THE EARLY YEARS 1967-1972 CREATION

You won't be reading a review from this pauper of the 28(!)-disc "Early Years" box set, compiling (to exhaustive completion) the budding career of Pink Floyd, before they hit the bullseye on "The Dark Side of the Moon". This two-disc reduction is better suited to my proletarian budget, although it's more a frustrating teaser than a suitable alternative.

The frustration is in the track selection, and the overall size of the abbreviated set. Hidden inside the package is an excellent single disc of worthwhile rarities, spread unevenly over two half-filled CDs padded with songs we've heard countless times already: "Arnold Layne"; "See Emily Play"; "Jugband Blues" and so forth. The remixes are fresh but not exactly new, and even the very different alternate version of "Matilda Mother" was recycled from the 2010 CD "An Introduction to Syd Barrett".

That's the bad news. The good news is the remaining unreleased music: pure gold to collectors, only slightly tarnished by age. The various BBC Radio sessions, and in particular the May 1969 set recorded five months before the "Ummagumma" album hit record stores, vividly recapture the underground mystique of the early Floyd: the drifting space-rock tempos, sliced by David Gilmour's emotive guitar runs and that ethereal organ sound Rick Wright favored at the time.

The leftover "Zabriskie Point" soundtrack cues on Disc Two point directly toward "The Dark Side of the Moon". But the real gem here is a live version of the "Atom Heart Mother" suite from late 1970, performed by just the quartet, without any orchestral distraction. All good stuff, if somewhat haphazardly organized, and representing only the tip of an enormous iceberg. If you want the rest of the treasure, you'll need to dig deep inside your pockets for (no joke) the half-grand of loose change the full box is commanding on today's market.

We now seem to have crossed over into the endless archive stage of Pink Floyd's afterlife. Rumors say other individual discs from the box might be made available throughout the upcoming year, but until then this sampler will pacify the many diehard fans who consider the band in these formative years to be the only real Pink Floyd.

Although I made myself a plan to save up from my job to buy each disc, having my job finish with no choice but to use my savings to survive instead! I really wish this double CD had been released a few weeks earlier than the box set. As it would have charted in the album charts instead of being counted with the lower sales of the box. This is a better compilation than either Echoes and even Relics. (Yes, even better than the Australian edition of Relics!) Although nothing from the EP from 1965, Syd is better served by the chronological order if the first disc. I don't like the different lyrics for "Matilda Mother" but the jam the band go into at the end is a never before revealed insight into how the Pink Floyd sounded live. Although In The Beechwoods does sound dated and tied to its decade, it plays into an alternate "What if?..." for "A Saucerful Of Secrets" album tracklisting. It's also kinder to Rick Wright through Paintbox. The BBC sessions show a fearless but transitional band marching towards the more developed later 70's sound. The Zabriskie Point material are less dated, but still sound perfect for soundtracks. Embryo live was on a bootleg, "Pink Is The Pig" I used to have, so it's good to hear. The most played track for me is the version of "Atom Heart Mother" in a four piece arrangement that was sadly dropped from their live sets when it would have stood alongside Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Dark Side Of The Moon. The final three tracks are great picks from one of my favourite albums, "Obscured By Clouds". Although I wish "Mudmen" had been included.

If this was released instead of the box, it would have sold a lot better than it did. It isn't a Fans Only purchase. It's an exhilarating story of how a band began, changed and developed into the killing machine Pink Floyd became. As a compilation it's their most honest. No altered tracklisting to disguise highs and lows of the band. Cre/ation is an essential a purchase to the curious and new fans as it is buying Dark Side Of The Moon.

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