V/A (PINK FLOYD TRIBUTE) 
774754
CD
MORE RELICS (9 FLOYD CLASSICS-R.P.W.L. & OTHERS)

STYLE/LINK:PINK FLOYD

From the same label that gave you the remarkable Pink Floyd tribute album ‘Signs Of Life’ comes this second album, and it is just sensational! If you’re going to ask “do I really need another tribute album”? - The answer on the evidence of every single track on this CD is a resounding “YES”. The musicians involved are: synth music maestro Rudiger Gleisberg, UK psych-rock group Mr Quimby’s Beard, Floyd-influenced super-band RPWL, Solar Project (do a stunning take on ‘Echoes’, all of it!), Fantasyy Factoryy, Liquid Visions, Sula Bassana and Masterkey ends the set with the anthemic ‘Eclipse’ from ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ album. All but one of the tracks stays largely true to the instrumentation and arrangements of the Floyd originals. All the tracks are absolutely superb, and yet again, the sort that you really would want to put on as well, or even instead of, a Floyd album, when the mood strikes you, which, in this case, will be often. This CD is a total triumph – Treat yourself to it and derive hours and hours of endless pleasure and enjoyment from the music it holds. Click the extra info link for a track-by-track review.

All but one of the tracks stays largely true to the instrumentation and arrangements of the Floyd originals. All the tracks are absolutely superb, and yet again, the sort that you really would want to put on as well, or even instead of, a Floyd album, when the mood strikes you, which, in this case, will be often.  In detail, you start with synth maestro Rudiger Gleisberg’s take on Rick Wright’s ‘Sysyphus’ track from the solo disc of ‘Ummagumma’ and here the themes are maintained, but the piece is condensed into over four minutes and the ‘odd’ bit’s substituted for a more melodic approach from synths and keyboards, but it’s a neat start to things. Then comes what is, for me, the tour-de-force of the entire album - a near twelve-minute version of ‘Saucerful Of Secrets’ by instrumental UK psych-rock group Mr Quimby’s Beard. I can honestly say that in all the versions of this I’ve heard Floyd play over the years, I’ve never heard one that sounded quite as good as this. They just take it and let rip, with some of the most fantastic guitar and keyboards work, while the rhythm section keeps it tight and driving. The album is worth the price for this track alone, and you simply have to hear it – just amazing! Then come Floyd-influenced band RPWL, so an eight-minute version of ‘Fat Old Sun’ should prove to be a real treat, and they don’t disappoint, as a suitably dynamic and flowing version illustrates, all in keeping with the spirit and feel of the original. Then comes another epic highlight in the form of Solar Project’s rendition of ‘Echoes’, all 23 minutes of it!! Boy, do they deliver a wicked rendition of it too, staying true to the original, but spicing it up and giving it extra qualities that you could only really dream of from the Floyd days, so that even the guitar work outshines that of Gilmour himself – and yes, it is that good! Fantasyy Factoryy actually do the impossible and turn ‘Embryo’ into a wholly different and yet much better version than the original, which was one of their tracks I never really liked. Here they keep to the structure but use flute more to the fore and produce a positively gorgeous, serenely psychedelic track. The album ‘More’, not one you think would lend itself immediately to a set like this, is featured with a cover of the song ‘Ibiza Bar’ by Liquid Visions, and they turn in a really smoking version, but with that all-important seventies feel well in place. Sula Bassana turn their attention to a track that Floyd played but never recorded, ‘Baby Blue Shuffle In D Major’, an instrumental track where the band turn in a really neat prog-rock/space-rock take on the flowing structure of the piece, not something you might know already, but definitely something you’ll love now. The final couple are four minutes of ‘PowR Toc H’ from the ‘Piper’ album, done in suitably jazzy/prog mode and really rather excellent, then Masterkey ends with a glorious six minutes of the anthemic ‘Eclipse’ from the ‘Dark Side’ album. Superb, and then some!

Weight: 150.00 g