Collection of Great Dance Songs [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Pink Floyd

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: November 1981
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00004TCGX
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,183 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
For those who spent the whole of the 1970s actually living on the dark side of the moon rather than listening to it, A Collection of Great Dance Songs offers an opportunity to hear some of the most timeless, thoughtful, and influential rock music ever made by rich, bitter Englishmen. The album's title certainly seems less deceptive now, considering just how much of the Floyd's instrumental ambience eventually seeped into the techno and dance scenes of the '90s. Initially released during one of those yawning epochs between studio albums (namely, The Wall and The Final Cut) this best-of collection cherry picks from Pink Floyd's 1970s material--the era when the band (and they were a band in those days) bestrode the stadiums of the world like light-show leviathans and sold records by the tons--and is only undermined by the omission of sprawling masterpieces such as "Echoes" and "Atom Heart Mother" (such were the time limitations of the old vinyl format). Never mind the dance floor, this a great portable Pink Floyd collection for long car journeys. --Kevin Maidment

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Floyd Completists, April 22, 2005

By	Alan Caylow (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I can see how the Pink Floyd "greatest hits" album, "A Collection Of Great Dance Songs," originally released in 1981, may seem these days to be very obsolete, certainly in comparison to the 2-CD retrospective, "Echoes." A casual Floyd fan has no real need to buy "Dance Songs," BUT, for the diehard Pink Floyd fan who absolutely has to have it all, this CD is still worth getting. For starters, there's the re-recording of "Money" (which was reportedly done for legal reasons). Okay, so it doesn't sound all that different from the original version on "Dark Side Of The Moon", but it's still very rockin', and David Gilmour's re-done vocal and guitar solos still hit the spot. Also on "Dance Songs" is an edited version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part One)" (pared down to 10 minutes 40 seconds), with the lead vocals coming in a couple of minutes earlier, which is interesting. And you also get the single version of "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2," with the nine-second intro not featured on the "Wall" album itself. Toss in "One Of These Days," "Sheep," and "Wish You Were Here" for extra measure, plus a classic album cover by Storm Thorgerson, and you've got yourself a pretty cool Pink Floyd disc. I've always enjoyed this Floyd collection, however scant it may appear to be, and I'm happy to have it. Casual fans should buy the more-expansive "Echoes" instead, but if you're a Pink Floyd completist like myself, then I do recommend picking up "A Collection Of Great Dance Songs."

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cynical Older Brother of "Echoes", May 20, 2004

By	Bud Sturguess (Seminole, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Non-essential Collection, December 1, 1999

By	Mike Mustaine (Orlando, FL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Collection Of Great Dance Songs (Audio CD)

Notable only for a weak remake of Money, and a version of Shine On that blends parts 1-4 (up through the lyrics) with the 3rd verse from part 7 and fades out with part 5, minus the sax solo.

For Floyd completists only. Everyone else, get the albums these tracks came from: Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall.