OK, before I bash this album as the worst Pink Floyd album, I will say that the live album does salvage some dignity for this otherwise wasted attempt. The studio album features a mish mash of tracks tha are for the most part unlistenable, save for two-"Grantchester Meadows" and "The Narrow Way". The rest of the tracks seem unispired and lackadaisical. The live album features a nice rendition of "Astronomy Domine" as well as a great version of "Saucerful of Secrets". But in the end, this album falls flat in comparison to other Floyd albums.
This is one of their more underrated albums and is one that doesn't really feature a poor song, with the weakest track being "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast". The title track is one of their all time greats and leaves you wanting more even though it is around 20 minutes in length. The following three tracks also keep up the pace and are of high Floyd quality. A must have, even though it is one of their lesser known albums
This is the first of the Pink Floyd collections. It features tracks that were already out as well as some that had never been released before. Of the new tracks, "Julia Dream" shines as does "Careful With That Axe, Eugene", which is the studio version of the track that first appeared on Ummagumma's live album. It also gives us the first versions of "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", which had been released in the UK, but not in the US until this album. They are two great Syd Barrett tracks that only add to his mystique. A great buy for those who like a complete collection.
A lot of people love to claim that this is the start of the new Floyd and that this is a great album, well I feel differently on that subject. It features 2 classic tracks, 2 decent ones, and 2 that can be thrown into the garbage. "Echoes" is a work of art, and is personally my third favorite Floyd song. "One of These Days" is another classic Floyd instrumental. But now, I have to question what they were thinking when they put "San Tropez" and "Seamus" on this album, with "Seamus" taking the cake as my personal all time worst Floyd song. The other two tracks on the album are decent but fall short of the sheer power that "Echoes" has.
This is my personal third most favorite Floyd album and is another of their more underrated works. It also features my personal favorite song of all time, which is "Childhood's End", pretty obvious considering that's the name of this website. Why is it my favorite you may be asking, well let me say that the lyrics and the meaning of them mean a lot to me, plus the beat of the song itself is great. The album does feature one reject, which is the last song, "Absolutely Curtains", which should have been left off the album, although this was another movie soundtrack, so it was part of the movie. The instrumentals on the album are great and the other lyrical songs are top notch. A must have for a true Floyd fan.
The album that pushed Pink Floyd into the national music scene is a work of art, but does not rank in my Top 5 Floyd albums of all time. Personally, I don't think much of the instrumentals on this album, except for "Great Gig in the Sky", although that does feature some vocals. The combined effect of "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" is outstanding and "Time" is an all time clasic. I don't feel that "Money" is that great a song, perhaps due to the fact that it is the main Floyd song that radio stations play. "Speak to Me" and "Breathe' combined also lends itself for a great effect and a great song. And "Us and Them" is a nice slow paced track that has some personal meaning to me so I'll always remember it for that. All in all, a great work that would lead to greater things both artistically and emotionally.
This album is yet another classic effort, without any lowpoints. In essence it is a tribute to Syd Barrett, with Syd being the diamond in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the person that is desired in "Wish You Were Here". "Have a Cigar" is an attack on all the groupies and phonies who just want to be with the group because they are famous, not because of who they are as individuals, immortalized by the classic line, "Oh by the way, which one is Pink?". It is also an attack on greedy record executives who just want number one hits and don't really care about the artisitic aspect of music. This would rank as my fifth favorite album of all time.
This album is another underrated one and was seen as a small failure because it did not go to number one on the charts like the previous two had. However, anyone thinking that this album is a failure is sorely mistaken, for this is a great album, without any lowpoints at all. The main reason it was not as great a success was due to the fact that there weren't any radio friendy tracks. Both "Pigs on the Wing" are very short and the other three tracks are over 10 minutes in length each. However, each are a masterpiece in their own right and this album deserves more credit than it gets.
Well, this review will be quite lengthy, as this is by far and away my favorite Floyd album of all time, as it also features my second favorite song of all time, "One of My Turns". There are two reasons that this is my favorite album. First off is that Waters really showcases his songwriting skills in telling his story, a story without any lowpoints as each song fits the storyline and are masterfully done. Secondly, this is my favorite album because it means a lot to me personally, as it is in essence my life story as well, so I know where Roger is coming from when vents his fears and frustrations. The album features many classic tracks, such as "Comfortably Numb", "Hey You", and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)", all of which were great successes on the charts as well as with the critics. However, there are many great underlooked tracks, such as the eerie "Goodbye Blue Sky", which is even eerier when watching the movie. Also, "Mother", which I feel is their best acoustic track of all time. And the operatic feel of "The Trial" is done with great expertise. I do hope that the grand finale of my life does end the same way the story does, with the Wall being torn down and feelings being exposed, however, at this point in time, I am probably nearer to the "One of My Turns" stage in which a complete mental breakdown takes place-personally I hope that this is not the case, but hey, who knows, the rest of my life has been pretty accurate with the entire story. A must have for anyone, regardless of whether they are a Floyd fan or not.
Basically just a compilation album of some of their songs that were deemed "danceworthy", this album was only put together because it was in their contract so they basically had no choice in the matter. The songs chosen are some of their better ones at least and is good for someone who doesn't want to buy all their albums, although I recommend buying all their albums because what true Floyd fan wouldn't have all their works?
Most fans like to say that this was their worst effort, which I think is completely ludicrous, it is one of their best albums they ever did, even if it was basically a Roger Waters solo album. The story is powerful and the songs are appropriate for the subject matter and they lend us further insight into the mind of Roger. From the raucous tempo of "Not Now John" to the nuclear holocaust premonitions of "Two Suns in the Sunset", this album shines from start to finish without any downfalls. A must have for anyone, whether they are a Floyd fan or not, for this would be Roger's "final cut" with the group.
Another compilation album although this one is better than most. It does feature one previously unreleased song in "Embryo" which is a great track. Also, it is a good blend of older works and newer ones that make this one a glimpse at the progression of Pink Floyd as a band and as artists.
A much better effort for the seemingly revitalized PInk Floyd, however, without Roger it still doesn't feel right. As you can tell I am a big fan of Roger's and of the older Floyd stuff in comparison to their newer works. Although with that said, this album is much better than Momentary and features many more good tracks than bad ones. The Floyd seem to have found that they can play without Roger and still make good music, however, not as good as when they did have Roger.
Another double live album, however, with this one, the performances are great and the overall quality is much higher. The performance of "Astronomy Domine" harkens to their early days as they skillfully put together a set of classic tracks as well as their newer works. Also, the best moment of this album may be the full performance of Dark Side of the Moon, which sounds like they haven't lost a beat since Dark Side first came out. One of the best live albums of any band.