An old friend of mine owned the 10 CD boxed set Shine
On, and I was overwhelmed not only by the quantity and
the quality of the material Pink Floyd had produced,
but the cost of the bloody thing was $230. That really
blew me away. One day, this old friend recommended I
go to a Friday midnight screening of the film version
of the Wall and I did. Ever since then I've been what
I would classify as a mild Pink Floyd fan, one who
enjoys their music but couldn't ever come close to
owning a fraction of their material. I have a copy of
the Wall soundtrack dubbed onto a blank audio
cassette, same with Dark Side of the Moon which --
don't tell anyone -- I rented from the Saint John
Public Library and dubbed. I guess I was just waiting
for a Best Of compilation to come along.
Well, it has. If nothing else, Echoes is a varied
release that spans all phases and eras. It includes
many of the band's biggest commercial songs, but also
a few obscure tracks too. The most eye-opening
inclusion for me were the five featured songs from the
Syd Barrett years (Barrett was the founding member,
lead guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter
who left the band after mental problems, eventually
replaced by David Gilmour). I had never heard any of
that material before, and I'm glad the Powers That Be
decided to include them. As mixed on this compilation,
they mesh quite well with the later, more conceptual
sound they went on to perfect.
All the goodies are here, including "Another Brick in
the Wall Part II", "Comfortably Numb", "Wish You Were
Here", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Money". The
balance comes with Chunky Soup songs like "Echoes",
"The Great Gig In the Sky" and "When the Tigers Broke
Free", which all show the enormous creative range Pink
Floyd has never been afraid to explore. Other
inclusions are "Time", "Keep Talking", "Astronomy
Domine", "Hey You", and "Set the Controls for the
Heart of the Sun".
I wanted a Floyd CD that had some of my favourites
without actually going out and buying all the albums
they were on. I also wanted to explore the girth of
their material, including their early sound, again
without having to buy the CDs. I think for a mild fan
such as myself, Echoes makes a fine introduction to a
bigger picture.
