Pink Floyd

The Best Of Pink Floyd

A great band, but an unnessecary album

Review Score: StarStarStarStarStarStarStarStarStarStar (6/10)
After the landmark Beatles 1 album was released to overwhelming critical acclaim, it seems that nearly every "classic rock" act has proceeded to issue its own respective compilation disc(s). While these ensuing albums showcased bands as legendary as the Who and the Rolling Stones, the most surprising compilation to be created by this recent resurgence of 60s and 70s rock is certainly the 2 disc Echoes set by Pink Floyd. A band that was always very album based, a compilation of any sorts seems like an odd choice for the defunct Floyd. Thankfully though, Echoes is a "best of" as opposed to a "greatest hits" album, which greatly expands its scope, and it is also executed with great tact and care. Gathering tracks that range in origin from 1967 all the way to 1994, the incredibly seamless flow of Echoes is inspiring, but its actual point is still shrouded in mystery. Tracks like "Time", "Hey You", and "Astronomy Domine" are all undoubtedly classics, but removing them from the conceptual context of their respective albums does nothing more than hinder their impact. Furthermore, the grand concepts dealt with on later Floyd albums are entirely lost when isolated to a few tracks and perhaps most disturbing of all, Echoes also fails to meet its promise of being a "best of" set. While Floyd's best tracks are certainly a matter of opinion, it's obvious that the egos of Waters and Gilmour got in the way of Echoes original goals by including several tracks that were written long after Pink Floyd had jumped the shark. Containing an astonishing number of tracks by Gilmour's disgraceful post-Waters "Pink Floyd", if you can call them that, and a few too many of Waters' non-musical egotistical fillers, "When the Tigers Broke Free," "The Fletcher Memorial Home," Echoes quickly changes from being just a bad idea into an actually bad album. For a newcomer to the unique music of Pink Floyd, Echoes does not prove to be a suitable induction disc because it offers a very inaccurate, and even biased, portrait of a timeless band and for the longtime, diehard fan, Echoes is a completely unnecessary addition. Pink Floyd were always consistently amazingly in their prime and after their final great accomplishment, The Wall, they were always consistently disappointing, so therefore, rather than buying a ... 2CD set of both good and bad Floyd material, I would recommend just buying some of the band's actual albums. As individual CDs, Piper at the Gates of Dawn through to The Wall are all brilliant and inspired on their own terms and to try and parallel this immense wealth of creativity that Floyd presented in their work on a single flawed 2 CD set is virtually impossible.

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The Best Of Pink Floyd

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Reviews: 343
Rating: 7.84

Random Review: StarStarStarStarStarStarStarStarStarStar (10/10)

Conquer the divide of Floyd fan-dom--

Okay, Waters' Floyd, Gilmour's Floyd, (and for you purists) Barret's Floyd; this collection is worth a visit. Splendid blending of old and [ ... read complete review ]

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