Pink Floyd - 8-Tracks [Blue UK Import]

Pressed on blue vinyl and arriving as a UK import, 8-Tracks squeezes Pink Floyd's 1971 to 1979 run into eight songs on a single LP, with a genuine rarity saved for the very end.

The title tips its hat to the chunky tape cartridges that once lived in car stereos, and that format is exactly where the rarity comes from. "Pigs on the Wing" appears in its full version, with the Snowy White guitar solo that joins its two halves, a take previously found only on the 1977 8-track cartridge of Animals. Collectors who have spent years hunting for that cartridge can finally hear it on a turntable.

Steven Wilson edited the running order for continuous listening, borrowing sound effects from the original multitracks to stitch the songs together. The result flows like a Floyd album side rather than a greatest hits playlist, which suits a band that always thought in long arcs.

The first side sets the tone, with "One of These Days" building its menace from a pulsing, echoing bass, and "Money" strutting through its lopsided 7/4 groove. On the flip, "Comfortably Numb" delivers David Gilmour's towering solo just before the Animals rarity closes things out.

It makes a strong first Floyd record for newcomers, and a colourful companion piece for anyone who already owns the original albums.