RELICS

I am not a fan of compilations of previously released material. First, I believe musicians deserve to have their material heard in the context of the full original album. Second, I believe they are often another scam for the record companies to make money, especially when they extort the fans by including that one "unreleased" treasure that make the fans spend $17 for material they already own.

That said, there are just enough items of interest in this collection to warrant minor consideration. Arnold Layne, Emily, Paintbox, Julia, Careful Eugene, and Biding are tracks that you may not have in your Floyd collection. The first two mentioned are especially wonderful Syd numbers that you really should have if you like Piper. The others are historically though not particularly musically noteworthy. Let's face it, the post-Syd Floyd took a while to find its legs.

It is also lame that EMI chose to replace the fine old white cover with the cheesy photograph on the 1995 remastered edition. Leave artwork alone!!

If you are a latter day Floyd fan with no pre-Dark Side experience looking to sample, don't buy this now. Just buy Piper, Atom Heart, and Meddle which represent the highlights of the pre-Dark Side material. If still interested you can go back and get the other stuff.