Pink Floyd

Wish You Were Here ,Animals , The Wall, A Collection of Great Dance Songs
Capitol/EMD
by David Chiu

Didn't Columbia Records already reissued these four (and more) Pink Floyd titles three years ago? I guess one can never get enough of Pink Floyd and now Capitol is getting in the act by reissuing these classics digitally remastered with original art, bringing these already into the catalog of older Floyd albums. For some inexplicable reason, Pink Floyd's music is still popular as ever by touching a nerve with its dark and ironic point of view.

In some instances, Wish You Were Here (1975) goes one better than their previous and most popular record Dark Side of the Moon. Only consisting of five songs, Wish sounds much warmer as one long track envelopes into the next: the epic "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a tribute to eccentric founder Syd Barrett; the groove inspired "Have a Cigar" (sung by Roy Harper) is a biting look at the music industry; and the wistful title track reveals a softer, side of the band. Dark Side may be their biggest seller but this album is a masterpiece.

Animals (1977) is where Pink Floyd and lyricist Roger Waters get really bitter. The outlook is entirely bleak in Floyd's critique of modern society-the animal metaphor comes from George Orwell's Animal Farm. Animals may not be the best Floyd album but it has some noteworthy tracks such as "Dogs," "Sheep," and the relatively catchy "Pigs (Three Different Ones)".

And then comes the semi-autobiographical The Wall (1980), the album were Waters exercises all of his personal demons. This is the album where he takes complete control of the band. It can be said that this was Floyd's punk album-the songs sound more direct and in your face, granted given the rock theater context. If you thought that Dark Side was schizophrenic, The Wall is far more depressing-it seems impossible to take this double-album in one entire listen. The songs on the Wall have been staples of rock radio: "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2," "Comfortably Numb," "Run Like Hell," "Young Lust," and "Hey You." Sure some of the other songs and the concept itself may seem overblown over this sprawling masterwork, but on an emotional level, The Wall cuts deep.

Despite the fact that Floyd has delivered more than its fair share of bulky, double live albums than compilations, the ironically-titled A Collection of Great Dance Songs (1981) is the band's only compilation covering their most commercial phase of its career (not counting the boxed set Shine On and their early '70s works). It's skimpy but you get the basic tracks like "Wish You Were Here," "Another Brick in the Wall," "Shine On..." as well as a faithful remake of "Money." For a casual listener listening to Floyd for the first time, this one is perfect.