Pink Floyd's Echoes (1 Viewer)

[James_Kiang]

Picked up this new "Best Of" compilation yesterday. Haven't had a chance to listen to it all just yet but here's a couple of initial reactions. First, the sound is just incredible. For recordings that were made in some cases over 30 years ago(!!!) the disc sounds great, very clear and loud. The other thing is the tracks they chose. I guess I have no complaints and they do cover pretty much the entire history of the band but there will always be tracks fans will wish could have been included. No Brain Damage, Eclipse, If, Welcome to the Machine,... the list could go on and on. Maybe they should have done a 3 disc set .

 

[Mark C.]

I'm still debating whether to pick this one up. I'm a bit perplexed as to why they didn't place the songs chronologically on the two discs (from early to present). Also, I read somewhere that the songs fade out and fade in to each other. Is this true?

 

[James_Kiang]

I have listened to all of disc 1 in my car and disc 2 here at work (though with the volume way down). There are no fades that I was able to detect. In fact, a lot of the tracks seem to run right into the next one.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I can't fathom listening to a Pink Floyd compilation. They're one of the most album-oriented bands out there, at least starting with Dark Side.

 

[James_Kiang]

I can't fathom listening to a Pink Floyd compilation. They're one of the most album-oriented bands out there, at least starting with Dark Side.

To a large extent I agree with you. Dark Side, The Wall, and The Final Cut all seem to me to be complete albums. As I like many of the songs, Wish You Were Here is another one I tend to listen to complete. Still, Echoes does succeed at giving the listener a taste of the variation Floyd has gone through musically - the psychadelic rock of the Syd era, the issue-driven writing of the Waters era, and the return to classic rock-driven music of the Gilmour era.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Echoes is an interesting compilation. Looked at as a paper exercise, it shouldn't work, but somehow it does. I'd also endorse the sound quality, which is excellent. Is it just my ears, or have they managed to find even more bass?

 

[James_Kiang]

I don't think it is just your ears Andrew. There are a few parts that are still a little muffled but overall it is nice and loud. Oh, I've been able to listen to pretty much all of it now and the only odd transition I heard was from "Us and Them" to "Learning to Fly". Not sure why they did that but there's a weird... echo or something between the two.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

I just got it today and I'm listening to it now...
The second half of "Marooned" is missing. And is "Echoes" also somehow truncated?
I thought the songs were supposed to be seamlessly blended together into one continuous track, and the selection and sequence of songs would have an all-new album-like cohesion. But there seem to be very few crossfades, the fades I've heard so far have been very conservative. There are big pregnant pauses between songs where they could have tightened it up.
I was hoping this compilation would be full of clever crossfades like my Floyd roadmix CDR that I keep in my car CD changer. I've posted the track list in past threads but I think it's worth repeating here:
1. Wish You Were Here
(wind sound effect at end crossfades into wind at the beginning of...)
2. One Of These Days
(wind at the end crossfades into distant explosions at the end of "On the Run" which then fades in the room full of clocks...)
3. Time
(on the lyric "The tolling of the iron bell", fade in the ringing Division Bell...)
4. High Hopes
(as the bell keeps ringing at the end, crossfade to...)
5. Dogs
-- no crossfade here -- (Dogs ends cold and Learning to Fly starts cold on the next beat)
6. Learning to Fly
crossfades to
7. Hey You
(echoing "Divided we fall" fits right into the echoing "time to go / are you feeling okay?" montage at the beginning of...)
8. Comfortably Numb
crossfades to
9. Money
crossfades to
10. Sorrow

 

[KeithH]

I thought of picking up Echoes at Best Buy yesterday for $20, but I passed. In my opininon, the song list isn't the greatest, both in terms of selection and order. They didn't put "Money" on this compilation! For now, I will stick with the albums.
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[Brian Bunn]

$19.99? Best Buy has it for $14.99 where I live. At that price I couldn't pass it up.
In my mind it works surprisingly well. I have only listened to the 1st disc as of now, but I came away very impressed with the sound quality and the song sequence. It all fit together very well, the way one song fades out while another fades in at times...overall it makes for a fairly cohesive sounding album. Sure, listening to the albums DSOTM, WYWH, Animals, etc. is probably the best way to enjoy The Floyd's music. But Echoes give the Floyd fan sort of a different listening experience with the interesting song sequence. And it works very well. I look forward to listening to disc 2 today.

 

[Jim Jankiewicz]

For $15 this week at BB for a 2-CD set of one of the best bands this can't be beat. Of Course Echoes is trucated - it is over 20 minutes long!

 

[David Ely]

This is a little off topic, but has anyone here heard to 1997 rematered edition of The Wall? I've been wanting to pick this up for a long time now to replace my old CD version.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Keith, "Money" is on the compilation. Disc 1, track 10.
You're right, Jim. I had a momentary lapse and couldn't remember that Echoes is 23 1/2 minutes, and I didn't listen that closely. Now I have listened closely and I can tell exactly where parts were cut out.
I'm still not pleased with the sequence of the songs. There are several songs on the compilation that are separated but would have sounded better musically or thematically if they were together. For example I think Marooned should have followed Echoes. Tigers, Us & Them, and Fletcher should have been grouped together.

 

[andrew markworthy]

David, the remaster of The Wall is excellent, and certainly a lot better than the original effort. Somewhere there is probably a rare, limited edition heavy vinyl pressing to satisfy audio purists, but for we mere mortals, the 97 remaster will do just fine.

 

[bill lopez]

I was ready to pick this up, but I look at the song listings and there's no RUN LIKE HELL from THE WALL!
So no sale!

 

[KeithH]

Wayne,
I looked for "Money" and didn't see it. I don't know how I missed it. I feel better.
Brian,
I'll have to check my local Best Buy again. All the copies of Echoes were marked $19.99, which doesn't surprise me, but I didn't see a sign advertising it for $14.99. At $14.99, I'd definitely pick it up.
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[Brian Bunn]

KeithH--The $14.99 price was probably only for last week (thru this past Saturday). It is probably at regular price now...$19.99...so you probably missed out.

 

[KeithH]

Brian, I thought about that late last night as I was planning my Tuesday. As a result, a trip to Best Buy is off the agenda. Oh well. $19.99 still isn't a bad price for a two-disc set of Pink Floyd's best works. However, I have a whole list of things I want to buy first.
By the way, is it just me or does anyone think that Echoes would have been more expensive had it been released a few years ago? $19.99 at Best Buy for a two-disc set and $14.99 on sale last week? Paul McCartney Wingspan is another cheap two-disc set. I'd love to see more cheap CDs, but these two sets are a start. I guess if the volume sales are anticipated to be huge, the price can be low. Of course, it works both ways. Offer a low price, and more people will buy.
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[Edited last by KeithH on November 13, 2001 at 06:26 AM]

 

[Mark C.]

Not surprising, but I was hoping that Waters would reunite with the other three for one last fling. If these guys would reunite for a Sept. 11 benefit concert, the financial windfall would be incredible.