Pink Floyd has gone to great lengths to preserve their legacy with numerous box sets, compilations, and DVDs/Blu-ray Discs. In 2016, they put out the monolithic, 33-disc The Early Years 1965–1972. For 2019, they’re celebrating The Later Years with a 16-disc set that pretty much covers everything from 1987 to the present day. Alternately known as the post-Waters era — due to the absence of bassist, co-founder and main lyricist Roger Waters — the “Later Years” version of Pink Floyd was spearheaded by guitarist David Gilmour that yielded three studio albums – 1987’s A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, 1994’s The Division Bell, and 2014’s The Endless River – and two live albums – 1988’s Delicate Sound of Thunder and 1995’s PULSE. This set collects them all, remixed in stereo and 5.1 surround sound, plus lots of audio and video extras, and plenty of swag to fill your mantel.
Despite Roger Waters’ efforts to disband Pink Floyd on his own, David Gilmour defiantly carried on with the band’s original drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright in tow. Knowing the Pink Floyd name carried its weight in gold, Gilmour co-wrote a batch of songs with various collaborators, brought in Bob Ezrin to co-produce, and hired over a dozen musicians to help fill out and recreate the Pink Floyd sound. For all intents and purposes, it worked well for A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, which went on to sell over four million copies and support a massive record-breaking world tour. Delicate Sound of Thunder, originally released on vinyl, cassette, CD and VHS, was the live record of the tour.
Pink Floyd repeated the album-tour cycle in 1994-95 with The Division Bell and PULSE and then…they vanished. The next Pink Floyd sighting took place 10 years later when Gilmour, Mason, and Wright rejoined Waters for a one-time performance together at the Live 8 concert. Wright passed away in 2008, and the possibility of further Pink Floyd activity began to fade until 2014 when The Endless River dropped. A mostly instrumental tribute to Wright created from leftovers from The Division Bell with a few extra added enhancements, the album has been called by Gilmour the “final” album from Pink Floyd. The Later Years reinforces that finality.
For Pink Floyd enthusiasts, the remixes, the unreleased outtakes, and the video are the real draw. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason gets the full treatment with all new drum tracks from Nick Mason and additional keyboard tracks from Rick Wright, which, as the liner notes say, “restored the creative balance between the three Pink Floyd members.” In reality, Mason ceded his drum chair to Jim Keltner and Carmine Appice for the original album because he was reportedly out of practice and not up to the task. Consequently, a lot of the uncharacteristic punch on “Learning To Fly” and “One Slip” is stripped in favor of Mason’s lighter, Floydian touch. Listen back to the 5.1 mix, and it’s evident a lot of the reverb was also pulled back.
The 5.1 mix of The Division Bell, which was previously released as a standalone DVD in 2014, fares much better sonically, without impeding an already well-produced recording. The same aural elements boost the performances captured on Delicate Sound of Thunder and PULSE. Considering all the live material, including Venice Concert 1989 and Knebworth Concert 1990, the best of the lot has to be Delicate Sound Of Thunder. Along with a new 5.1 mix, the footage has been restored to a glistening widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio.
The same cannot be said for PULSE, Venice Concert 1989 and Knebworth Concert 1990, which would have benefited greatly with up-to-date 16:9 aspect ratios and other video improvements. Fortunately, The Endless River film — incidental images supported by the previously released 5.1 mix — more than makes up for it. Most of the other footage, which includes MTV music videos from A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and The Division Bell, along with short documentaries about both releases’ album covers, could very well be perceived as filler, though fans who want everything have nothing to complain about. The real gem among this gluttony of video extras is a live performance of “Arnold Layne” from the May 10, 2007 Sid Barrett tribute concert — the last time Gilmour, Mason and Wright appeared together on stage. Waters was also on the bill, but performed on his own.
The bulky box housing The Later Years is filled with all the requisite goodies — tour program recreations, photos books, two 45s (The 2007 version of “Arnold Layne” and a rehearsal of “Lost For Words” from 1994), various tour trinkets, and a CD booklet with liner notes on the five CDs. Following the practice of other recent Pink Floyd box sets, the DVDs replicate all the material on the Blu-rays Discs, with the exception of the Momentary Lapse Of Reason and The Division Bell (and unreleased tracks from the sessions) remixes. All is not lost as a stereo remix of Momentary Lapse Of Reason appears on the first CD. If you don’t have a Blu-ray Disc player and happen to love The Division Bell, you’re better off seeking out the rare standalone DVD or the most recent CD reissue.
All of which leads to the inevitable question: What about The Middle Years, roughly the period from 1973 through 1981? The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall have all have their own Immersion box sets, though one has to wonder about the lack of decent concert footage from this era. Does it even exist? Are there any additional unreleased tracks? And what about a box set for Animals? Just when you thought you had it all, there’s still a few noticeable cracks in the complete Pink Floyd picture for those fanatics who care enough. If it’s out there and the demand exists, it will surface. Eventually.
~ Shawn Perry
