ECHOES - THE BEST OF PINK FLOYD

"Echoes- The Best Of Pink Floyd" was one of the albums that introduced me to this band, shortly after listening to "Dark Side of the Moon." I was more than pleased with the list of songs that was chosen, since they cover just about all of Pink Floyd's career. With the exception of "Ummagumma," "More," "Atom Heart Mother," and "Obscured by Clouds," this compilation spans all of Pink Floyd's breakthrough albums, saving and displaying such prime-choices as these.

The compilation begins with "Astronomy Domine," from their debut album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn." With psychedelic effects, spacey sounds, and a mysterious guitar riff, this track marks an important step in all of space rock. The other song from "Piper" is the closing track on the second disc, "Bike," a peppy, whimsical, yet strange tune: a simplistic love song about giving a girl things such as a bike, a cloak, a mouse, gingerbread men, and a room of musical tunes.

I was pleased to find songs such as "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne," which are among the band's first singles. Immediately following the former is the duo from "The Wall:" "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and the second part of "Another Brick in the Wall," which, to my ears, seemed to go together ever since I first heard the album.

Many new listeners to Pink Floyd will recognize popular hits such as "Money," "Comfortably Numb," and "Wish You Were Here," but I don't see these as the highlights. No, what I see as the most significant additions are the epics like "Echoes," "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," and "Sheep," using long passages, multiple movements, and memorable riffs to speak their messages.

Many listeners may recognize Waters' "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun," from "A Saucerful of Secrets," extremely spacey and experimental, with a haunting melody and progression. More of Waters' songs that appear are "When the Tigers Broke Free" and "The Fletcher Memorial Home," both from his final album with the Floyd, "The Final Cut." That's not to say, however, the later era is not celebrated. Songs from the Gilmour-led era are present: "Sorrow" and "Learning to Fly" from "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," and "Marooned," "Keep Talking," and "High Hopes" from "The Division Bell."

I can only find one major problem with this album: many songs were cut in length. "Echoes" was reduced from 23 minutes to 17, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," was also significantly shortened, and "Marooned" was lopped in half, removing, arguably, the most memorable parts of the song. Keep in mind that "Marooned" was the song that won Pink Floyd their first and only Grammy, so that has to mean something. (Let it be known that I do not rate this album based on what material is or isn't present, but rather how it is presented.)

Despite the shortened songs, this is an overall good album, especially for new listeners of Pink Floyd. It spans and includes anything from their psychedelic era to their experimental era, then to their progressive, conceptual era, and finally to Gilmour's era of intricate themes. I give this album a rating of three stars, however, because I strongly recommend looking into the original albums as well, since many of them, especially from "Dark Side" to "The Final Cut" were meant to be played in sequence.