RELICS

In 1976 one cousin let to one of my brothers an L.P. version of this compilation. But curiously, that L.P. copy had a manufacturing error because in Side One it really had the songs from Side One of the "The Dark Side of the Moon" album (but with the label showing the titles of Side One of "Relics") and in Side Two it had the correct songs from the Side Two of "Relics". So, it wasn`t until 1982 when I listened for the first time to "The Dark Side of the Moon" that I realized that the LP copy that I heard from "Relics" was badly manufactured! It was until this year that I finally bought this album in the CD format, so for me this is the first time that I listen to this album as it was originally released.

Now with the recent death of Richard Wright, and after listening to "Relics" and other Pink Floyd`s albums from the seventies, I think that Roger Waters was wrong about Wright`s skills as a composer and as a keyboard player when his ego fired Wright from Pink Floyd. Wright`s contributions for the band were underrated by Waters when he took control of the band to record the overrated "The Wall" album, an album that I don`t like very much. Also, for the first time I had the chance to listen to Syd Barrett`s songs as I have never listened in full to "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" album. So I consider this album a a very good compilation of songs from their early years (1967-69) before they became more famous.

I can see that Pink Floyd with Barrett was in sound a combination of Psychedelia and Pop, and also it was an experimental band. He was a good guitarist and a good singer, and his songs are psychedelic but also accessible. It is a shame that his mental health changed in a brief time. After he had to leave the band, Waters and Wright had to compose more songs to keep the band alive. Wright`s "Remember a Day" and "Paintbox" are very good too, really showing to me Wright`s contributions to the sound of the band. Waters`songs are also very good, and they show to me that he was a better composer during those years than in "The Wall", and that his leadership qualities were then in better control to keep the band really functioning as a band for several years. It was until he lost control of his leadership qualities that he became impossible to work with and his songs became of less quality in "The Wall", in my opinion. "Julia Dream", one of his songs, is one of my favourites, with a very good use of the mellotron by Wright. I also can say this about "Cirrus Minor", with Wright again playing very good keyboards. "The Nile Song", another song composed by Waters is also very good, played without keyboards, in a heavy way. "Biding my Time" was a previously unreleased song composed by Waters, also good.

In conclusion, it is a very good compilation, in my opinion.

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