| The Best of the Pink Floyd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1967–1968 | |||
| Length | 29:40 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Columbia (EMI) | |||
| Producer | Norman Smith and Joe Boyd | |||
| Pink Floyd chronology | ||||
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| Masters of Rock | ||||
 First of two covers | ||||
| Pink Floyd compilation albums chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
The Best of the Pink Floyd,also issued as Masters of Rock,is a compilation album of early Pink Floyd music,concentrating on singles and album tracks from 1967 to 1968.
Later editions titled Masters of Rock were released in 1974 in France,Germany, [2] Italy, [3] [4] and the Netherlands, [5] to capitalise on the success of The Dark Side of the Moon . It is one of the Masters of Rock series of budget EMI compilations with identical titles,each volume for a different artist. Two different sleeve designs were used:one (by Herman Baas) based on the picture from the centre of the album sleeve for Meddle ,with Syd Barrett's face superimposed over the original photo of David Gilmour,who had not yet joined the band during most of the period covered by the album;and a later edition with the title filling the front cover. The latter edition is titled Masters of Rock,Volume 1;subsequent volumes of Masters of Rock featured other artists.
There are no song variations between the original Best of edition and the Masters of Rock LPs. Both The Best of edition and Masters of Rock are made from the same master tape and matrix (5C 054–04299) and were notable for containing the first stereo release of "Apples and Oranges" and "Paintbox",this latter also appearing a year later on Relics .
However,The French edition of Masters of Rock,released in 1974,contains the stereo mix of "Julia Dream" as in Relics .
These albums were also the only LP source of "It Would Be So Nice" prior to the era of CD re-issues and compilations. The version of "It Would Be So Nice" appearing on these albums is the single version,with lyrics mentioning "the Daily Standard" (no known version with "the Evening Standard " has ever been released).
Counterfeit editions with different track lists exist. Any edition with a track list that does not match the list shown here,is a counterfeit. [6]
All songs written and sung by Syd Barrett,and taken from singles,except where noted.
| No. | Title | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chapter 24" | The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | 3:36 |
| 2. | "Matilda Mother" (misspelled "Mathilda Mother" on this album) | The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Arnold Layne" | "Arnold Layne" single | 2:51 |
| 4. | "Candy and a Currant Bun" | "Arnold Layne" single | 2:38 |
| 5. | "The Scarecrow" | The Piper at the Gates of Dawn/"See Emily Play" single | 2:07 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Apples and Oranges" (stereo mix) | "Apples and Oranges" single | 3:01 | |
| 7. | "It Would Be So Nice" | Richard Wright | "It Would Be So Nice" single | 3:39 |
| 8. | "Paint Box" (stereo mix) | Wright | "Apples and Oranges" single | 3:27 |
| 9. | "Julia Dream" (original single mono mix reprocessed in duophonic) | Roger Waters | "It Would Be So Nice" single | 2:28 |
| 10. | "See Emily Play" | "See Emily Play" single | 2:50 | |
| Total length: | 29:40 | |||
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| France (SNEP) [7] | Gold | 100,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright, which was first performed on Pink Floyd's 1974 French tour and appeared in Pink Floyd's 1975 concept album Wish You Were Here. The song is written about and dedicated to founder member Syd Barrett, who departed from the band in 1968 after dealing with mental problems and substance abuse.
Relics is a 1971 compilation album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. The album was released in the UK on 14 May 1971 and in the United States on the following day. Initially released by Starline, the compilation was reissued by Music for Pleasure in the United Kingdom, while Harvest and Capitol distributed the album in the United States. A remastered CD was released in 1996 with a different album cover, picturing a three-dimensional model based on the sketch drawn by drummer Nick Mason for the album's initial release.
More is the third studio album and first soundtrack album by English rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on 13 June 1969 in the United Kingdom by EMI Columbia and on 9 August 1969 in the United States by Tower Records. The soundtrack is for the film of the same name, which was primarily filmed on location on Ibiza and was the directorial debut of Barbet Schroeder. It was the band's first album without former leader Syd Barrett.
A Nice Pair is a compilation album by Pink Floyd, re-issuing their first two albums, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets in a new gatefold sleeve. The album was released in December 1973 by Harvest and Capitol in the United States and the following month in the United Kingdom by Harvest and EMI. It reached number 36 in the US Billboard album charts and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in March 1994.
Shine On is a nine-CD box set by English rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1992 through EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States, to coincide with Pink Floyd's 25th anniversary as a recording and touring band. All CDs were digitally remastered.
The Madcap Laughs is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a lengthy recording history, with work beginning in May 1968, but the bulk of the sessions taking place between April and July 1969, for which five different producers were credited − including Barrett, Peter Jenner, Malcolm Jones, and fellow Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters. Among the guest musicians are Willie Wilson from Gilmour's old band Jokers Wild and several members of Soft Machine.
The 1967 Singles Sampler, or 1967: The First Three Singles, is a compilation album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1997 as a limited edition CD to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band.
"See Emily Play" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single on 16 June 1967 on the Columbia label. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of Pink Floyd, the US edition of the band's debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).
"Interstellar Overdrive" is an instrumental composition written and performed by the English rock band Pink Floyd. The song was written in 1966 and is on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, clocking in at almost ten minutes in length. It features long sections of free-form instrumental improvisation reflective of the group's live performances.
"High Hopes" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, composed by guitarist David Gilmour with lyrics by Gilmour and Polly Samson. It is the closing track on their fourteenth studio album, The Division Bell (1994); it was released as the second single from the album on 17 October 1994. An accompanying music video was made for the song and was directed by Storm Thorgerson.
"Octopus" is a song by Syd Barrett. In January 1970 it appeared on his first solo album The Madcap Laughs.
"Remember a Day" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, written and sung by their keyboardist Richard Wright, appearing on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). It was performed by Pink Floyd only once, as an encore in May 1968; it was subsequently performed by David Gilmour in September 2008 in memory of Wright, who had recently died of cancer, on Later... with Jools Holland, and by Nick Mason during his Saucerful of Secrets tour. The dreamy, poetic lyrics are about nostalgia for the lost paradise of early childhood.
"Arnold Layne" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. Released on 10 March 1967, it was the band's first single and was written by Syd Barrett.
"The Nile Song", written by Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour, is the second song from Pink Floyd's 1969 album More, the soundtrack to the film of the same name. It was released as a single in 1969, and included on the 1971 compilation album Relics. While Pink Floyd never played the song in concert, Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets performed it in 2018.
"Apples and Oranges" is the third UK single by Pink Floyd, the final one written by Syd Barrett, and released in 1967. The B-side was "Paint Box" written by Richard Wright. The song is about a girl whom the narrator meets at the supermarket.
"Point Me at the Sky" is the fifth UK single by the English band Pink Floyd, released on 6 December 1968. It was their last single in the UK for nearly a decade. The song was an early collaboration by bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour. The single was not released in the US, but was in Canada, Japan, and some European countries.
"Paint Box" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, written and sung by keyboardist Richard Wright. It was first released in 1967 as the B-side to the single "Apples and Oranges". The song is about a man who lives in an abusive relationship and has artificial friends.
"Julia Dream" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd and the B-side of the single "It Would Be So Nice". The song was the first to be released by the band with lead vocals by David Gilmour.
Oh, by the Way is a compilation boxed set by Pink Floyd released on 10 December 2007, by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States through Capitol Records.
The Early Years 1965–1972 is a box set that compiles the early work of the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 11 November 2016. It was released by Pink Floyd Records with distribution held by Warner Music for the UK and Europe and Sony Music for the rest of the world.
