Pink Floyd - Best Of?

[BillB]

Watching Live 8 put the urge in my head to get more Floyd into my collection. To date I only own DSOTM on SACD. I like it but it doesn't get spun regularly. Up until Live 8, the thought of other Floyd albums was so far down on my list of "must haves" that in those brain-fart moments you get in a record store like "what should I get?, I can't think of anything!" they wouldn't be on the radar.

That tells me that rather than following my usual "completist" habit of acquiring every album of theirs I might just be fine with their Best Of, "Echoes".

Sure, some tracks will be redundant such as those from DSOTM, but is there really anything THAT GOOD I'd be missing? I can see myself going the Best Of route or picking up 2-3 other core albums of theirs, again, not buying every one.

I'll be heading to the record store at lunch (4 hours from now). Please advise.

Thanks,
Bill

[Jim Clark]

I'm more of a casual PF fan, although I wouldn't be without a copy of The Wall. Actually I have it on LP, CD, and 2 live versions including a HDCD copy. Like you I don't play them all that much, but there was a time...

I'm also particularly fond of Meddle and to a lesser degree, Wish You Were Here. My personal favorite is The Final Cut but I'll admit that I'm so far in the minority with this one that I can't in good conscience recomend it.

In summary I would highly recomend grabbing a copy of The Wall and Meddle before grabbing the compilation. Sonics seem pretty good on Echoes but even for me the songs seem so out of context that it just feels like there's something wrong with it. Also, if you live in or near any kind of civilization, you can probably grab Echoes from the library (I know I did!).

I'll now yield to the real PF experts.

jc

[Duds]

The Best Of isnt bad in my opinion, but you'll be missing out on a lot of great Floyd if that's all you get. The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Animals, Umma Gumma, The Final Cut....the list goes on.....are all great cds.


Watching Live 8 put the urge in my head to get more Floyd into my collection. To date I only own DSOTM on SACD. I like it but it doesn't get spun regularly. Up until Live 8, the thought of other Floyd albums was so far down on my list of "must haves" that in those brain-fart moments you get in a record store like "what should I get?, I can't think of anything!" they wouldn't be on the radar.

That tells me that rather than following my usual "completist" habit of acquiring every album of theirs I might just be fine with their Best Of, "Echoes".

Sure, some tracks will be redundant such as those from DSOTM, but is there really anything THAT GOOD I'd be missing? I can see myself going the Best Of route or picking up 2-3 other core albums of theirs, again, not buying every one.

I'll be heading to the record store at lunch (4 hours from now). Please advise.

Thanks,
Bill

[ForeverAutumn]

Pink Floyd's music evolved over time. So, if you aren't going to complete the catalogue, it really depends which PF era is your preference.

If you like the more ambient, spacey, proggy PF, then Meddle and Wish You Were Here are musts IMO. Many people will argue that Animals is a must, but I really see Animals appealing more to the hard core PF fan. If you're just getting your first introduction, it may not be the best place to start.

If you prefer shorter, heavier tunes The Wall or The Final Cut or A Momentary Lapse of Reason (an underated disk IMO) would be the way to go.

The Wall has always been my least favourite PF disk (which doesn't mean that I don't like it). Meddle has always been my favourite. Jim's rec of The Final Cut is also a good one...I join him in that minority.

You know, for me, I don't think that there's a PF album that I could live without. They're all great. But if you want to narrow down the field I would recommend buying Echoes first if you want a 'best of'. Then see which songs appeal to you the most...early Floyd or later Floyd and then make additional purchases from there.

If you want to go straight for the full CDs and bypass Echoes, I'd recommend Meddle, Wish You Were Here and either The Wall or The Final Cut.

Good luck shopping and let us know what you end up with. :)

[Mike]

From the PF Catalogue if you are not a completist I think I would buy The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Meddle, DSOTM, Animals and maybe Momentary Lapse of Final Cut.

Whilst Echoes is good it also features a lot of early Syd Barret material which is ok but not brilliant IMO, it's almost like a homage to Barret at times. I don't personally like the sequencing either it jumps around all over the place and just doesn't seem right. What you will find though is excellent sound quality.

Cheers
Mike

[GMichael]

I can't believe that no one has brought up Dark Side of The Moon. Sure it's been played to death, but there's a good reason for it. It's one of the best ever.
But there are so many classics. Wish you were here, Animals, The Wall, and on and on....

[Duds]

see original post


I can't believe that no one has brought up Dark Side of The Moon. Sure it's been played to death, but there's a good reason for it. It's one of the best ever.
But there are so many classics. Wish you were here, Animals, The Wall, and on and on....

[GMichael]

see original post

My bad

[Troy]

The Echoes package is a pretty solid "best of" set.

There are a LOT of copies on the used market so as a way of introduction to a newbie, it's a pretty good buy. There is a LOT of stuff missing from it IMO and as FA said, the band has evolved a lot over the years so your own personal taste is the deciding factor.

Buy Echoes used, figure out what you like and dislike about the band and then buy the appropriate PF albums. Then sell Echoes back to the used store.

For me personally, Obscured by Clouds, Meddle, DSOTM, WYWH, Animals are completely indespensible. Most of the rest of the PF catalogue is also quite good, but that's just me . . .

[newtrix1]

The Echoes package is a pretty solid "best of" set.

There are a LOT of copies on the used market so as a way of introduction to a newbie, it's a pretty good buy. There is a LOT of stuff missing from it IMO and as FA said, the band has evolved a lot over the years so your own personal taste is the deciding factor.

Buy Echoes used, figure out what you like and dislike about the band and then buy the appropriate PF albums. Then sell Echoes back to the used store.

For me personally, Obscured by Clouds, Meddle, DSOTM, WYWH, Animals are completely indespensible. Most of the rest of the PF catalogue is also quite good, but that's just me . . .
Troys suggestion sounds pretty logical. My concern is that most Floyd material is conceptual and written as albums (as opposed to a collection of songs). The songs almost always overlap and flow into eachother. You listen to a best of, sequenced as the others have stated, in a hap-hazzard way...I dunno...I think the "big picture" will be missed.
"Wish You Were Here" seems like the obvious choice after "Dark Side" imo. However my personal favorite has always been "Animals", (they only picked "Sheep" for that Echoes set?!)

[Mr MidFi]

For a non-fan, I'd say pick up any 2 of the following 3:
The Wall
Wish You Were Here
Animals

All are excellent choices. And yes, a lot would be lost on you without the album concept/context in place.

[BillB]

Just got back from the record store...empty handed! :mad:

They're cashing in on the "Floyd - Live 8 Rush" and have all CD's priced at $16, double-discs at $32.

Troy's advice seems logical, I assume a "Best Of" of theirs is kind of like one of their concerts??

I'll be trying to score a copy of Echoes on Ebay or buying the following at Amazon:

Wish You Were Here
The Wall
Animals or Meddle

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Bill

[daigoro]

I don't think Pink Floyd (like many prog bands) translates well to Best Of compilations because the theme of each album is lost in this format.

Personally, I prefer their Roger Water era stuff from the 70's. DSOTM, WYWH, Animals, The Wall are all mandatory albums IMO. Meddle and The Final Cut are also pretty solid albums.

I guess if I could only keep 3 of their albums it would be DSOTM, WYWH, and The Wall.

[Dusty Chalk]

They are an album band. I agree with Troy's suggestion of trying to find out what by them you like, and then getting the albums.

Must-haves: DSOTM, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall.

[Woochifer]

Echoes is the album that's benefited the most from Floyd's Live 8 reunion. It's got a good selection of songs, but as someone else mentioned, Pink Floyd's thematic structures run the entire length of their best albums. Breaking it down to song snippets is not the best way of listening to Floyd. I've heard the Echoes album from start to finish, and they try to segue between the songs, but the sequence doesn't work IMO and the segues are more jarring than anything because the songs don't have a thematic relationship to one another.

As others have said, you should start with The Wall, Wish You Were Here, and Animals, because those are clearly Floyd's most accomplished albums aside from DSOTM. Once you've connected with those albums, then you can nibble around the edges with Meddle and The Final Cut. If you like Meddle, then you might enjoy their earlier psychedelia-influenced albums like Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother.

Other suggestions would depend on whether you're more partial to the David Gilmour or Roger Waters approach. Gilmour's got more of a straight rock guitar approach to the music, while Roger Waters tends to get more into thematic development. If you want to explore the Gilmour side, then you might want to look into his solo albums, especially About Face, or Floyd's 1987 album Momentary Lapse of Reason. If you're more partial to the Waters-dominated The Final Cut, then you could check out his solo work as well.

[Woochifer]

Just got back from the record store...empty handed! :mad:

They're cashing in on the "Floyd - Live 8 Rush" and have all CD's priced at $16, double-discs at $32.

Troy's advice seems logical, I assume a "Best Of" of theirs is kind of like one of their concerts??

I'll be trying to score a copy of Echoes on Ebay or buying the following at Amazon:

Wish You Were Here
The Wall
Animals or Meddle

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Bill


This is nothing new. Pink Floyd's post-DSOTM albums have never been sold at on a budget line. I would guess that's because of their enduring popularity, and whatever they negotiated when part of their Columbia catalog got moved over to Capitol. The only albums of theirs that you might be able to find for a budget price would be their pre-Meddle albums.

[BillB]

The majority of them are a much more reasonable $9.99 on Amazon. Even after shipping and tax I'd save money.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

Bill

[MomurdA]

Huge floyd fan here. I have tons of concerts on cd, live at pompeii(awesome) just about every album. The best of pink floyd is ok, but you have to understand floyds albums are made to be listened to all the way through. I mean what is any colour you like without us and them before it? But if you have to get echoes get it.
Albums you should listen to, just in case:
Atom Heart Mother(first song is 26 minutes long, be careful if you are not sober while listening)
Obscured by Clouds(does anybody have this movie????)
Relics
Animals
Meddle
Momentary Lapse of Reason( so underrated, one of my fav)
Saucerful of Secrets(2nd album i believe)
Piper at the Gates of Dawn(first album, song about gnomes is funny)
Works(a rarity that has a nice mix of older songs)
Delicate Sound of Thunder(prolly the best live cd they have put out)
UmmaGumma do not listen to this first. This is like ambient before ambient was discovered. animal noises, craziness/insanity lie within.

I just realized i listed 2/3 of their discography and i could have kept going. I LOVE THESE GUYS>

[Slosh]

Just buy the excellent Roger Waters In The Flesh - Live DVD. Super tight band backing and covers most of the big hits you want and goes pretty far back at that, with songs such as "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" and even the The Final Cut is well represented. It has an very, very nice sounding 20-bit PCM stereo track as well.

[DarrenH]

I could not be without Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, WYWH and Animals...

But that's me.

[J*E*Cole]

Like with most bands, I prefer the later stuff to the earlier, probably because they become more accomplished with age, so the David Gilmour era is "my Floyd", and consequently I think "Division Bell" is the most solid effort put forth. I know I'm in the minority on this, but perhaps it's because of my youth, ha-ha. Anyhoo, DB is particularly good if you like the shorter, more focused songcraft. My best album period...

[newtrix1]

...you should just buy every album in their catalog :). Is there anything of theirs that <i>hasn't</i> been mentioned in this thread?

[Dusty Chalk]

...you should just buy every album in their catalog :). Is there anything of theirs that <i>hasn't</i> been mentioned in this thread?I don't think anyone mentioned the More soundtrack...doh! ;-)

EDIT: And no-one mentioned Pulse, for some reason.