Pink Floyd

The Best Of Pink Floyd

An excellent introduction to a great band.

Review Score:

(10/10)
As an avid classic rock fan, I'd had a minor interest in Pink Floyd by the time this collection was released. My friends all said things such as "WHAT!? I can't believe you don't listen to Pink Floyd, you'll love them." Two months into my freshman year of college, a friend played me the Dark Side of the Moon album. I wasn't that nuts about it, but I liked it enough to borrow it. The more I listened to it, the more I liked it. Not long before this, I saw the ad for this album on the TV and was thrilled to see that Pink Floyd had a best-of. I asked my parents to buy it for me for Christmas, which they did. That Christmas Day 2001 would change my life.

When I first listened to it, it wasn't the greatest thing I had ever heard, but enjoyed it enough to continue listening to it. It wasn't long before it became one of, if not the most frequent visitor to my CD player. Soon, I could take no more and started buying the albums. It is now the beginning of 2003, and I am a Floyd-head for life.

One thing my friends said was "don't get the best of, get the albums to understand them, the albums have a flow, this won't, etc, etc, etc..." I ignored them because I wanted to sample Pink Floyd in the best way I could, and that was with this collection. And what I thought would happen did; I fell in love with this and with Pink Floyd, and started buying their albums.

Speaking from experience, this IS an excellent introduction to Pink Floyd, and made me fall in love with the band. Pink Floyd's career pretty much in its entirety is represented here. Though the soundtrack albums (which I haven't heard yet) and Atom Heart Mother are ignored completely, this will still give you a good idea of what the PF catalogue is like. Contrary to what hardcore fans said before hearing this, the tracks DO in fact have a flow to them. The songs were wisely selected and sequenced, and as always, Pink Floyd uses excellent studio trickery to make the songs flow from one to the next, which they do flawlessly. Another thing that some people complain about is that some of the songs were edited. For the most part, some must be to fit all these songs onto 2 CDs. The longer ones like "Echoes" and "Shine On" were edited from 23 or so minutes down to 16 or 17 minutes. The shorter songs for the most part have been left alone, with a minor cut out here or there. The only complaint I have now is that the incredibly beautiful "Marooned" from the Division Bell album is not only edited, but only the beginning is used. That didn't bother me then, because I didn't know. Other than these things that new fans won't notice, this is an enjoyable collection and a great introduction to one of the greatest bands of all time.

Syd Barrett here is represented quite well, with "Astronomy Domine" and "Bike" from Piper At the Gates of Dawn, "Jugband Blues" from Saucerful of Secrets, and two non-album singles (which I believe can be found on the Relics comp) "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play." Most of the essentials, such as "Money," "Time," "Comfortably Numb," "Wish You Were Here," and "Another Brick In the Wall Pt. 2" are here. Fans may be complaining about the omissions of some songs, but you can't put everything on a best-of. Believe me, after some time with this, you will want to buy the albums that have the songs you like, and then more, more, and more. You will become hooked for life.

Also awesome is the cover art by Storm Thorgeson, who is also responsible for many other Pink Floyd covers (and the cover of Audioslave's debut, BTW). You will also become a fan of Storm Thorgeson, as I have. That aside, the music here is truly stunning and serves as a great doorway to the wonderful world that is Pink Floyd. As I bought more albums, this has become the least listened to CD in my Pink Floyd collection, because the albums are simply better than the comps, as it is in any case. However, I still dig it up occasionally and listen to it.

One warning: You may not like this CD that much upon first listening. But trust me, the more you listen, the more you will like it. Soon you will depend on this music like a drug. I know, because I'm speaking from experience. Check out this album, then buy the albums as you like. In the long run, you will be glad you did. I know I am.

5/5

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