News

On May 10, EMI announced a massive Pink Floyd reissue/rarities project called “Why Pink Floyd?” to commence this fall. (See our previous post: “EMI announces massive Floyd reissue/rarity project“)

Below is our first post detailing the items to be included in this project. We’re starting with the so-called “Discovery” editions, set for release in the U.S. on Sept. 27.

At the core of “Why Pink Floyd” is a reissue of every Floyd studio album:

1. The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
2. A Saucerful Of Secrets
3. More
4. Ummagumma
5. Atom Heart Mother
6. Meddle
7. Obscured By Clouds
8. The Dark Side Of The Moon
9. Wish You Were Here
10. Animals
11. The Wall
12. The Final Cut
13. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
14. The Division Bell

All Discovery reissues have been digitally remastered by James Guthrie (co-producer of “The Wall”), and include newly-designed packaging and booklets created by the band’s long-time designer Storm Thorgerson.

Designed to be an introduction to the band, all Discovery discs include booklets containing full album lyrics.

Single-disc albums are priced at $15.88; double-discs at $20.57.

Discovery box set

All 14 Discovery reissues will also be available as a boxset that includes a 60-page artwork booklet designed by Thorgerson. The set is priced at $209.57.

Pre-order now

You can pre-order items from the Discovery collection now through Amazon.com. When you purchase through the links below, your purchase helps support “Floydian Slip.”

Amazon offers a pre-order price guarantee: If the Amazon price decreases between your order time and the release date, you’ll receive the lowest price.

1. Discovery Studio Album Box Set [Order now]
2. The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn [Order now]
3. A Saucerful Of Secrets [Order now]
4. More [Order now]
5. Ummagumma [Order now]
6. Atom Heart Mother [Order now]
7. Meddle [Order now]
8. Obscured By Clouds [Order now]
9. The Dark Side Of The Moon [Order now]
10. Wish You Were Here [Order now]
11. Animals [Order now]
12. The Wall [Order now]
13. The Final Cut [Order now]
14. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason [Order now]
15. The Division Bell [Order now]

If this news broke a couple weeks earlier, we could easily have mistaken it for an April Fool’s prank: TV icon William Shatner will cover Pink Floyd on an upcoming album.

“Searching for Major Tom” will contain 19 cover songs all with a space theme. The Floyd song will be “Learning to Fly” from the band’s 1987 album “A Momentary Lapse of Reason.” The track features Edgar Froese from Tangerine Dream on keyboards and guitar.

While Shatner’s first album (1968’s “The Transformed Man”) is of … er … questionable quality, but at least one, 2004’s “Has Been,” is, with rarely an exception, top-notch — due, in part, to collaborator Ben Folds, in our humble opinion.

“Searching for Major Tom” will also include covers by Deep Purple, Thomas Dolby, U2, Queen, David Bowie, Duran Duran and others.

Shatner announced the album in February, but only just recently announced details.

From the Didn’t See That One Coming Department, we got a heads up yesterday about another 8-bit redo of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”

Joe Allen who runs Pterodactyl Squad, an online record label that freely distributes its music, all inspired by video games, tells us, “Each track has been handled by a different artist, forming an all-star cast from the chiptune scene, and the whole album flows together just like the original.”

You might remember last April we told you about Brad Smith, a then-27-year-old game programmer from Ontario, Canada, who had re-recorded “Dark Side” using nothing but ’80s-era video game sounds.

“We believe our version blows that one out of the water,” Allen boasts.

Calling Mr. Smith: Have you received the challenge? And might we suggest “Animals” next?

You can download Pterodactyl Squad’s version of “Dark Side of the Moon” from the label’s Web site.

Foo Fighters will include a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” in its compilation “Medium Rare.”

The all-covers album will be issued on vinyl on April 16, “Record Store Day.”

It’s unclear whether this version of “Cigar” will be the one from the 2000 “Mission Impossible II” collection that features Queen’s Brian May; or the Foos-only recording that appeared on the band’s “Learn to Fly” EP the previous year.

Record Store Day is a celebration of the unique culture surrounding more than 700 independently owned record stores in the US, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. Learn more at the Record Store Day Web site.