THE EARLY YEARS 1967-1972 CREATION

Although I made myself a plan to save up from my job to buy each disc, having my job finish with no choice but to use my savings to survive instead! I really wish this double CD had been released a few weeks earlier than the box set. As it would have charted in the album charts instead of being counted with the lower sales of the box. This is a better compilation than either Echoes and even Relics. (Yes, even better than the Australian edition of Relics!) Although nothing from the EP from 1965, Syd is better served by the chronological order if the first disc. I don't like the different lyrics for "Matilda Mother" but the jam the band go into at the end is a never before revealed insight into how the Pink Floyd sounded live. Although In The Beechwoods does sound dated and tied to its decade, it plays into an alternate "What if?..." for "A Saucerful Of Secrets" album tracklisting. It's also kinder to Rick Wright through Paintbox. The BBC sessions show a fearless but transitional band marching towards the more developed later 70's sound. The Zabriskie Point material are less dated, but still sound perfect for soundtracks. Embryo live was on a bootleg, "Pink Is The Pig" I used to have, so it's good to hear. The most played track for me is the version of "Atom Heart Mother" in a four piece arrangement that was sadly dropped from their live sets when it would have stood alongside Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Dark Side Of The Moon. The final three tracks are great picks from one of my favourite albums, "Obscured By Clouds". Although I wish "Mudmen" had been included.

If this was released instead of the box, it would have sold a lot better than it did. It isn't a Fans Only purchase. It's an exhilarating story of how a band began, changed and developed into the killing machine Pink Floyd became. As a compilation it's their most honest. No altered tracklisting to disguise highs and lows of the band. Cre/ation is an essential a purchase to the curious and new fans as it is buying Dark Side Of The Moon.

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