# New Pink Floyd CD **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964 "2001-11-07T05:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xanadu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c4cdca/32.png) [@xanadu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanadu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/1 "2001-11-07T05:58:25Z")
I’ve been thinking about getting the new Pink Floyd CD: “Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd”. As someone who owns none of their other CDs, I was wondering if this would be a good intro to the band, and what you think of the CD in general. Is it a good compilation? (Well, other than the fact that “On the Turning Away” is not included) Here’s a list of the songs on the album: Disc one: 1. Astronomy Domine 2. See Emily Play 3. The Happiest Days of Our Lives 4. Another Brick In the Wall (Part 2) 5. Echoes - (Edit) 6. Hey You 7. Marooned - (excerpt) 8. The Great Gig In The Sky 9. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 10. Money 11. Keep Talking 12. Sheep 13. Sorrow Disc Two: 14. Shine On You Crazy Diamond 15. Time 16. The Fletcher Memorial Home 17. Comfortably Numb 18. When Tigers Broke Free 19. One Of These Days (Hey, Ho, Hey, Ho) 20. Us And Them 21. Learning To Fly 22. Arnold Layne 23. Wish You Were Here 24. Jugband Blues 25. High Hopes 26. Bike ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/2 "2001-11-07T06:13:32Z")
I stopped buying Pink Floyd after The Final Cut, the last album with Roger Waters as part of the band, so post Waters fans may have something to say here. Just like you want to hear the Grateful Dead live (or a live album of a whole concert) and don’t want to just listen to Touch of Grey, because that isn’t what the band is about, you do not want to do Pink Floyd via greatest hits albums. Pink Floyd, more than any other band, is a concept album band. Each song is a chapter in a story. Each album a “novel”. Simply put, DO NOT DO IT! If you want to find out what Floyd is about, choose an album and sit and listen to it closely on a really good stereo, possibly with headphones. Dark Side of the Moon, The Final Cut and The Wall are easily understandable 70s stuff, to the extent they can be understood. Many die-hard Floyd fans consider Wish You Were Here to be their best album. (I don’t see it, but it is very good.) Ummagumma is considered great too. ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/3 "2001-11-07T06:33:31Z")
I agree with DPWhite, and I’m also horrified at the thought of an edit of ‘Echoes’. It’s not a bad selection of songs, and PF do have a fairly large discography to start catching up on, but I’d listen to a few of their records to hear which stage of their career appeals most, and get that one. My personal favourite, FWIW, is **Piper At The Gates Of Dawn** ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/4 "2001-11-07T10:18:09Z")
Bah. Some of my favorite works came from Roger Waters’ post-Floyd solo years, anyway. _Amused to Death_? _Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking_? And let’s not forget the amazingly wonderful _In The Flesh_ tour. ---
**Author:** ![HoldenCaulfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@HoldenCaulfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldenCaulfield)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/5 "2001-11-07T14:48:06Z")
I’m not a big Pink Floyd fan by any stretch of the imagination, although I do really love the music. But I’d definitely have to agree and say get one of their albums. My favorite is Dark Side of the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/6 "2001-11-07T15:34:03Z")
Buy one of the albums and start there.Good or bad, each Floyd album should be taken as a whole.The post-Waters era songs shouldn’t be intermixed with the earlier material; they belong on a seperate disc or even in a collection of their own. I would recommend MEDDLE or maybe ANIMALS (underrated). These are the two albums that hold up the best (for me) when I listen to them now.I would avoid ATOM HEART MOTHER, WISH YOU WERE HERE (overrated), and THE DIVISION BELL. ---
**Author:** ![ramesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@ramesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ramesh)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/7 "2001-11-07T15:38:43Z")
Dont buy pink floyd compilations!!! Every album is a song by itself. Not like LedZep. Start off with Dark Side and Meddle. If you like DSM, buy WiYWH, ANI, WALL, etc. if you like meddle buy Atom Heart, UmmaGumma. I find two distinct styles in PinkFloyd. But the idea is the same: an album is a cogent piece not to be split up. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/8 "2001-11-07T16:28:19Z")
I won’t list the Floyd albums that I think you should listen to, as it’ll simply be a different list than everyone else has proposed, but I will agree with everyone else in that the idea of a compilation album makes me cringe. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Red\_Menace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@The\_Red\_Menace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Red_Menace)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/9 "2001-11-07T17:22:28Z")
I would caution a first time Floyd listener against getting Ummagumma if you’re picking up just one album to start with. If you get into the band then it might be worth getting later if you so desire, but when you’re first starting I’d stay away from it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunglasses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Sunglasses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunglasses)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/10 "2001-11-07T17:32:33Z")
Adding my .02 as a Pink Floyd fan. I agree with most of the others - each album is a piece of work that needs to be listened to in it’s entirety. Each album is a story with a beginning, middle, and end. ---
**Author:** ![xanadu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c4cdca/32.png) [@xanadu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanadu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/11 "2001-11-07T18:28:11Z")
Okay, so far I can see that a greatest hits compilation may not be the way to go. So, what should I start out with? Dark Side Of the Moon and Meddle seem to be the two that get the the best reviews here, so I was wondering which of the two is better? ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/12 "2001-11-07T19:54:23Z")
[Damn escape key …] OK, **xanadu** , I guessing you’ve heard some Floyd which has made you want to buy one of their records, so I would go with the record that those songs come from. You’ve mentioned the excellent _On The Turning Away_ from **Momentary Lapse Of Reason** (which is a little patchy), so I’m guessing you like the ‘pretty’ side of Floyd. I don’t see how you could go wrong with **Dark Side Of The Moon** (which is not overrated, no matter how many people rave about it), or any of the 70’s records after it - **Animals** (for longer songs), **Wish You Were Here** (for a mix of their seventies sounds) or even **The Wall** , which has a few songs I’m positive you’ll love, if I’ve judged your taste correctly. I went mad On Floyd about 10 years ago, and got all their records, and other than some flat moments on **Atom Heart Mother** and **UmmaGumma** , there’s lots of great stuff there. I have a personal preference for the Syd Barrett material, but thanks to you reminding me of them, I’m enjoying Animals at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/13 "2001-11-08T01:03:25Z")
I think you may also enjoy **Relics** and **Obscured by Clouds**. But, since **Dark Side of the Moon** is the best album ever made by anybody, I suggest you start there. **Echoes** , the compilation album would be ok for a collector or someone who already knows all the songs therein but as a newcomer you really need to approach Floyd by listening to the albums as a whole. **Wish You Were Here** and **The Wall** are both essential. Anything post-Waters is catchy but not really Pink Floyd since Waters was the soul of the band. Its like The Beatles without John Lennon. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/14 "2001-11-08T04:09:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DPWhite \* > \*\*I stopped buying Pink Floyd after The Final Cut, the last album with Roger Waters as part of the band, so post Waters fans may have something to say here. > > Just like you want to hear the Grateful Dead live (or a live album of a whole concert) and don’t want to just listen to Touch of Grey, because that isn’t what the band is about, you do not want to do Pink Floyd via greatest hits albums. > > Pink Floyd, more than any other band, is a concept album band. Each song is a chapter in a story. Each album a “novel”. Simply put, DO NOT DO IT! If you want to find out what Floyd is about, choose an album and sit and listen to it closely on a really good stereo, possibly with headphones. Dark Side of the Moon, The Final Cut and The Wall are easily understandable 70s stuff, to the extent they can be understood. Many die-hard Floyd fans consider Wish You Were Here to be their best album. (I don’t see it, but it is very good.) Ummagumma is considered great too. \*\* Exactly. You can’t read one chapter in the middle of a book and undersand the whole thing. The same thing with a Pink Floyd album. You can’t listen to **Money** and get the whole concept of _Dark Side of the Moon_. It just dosen’t work. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/15 "2001-11-08T13:22:11Z")
I’g have to go with the majority opinion here… besdies, what compilation would be complete without_Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict_? ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/16 "2001-11-08T14:00:14Z")
Actually I think that Money is the worst fit on Dark Side of the Moon. It is a somewhat depressing album. If you aren’t into blues, try Wish You Were Here first. Back in the early 80s, Clapton and Pink Floyd were my absolute favorites. When Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking came out, teaming Waters and Clapton I couldn’t wait to put it on the turntable. It was awful. I never listened to another new Waters project it was so bad. Just goes to show. Show what? I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/17 "2001-11-08T14:18:10Z")
highjack ahoy! Roger Waters (Who lives in the same village as my mum, he’s a miserable old git) is doing a couple of solo shows here in london called (imaginitively) an evening with roger waters. Playing Floyd music with a band. What do you think? Worth £30? I have seen floyd three times and rather liked them (Only once with Waters - The Wall show in 1980) but I’m far fropm a fanatic. Is he going to be worth a ticket on his own. Highjack over. ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/18 "2001-11-08T23:17:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Is he going to be worth a ticket on his own? Definitely. I saw his solo show a few years back - the Pros and Cons of Hitchiking tour. The first half of the show was the whole album (PACOH) then there was an interval. Then the second half of the show was all old Floyd material. He even encored with “Eclipse” from DSOTM. It was a fantastic gig. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/19 "2001-11-09T00:38:41Z")
i would say start with “wish you were here”, then something silly, like “works” to hear some of the Syd stuff (but don’t buy it!). just me, though. to second owl- i hear roger waters is a complete ass, but i’ve never met him… ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964/20 "2001-11-09T09:02:17Z")
They _edited_ Echoes? Bastards. And they did not include the early masterpiece _Julia dream_? Idiots. No, do yourself a favor, do not buy this junk. Start with **Wish you were here** would be my advice, if only for the beautiful 22 odd minutes of Shine on you crazy diamond. Then move on to for instance Dark side of the moon, Meddle, The Wall and Animals. And for the earliest work, the CD Relics (including ‘hits’ like See Emily play and Arnold Layne, as well as the foremoentioned Julia dream) would be a good choice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pink-floyd-cd/91964.md?page=2)