Pink Floyd
Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd

THE REVIEW

Is it possible to make a compilation of one of the greatest bands in history like Pink Floyd? The answer is NO. Of course, a compilation is inherently designed solely with the purpose of selling, particularly aimed at those who know barely a single or two from the said band that have been aired on television broadcasts (like in the case of "One of These Days"). Therefore, it's impossible to come across a perfect Greatest Hits, also because anyone can criticize the absence of essential tracks from an artist's career, most of the time due to space issues.

"Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd" was released in 2001, accompanied by a beautiful cover by the visionary and lamented Storm Thorgerson, who also created the images contained in the booklet. It already presents itself well, and I'm driven by the curiosity to explore the record. Actually, THE RECORDS, given that they took the trouble to make at least two. Noticing the tracklist and inserting the records into the stereo, after years of hearing other collections like "Relics" (not as full as this but perhaps more interesting), I've concluded that Pink Floyd is a group impossible to conceptually enclose in a mere Best Of, as each of their works is based on a very specific concept, and limiting it in a commercial operation is not only inappropriate but a suicidal endeavor, even though the intentions were there; according to Waters, the tracks on the first side metaphorically represent the constraints that oppress man, while the second side embodies his desire for redemption. The songs, strictly not in chronological order (as Waters would have actually wanted), are mixed and connected to one another, somewhat as if it were a concept album itself.

Fans of the Barrett era might feel satisfied, given the presence of five tracks of the Madcap: the journey among the stars of "Astronomy Domine", the playful "See Emily Play", the march of "Jugband Blues", a nice single version of "Bike", and even "Arnold Layne", which until then had only appeared in "Relics". Certainly, one notices the absence of gems like "Interstellar Overdrive", but Barrett is omnipresent throughout the entire record, as desired by Pink Floyd themselves. It wrinkles the nose the absence of a track from that immense masterpiece "Atom Heart Mother" (at least an "If" could have been included), as well as from the experimental "Ummagumma", although taking a track that fully represents the latter is not an easy task; they tried with "A Saucerful Of Secrets", including the hypnotic dance around the fire of "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun", one of their paradoxically less commercial tracks in their discography, which fortunately they included, also because it’s one of the first works where Waters begins to timidly sing beyond playing the bass.

The rest of the record speaks for itself: from the prism, the most iconic tracks have been taken, pieces like "Time", "The Great Gig In The Sky", "Money", and "Us And Them", although "Brain Damage" would be missing, considering Syd was just being talked about a moment ago. Surprising is the presence of "When The Tigers Broke Free", present in the beginning of the film "The Wall", also contained in the criticized "The Final Cut", along with the splendid "The Fletcher Memorial Home", bringing us back to a Barry Lyndon-esque landscape. And speaking of "The Wall" we obviously have the inevitable "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives/Another Brick In The Wall Pt.2", although it makes a leap of almost 12 years from the previous track, but we’ll talk about this shortly. I appreciated the presence of "Comfortably Numb" extended with the finale of "Bring The Boys Back Home", so we can once again hear that gloomy "Is there anybody out there". Although here too for me "Run Like Hell" wouldn’t have hurt as much as a "Mother", but "Hey You" taps me on the shoulder from behind and makes me feel a bit better. There have also been quite some predatory actions, starting with the two "suites" if we want to define them in such a mundane manner: the magnificent "Echoes" reduced from 23 minutes to 16!, violently abbreviating the interlude of sound orgies from another galaxy coming from Gilmour's screaming guitar, as well as "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", divided into two parts in the magnificent "Wish You Were Here"; here it reaches up to the seventh, removing the splendid final journey of the original track. The same goes for "Marooned", one of the best moments from "The Division Bell" (along with "High Hopes", fortunately included here, and the beautiful "Keep Talking"), reduced from 5 minutes to 2 as a sort of transition for the next song. At least "Sheep", from the controversial "Animals", hasn't been overly violated (there was a tug-of-war between it and "Dogs", crucial that the latter is missing, however).

Moreover, the lack of a chronological order among the songs can leave one more confused than ecstatic, especially for those approaching Pink Floyd for the first time. For example, shifting from "Sheep" to "Sorrow", making a time jump to a dimension where Waters is busy minding his own business, while Gilmour takes the helm, is a paradoxical thing, and I could make the same example with "Learning To Fly" followed by a track from Dark Side. But I admit that, in truth, it's not a completely serious issue, as the mixing between tracks, if one tries to see it from an exclusively conceptual perspective, can be somewhat tolerable despite winking, compared to the understandably criticized cuts made to the tracks mentioned above. Finally, there are cases like "Wish You Were Here", which have been treated with absolute respect without linking them to any track, although it’s the only instance.

In conclusion, "Echoes" is a best of that can undeniably be a starting point for those wanting to get interested in this band, but I highly recommend studying the tracks you are listening to before pressing play, to be aware of the time jumps present within the collection. Thereafter, explore their discography, which certainly won't do any harm.