NOVEMBER 1992 (32 YEARS AGO) Pink Floyd: Shine On (Box Set) is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4.5/5 # Allmusic 4.5/5 Shine On is a nine-CD box set by Pink Floyd, released in November 1992 to coincide with Pink Floyd's 25th anniversary as a recording and touring band. One of the most predominant and celebrated rock bands of all time, Pink Floyd originally comprised Roger 'Syd' Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright. The band spearheaded Britain's psychedelic movement with extended, improvised sets and a highly visual light show. Their debut album for EMI, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, was largely written by Barrett, but, he could not withstand the demands made of him by its success and he was replaced by Dave Gilmour in 1968. Ummagumma was at the forefront of progressive rock in 1969. Their latent talent finally exploded in 1973, with Dark Side Of The Moon. The album became one of the biggest selling records of all time. In 1979 the group unleashed The Wall, a Waters-dominated epic which has now become second only to Dark Side Of The Moon in terms of sales. Internal friction resulted in the departure of Wright in 1979 and by 1983 Pink Floyd's fragmentation was now evident to all and an acrimonious parting ensued. In 1987, Mason and Gilmour resumed working together under the Pink Floyd banner. This resulted in A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. A live set, culled from the previous world tour, Delicate Sound Of Thunder followed in its wake. In 1994, The Division Bell, marked the re-inclusion of Wright as a full-time member. The eight albums included in this box set are: A Saucerful of Secrets Meddle The Dark Side of the Moon Wish You Were Here Animals The Wall (double album) A Momentary Lapse of Reason The Early Singles (bonus CD not available elsewhere) The packaging on each of the previously-released albums was unique to this set. The spines of the eight black CD cases lined up to show the prism from The Dark Side of the Moon. Included with the box set was a hardcover book chronicling the career of Pink Floyd from its inception to the late 1980s. As the collection was meant to showcase the best of Pink Floyd, the decision was made to not include the soundtrack albums More or Obscured By Clouds, or the albums Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother. The band's first album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn was not included, as at the time EMI were planning to release a special edition of the album, and it was hoped that new fans would buy both this set and the re-released debut. The 1983 album The Final Cut was also omitted. REVIEW by Bruce Eder, allmusic This box set devoted to Pink Floyd was somewhat frustrating at the time of its release. Priced at over 100 dollars, it included nine CDs drawn equally from their EMI and Columbia Records, starting with their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets. That seemed to confuse a lot of people who regard that transitional album as a lot less important and alluring than its predecessor, Piper at the Gates of Dawn. On the other hand, EMI was planning its own special edition of that album, and it could be argued that the hardcore fans who might be attracted to this set would certainly already own the debut album, and be prepared to buy EMI's special edition of it. The essential problem is that Pink Floyd, like most prog rock and psychedelic acts of its era, left behind precious few outtakes that would be viable as bonus features for a box such as this. It's not as though they followed too many blind alleys, or left behind multiple versions of, say, "Atom Heart Mother" the way, say, a blues-based band might've done some rehearsal jams on, say, "Crossroads" or some other standard; most prog rock works sort of stand as they are, and if outtakes do exist, chances are excellent that they never got to the point of getting vocals added. So that all one can really do is upgrade the sound, which was badly needed, and enhance the packaging, and that comes from the hardcover book in the box; and the bonus tracks, courtesy of EMI, come in the form of the ninth CD, titled "The Early Singles," which has proved so popular over the years that it's been bootlegged as a real CD (that is, not a CD-R). The book Shine On includes lots of illustrations and even a time line depicting the history around the band's releases, and while it all could have been a little better organized and a bit more ambitious, this is a handy small-scale coffee table book. The flaw lies in the packaging of the box, which is a little flimsy over time in terms of its ability to hold the book and the CDs, and the bonus art. On the other hand, the CDs are sort of packaged to be displayed -- the spine of the eight discs lined up properly on a shelf form the image of the light beam and prism from Dark Side of the Moon. In all, it was the perfect Christmas gift (hence its release in early November) for fanatical Floyd followers, and it still holds up reasonably well. The early singles platter is still a killer collection even if it is the shortest of the discs here, and the rest has its audience, none quite mutually exclusive, and it's understandable why some of the rest of their library -- such as the early soundtrack efforts and the live/studio composite Ummagumma -- was left out of what was supposed to be their best profile. And all of the missing works have now been upgraded as well. Indeed, coupled with the special mono and stereo editions of Piper at the Gates of Dawn done around the same time by EMI, this box would, indeed, make the ultimate Pink Floyd experience. TRACKS: The Early Singles All tracks written by Syd Barrett, except as noted. "Arnold Layne" – 2:57 "Candy and a Currant Bun" – 2:47 "See Emily Play" – 2:54 "The Scarecrow" – 2:10 "Apples and Oranges" – 3:08 "Paintbox" (Richard Wright) – 3:47 "It Would Be So Nice" (Wright) – 3:46 "Julia Dream" (Roger Waters) – 2:35 "Point Me at the Sky" (Waters, David Gilmour) – 3:35 "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" (David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason) – 5:44 Albums: A Saucerful of Secrets Meddle The Dark Side of the Moon Wish You Were Here Animals The Wall (double album) A Momentary Lapse of Reason #pinkfloyd