Pink Floyd ‘Early Years’ Volumes Arrive March 24

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Pink Floyd in an early promotional photo (L-R): Roger Waters, Syd Barrett, Richard Wright, Nick Mason. Photo: courtesy of Legacy Recordings

On March 24, Pink Floyd will release a series of book-bound individual collections of the band’s music from 1965-1972. The six individual collections were first released as part of The Early Years 1965-1972 box set.

The stand-alone packages are now available as volumes broken down by years 1965-1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 and, finally, 1972. Outtakes and demos from the band’s early albums including The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, Meddle and Atom Heart Mother are included on these packages.

Each package shows fans the creative genius behind each Pink Floyd recording and even the titles (Cambridge St/Ation, Germin/Ation, Dramatis/Ation, Devi/Ation, Reverber/Ation, Obfusc/Ation), according to a press release, “have been dreamed up by Roger Waters to give an insight into where the band were at that particular point in their career.”

Watch a portion of a 1971 documentary that the band has recently released…

The Early Years: Individual Volumes, the release says, “give fans the opportunity to hear the evolution of the band and witness their part in the cultural revolution from their earliest recordings and studio sessions to the years prior to the release of The Dark Side of the Moon, one of the biggest selling albums of all time. From the single ‘Arnold Layne’ to the 20-minute epic ‘Echoes,’ fans will see the invention of psychedelic progressive rock via an insightful collection that explores the Pink Floyd story from the time Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason and Syd Barrett met at London’s Regent Street Polytechnic through to Syd’s departure and David Gilmour joining to form the iconic lineup.”

Watch the official unboxing video…

For fans wishing to immerse themselves in the full Pink Floyd story, the complete boxed set The Early Years: 1965-1972 collates all of the individual volumes plus extra discs, collectables and memorabilia exclusive to the boxed set. In addition to the individual volumes and the deluxe set, a two-CD highlights album The Early Years–CRE/ATION is also available.

Syd Barrett (Photo from the Barrett Facebook page)

Product overview (all descriptions directly from the press release):

1965-1967 CAMBRIDGE ST/ATION—2 CD / DVD/Blu-ray

Covering Syd Barrett’s time with the band, from the pre-EMI demos, through the non-album hit singles and related tracks, the first volume also features previously unreleased tracks like “Vegetable Man” and “In the Beechwoods” (newly mixed), plus BBC session recordings. Pink Floyd has also acquired the tapes of an unreleased 1967 concert in Stockholm.

The DVD/Blu-ray includes historic TV performances plus some of Pink Floyd’s own film material:

Early 1965 recordings and early singles
“Vegetable Man,” “In the Beechwoods,” John Latham, Stockholm concert
Promo clips, TV appearances, rare footage
Replica memorabilia from the period

The Cambridge St/ation volume

1968 GERMIN/ATION—CD/DVD/Blu-ray

This volume explores the time immediately after Syd Barrett’s departure, when Pink Floyd was still writing singles and at the same time developing their own unique, more instrumentally based style. There are non-album single releases, plus a recently discovered session at Capitol Records studios in Los Angeles, BBC sessions and other tracks.

DVD/Blu-ray includes the recently restored promo clip of “Point Me at the Sky,” some international TV performances and a selection of song material from other television shows:

Early singles, BBC Radio sessions
Tracks from Capitol Studios, LA
Promo clip, TV appearances, rare footage
Replica memorabilia from the period

Pink Floyd in the late ’60s

1969 DRAMATIS/ATION—2 CD/DVD/Blu-ray

In 1969 Pink Floyd unveiled their 2-part conceptual live production of “The Man” and “The Journey,” covering a 24-hour period of dreaming, waking and other activities. Never released in that form, however some of the songs were used on the More soundtrack and the Ummagumma album. This volume refers back to “The Man” and “The Journey” tour with live performances in Amsterdam and for the BBC in London, but also includes the bonus tracks from the More soundtrack that were used in the film but not on record, plus non-album tracks like the early version of “Embryo” from the Harvest sampler ‘Picnic’.

Video material includes 20 minutes of “The Man”/“The Journey” rehearsal at the Royal Festival Hall, directed by Anthony Stern, including “Afternoon (Biding My Time),” “The Beginning (Green Is The Colour),” “Nightmare (Cymbaline),” “Beset By Creatures of the Deep” and “The End of the Beginning” (the last part of A Saucerful of Secrets), plus other live performance footage from that year:

“The Man” and The Journey live
TV appearances, rare footage
Interstellar Overdrive with Frank Zappa
Replica memorabilia from the period

1970 DEVI/ATION—2 CD/2 DVD/Blu-ray

At the end of 1969 and in the early part of 1970, Pink Floyd recorded and mixed their contribution to Michelangelo Antonioni’s alternative view of U.S. society, Zabriskie Point. Three songs were released on the soundtrack album, and a further four in the expanded CD edition in 1997. Never released on one Pink Floyd disc, this volume compiles remixed and updated versions of the Zabriskie Point audio material.

In the same year, Pink Floyd scored their first U.K. Number One album with Atom Heart Mother, a collaboration with Ron Geesin, and the audio includes the first performance for the BBC, featuring an orchestra and choir, as well as, on DVD, the original Quad mix.

Video material includes a full hour of Pink Floyd performing live at San Francisco cable TV station KQED plus extracts from historic performances of Atom Heart Mother, and material from French TV coverage of the St. Tropez festival in Southern France.

Atom Heart Mother band-only versions
BBC Radio session, Zabriskie Point mixes
Concert footage and improvisations
Atom Heart Mother original 4.0 Quad mix
Replica memorabilia from the period

Pink Floyd’s Reverber/ation disc

1971 REVERBER/ATION—CD/DVD/Blu-ray

In 1971 Pink Floyd recorded the Meddle album, containing the LP side-long “Echoes,” regarded by many as laying the groundwork for The Dark Side of the Moon, and, as such, is an important part of the Pink Floyd canon.

This package includes part of the original demos, when the project gestated from “Nothing” to “Return of the Son of Nothing,” as well as a contemporary BBC session recording.

Audio-visual material includes the original unreleased Quad mix of “Echoes” but also material of live band performances in 1971, including songs performed with Roland Petit and his Marseille ballet company.

BBC Radio session, “Nothing Part 14”
Concert footage and documentaries
“Echoes” original 4.0 Quad mix
Replica memorabilia from the period

1972 OBFUSC/ATION—2 CD/DVD/Blu-ray

In 1972 Pink Floyd travelled to Hérouville, north of Paris, to record at Strawberry Studios there, based in the town’s Chateau. In a remarkable two weeks, they wrote and recorded one of their most cohesive albums, Obscured By Clouds, the soundtrack to Barbet Schroeder’s ‘La Vallée’.

1972 saw the release of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii, a film of the band performing without an audience in the historic Roman amphitheatre of Pompeii, directed by Adrian Maben. The video material includes the performances from the Live at Pompeii film, edited to new 5.1 audio mixes, plus material from contemporary French TV as well as performances from Brighton Dome in June 1972 and further performances with the Roland Petit ballet company: