RELICS

"Relics" is a compilation album by UK psychadelic/progressive rock act Pink Floyd. The compilation was released through Starline Records (subsidiary label to EMI) in May 1971. The label decided that a release from Pink Floyd was needed in mid-1971 to close the gap between the releases of Pink Floyd´s fifth and sixth full-length studio albums "Atom Heart Mother" (October 1970) and "Meddle" (October 1971), while the band worked in the studio on the material for the latter.

"Relics" is a combined early career rarities and best-of compilation album, featuring single A-side and B-side tracks, an unreleased track ("Biding My Time"), and four tracks ("Interstellar Overdrive", "Remember a Day", "Careful With That Axe, Eugene", and "Bike") which had already appeared on one of the first two albums by Pink Floyd ("The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)" and "A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)"). "Nile Song" and "Cirrus Minor" are featured from the 1969 soundtrack album "More". "Biding My Time" is of course an attraction here, but the A-side single tracks "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", featuring vocals by Syd Barret, are also some of the highlights of the compilation. "Paintbox", which is a B-side to the 1968 single "Apples and Oranges" and "Julia Dream", which is a B-side to the 1968 single "It Would Be So Nice", are also both great additions to the compilation.

So "Relics" is arguably a good representation of both the most melodic and accessible early psychadelic tinged rock songs by the band, but also some of the most trippy experimental sound collages. In that respect "Relics" is as good a place to start your journey with early Pink Floyd as any. So evaluating "Relics" is actually more about what was left off the compilation, because the label left off some pretty essential rarities, which could have made the compilation even more interesting in "Candy and a Currant Bun", which was the B-side to the 1967 "Arnold Layne" single, the A-side track from the 1968 "It Would Be So Nice" single, and the A-side track from the 1968 "Point Me at the Sky" single. If it was a matter of vinyl quality time limits, they could easily have replaced either "Interstellar Overdrive" or "Careful With That Axe, Eugene", with the three missing single tracks, and as a result "Relics" would have been a more complete early rarities compilation. Still a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.