Pink Floyd – 1971: Reverber/ation (The Early Years 1965-1972, Volume 5)

7.5 – England – 1971/2017

After the embarrassment of riches that constituted 1970’s Devi/ation set, this fifth volume in Pink Floyd’s archival The Early Years series is a little underwhelming. Certainly, it’s the slimmest instalment in the series (indeed, one wonders if this set and its follow-up Obfusc/ation could have been combined, but that may be a question best deferred to a surely forthcoming review of that 1972 set).

The audio disc consists of an early demo of “Echoes” along with a full BBC session recorded on September 30^th, 1971. One of the group’s finest recordings, “Echoes” began life as a series of studio experiments referred to as “Nothing, Parts 1-24”. Of these, only Part 14 is included here. It represents the long build-up that occurs after the ambient seagull bit before leading back into the reprise of the main vocal section. Another “Nothing” – which sounds like an early version of the ambient seagull section -- is used for the accompanying Blu-ray/DVD menu screen. Given that there is space remaining on the CD, it’s unfortunate that more “Nothings” weren’t released, and, indeed, for such a purportively exhaustive series, such omissions are a recurring criticism. Still, no complaints about “Nothing Part 14” itself – while it is simply a long build-up that never manages to actually crest, it’s s thoroughly pleasant listen and offers a fresh take on one of my favourite parts of “Echoes”.

The BBC session is equally fine. The 1971 version of “Embryo” is not substantially different from its 1970 counterpart, and “Echoes” and “One Of These Days” are both very good performances. The real highlight – and the stand out track from the whole set – is a much extended version of “Fat Old Sun. And as ever, John Peel is in fine form as the announcer – his obvious Floyd fandom throughout these BBC sessions is quite infectious!

The video component of Reverber/ation is the most disappointing part of the set. Obviously, you can’t fault the Floyd for not including footage that doesn’t exist, but the paucity of material from this period again indicates that Reverber/ation and Obfusc/ation could have been perhaps combined – the latter set’s Live At Pompeii is precisely the sort of live footage that Reverber/ation lacks. Maintaining the split of the 1971 and 1972 material reveals the rather cash-grabby nature of the series.

In any event, the only proper live footage is a performance of “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” (again!) and “Cymbaline” (well, most of it) in a mediaeval French abbey. The sound is great, and the unique, intimate setting provides some great atmosphere. Most of the Blu-ray/DVD, however, is taken up by various extracts of “Atom Heart Mother Suite” performances of various quality. The interview with the touring choir director Geoffrey Mitchell – wherein he discusses how the band is exposing pop audiences to classical music – is quite interesting. The lack of live footage is somewhat compensated by the inclusion of a couple of documentary interviews – one with band’s manager discussing the problem of bootleg recordings and another with Hipgnosis’ Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell discussing album covers. They are of negligible interest, as is the poor quality performance of “Atom Heart Mother” in Japan.

The Blu-ray/DVD disc is redeemed, however, by the inclusion of a quadraphonic mix of “Echoes”, which arguably should be regarded as the definitive version of the track. Shortly after the release of The Early Years boxed set, a rumour circulated that a 5.1 Surround version of the entire Meddle album was included as an easter egg, but this seems not be the case. A shame.

In sum: “Nothing Part 14” and the live extended version of “Fat Old Sun” are both fairly major revelations that do compensate for the otherwise stinginess of this set. Do they justify the C$50 price tag? Eh, probably not.