Customer Reviews

Shine on

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There is some terrific music on this box set. Unfortunately, with some of the bizarre choices regarding which Pink Floyd CDs were included and which weren't, along with the rather steep price tag, the average fan will probably pass on this and it's hard to blame them. After all, if you're going to present an accurate picture of Pink Floyd, you have to include founding member Syd Barrett. And while he appears on three of the tracks from A Saucerful of Secrets and six tracks from the Early Singles disc, where is Barrett's masterwork, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn? And is this set improved by the inclusion of the post-Waters album A Momentary Lapse of Reason? A better choice would have been to include the live disc from Ummagumma.

With those criticisms aside, there is some essential music here. Any serious rock library should include Wish You Were Here, The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon. I was also glad to see the inclusion of Meddle, an album I bought on vinyl when it first came out in 1971. Side one features rather short song structures, but side two was reserved for the 23-minute grandiose "Echoes." [Please forgive my LP references to sides one and two, but I still think of recordings as being two-sided.] Perhaps the biggest selling point of this box set is the separate disc that includes many of the band's early singles from 1967 and 1968:

"Arnold Layne" b/w "Candy and a Currant Bun" Both written by Syd Barrett and released in March of 1967. The A-side is more pop oriented, but the B-side features some wonderful psychedelic guitar along with Rick Wright's kinetic keyboard playing.

"See Emily Play" b/w "The Scarecrow" Also both composed by Barrett. The trippy "See Emily Play" from May of 1967 was their first UK top ten hit--and their last, until "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" topped the chart in 1979! The synchopated sound of "The Scarecrow" makes it one of their most endearing songs of the period.

"Apples and Oranges" (Barrett) b/w "Paintbox" (Wright) This is one of the last songs Barrett recorded with the band. Released in November 1967, it failed to chart. By the following May, Barrett was out of the band and David Gilmour becomes a permanent replacement.

"It Would Be So Nice" (Wright) b/w "Julia Dream" (Waters) This is a much more pop-oriented song than their previous singles, but it still fails to chart when released in April of 1968.

"Point Me at the Sky" (Waters, Gilmour) b/w "Careful with That Axe Eugene" (Waters, Wright, Mason, Gilmour) Another failed single from December of 1968. It represents a return to a more psychedelic sound, but Pink Floyd doesn't catch on as a singles band. The B-side becomes a concert favorite. This studio version is a 5:44 trippy instrumental; the live version on Ummagumma runs 8:47.

Another bonus to the box set is the 112-page hardcover book that is included. There is a separate section for each album, including song lyrics, essays and interviews, along with some terrific photos.

Putting together a Pink Floyd box set wasn't going to be an easy task. The bottom line is the cost of this box versus buying the individual albums. That dilemma was solved for me when I got this as a gift. I need to remember to thank them again.

I bought this Boxed set back when itcame out in 1992. For me it was a great investment as I did not have any Pink Floyd CD. I was totally blown away by the excelent work that it was putted into this set. Every aspect in this set has been thought out from the record cases to the way they are set together to produce the Dark Side of The Moon cover.

The two most relevant aspects of this set are the sound production which is simply spotless making each record shine with new life. The second plus is the book that comes with the set. Each chapter is about the records included in the box. For each CD theres is detailed information on lyrics, cover art conception, photos, press releases during the time as well as band information or interviews relevant to the period.

This was at the time the most ambicious box set to come from a rock band in CD format and I must say that it did not dissapoint at the moment. Today many of the music has already been released in single CD so the hype of having all these albums in a box set many not be as appealing as it was back in 1992. Nevertheless, it is still an impressive body of work.

Shine On is, like other reviewers have stated, missing some of the best. No true Floyd fan would be without Piper, without Atom Heart Mother, or Ummsgumma. However, this is a great set for people who have heard Floyd, like it a lot (enough to drop some serious cash on it) and want some bonus trivia. The Critic's review is all wrong-- the book, despite it's errors, is a way of beginning the journey into the greatest band of all time. Dark Side will hook you, Animals and the Wall will deepen you, Meddle and Saucer will expand you-- only then is it time to move on into the absolutely incredible sounds of early Floyd... and then you buy the rest, one by one, as your budget allows. This set makes sure you are ready to get to that point. I highly reccommend.

This is mainly to clarify what a previous poster wrote about re-releasing thid with the digital remastering. When I got this set way back in 1992, for Christmas, this set was the only place you could find these CDs with digital remastering. (That was the selling point) It was my understanding that the digital remasters of the same albums in their stand alone form were not released until 1994-1997, and that those remasters were simply the same as the shine on set, so in fact, there is no difference in sound quality between these CDs and the stand alone versions (with the exception of the XXth & XXXth Anniversary releases of DSOTM. This was verified when I bought new copies of all of the discs in this set, in order to obtain the artwork available in the stand alone versions.

I have the greatest wife. What does that have to do with the Floyd you ask? Well, she hates them. But for my anniversary, she bought me this boxed set. That is true love.I have listened to Floyd since before the advent of CDs (wow, that's a long time huh?). So, my collection was for the most part cassettes, and only a couple of CDs. Shine On allowed me to replace all of my technologically outdated Floyd albums with an awesome set of digitally remastered CDs, and a bonus CD with cuts of their early stuff (including two of my favs, See Emily Play and Careful With That Axe Eugene).Add to that some cool repackaging, cool post cards, and last but not least, a great full color, hardback book full of lyrics, old reviews and snippets from the band. I love this set! If you already own the CDs, it may not be a justifiable cost. But if you are an old time Floyd fan like me, take this opportunity to update your collection. You won't regret it!

I can't see giving this wonderfully packaged boxset more than 2 stars because no matter what the hype and hoopla, the simple point of contention is CONTENT. Much like the later, elaborately-packaged and hyped 2CD Pulse set, this box is not necessary at all. 8 CDs of stuff you can buy at any decent CD store and ONE CD of old singles you can't buy. A very nice book, but folks, the reason you buy a boxset is MUSIC. Pink Floyd was around for over 25 years when this thing was released. How about a boxset of, um, unreleased material? Maybe not 9 CDs, but maybe a nice 4 CD set. Alternate versions, unused songs, live material, demos. Anything Floyd fans can't get everywhere else. Soon after this was released the now-defunct Great Dane bootleg label from Italy released a fantastic 4CD Floyd boxset that is or was worth every penny, and it was cheaper than this one. It had live material, unreleased stuff, and basically all the kind of stuff Floyd should give its longtime fans. But the Floyd today is more like a corporate machine than a band. In the last 11 years they have adapted the formula of releasing a so-so studio album, followed by a costly but fun gigantic tour and then not one but TWO double live CD sets. God and Dave Gilmour's accountant only know if we will ever see another new Pink Floyd album in our lifetimes. What we don't need is any more repackaging of what's been around (and it's all good) for so long. Give the fans what they want! Give us stuff we have not heard!

Monetary quibbles aside, despite the fact that I payed only a very small margin of Amazon's list price by buying off of ebay, this box set is possibly my most valued possession and worth the money, period. Nothing can describe actually holding it in your hands as it precipitates an appreciation Pink Floyd that can't compare to anything else.

It is true that it is cheaper to buy the original albums, most of which I already own, both on vinyl and compact disc. But this themed set, which is supremely packaged, is not just a collection of compact discs. It is a tribute to Pink Floyd, both their music and their historical significance. The hardcover book that comes with the set is wonderful in covering the history of the albums themselves and the band. And to boot, everything has the "Shine On" logo printed on it, which only adds to the coolness. And... if you look closely enough at the logo, you might notice the original title for the set ("The Big Bong Theory"), discernable among the text surrounding the logo. Your appreciation of this set is all the more sublime if you can appreciate the subtleties, like this.

Owning this set is something you will not regret. But, then perhaps, maybe Pink Floyd just gets me off in a way that nobody else can understand... But the bottom line is, this set is cool, and will stand out among your music collection as one of your most valued possessions.

A deluxe (and expensive) box set featuring 7 albums, 1 previously unreleased singles collection, for a total of 9 cds (all remastered), some postcards, a 112-page booklet with full lyrics and rare photos, a special holder for the cds, and deluxe packaging. I'm sure you can tell what albums it includes from the songs listed above, so I'll spare you that detail. Well if you don't own these albums then go right out and get this box set, since it would be cheaper than buying them separately, and you get all the extras. If you already own them however, you may want to get it for the book and singles cd (if you really wanna hear Careful With... that is), probably not though.

trying to find out what box set shows a DARK SIDE OF THE MOON scene when all the spines are placed up-right. Is this it?

Okay, the music in this set is pretty solid (well, except for A Momentary Lapse of Reason). However, I must question the band's decision not to include Piper at the Gates of Dawn - it seems that it would have been a better idea to include that instead of the aforementioned Lapse.

But that's not the point. The thing is, this set is so ... that the only people who will be likely to buy it are Pink Floyd fans. And the thing with that is - THEY ALREADY HAVE this set. They have all the CDs. There is absolutely nothing in this set, with the exception of the packaging, that they won't have. And that makes it to be little more than a shrewd milking/marketing move on the band's/label's part. (I mean, had they included, say, Atom Heart Mother or some of the rarer CDs it would have been better: not because Atom Heart Mother is particularly wonderful, but because everyone on the planet already owns a copy of Dark Side of the Moon.)

Ouch. Don't buy music that you already own, and don't pay two hundred dollars for the, admittedly painstakingly thorough packaging. Don't. I recently bought Heart and Soul, the Joy Division box set, and THAT's the right way to make a box set - it contains not just the important studio albums but also plenty of outtakes and plenty of fascinating rarities and alternate takes (including some never-before-released cuts), as well as a whole live CD. That box set was worth every penny. Shine On, I'm sorry to say, isn't.