Ummaguma, Meddle, Atom Heart Mother - all early, trend-setting stuff, but it wasn't until Dark Side came out that Pink Floyd really took off...and never landed.

The Wall was good, previously Wish You were Here was fantastic, Animals, The Division Bell, (Echoes I have not heard)... what a great band, paving the way for same era ELP, Yes, and Genesis, and even for the later, more obscure, Hawkwind.

Now, these are memories.... Good Thread!

Echoes is a best of CD.

Pink Floyd was not my cup of tea. I was more into Iron Maiden and neoclassical shred guitar heroes like the Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen that I would listen in my bulky yellow weatherproof Sony Sports walkman. It's been replaced by a small iPod Shuffle lately.

Frankie

I thought Echoes was the B side of Meddle.

Not forgetting of course, Pink Floyds 'The Final Cut' album with ' Two Suns in the Sunset (WARNING utterly depressing) and The Fletcher Memorial Home. This is one of Pink Floyds most underated albums along with 'Obscured by Clouds'.

It has stuff from the Wall, Wish You were Here Dark Side of the Moon and others.

I'm not keen on their earlier stuff. For me Atom Heart Mother is getting there, and with Meddle (with Echoes) they've arrived. I like everything they've done since. I saw The Wall in concert at Earl's Court when they first toured with it. I think The Division Bell is among their best work.

(I also like Yes, and mid-period Genesis. People go on about their decline after Peter Gabriel left, but for me A Trick of the Tail is one of their best albums.)

A Trick of the Tail was one of their best, I think, and Peter Gabriel continues to produce good music. It seemed to me though that Pink Floyd was on the front end of that style of "off the wall", somewhat synthesized, music. If they didn;t necessarily pave the way, they were abreast of the others that did!

It's funny that, while there were plenty of good, solid, American rock-and-roll bands, there were so very many British bands that really set the mark for good music... and in many ways, they paved the way and set the tone for American bands.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b008hs1m

Good documentary.

I'll just say that my dog is named Seamus.