Product Description
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Since 1967 Pink Floyd have produced one of the most outstanding
and enduring catalogues in the history of recorded music. All 14
original studio albums have now been painstakingly digitally
remastered by James Guthrie (co-producer of The Wall), and are
reissued with newly crafted packaging and booklets created by the
band's long-time artwork collaborator Storm Thorgerson.
"Discovery" albums are designed as an introduction to the artist,
with all booklets including full album lyrics. All 14 newly
remastered Discovery studio albums are now available as a boxset
collection that also includes an exclusive 60-page artwork
booklet designed by Storm Thorgerson.
Review
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Hard to believe though it is in 2011, there are some people,
somewhere out there, who do not own a Pink Floyd record. And it's
this fact, largely, that EMI are leaning on with their release of
Discovery - a one-stop shopping purchase for the Floyd newcomer,
collecting all 14 of the band's studio albums in a sturdy,
attractive, expensive box. If you already own a handful of these,
the asking price - about �130 - is going to be off-putting,
especially as the albums contain no new material (the tracks are
remastered, but for expanded versions you'll need to invest in
'Immersion' editions, yours for a pretty penny per set). But if
you're in the market for an instant collection, it's a very
tempting product.
For the collectors out there, included is a booklet (although at
60 pages long, it's less 'let' and more 'book') compiling a host
of imagery and graphics created for the band across their career.
Assembled by Storm Thorgerson himself, it's a treasure trove of
curios, arranged in chronological order, from the very first
piece of art, created for a gig in Leeds in 1968, through to
2008's Blue Balls, for a book cover. It makes for a
fantastic in into an aspect of Pink Floyd's appeal almost as
intrinsic to their success as their music - the singular
aesthetic they presented with unfaltering consistency. Of
particular interest are rough sketches for the artwork to the
best-of set, Echoes - "I thought it echoed Ummagumma a bit," says
Thorgerson - and a beautiful water image that was intended for
the SACD pressing of Wish You Were Here, a pressing that's yet to
be released ("gawd knows why?" reads the accompanying info).
And the music itself? Deep breath, here's a Friends-style
run-down. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn: the one where Syd
Barrett took the lead, resulting in at least one song about a
gnome. A Saucerful of Secrets: the one where Roger Waters
expressed his songwriting might across numbers like Let There Be
More Light and the kazoo-featuring Corporal Clegg. Music From the
Film More: the one where Floyd matched folksy acoustic numbers
with some truly heavy fare (and also their first without
Barrett). Ummagumma: the one that was a live album, but not a
live album. Atom Heart Mother: the one with the cow on the cover,
which wasn't actually All That Good. Meddle: the one that
represented a return to form, and home to the side-filling
calling-card track Echoes.
Still with us? And on we go. Obscured by Clouds: the one where
Floyd began to properly break the stateside mainstream (but,
again, it's not an album that's aged well). Dark Side of the
Moon: the one that's become a classic. Wish You Were Here: the
one that's arguably better than Dark Side�, but doesn't get half
the accl - it's their In Utero to Dark Side�'s Nevermind,
notably disaffected with the business side of things. Animals:
the one with the pig. The Wall: the one that didn't need no
education, nor no thought control. The Final Cut: the one where
David Gilmour was largely AWOL. A Momentary Lapse of Reason: the
one where everyone hated everyone else, resulting in a disjointed
affair barely worthy of the Pink Floyd name; it was also the
first album to not feature Waters. The Division Bell: the one
where (largely) Gilmour crafted a farewell affair that saw Floyd
bow out with a whimper rather than a roar - although in High
Hopes it featured one of the band's best, a real
lump-in-the-throat closer with a video featuring a bust of
Barrett. The band had, finally, come full circle.
So, if you're without any Pink Floyd in your life, why not dive
straight into the deep end? That's what Discovery is: this
remarkable but frequently frustrating band at their inspirational
best, their middle-of-the-road worst; at the peak of their
pop-savvy accessibility and in the depths of so much impenetrable
self-indulgence. It's everything anyone needs from Pink Floyd, in
one package.
--Mike Diver
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