PINK FLOYD - Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd
While some rock gods have a playful edge, the dark, serious tones of Pink
Floyd set them apart
from most of their contemporaries and a magnitude who rose & fell by the
wayside during the band's multi-decade existence as "Pink
Floyd" with and without
Roger Waters via
his solo career. It wasn't hard for them to come up with a great melody
or hook with "hit" written all over it, but it's the deep, somber, introspectively
melancholic reflection of emotions that bleed into every aspect of their
music. Sure, a mere two discs are not enough to highlight their most notable
accomplishments (but then, not everyone can afford the box sets released
in the past - this more consumer friendly version affordable and well
selected). Stretching from the late 1960's through to the Pink
Floyd period sans
Waters
through the 80's into the mid-90's, this collection encapsulates the bulk
of the band's music, including the better and lesser known triumphs from
the days Syd Barrett
was still sane enough to be a part of their musical journey. While the
70's epitomize the definitive Floyd
era, their body of work constitutes an incredibly rich and memorable heap
of great tunes. From albums like the early, more psychedelic-infused The
Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, to timeless classics like The Dark
Side Of The Moon and the angst-ridden masterpieces like The Wall,
or the more commercially acceptable "New" Pink
Floyd of The Division
Bell - it's all here. Then all there are all the inbetweeners: Animals,
Meddle, The Final Cut, Wish You Were Here, Momentary
Lapse Of Reason and so on.
As to be expected, a wide range of Pink
Floyd cover art, photography
and graphics are scattered throughout the booklet with lyrics toall the
songs.
Pink Floyd
is one of those bands without which our rock history could simply not
have been written. And while it is obvious that not everyone can get into
it too easily because of its weighty and momentous approach, with deep
intellectual textures spun throughout, this remains one of those bands
that you cannot deny, no matter what.
6 / A
- PB
Click here for a
review of
Pink Floyd The Wall
on DVD,
the jaw dropping film version of their album
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