Ok, my Pink Floyd collection needs a little explaining. Some time ago I was in dire financial straits and sold most of my Floyd crappy vinyl records, since they still fetched a good price back then and I needed the cash. I figured someday I would upgrade to CD, anyway. A few months later, I moved in with a friend who hated Pink Floyd with a passion, having to do with a bad acid trip while watching The Wall movie (the nipple-shaving scene was a little too much for him...) Therefore I was dissuaded from buying any Floyd CDs, since I would be risking my life if I played them! (Seriously!) As a result, they fell way down on the priority list, and it wasn't until very recently that I managed to build up a reasonably decent collection.

"The Piper at the Gates of Dawn"

1. "Astronomy Domine" (4:12)
2. "Lucifer Sam" (3:07)
3. "Matilda Mother" (3:08)
4. "Flaming" (2:46)
5. "Pow R. Toc H."--instrumental (4:26)
6. "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" (3:05)
7. "Interstellar Overdrive"--instrumental (9:41)
8. "The Gnome" (2:13)
9. "Chapter 24" (3:42)
10. "Scarecrow" (2:11)
11. "Bike" (3:21)

The band's debut album, and the only one to feature original guitarist Syd Barrett, who dropped a little too much acid and permanently went mad -- a topic on which the band has built its entire career, come to think. In any case, there's a lot of bizarre, novelty-ish songs on here ("Bike", "Flaming", "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk") sprinkled in among the more recognizably psychedelic material. "Interstellar Overdrive" is one HELL of a monster instrumental, worth buying for that song alone (not that there's anything wrong with the other songs, of course!) "Astronomy Domine" has been covered by Voi Vod.

"A Saucerful of Secrets"

1. "Let There Be More Light" (5:37)
2. "Remember a Day" (4:33)
3. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (5:27)
4. "Corporal Clegg" (4:12)
5. "A Saucerful of Secrets"--instrumental (11:56)
6. "See-Saw" (4:36)
7. "Jugband Blues" (2:59)

Considerably more psychedelic than Piper, with yet another kick-ass instrumetal (the title track) and the hauntingly moody "Set the Controls", but it still ain't the Pink Floyd we're all used to by now. The shorter songs are still in the Barret-ish vein of weird 60's pop, although "Jugband Blues" is the only song written by Syd. Oh, and David Gilmour is the new guitarist, but you knew that already didn't you?

"Ummagumma" (double CD)

disc one:
1. "Astronomy Domine"--live (8:31)
2. "Careful with that Axe, Eugene"--live (8:50)
3. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"--live (9:26)
4. "A Saucerful of Secrets"--live (12:49)

disc two:
1. Richard Wright: "Sysyphus Part I"--instrumental (1:08)
2. Richard Wright: "Sysyphus Part II"--instrumental (3:30)
3. Richard Wright: "Sysyphus Part III"--instrumental (1:49)
4. Richard Wright: "Sysyphus Part IV"--instrumental (6:59)
5. Roger Waters: "Grantchester Meadows" (7:28)
6. "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" (5:01)
7. David Gilmour: "The Narrow Way--Part 1"--instrumental (3:29)
8. David Gilmour: "The Narrow Way--Part 2"--instrumental (2:54)
9. David Gilmour: "The Narrow Way--Part 3" (5:58)
10. Nick Mason: "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party Part I--Entrance"--instrumental (0:59)
11. Nick Mason: "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party Part II--Entertainment"--instrumental (7:06)
12. Nick Mason: "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party Part III--Exit"--instrumental (0:40)

Picked up this set solely because it was mispriced at $6.99 for 2 CDs. Pretty trippy stuff.

"Atom Heart Mother"

1. "Atom Heart Mother"--instrumental (23:39)
   • a. Father's Shout
   • b. Breast Milky
   • c. Mother Fore
   • d. Funky Dung
   • e. Mind Your Throats Please
   • f. Remergence
2. "If" (4:30)
3. "Summer '68" (5:28)
4. "Fat Old Sun" (5:23)
5. "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast"--instrumental (13:01)
   • a. Rise and Shine
   • b. Sunny Side Up
   • c. Morning Glory

A long time ago I remember seeing a Pink Floyd bootleg, using this cover, called "Dark Side of the Moo". Really. This is a rather boring album, with an overlong, heavily orchestrated title track, plus three dull acoustic songs, and a very weird psychedelic collage featuring the sounds of somebody making breakfast. Apparently the band has actually performed that last one live in concert. I'm not making this up!

"Meddle"

1. "One of These Days"--instrumental (5:57)
2. "A Pillow of Winds" (5:07)
3. "Fearless" (6:05)
4. "San Tropez" (3:40)
5. "Seamus" (2:13)
6. "Echoes" (23:31)

This is where Pink Floyd began to sound like Pink Floyd. "One of These Days" is a wickedly sinister instrumental, one of my favorites. The second track is dull, but "Fearless" is great, with that awesome ascending riff and everything. "San Tropez" is a laid-back acoustic tune, kinda fun, but "Seamus" (a song about a dog) is rather weird. (An instrumental version of that song was used as the opening music for the movie Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead...and, to digress for a second, I've gotta say that Roger Ebert is GOING TO HELL for giving that wonderful, offbeat movie ZERO STARS in his review!) And finally, there's "Echoes" an outright classic in the pantheon of side-long progressive rock masterpieces.

"Dark Side of the Moon"

1. a) "Speak to Me"--instrumental
   b) "Breathe" (3:57)
2. "On the Run"--instrumental (3:31)
3. "Time" (7:05)
4. "The Great Gig in the Sky"--instrumental (4:47)
5. "Money" (6:23)
6. "Us and Them" (7:48)
7. "Any Colour You Like"--instrumental (3:25)
8. "Brain Damage" (3:50)
9. "Eclipse" (2:06)

Well, what hasn't been said about this album that hasn't been said already...perhaps it may be the most popular album of all time (even surpassing Led Zeppelin's fourth), and made history by staying on the Billboard album charts for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS!!!...and as for my collection, it wasn't until I had like 1025 other titles before I finally bought the damn thing.

"Wish You Were Here"

1. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond (parts i-v)" (13:32)
2. "Welcome to the Machine" (7:33)
3. "Have a Cigar" (5:24)
4. "Wish You Were Here" (5:17)
5. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond (parts vi-ix)" (12:29)

The thing I like most about this album is the burning dude on the front cover. Interesting concept. A couple friends of mine use the opening stanza of "Welcome to the Machine" as their Windows startup tune. "Have a Cigar" has been covered by Primus.

"Animals"

1. "Pigs on the Wing (part one)" (1:24)
2. "Dogs" (17:03)
3. "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" (11:30)
4. "Sheep" (10:18)
5. "Pigs on the Wing (part two)" (1:24)

If I had to choose which was my favorite Floyd CD, it would be a tossup between The Wall and this one. Well, probably The Wall. This is still a fantastic album however. In particular the song "Sheep", which is my all-time favorite Floyd song! Oh, by the way, that London coal plant on the front cover hasn't been operational for decades.

"The Wall"

A.K.A. "The Story of a Fucked-Up Rock Star." Amazing, utterly amazing CD. I was in grade school when "Another Brick in the Wall Part II" hit the airwaves, young enough to appreciate the "We don't need no education" refrain. Never owned this on crappy vinyl since a friend was kind enough to tape it for me, and include some rare "Wall" tracks on the end. I wonder what happened to that tape...probably wore it down to a dull hiss. Oh, did you know if you play the last few seconds of disk 2 and then disk 1 you'll hear someone saying, "Is this where...we started?" And then there's that backwards masking part which says, "Congratulations, you've found the secret message!" but I don't know where it is exactly.... And last but not least, the movie version of this album was an absolute marvel, but don't let my friend catch you watching the nipple-shaving scene! "Hey You" and "In the Flesh?" have been covered by Dream Theater; "Goodbye Cruel World" has been covered by Anathema.

"The Film: Remastered" (CDR bootleg)

1. "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot" (1:22)
2. "When the Tigers Broke Free Part 1" (1:54)
3. "In the Flesh" (3:05)
4. "The Thin Ice" (2:40)
5. "Another Brick in the Wall Part 1" (2:44)
6. "When the Tigers Broke Free Part 2" (1:57)
7. "Goodbye Blue Sky" (2:11)
8. "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" (1:53)
9. "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" (3:19)
10. "Mother" (6:21)
11. "Empty Spaces (What Shall We Do Now)" (3:47)
12. "Young Lust" (2:58)
13. "One of My Turns" (3:19)
14. "Don't Leave Me Now" (3:04)
15. "Another Brick in the Wall Part 3" (1:09)
16. "Goodbye Cruel World" (0:54)
17. "Is There Anybody Out There?" (2:22)
18. "Nobody Home" (3:01)
19. "Vera" (1:13)
20. "Bring the Boys Back Home" (1:42)
21. "Comfortably Numb" (6:25)
22. "In the Flesh" (3:20)
23. "Run Like Hell" (2:22)
24. "Waiting for the Worms" (2:20)
25. "The Trial" (7:31)
26. "Outside the Wall" (3:53)

While I certainly have no intention of collecting Pink Floyd bootlegs (hell, I don't even own a full discography yet) there's one song in particular that I just HAD to track down: "What Shall We Do Now", which is basically an extended version of "Empty Spaces", and ONLY featured in the movie version of The Wall. Oh, and "The Tigers Broke Free" too, I suppose...except that one made the greatest hits album, I think. But when I started actively seeking a bootleg version of it, I discovered a little-known fact...all Pink Floyd "ROIO Traders" are complete assholes!! Seriously, half of the people I contacted told me to go chase myself, while the other half didn't respond at all. It wasn't until years later that I ran across a metal trader who just happened to own this boot, which features every song from the movie, including the remixed Floyd tracks and the ones with Bob Geldof singing. The sound is outstanding, clear as a bell (which is why it's called "Remastered", since earlier versions of this "unofficial soundtrack" sounded pretty bad, from what I've heard) so I think the music may have been taken straight from the DVD itself.

Oh, and if you're thinking that two tracks are missing, they are not...Geldof's a cappela rendition of "Stop" is tacked on to the beginning of "The Trial" (or maybe the end of the track before it, can't recall), and the song "Hey You" did not appear in the film at all, which every Pink Floyd fan worth his salt should know already. :)

"A Momentary Lapse of Reason"

1. "Signs of Life"--instrumental (4:23)
2. "Learning to Fly" (4:53)
3. "The Dogs of War" (6:10)
4. "One Slip" (5:04)
5. "On the Turning Away" (5:38)
6. "Yet Another Movie/Round and Around" (7:27)
7. "A New Machine part 1" (1:45)
8. "Terminal Frost"--instrumental (6:16)
9. "A New Machine part 2" (0:38)
10. "Sorrow" (8:48)

The first album without Roger Waters, which caused quite a split between the Roger Waters fans and David Gilmour fans. I guess I must fall into the David Gilmour camp, because I absolutely adored it. "Learning to Fly" was a trip because Emerson, Lake & Powell had just released a song with that same exact title...and then Tom Petty did one a few years later! Are these guys in cahoots, or what?

Oh yeah, among the 17-odd musicians on this album are Carmine Appice (!) and Tony Levin (who's done work for Peter Gabriel, Anderson, Bruford Wakeman & Howe, etc.)

"Delicate Sound of Thunder"

...or "The Quest for More Money", as a friend of mine called it. He was all bitching about how they could have put more songs on it, blah blah blah. And come to think, it DOES emphasize the Momentary Lapse songs quite heavily, doesn't it? Oh well, it's the next best thing to being there, I guess. (I've never been to a Floyd show.) A mite bit overdone, I mean did they really need TWO drummers?? It's such a joke to hear them hit the skins a half-beat off from each other...

on crappy vinyl:
• "Obscured by Clouds"
• "The Final Cut"

videotapes:
• "Delicate Sound of Thunder: Live"

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