Album Review: Pink Floyd - The Later Years (2019)

Mostly what it says on the tin ... The Later Years is a comprehensive collection of later period Pink Floyd material, including 2019 remastered versions of both the A Momentary Lapse of Reason and Delicate Sound of Thunder (live) albums in full, cuts from Division Bell, other live work, and a bunch of odds and sods. As I understand it, editions vary to also include a raft of extra tracks and additional ephemera such as DVD/Blu-ray material and concert booklets etc. It all depends on how much cashola you’re willing to shell out …

Effectively it’s post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd, more widely known as David Gilmour-era Pink Floyd, and a sister release to The Early Years box set of 2016. My little lot, the 4-CD set version, clocks in at something close to four and a half hours ... that’s a whole lot of Pink Floyd. Overdose levels of Pink Floyd. More spaced-out Gilmour guitar solos than you can shake a funny cigarette at. More than you’ll ever really need. 

I’m fairly certain almost all of this is already out in the public domain, sans the remastering offered here. And of course, a lot of the live material harks back to releases that pre-date “the later years” ... confused? Me too. Don’t sweat it.

Of most interest for me are those “odds and sods” ... Division Bell-era leftovers like ‘Blues 1’, ‘Rick’s Theme’, and ‘Marooned Jam’, if only for the fresh novelty elements they throw into the mix. And the “early version” of ‘High Hopes’ is a timely reminder of just what an underrated, often overlooked, classic that tune is within the band’s wider canon.

On one hand, The Later Years is probably a completely unnecessary release if you’re already a committed fan, given that you’ll already have most of this stuff in one form or another, yet on the other hand, committed fans with money to throw around, and/or band completists, will just as likely see it as essential.