The best of Floyd..hmmmm...debatable

I thought that this might interest the troops at APFFN. The link is at the bottom of the page and you can have your say on the choice. Opinions?


MOJO’s Editor-In-Chief Phil Alexander presents his personal selection of Floyd favourites and invites you to do the same…

THE CHALLENGE? To compile a playlist of 30 tracks that sum up the very best of Pink Floyd. Easy. Until you start thinking about it…

Get the albums out, starting playing them and you realise however, after a night of playing every Floyd album back to back, selecting favourite tunes and arranging them in chronological order, here’s a celebration of close to 40 years of unique music. And, as, in the current issue of MOJO magazine, we celebrate the return of Floyd guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour, we have taken the liberty of adding the title track of his new album, On An Island, as a so-called ‘bonus track’ to this playlist. Strangely it fits quite well when you listen to it in that context.

Doubtless there will be those willing debate this selection – “Wot? No, Money!?” you rage. “Or See Emily Play?!” “Or One Of These Days?!” Well, no. None of those. Nor is there any live material – although a swift listen to Pulse during the compiling process did reveal it to be a far finer set that your compiler had recalled it to be.
Anyhow, this playlist is a personal selection – reasons for inclusion at times being listed below. Disagreements are best dealt with by simply compiling your own Pink Floyd Playlist, an invitation to do so being included below. In the meantime, here’s one man’s view…

http://www.mojo4music.com/html/floyd.shtml

....Back to the another compiled brick in the wall!!

[*]Narrow Ways-part2[*] Cymbaline [*]Nile Song[*]Free Four [*]Echoes (part 1&2) [*]One of these days[*]Childhood's End [*]Speak To ME/Breathe -Segue1&2[*]Time [*]On The Run [*]TGGITS[*]Any Color You Like [*]Brain Damage [*]Shine On You Crazy Dianond-All Parts[*]Wish You Were Here[*]Dogs [*]Another Brick in the wall-part1 [*]Another Brick In The Wall-part2 [*]Mother [*]Nobody Home[*]Comfortably Numb[*]Run Like Hell[*]The Trial[*]Heroes Return [*]The Final Cut[*]Two Suns In The Sunset[*]Dogs Of War[*]Sorrow[*]Cluster 1[*]Marooned[*]Poles Apart[*]Towers Of Faith[*]Amused To Death[*]Three Wishes[*]Mihalis[*]What God Wants-part2[*]Flickering Flame[*]On an Island[/LIST]
...of course there the ones who got away,and might be added here later...

[IMG]http://images.q4music.com/content/te...jo/floyd_1.jpg[/IMG]

• My 30 for this time ( IST :14hrs22min31sec)

1. Jugband Blues
2. Interstellar Overdrive
3. Astronomy Domine
4. Matilda Mother
5. Careful with that Axe...Eugene
6. Fat Old Sun
7. Narrow Ways-part2
8. Cymbaline
9. Nile Song
10. Free Four
11. Echoes (part 1&2)
12. One of these days
13. Childhood's End
14. Speak To ME/Breathe -Segue1&2
15. Time
16. On The Run
17. TGGITS
18. Any Color You Like
19. Brain Damage
20. Shine On You Crazy Dianond-All Parts
21. Wish You Were Here
22. Dogs
23. Another Brick in the wall-part1
24. Another Brick In The Wall-part2
25. Mother
26. Nobody Home
27. Comfortably Numb
28. Run Like Hell
29. The Trial
30. Heroes Return
31. The Final Cut
32. Two Suns In The Sunset
33. Dogs Of War
34. Sorrow
35. Cluster 1
36. Marooned
37. Poles Apart
38. Towers Of Faith
39. Amused To Death
40. Three Wishes
41. Mihalis
42. What God Wants-part2
43. Flickering Flame
44. On an Island

...of course there the ones who got away,and might be added here later...

Thank you for including "Childhood's End", I didn't know if anyone but me liked it.

Here are my comments on Phil's list, and what I think would be on my list.

1. Arnold Layne
A prerequisite. If you don't have this on your list, it is not the best of Pink Floyd.

2. Astronomy Domine
Ditto. Although perhaps a live version (Ummagumma anyone?) would have been better for historical reasons, the studio take is absolutely sublime.

3. Matilda Mother
I've never been a fan of the lyrics. Plus the production is a bit over-the-top. This sort of song is not something they really chose to persue later on, and so I think it's a bit of a dead-end.

4. Interstellar Overdrive
It's a lovely jam, but again the 60's sound is a bit grating today (particularly that panpot indulgence at the end). There are several non-album recordings of this track that, in my opinion, serve the spirit of the earliest Floyd a lot better. Speaking of which, shouldn't this be at the top of the list if we're going chronologically?

5. Bike
I'm always on the fence about "Bike", although ending Echoes with it is a classy move (albeit one copped from Relics) that I admire greatly. Where do you go from here, that's the problem... sticking it in the middle of a list of other songs is just off-putting.

6. Careful With That Axe, Eugene
Alright, the original studio version is shite. We need a later recording here, because it never really became a masterpiece until they'd honed it a bit on the road.

7. Let There Be More Light
Lovely introduction riff, but with crap lyrics and a crap guitar solo. They can do a lot better.

8. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Essential. Nick's favourite track for a long time, and Roger's best pre-Meddle composition.

9. Cirrus Minor
Classy track, but with perhaps a bit too much intro and outro to really work on a compilation.

10. The Nile Song
Great, great precursor to their heavier stuff later on. Unfortunately the sound is a bit muddy, but I love the playing and singing. You know what? This whole era just comes off better live. Case in point:

11. The Narrow Way Parts I-III
Okay, the first bit is alright but way too long and self-indulgent. The second part is just repetitive dissonance, and I don't like it much at all. Though the third bit is an okay effort, Gilmour plays it all himself and that's where it falls apart. He is not a drummer, will never be a drummer, and his incompetent playing ruins this one and the next track as well. Live versions are much better in both cases.

12. Fat Old Sun
Hey, I'm all for it. But the Floyd's major blunder was not capturing their live feel well enough in the studio in favour of obsessing over details. Gilmour can't see the forest for the trees here, whereas in 1971 performances he shines forth marvellously.

13. Fearless
Sublime. In fact, I'd have all of Meddle on my best-of, if only people wouldn't bitch about "Seamus".

14. Echoes
Promise me you won't edit it and I'll let you use the studio version. In a pinch, I'll take the opening section from Live at Pompeii on its own.

15. Free Four
Spot on. Choosing two tracks from this album is a tough call, but if I only had to pick one cut from Obscured By Clouds, this would be it.

16. Speak To Me/Breathe
Yup. I like "On the Run" too, but it's not their best by any means.

17. Time
Good, good. Carry on.

18. Brain Damage
No "Eclipse" or "Money"? Where's "Us and Them"? Unforgivable.

19. Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts I-VII
Not the Echoes edit. Why screw with what worked on the original album?

20. Have A Cigar
Drrr... I have major issues with Phil's comments about it: "Unable to sing his own song" isn't right, because Roger sang it on tour. "Recorded in the days when conversations about cash among artists was strictly verboten" — huh? "Gilmour has recently made reference" to it? I thought Gilmour didn't like this song? "A bit of a winge" and all that?

21. Wish You Were Here
Of course.

22. Dogs
Splendid. Maybe a slight edit to the synth solo, just to keep everyone's attention.

23. Sheep
Absolutely.

24. In the Flesh?
Take the second rendition ("are there any queers in the theatre tonight?") if you want to get the real point across. Otherwise it's just a straightforward rocker.

25. Another Brick in the Wall, Part Two
Marvellous. Let's have the single version's intro, please.

26. Mother
Lovely.

27. Comfortably Numb
Fine.

28. When the Tigers Broke Free
It's not from The Final Cut. We need something from The Final Cut.

29. Sorrow
Alright, granted, this is Gilmour's best solo effort and if we do need something from Momentary Lapse, why not throw in "Learning To Fly" as well since it was such a popular hit with the young kids?

30. High Hopes
Although I'm very, very tired of this track (and exhausted to the point of distraction with everything on The Division Bell), but if you want something from this album then I suppose we must have it.

31. On An Island
No. Three guitar solos does not a good Pink Floyd song make.


Let's try this again.
1. Interstellar Overdrive (London soundtrack edit)
2. Arnold Layne
3. Astronomy Domine
4. See Emily Play
5. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
6. Green Is the Colour (Take your pick of 1969 live recordings)
7. Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Ditto)
8. Embryo (the lost Ummagumma outtake)
9. Fat Old Sun (From the Meddler bootleg)
10. Echoes
11. One of These Days
12. A Pillow of Winds
13. Fearless
14. A Saucerful of Secrets (Live at Pompeii)
15. Free Four
16. Speak To Me/Breathe
17. Time
18. Money
19. Us and Them
20. Brain Damage
21. Eclipse
22. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)
23. Dogs
24. Sheep
25. Wish You Were Here
26. Pigs on the Wing (Parts 1 and 2)
27. Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two)
28. Mother
29. Comfortably Numb
30. The Gunner's Dream

In fact, that would make a pretty nifty setlist — if you want a three-and-a-half-hour show.

What?!?!

It was going to be on that album but they never finished it. "Biding My Time" dates from that era too, but got dropped after they decided to switch to a 4-solos-in-1 format.

Wow, what a missed oportunity!

In retrospect, I don't think that the 4 solo efforts album was a good decision. We could have been spared of the first 2 parts of "The Narrow Way", "Several Species", "Sysyphus" and "The Grand Vizier's". A double live album could have been great though. We would have now that lost recording of "Interestellar Overdrive" that didn't make it in the end and the "new" songs ("The Narrow Way part 3", "Biding my Time", "Embryo" and "Grantchester Meadows") could have been recorded live. I like "Grantchester Meadows" when David sings with Roger better and the same goes with the live renditions of "Embryo".

Excellent choices. I agree this is a hell of a set.

Thanks, P_W.
That's what I've always said.

This thread is posted in the wrong forum, maybe it's time for a mod?

The mods have all gone. Except Fixx.

I don't know if you forgot but in my opinion "Hey you!" should be in any pf selection. Your selection is very good Botley, only "Us and them" it wouldn't be in my list, certainly.

Yes it is.