Pink Floyd

The Best Of Pink Floyd

MOTT'S ,MOTT's,MOTt's,MOtt's,Mott's,mott's..............

Review Score:

(10/10)
Anything that is titled "Best Of" is always suspect to the usual problem of why isn't so and so on it or what is so and so doing off it. Well lets get that bit out of the way. Firstly in this Dog House Best of any Pink Floyd album would contain "Saucerful of Secrets" from "Ummagumma", "Remergence" (the end of Atom Heart Mother) and "Mudmen" from "Obscured by Clouds". And certainly would not include the dreadful "When Tigers Broke Free" who's only inclusion must be because it not available any where else on C.D, as it has only ever been released before as a single (failed) in 1982 from additional material written for "The Wall, The Movie". Also, nowhere on a `Best of Pink Floyd'should there be anything from the awful last album by the Roger Waters led Pink Floyd "The Final Cut" represented here by the extremely boring "Fletcher Memorial Home". Still, enough of griping, the rest of the two hours thirty- five minutes you get here is wonderful. Three from "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". "Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" (the only track ever recorded by Pink Floyd as a five piece, before the lovable, but totally mad Syd Barret scuttled off into the sunset,) and "Jugband Blues" from "Saucerful of Secrets", "One of these days" and the mighty "Echoes" (magnificently edited down to a more manageable seventeen minutes from the original twenty three, although keeping all the beeps, bonks, clangers and David Gilmour's soaring guitar solos - probably amongst the best he ever laid down in the studio) from "Meddle" fortunately the best half of the tracks from "Dark Side Of The Moon" five in all, two from "Wish You Were Here", one from "Animals", four from "The Wall" (about as many as you need, lets face it when you are "Comfortably Numb" who cares), and four tracks carefully selected from the last two Waterless albums (Momentary lapse of Reason and Division Bell). But unfortunately nothing from their 3 wonderful live albums.

Altogether this proves that Pink Floyd still reign as the finest band in space, best of all though is that the album is topped and tailed by two fine Syd Barret songs, which not only bring a bit of light to the generally gloomy Pink Floyd thoughts. But should hopefully bring a few pennies into Syd's coffers as I'm sure they will be more than welcome, at his reclusive home in Cambridge.

Disc two climaxes with the soaring "High Hopes" which looks like being the final expression of their moody majesty, the last track from the last Pink Floyd album. But there's one final twist in the tale as the closing chord decays, a bell rings and up pops Syd to sing "Bike" a genuinely cheerful, pleasantly bathetic coda to a brilliant career. Which is what makes this such a wonderful "Best Of" as songs from 1994 slip faultlessly into 1967 songs without missing a beat. Wonderful, that's Pink Floyd, Bye Bye, Thank you for sharing, Have a nice retirement.
Mott the Dog.

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