The Early Years 1965–1972


The Early Years 1965–1972 is a 33-disc compilation box set by Pink Floyd released on 11 November 2016. It was officially announced 28 July 2016. The set includes seven volumes with CDs, DVDs, BDs, vinyl records and memorabilia including photos, posters and tour programmes. It contains early non-album singles plus unreleased studio and live recordings. Although Volumes 1–6 have been available individually since 24 March 2017, Volume 7 – 1967–1972: Continu/ation, remains exclusive to the set. A two-CD compilation titled The Early Years – Cre/ation was also made available.
Due to an error, a was also included in the box set in place of the 2016 mix of Obscured by Clouds which was placed inside the set in a cardboard wallet at the last moment. The standalone edition of 1972: Obfusc/ation contains both CDs as standard.
In 2019 a number of Blu-ray discs in this set began to fail due to manufacturing defects. Warner Music and Pink Floyd announced a recall programme on 1 October 2019, which ran until 1 January 2020.

Contents

Volume 1: ''1965–1967: Cambridge St/ation''

Track listing:
Disc one – studio recordings from 1965–1967
1965 recordings:
  1. "Lucy Leave" – 2:57
  2. "Double O Bo" – 2:57
  3. "Remember Me" – 2:46
  4. "Walk with Me Sydney" – 3:11
  5. "Butterfly" – 3:00
  6. "I'm a King Bee" – 3:13
1966–1967 recordings:
  2. "Arnold Layne" – 2:57
  3. "See Emily Play" – 2:55
  4. "Apples and Oranges" – 3:05
  5. "Candy and a Currant Bun" – 2:45
  6. "Paintbox" – 3:48
  7. "Matilda Mother" – 4:01
  8. "Jugband Blues" – 3:01
  9. "In the Beechwoods" – 4:43
  10. "Vegetable Man" – 2:32
  11. "Scream Thy Last Scream" – 4:43
Tracks 1–6 were recorded as The Tea Set around Christmas 1964.
Tracks 1–11 are mono.
Tracks 12–16 are stereo.
Tracks 1–6 saw, first time available on CD.
Tracks 7–9 & 12 were previously released on An Introduction to Syd Barrett.
Tracks 13–16 are previously unreleased.
Disc two – Live in Stockholm and John Latham sessions
Live in Stockholm 1967:
  1. "Introduction" – 0:25
  2. "Reaction in G" – 7:18
  3. "Matilda Mother" – 5:34
  4. "Pow R. Toc H." – 11:56
  5. "Scream Thy Last Scream" – 4:00
  6. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" – 7:17
  7. "See Emily Play" – 3:16
  8. "Interstellar Overdrive" – 8:57
Live in Stockholm has barely audible vocals, rendering the performance almost completely instrumental. The recording is of particularly low quality.
John Latham studio recordings 1967:
  2. "John Latham Version 1" – 4:32
  3. "John Latham Version 2" – 5:06
  4. "John Latham Version 3" – 3:45
  5. "John Latham Version 4" – 2:59
  6. "John Latham Version 5" – 2:48
  7. "John Latham Version 6" – 3:17
  8. "John Latham Version 7" – 2:36
  9. "John Latham Version 8" – 2:49
  10. "John Latham Version 9" – 2:38
The John Latham recordings are of one long extended improvisational piece split across nine tracks, it is similar to that of the extended improvisation often played during the middle section of "Interstellar Overdrive".
Tracks 1–8 recorded live 10 September 1967 at Gyllene Cirkeln, Stockholm, Sweden.
Tracks 9–17 recorded at De Lane Lea Studios, London, 20 October 1967.
Disc three
Personnel:
The Tea Set :
with:
Production:
Pink Floyd :
Track listing:
Disc one – studio recordings from 1968; BBC Sessions from 1968
Tracks taken from the "Point Me at the Sky" and "It Would Be So Nice" 7-inch singles:
  1. "Point Me at the Sky" – 3:40
  2. "It Would Be So Nice" – 3:46
  3. "Julia Dream" – 2:34
  4. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 5:46
Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, 22 August 1968:
  2. "Song 1" – 3:18
  3. "Roger's Boogie" – 4:35
BBC Radio Session, 25 June 1968
  2. "Murderotic Woman " – 3:38
  3. "The Massed Gadgets of Hercules " – 7:18
  4. "Let There Be More Light" – 4:32
  5. "Julia Dream" – 2:50
BBC Radio Session, 2 December 1968
  2. "Point Me at the Sky" – 4:25
  3. "Embryo" – 3:13
  4. "Interstellar Overdrive" – 9:37
Tracks 5–13 previously unreleased.
Disc two
  1. "Astronomy Domine"
  2. "The Scarecrow"
  3. "Corporal Clegg"
  4. "Paintbox"
  5. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  6. "See Emily Play"
  7. "Bike"
  2. "Apples and Oranges"
  2. "Astronomy Domine"
  3. "Flaming"
  4. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  5. "Let There Be More Light"
  2. "Paintbox"
  2. "Instrumental Improvisation"
  2. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  2. "It Would Be So Nice "
  2. "Interstellar Overdrive"
  2. "Astronomy Domine"
  3. "Roger Waters interview"
  2. "Let There Be More Light
  3. "Remember a Day"
  2. "Let There Be More Light"
  2. "Let There Be More Light"
  3. "Flaming"
  2. "Let There Be More Light"
  2. "Point Me at the Sky"
Personnel:
with:
Track listing:
Disc one – More non-album tracks, BBC sessions and live in Amsterdam
More non-album tracks:
  1. "Hollywood" – 1:21
  2. "Theme" – 5:38
  3. "More Blues" – 3:49

  1. "Seabirds" – 4:20

Other tracks:
  2. "Embryo" – 4:43
BBC Radio Session, 12 May 1969:
  2. "Grantchester Meadows" – 3:46
  3. "Cymbaline" – 3:38
  4. "The Narrow Way" – 4:48
  5. "Green Is the Colour" – 3:21
  6. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 3:26
Live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, 9 August 1969:
  2. "Interstellar Overdrive" – 4:20
  3. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" – 12:25
  4. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 10:09
  5. "A Saucerful of Secrets" – 13:03
Tracks 1–4; 6–14 previously unreleased.

Track 5 previously released on the Harvest Records sampler LP, Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air and on the compilation album, Works.
Disc two – The Man and The Journey live Amsterdam, 17 September 1969
  1. "Daybreak" – 8:14
  2. "Work" – 4:12
  3. "Afternoon" – 6:39
  4. "Doing It" – 3:54
  5. "Sleeping" – 4:38
  6. "Nightmare" – 9:15
  7. "Labyrinth" – 1:10
  8. "The Beginning" – 3:25
  9. "Beset by Creatures of the Deep" – 6:27
  10. "The Narrow Way, Part 3" – 5:11
  11. "The Pink Jungle" – 4:56
  12. "The Labyrinths of Auximines" – 3:20
  13. "Footsteps" / "Doors" – 3:12
  14. "Behold the Temple of Light" – 5:32
  15. "The End of the Beginning " – 6:31
Tracks 1–15 previously unreleased.
Disc three
  1. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  2. David Gilmour interview
  3. "A Saucerful of Secrets"
  2. "Afternoon"
  3. "The Beginning"
  4. "Cymbaline"
  5. "Beset by Creatures of the Deep"
  6. "The End of the Beginning"
  2. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
  3. "A Saucerful of Secrets"
  2. "Green Is the Colour"
  3. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
  4. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  5. "Interstellar Overdrive" – 11:26
Personnel:
Pink Floyd
with
Track listing:
Disc One
  1. "Atom Heart Mother" – 17:58
BBC Radio Session, 16 July 1970:
  2. "Embryo" – 11.10
  3. "Fat Old Sun" – 5.52
  4. "Green Is the Colour" – 3.27
  5. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 8.25
  6. "If" – 5.47
  7. "Atom Heart Mother" – 25.30
Tracks 1–7 previously unreleased.
Disc Two
Previously unreleased tracks from the Zabriskie Point soundtrack recordings:
  1. "On the Highway" – 1.16
  2. "Auto Scene, Version 2" – 1.13
  3. "Auto Scene, Version 3" – 1.31
  4. "Aeroplane" – 2.18
  5. "Explosion" – 5.47
  6. "The Riot Scene" – 1.40
  7. "Looking at Map" – 1.57
  8. "Love Scene, Version 7" – 5.03
  9. "Love Scene, Version 1" – 3.26
  10. "Take Off" – 1.20
  11. "Take Off, Version 2" – 1.12
  12. "Love Scene, Version 2" – 1.56
  13. "Love Scene " – 2.16
  14. "Unknown Song " – 5.56
  15. "Love Scene " – 6.40
  16. "Crumbling Land " – 4.09
Other tracks:
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" – 19.24
Tracks 1–17 previously unreleased.
Disc Three
  1. "Atom Heart Mother" – 17.37
  2. "Cymbaline" – 8.38
  3. "Grantchester Meadows" – 7.37
  4. "Green Is the Colour" – 3.31
  5. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 9.09
  6. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" – 12.37
Audio only:
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" – 23.42
  3. "If" – 4.31
  4. "Summer '68" – 5.29
  5. "Fat Old Sun" – 5.24
  6. "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" – 13.01
Disc Four
  1. "Cymbaline" – 3.54
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" – 13.46
  3. "Embryo" – 11.23
  4. "Green Is the Colour/"
  5. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 12.21
  6. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" – 12.07
  2. "Instrumental Improvisations 1, 2, 3" – 3.28
  3. "Embryo" – 2.39
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" – 21.15
Disc Five
  1. "Atom Heart Mother" – 17.37
  2. "Cymbaline" – 8.38
  3. "Grantchester Meadows" – 7.37
  4. "Green Is the Colour" – 3.31
  5. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 9.09
  6. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" – 12.37
  2. "Cymbaline" – 3.54
  3. "Atom Heart Mother" – 13.46
  4. "Embryo" – 11.23
  5. "Green Is the Colour/"
  6. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 12.21
  7. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" – 12.07
  2. "Instrumental Improvisations 1, 2, 3" – 3.28
  3. "Embryo" – 2.39
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" – 21.15

Audio only:
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" – 23.42
  3. "If" – 4.31
  4. "Summer '68" – 5.29
  5. "Fat Old Sun" – 5.24
  6. "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" – 13.01
After the release of The Early Years 1965–1972 footage was found of the band performing "Astronomy Domine" at KQED, but its discovery came too late for inclusion in the box. KQED were subsequently granted permission to publish the footage of "Astronomy Domine"
Personnel:
with:
Track listing:
Disc One
  1. "Nothing, Part 14" – 7:01
BBC Radio Session, 30 September 1971:
  2. "Fat Old Sun" – 15:33
  3. "One of These Days" – 7:19
  4. "Embryo" – 10:43
  5. "Echoes" – 26:25
Disc Two
  1. "Interview + Atom Heart Mother " Hamburg, Germany, 25 February 1971 Brass & Choir conducted by Geoffrey Mitchell
  2. "A Saucerful of Secrets " Offenbach, Germany, 26 February 1971
  2. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  3. "Cymbaline"
  2. "Atom Heart Mother " Brass & Choir conducted by Jeffrey Mitchel – 3.12
  2. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
  3. Band interview
  2. Documentary including Pink Floyd and manager Steve O’Rourke – 2.27
  2. Storm Thorgerson & Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell interviewed re: record cover design – 3.37
  2. "One of These Days " – 4.17
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" : – 5.10
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" – 15.11
Audio only:
  2. "Echoes" original 4.0 Quad mix 1971 – 23.35
Personnel:
with:
Track listing:
Disc One
Obscured by Clouds 2016 mix
  1. "Obscured by Clouds" – 3.03
  2. "When You're In" – 2.31
  3. "Burning Bridges" – 3.30
  4. "The Gold It's in the..." – 3.07
  5. "Wot's... Uh the Deal?" – 5.09
  6. "Mudmen" – 4.18
  7. "Childhood's End" – 4.33
  8. "Free Four" – 4.16
  9. "Stay" – 4.06
  10. "Absolutely Curtains" – 5.52
This CD was accidentally replaced by the Live at Pompeii stereo CD before shipping. This disc actually comes packaged outside the set in a separate white slipcase, on the reverse of which it says "Replacement CD disc for Obfusc/ation " The standalone edition of this volume, however, contains Live at Pompeii as CD2 of the set.
Disc Two
  1. "Wot’s...Uh the Deal?": with recording session photos – 5.04
  2. "Pop Deux": documentary – recording Obscured by Clouds + David Gilmour and Roger Waters interview – 7.14
  2. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  3. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
  2. "Actualités Méditerranée", Marseille, 22 November 1972 – 3.29
  3. "JT Nuit – Les Pink Floyd", Marseille, 26 November 1972 – 3.04
  4. "JT 20h – Pink Floyd", Paris, 12 January 1973 – 3.01
  5. "Journal de Paris – Les Pink Floyd", Paris, 12 January 1973 – 5.03
  2. Poitiers – Autour du passage des Pink Floyd – 4.27
  2. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 6.40
  3. "A Saucerful of Secrets" – 10.09
  4. "One of These Days" – 5.58
  5. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" – 10.24
  6. "Echoes" – 26.10
This version of Live at Pompeii is notable for excluding "Mademoiselle Nobs", an instrumental version of the song "Seamus" found on the original film and the 2003 DVD, and for bridging "Echoes" which was originally performed in two parts for the film.
Personnel:'''
This volume, unlike Volumes 1–6, is exclusive to the box set and is not yet available separately as a standalone edition. This volume is notable for containing three feature length films: The Committee, More and La Vallée and, despite its subtitle, a live recording of "Echoes" from 1974.
Track listing:
Disc One
BBC Radio Session, 25 September 1967:
  1. "Flaming"‡ – 2.42
  2. "The Scarecrow"‡ – 1.59
  3. "The Gnome"‡ – 2.08
  4. "Matilda Mother"‡ – 3.20
  5. "Reaction in G"‡ – 0.34
  6. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"‡ – 3.19
BBC Radio Session, 20 December 1967:
  2. "Scream Thy Last Scream"‡ – 3.35
  3. "Vegetable Man"‡ – 3.07
  4. "Pow R. Toc H."‡ – 2.45
  5. "Jugband Blues"‡ – 3.50
Other tracks:
  2. "Baby Blue Shuffle in D Major" – 3.58
  3. "Blues" – 4.59
  4. "US Radio advertisement for Ummagumma" – 0.22
  5. "Music from The Committee No. 1" – 1.06
  6. "Music from The Committee No. 2" – 3.25
  7. "Moonhead" – 7.16
  8. "Echoes" – 24.10
Disc Two
  1. Spare 2 seconds chapter
  2. "Arnold Layne "‡ – 2.56
  2. "Corporal Clegg"
  3. Band interview
  4. "A Saucerful of Secrets"
  2. "Atom Heart Mother" – 3.46
  2. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
  3. "A Saucerful of Secrets"
  2. "Atom Heart Mother"
  3. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"
  4. "A Saucerful of Secrets"
Disc Three
Personnel:
Pink Floyd
with
On 5 November 2016 Pink Floyd announced, via their official Facebook page, that an extra CD would now be included in the set – Live at Pompeii. The Pompeii performance has never been officially released on CD before. The Live at Pompeii CD was accidentally included in the 1972: Obfusc/ation set instead of the 2016 mix of the Obscured by Clouds album. Therefore the 2016 Obscured by Clouds CD was included separately in a white slipcase; on the front of which is written "Obscured by Clouds 2016 remix" and on the reverse: "Replacement CD disc for Obfusc/ation ". Warner Music has to date refused to provide replacement discs where copies of Obscured by Clouds were not included in customers' box sets. When the 1972: Obfusc/ation was released as a standalone set in March 2017, the Live at Pompeii CD was included as Disc 2 of the set. The Live at Pompeii CD track listing is as follows:
  1. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 6:45
  2. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" – 10:35
  3. "One of These Days" – 5:50
  4. "A Saucerful of Secrets" – 12:49
  5. "Echoes" – 24:56
  6. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 6:06

    Replica vinyl singles

Arnold Layne
  1. "Arnold Layne"
  2. "Candy and a Currant Bun"
Point Me at the Sky
  1. "Point Me at the Sky"
  2. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene"
It Would Be So Nice
  1. "It Would Be So Nice
  2. "Julia Dream"
See Emily Play
  1. "See Emily Play"
  2. "The Scarecrow"
Apples and Oranges
  1. "Apples and Oranges"
  2. "Paintbox"

    ''Meddle'' 5.1

It has been discovered that the Meddle 5.1 album has been included in the set. This album was reported to have been pulled from inclusion for undisclosed reasons. The Meddle 5.1 is not accessible from the DVD/BD menu nor by any known "easter egg" method. It should be presumed then that instead of removing the album from the discs that only its link in the DVD/BD menu was removed to prevent access to it. It is, however, discoverable by inserting the disc into a compatible computer and searching through the disc's contents files.

Reception

The box-set received highly positive reviews, scoring a 97 on Metacritic based on 8 reviews indicating "universal acclaim". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it "a deep, multi-tiered portrait of the years when Pink Floyd were fumbling around trying to find their voice." He praised the tracks "Vegetable Man", "In the Beechwoods", the band's collaboration with John Latham, the soundtracks they recorded for The Committee and Zabriskie Point, and "Moonhead". "Because so much of this music is raw – it's alternately live, unfinished, and improvisatory – the box underscores how Pink Floyd were an underground band right up until Dark Side" he concludes. "Decades later, these recordings still feel boundless: this was music made without a destination in mind and the journey remains thrilling." Daryl Easlea of Record Collector described the box-set as "the sonic equivalent to background reading and extensive footnotes for their remarkable body of recorded work." He describes the band's earliest material from 1965 as "showcasing what a fabulous beat band they initially were. A quick grin is not something you associate with the Floyd, but these five early tracks from 1965 are tremendous fun." He also praised the John Peel concert from 1971 as being "a real treat, with a 14-minute-long Fat Old Sun displaying their improvisational might. A lengthy capture of Embryo demonstrates their glacial grandeur at its finest." He also singles out "the 20 December 1967 BBC session, just a month before Barrett’s departure" as "a revelation." Pitchfork's Jesse Jarnow awarded the release with their "Best New Reissue" label. Whilst writing that "s career periods go, the seven years of Pink Floyd’s Early Years don’t exactly match other intense eras of classic rock creativity, like Bob Dylan from 1961 to 1968 or the Beatles from 1962 to 1969 this set illustrates something about both Pink Floyd’s own path and the rewards of resilience." He writes that "n the modern age of oversized vault-clearing and copyright-protecting box sets, there is something resoundingly human about The Early Years, which only makes the achievements more extraordinary."
Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described the compilation as an "exhaustive document" that contains "some tantalising glimpses of the different paths they could have taken". He praised some of the material but criticized the superfluousness of some of it

Accolades

PublicationCountryAccoladeRank
MediumUSBest 100 Reissues Of 20161
Rolling StoneUS10 Best Reissues of 20161
UncutUKThe Best Reissue Albums Of 2016 – The Uncut Top 3026
AllmusicUSFavorite Reissues and Compilations-
Toronto SunCanada2016’s most essential music box sets: Pink Floyd, Dylan, Led Zep and more1
MetacriticUSBest-Reviewed Reissues, Box Sets, And Compilations Of 20161

''The Early Years 1967–1972: Cre/ation''

The Early Years 1967–1972: Cre/ation is a 2-disc highlights compilation of the box set The Early Years 1965–1972 which was released on 11 November 2016.

Track listing

Disc one
  1. "Arnold Layne" – 2:57
  2. "See Emily Play" – 2:55
  3. "Matilda Mother" – 3:58
  4. "Jugband Blues" – 3:02
  5. "Paintbox" – 3:47
  6. "Flaming" – 2:42
  7. "In the Beechwoods" – 4:43
  8. "Point Me at the Sky" – 3:41
  9. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 5:48
  10. "Embryo" – 4:42
  11. US Radio advertisement for Ummagumma – 0:22
  12. "Grantchester Meadows" – 3:46
  13. "Cymbaline" – 3:39
  14. "Interstellar Overdrive" – 4:24
  15. "Green Is the Colour" – 3:21
  16. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – 3:28
Disc two
  1. "On the Highway" – 1:17
  2. "Auto Scene Version 2" – 1:13
  3. "The Riot Scene" – 1:40
  4. "Looking at Map" – 1:56
  5. "Take Off" – 1:19
  6. "Embryo" – 10:13
  7. "Atom Heart Mother" – 18:01
  8. "Nothing, Part 14" – 7:01
  9. "Childhood's End" – 4:33
  10. "Free Four" – 4:16
  11. "Stay" – 4:08
The Early Years 1967–1972: Cre/ation
Chart Peak
position

Credits