A Collection Of Great Dance [Original recording remastered, Best of]

 

 

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Pink Floyd's 1981 best-of A Collection of Great Dance Songs is fair-good if you ask me. Released in November of 1981, the album has a nice mix of songs from 1971-81. Half of the tracks are altered in one way or the other on ACOGDS, so it is a pretty good collectors album for people who have most Pink Floyd albums, as opposed to a lot of other compilation albums that are boring because the songs are the same exact version as they were on their original album. The reason for this album was that Floyd's label in America, Columbia wanted a best-of. Since Floyd were not a band known for hit singles, they were a band known for hit albums. The Floyd album covers, this one included, are always cool to collect. There are a whole lot of Floyd compilations, but I'd have to say this is one of the best and was the only best-of to hit the US Top 40 hitting #31 and going Gold in two months, eventually Double Platinum. This compilation starts with the standard version of One of These Days (a/k/a One of These Days I am Going to Cut You Into Little Pieces) is a good classic spooky song, which is always a good song to be on an album and is the version from Meddle. Money is great. The version of Money on Dance Songs is done by guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour (as he plays guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals and produces himself save Dick Parry's saxophone) because Capitol/EMI in the US and Canada would not let the band have the rights to the song so Dave re-recorded this track note for note(some parts of the solos are different and you can tell the recording is from 1981). Sheep is the original version found on the album Animals. Shine on You Crazy Diamond is altered here to include Parts 1, 2, 4 and 7. Wish You Were Here is the regular standard version. Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) has the single mix intro and the album version ending so a unique version here. If you want to get a good Floyd compliation but don't want to pay $30 for Echoes, get this collection.

This 1981 compilation album is a treat for collectors; it was released to hold off hungry fans waiting for a new Pink Floyd album while the band was on tour performing the infamous stage shows for their blockbuster "The Wall." And the wait would be prolonged further as self-appointed leader Roger Waters began turning "The Wall" into a feature film project. This six-track collection did indeed sell, but needless to say it didn't satisfy the Floyd fanbase. But now in 2004, collectors will enjoy this album as a forgotten curios.
1971's "Relics" was mainly an oppurtunity to package singles and some unreleased material into an album, so it doesn't qualify as a "best of" album. Then again, neither does this. Pink Floyd's trademark cynicism even carries into their compilation albums--Floyd were definitely not a dance band, which was part of the joke. The sarcastically (carelessly?) titled "A Collection of Great Dance Songs" is down to the bare essentials, packing only six of the group's most well known songs due to time constraints of vinyl at the time. The version of 'Money' however is a re-recording due to business reasons, in which guitarist David Gilmour plays all instruments, including drums, except saxophone, played by the loyal Dick Parry. This version is slightly more rough and raw than the original polished version from "Dark Side of the Moon," making it a must-have item for die hard collectors. This album also features a special seamless sequence of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' into 'Wish You Were Here,' twenty years before the 2001 "Echoes" compilation could tinker with them. The version of the smash hit 'Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)' is the version most popularly used on radio at the time, without unnecessarily including the intro 'The Happiest Days of Our Lives,' which was the case with "Echoes." The album cover, featuring dancers tied down to a lonely field, is probably Storm Thorgeson's best artwork for Pink Floyd.
The whole attitude of "A Collection of Great Dance Songs" is much more honest than that of "Echoes." One can compare the titles and see that; one is cynical, one is nostalgic. Both were empty gestures, but this album was released at the right time due to the band's circumstances..."Echoes" however, is what many see as the closing chapter of Pink Floyd's career, which would be an acrimonious disappointment to end one of the most innovative bands of all time with an uninspired best-of set. And though "Dance Songs" was not exactly an inspired release, it is a great collector's piece, and still did not attempt to summarize the "best of" Pink Floyd in one album.

Pink Floyd's 1981 best-of A Collection of Great Dance Songs is fair-good if you ask me. Released in November of 1981, the album has a nice mix of songs from 1971-81. Half of the tracks are altered in one way or the other on ACOGDS, so it is a pretty good collectors album for people who have most Pink Floyd albums, as opposed to a lot of other compilation albums that are boring because the songs are the same exact version as they were on their original album. The reason for this album was that Floyd's label in America, Columbia wanted a best-of. Since Floyd were not a band known for hit singles, they were a band known for hit albums. The Floyd album covers, this one included, are always cool to collect. There are a whole lot of Floyd compilations, but I'd have to say this is one of the best and was the only best-of to hit the US Top 40 hitting #31 and going Gold in two months, eventually Double Platinum. This compilation starts with the standard version of One of These Days (a/k/a One of These Days I am Going to Cut You Into Little Pieces) is a good classic spooky song, which is always a good song to be on an album and is the version from Meddle. Money is great. The version of Money on Dance Songs is done by guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour (as he plays guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals and produces himself save Dick Parry's saxophone) because Capitol/EMI in the US and Canada would not let the band have the rights to the song so Dave re-recorded this track note for note(some parts of the solos are different and you can tell the recording is from 1981). Sheep is the original version found on the album Animals. Shine on You Crazy Diamond is altered here to include Parts 1, 2, 4 and 7. Wish You Were Here is the regular standard version. Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) has the single mix intro and the album version ending so a unique version here. If you want to get a good Floyd compliation but don't want to pay $30 for Echoes, get this collection.

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4.0 out of 5 stars THEY AREN'T DANCE SONGS!!!!
A Collection of Great Dance Songs is fair-good if you ask me. It has a pretty nice mix of songs. Every song is altered in one way or the other on ACOGDS, so it is a pretty good... Lisez davantage

Published on Sep 16 2003 by Coady Goodman

1.0 out of 5 stars Please delete this from the Pink Floyd discography!
I'm not sure why this obsolete collection is still here. I'm not even going to get into how stupid the idea of a Pink Floyd greatest hit album is, but six tracks? Lisez davantage

Published on Aug 1 2003 by Itamar Katz

1.0 out of 5 stars Now that 'Echoes' is out, this CD is obsolete
I'll keep it short (this CD sure is). Most of the songs here are from 4 mid-70s Pink Floyd records (Wish You Were Here/Animals/DSOTM/The Wall), making it useless as a rounded look... Lisez davantage

Published on Nov 15 2001 by Winthrop Harrison

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a few pointers!
Firstly, i'd like to say that this is an excellent album to start out with if you are new to pink floyd! Lisez davantage

Published on Sep 13 2001 by comfortably_numb

3.0 out of 5 stars Buy the albums
Pink Floyd is an album oriented band. These songs are great songs, but their whole albums are better than any individual song. Lisez davantage

Published on Jun 3 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars Only for new Floyd fans
First of all, the members of Pink Floyd really hate compillation albums which leads us to the title, A Collection of Great Dance Songs (which they really ment as a joke, folks)... Lisez davantage

Published on Oct 10 2000 by Dustin Bainbridge

5.0 out of 5 stars Whats all the fuss about?
Granted the title of the cd is a joke, like mayjoe pointed out. I mean these songs are not really dance songs, and they only bothered to change one of them (money). Lisez davantage

Published on Aug 13 2000 by mike9x

2.0 out of 5 stars good songs, bad album
i never took the title to this cd seriously, i really thought it was a joke. if it was meant to be an album to dance to, then they failed miserably. Lisez davantage

Published on Aug 4 2000 by maydjoe@hotmail.com

1.0 out of 5 stars Dance Songs?
I love the music from Pink Floyd. I own just about every album they ever made from vinyl, import only, ( yes there are a few ) to the latest CD's. Lisez davantage

Published on Jun 17 2000 by thewizardone

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