me how the set manages to stir together polar sounds (the puppy-dog-playfulness of See Emily Play wades seamlessly into The Happiest Days of Our Lives, with its satisfying frustrations -- I love it when Floyd gets angry). This mix and match approach to the band's oeuvre is not disillusioning, nor is it disorienting. On the contrary, it highlights the brilliance of the music.

Like I said, given the tone of the rest of these reviewers, nit pickers might want to step aside -- the songs have undergone some tinkering, and purists might not be pleased. But for those of you looking for some great, time-tested songs (and even a few surprises) that'll give you a good excuse to sit still for two hours, this is your album.

The Good:

The sound quality. It doesn't get any better than this. Best sound on the '67 material I've heard.

The Mixed:

The running order and the cross-fades. First, not all the songs are cross-faded, which is good -

The Abominable:

But here is where the adrenaline rises, where the fist of death seeks to be loosened upon the entity that did the final mix. Now, some cuts aren't all that horrible; while I would prefer the entire ending of "High Hopes", the fact that they shortened the long solo at the end by 30 seconds (or cut the first 15 seconds off the opening bird sounds, for that matter) isn't devastating. But...

Shine On is bad enough. The second guitar lead of Part 4 (the one just before the vocal) is cut, but that's the way we've been hearing it live for years, so it's not all that disturbing. The transition from Part 5 to Part 6 is OK, though I would have not let the entire Part 5 fade-out occur begin starting to bring in the Part 6 bass and wind. But then a TOTAL BLASPHEMY occurs - THEY CUT GILMOUR'S TWO SLIDE LEAD VERSES TO ONE!!! They take the first half of the first verse, then join it to the second half of the second verse. The result is you miss half of Gilmour's most signature slide leads (along with the end of One Of These Days). I screamed. The song fades out after the last vocal, segueing into "Time". A good segue, but it doesn't matter. 'Tis intercoursed!

There are no curses that can apply to this abomination.

One other thing - would I recommend it for the casual fan, given what they are more likely to be concerned about and interested in? Truthfully, I don't know. It might be a little too odd for the mass market, while definitely way to K-Tel - like for the true fan. Overall, a messy end to a great band's career.

Jeff

They did a great job with this album which appears to blend seamlessly from song to song. No mean feat considering Pink Floyd's going through the Barret, Waters, Gilmour eras. There's the usual hits plus a few gems that one would have to buy the entire album just to get the one song.

Just a note, I'm glad they included "When the Tigers broke free" which was only available on the video or film and not included in the Wall soundtrack.