#1
Total Eclipse - A Retrospective 1967-1993 (4 CDR)
This box set is meant to represent a comprehensive, chronological retrospective of the band's music. Rare, live, or alternate versions were used wherever possible. Because this collection was designed as a 4 CD set, there was a limit to the amount of material selected, with a great regard to sound quality.
Assorted Live Sources Boot CD>CDR    GDR CD 9320 Great Dane Records
Sound: A/B+
Time  disc 1: 72:00      disc 2: 79:09     disc 3: 71:39    disc 4: 77:37
Flaws: None
Kahuna's Rating:*****
Heres what the RoIO Database says about this show:
TOTAL ECLIPSE was conceived in 1993, well into Great Dane's ambitious "Pink Floyd Project." Great Dane had wanted to put out a box set that would appeal to the fans who had been terribly dissapointed with "Shine On," Pink Floyd's official release. It's purpose was to attempt to bring to the fans a comprehensive overview of the band's career, substituting rare material and alternative tracks wherever possible. This is the reason why many of the early singles and B-sides were included (which many people question). Much "Top Gear" material was also included because not only were the sound sources believed to be the better than on any previously released RoIO, but also because it seemed that these tracks should also be represented in the band's history. TOTAL ECLIPSE was meant to be chronological (although a few tracks are out of order) and comprehensive; something that could be listened to from beginning to end.

Disc 1  1. Arnold Layne                           2:56 2. Candy And A Currant Bun                2:46 3. See Emily Play                         2:53 4. Flaming                                2:49 5. The Scarecrow                          2:02 6. The Gnome                              2:11 7. Mathilda Mother                        3:22 8. Scream Thy Last Scream                 4:41 9. Vegetable Man                          2:28 10. Apples And Oranges                     3:08 11. Pow R. Toc H.                          2:56 12. Jugband Blues                          3:49 13. Nick's Boogie                         11:48 14. It Would Be So Nice                    3:44 15. Julia Dream                            2:25 16. Let There Be More Light                3:42 17. Murderistic Women                      3:50 18. Massed Gadgets Of Hercules             2:51 19. Point Me At The Sky                    3:34 20. Baby Blue Shuffle in 'D' Minor         4:03

Disc 2 1. The Embryo                             3:26 2. Green Is The Colour                    3:28 3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene          7:15 4. The Narrow Way part 1                  4:37 5. Biding My Time (Work)                  5:06 6. Oneone/Fingal's Cave                   8:11 7. Rain In The Country                    7:01 8. The Violence Sequence                  4:33 9. If                                     4:27 10. Cymbaline                             10:50 11. Atom Heart Mother                     20:13

Disc 3 1. Blues                                  5:07 2. Breathe                                3:00 3. On The Run                             6:22 4. The Great Gig In The Sky               4:32 5. Money                                  1:43 6. Brain Damage/Eclipse                   3:27 7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-5  23:31 8. Raving And Drooling                   10:45 9. You've Gotta Be Crazy                 13:10

Disc 4 1. Echoes                                21:25 2. Pigs On The Wing parts 1 & 2           3:35 3. Comfortably Numb                       2:39 4. When The Tigers Broke Free             2:55 5. Mother                                 6:40 6. What Shall We Do Now?                  4:42 7. Bring The Boys Back Home               1:47 8. Outside The Wall                       4:09 9. The Hero's Return parts 1 & 2          3:58 10. Run Like Hell                          7:24 11. On The Turning Away                    6:48 12. Money                                 11:33

Disc I
1. Arnold Layne (Barrett) The Pink Floyd's first single, released in the UK March 11th, 1967, was one of a handful of tracks that was laid down at their first studio recording session. Produced by Joe Boyd at Sound Techniques Studios in Chelsea on January 27th, 1967, "Arnold Layne" was chosen because unlike the other tracks it was short enough to release as a single. The Pink Floyd made three appearances on BBC-TV's "Top Of The Pops" promoting its release. Of the title itself Barrett stated, "I thought that Arnold Layne was a nice name and it fitted very well into the music I had already written." It charted number 20 in the UK.

2. Candy and a Currant Bun (Barrett) The B-side to "Arnold Layne" was recorded at the same session along with an early version of "Interstellar Overdrive". Originally titled "Let's Roll Another One" the lyrics were changed due to the obvious drug inferences. Waters commenting on the BBC's attitude towards the track, recalled "They didn't like that at all. Very under the arm." The song dates back to the Floyd's Free School repertoire.

3. See Emily Play (Barrett) The Second single by the Floyd, was recorded on May 23rd, 1967, at Sound Techniques Studios after sessions at EMI failed to capture the essence found on Arnold Layne. Two of the Floyd's biographers, Miles and Karl Dallas, dispute Emily's origins. Miles states that the track is a reworking of the "Games For May" concert performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12th 1967, while Dallas says that "Emily" was performed April 29th at the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream in Aid of the International Times. Mick Schaffner's book states that "Emily" was in real life the daughter of Lord Kennet (Wayland Young) who was well known to the UFO club crowd. Schaffner also reports that David Gilmour, who was coincidentally at the session with his band Joker's Wild, first noticed Syd's mental decline. Released on June 16th, 1967, it charted number 6 in the UK and 134 in the US.

4. Flaming (Barrett) Deleted from the US release of "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", "Flaming" later appeared as a single on August 5th, 1967. Performed live for a brief period, as well as BBC and French TV appearances.

5. The Scarecrow (Barrett) 6. The Gnome (Barrett) 7. Mathilda Mother (Barrett) All three tracks appear on the first Floyd album "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". These cuts were the first of many recorded for the John Peel's "Top Gear" show on BBC radio, and was first broadcast on September 30th, 1967.

8. Scream Thy Last Scream (Barrett) 9. Vegetable Man (Barrett) Recorded in August, 1967, "Scream Thy Last Scream" was planned as the Floyd's third single. The song was performed live during 1967, and was also entitled "Scream Thy Last Scream Old Woman With A Casket" and the shorter "Old Woman With A Casket".
Also recorded in August of 1967 was the unreleased "Vegetable Man". Manager Pete Jenner recalls the origins of the song. "Syd was around at my house just before he had to go to record - and because a song was needed, he just wrote a description of what he was wearing at the time, and threw in a chorus that went 'Vegetable Man, where are you?'."
This is one of the last sessions featuring Syd Barrett with the Pink Floyd. These two tracks are the actual August 9th, 1967 sessions.

10. Apples And Oranges (Barrett) A third single that fared poorly in the charts. The track was recorded in August of 1967 and released on November 18th. A promotional film featured a Barrett-less Floyd, with Roger Waters lip-syncing to Syd's vocal. Waters' recollection of the track was that it was a "fucking good song," that "was destroyed by the production." All around, producer Norman Smith seems to have become the fall-guy for the failure of this single.

11. Pow R. Toc H. (Barrett/Mason/Waters/Wright) 12. Jugband Blues (Barrett) "Pow R. Toc H." is from "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "Jugband Blues" was recorded at the time of "Apples and Oranges". So disappointing was the reaction to "Apples and Oranges" that their manager, Pete Jenner, proposed releasing "Jugband Blues" in its place. "Jugband Blues" was used by the Central Office of Information for a promotional film about Britian that was distributed in the US and Canada. For the track Syd Barrett brought a Salvation Army band into the studio, instructing them to "play what you want to." These tracks are taken from the second session they did for John Peel's "Top Gear" show, broadcast on 12/19/67.

13. Nick's Boogie (Barrett/Mason/Waters/Wright) A studio outtake that was recorded in April of 1967 for the soundtrack to the film "Tonite Let's All Make Love In London". "Nick's Boogie" has only been officially available as a CD bonus track since the soundtrack album was released in 1990. This extended instrumental is a variation of "Interstellar Overdrive."

14. It Would Be So Nice (Wright) The Floyd's fourth single released on April 12th, 1968. "Fucking awful that record, wasn't it?" recalls Nick Mason about the track. There was a general feeling at the time that the band needed a commercial hit and this single was an attempt at that. The version released to the stores mentions the London evening newspaper The Evening Standard, but the BBC, fearful of advertising, made the Floyd change the Lyric to The Daily Standard. "At that period we had no clear direction," stated Mason.

15. Julia Dream (Wright) 16. Let There Be More Light (Waters) 17. Murderistic Women (Waters) 18. Massed Gadgets of Hercules (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Taken from the June 25th, 1968 Top Gear session, these tracks are some of the first recorded performances of Pink Floyd with David Gilmour (there had been a brief period with both Barrett and Gilmour in the line-up). Julia Dream had been the B-side to "It Would Be So Nice" and featured David Gilmour on vocals. "Let There Be More Light" was released in the US as a B-side to "Remember A Day", and the 1981 release of the remixed "Money". "Murderistic Women" was an earlier, shorter version of "Careful With That Axe, Eugene". Up until the "In The Flesh" tour of 1977, Pink Floyd regularly tried out new tracks in front of live audiences, often with very different titles from the finished piece. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" was also the B-side to their next single.

19. Point Me At The Sky (Waters) Their fifth single, released on December 17th, 1968 was produced by Norman Smith. It failed so badly in the charts that the Floyd did not release another single until "Another Brick In The Wall - Part II" in 1979. The promotional film for "Point Me At The Sky" features the Floyd flying in a yellow biplane, and photos from this promo film appear on the double compilation album "A Nice Pair". As he did with "Apples and Oranges", Roger Waters defended the song, blaming its failure on the poor production.

20. Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor (Gilmour) "Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor" was the working title for what would later become "The Narrow Way - Part 1" on "Ummagumma". This was written by David Gilmour as his contribution to the solo section of the album.

Disc II
1. Embryo (Waters) "Embryo" was originally recorded for the album "Ummagumma" but was dropped in favor of the individually written tracks concept. The unfinished track was chosen as Pink Floyd's entry on the Harvest (the Floyd's UK publisher) label's sampler album "Picnic". The album cover features a typical Hipgnosis design that actually foreshadowed some of the images from "The Wall", with a family sitting on a sparse beach, wearing gas masks. The Floyd themselves were dismayed by the songs appearance, and have prevented the album being reissued. David Gilmour recalls that "For some reason we never actually finished the recording of it... EMI got Norman Smith, I think, to mix it, and they released it without our okay." Nonetheless, the Floyd played the track on John Peel's show in January of 1969, and on tours throughout 1970 and 1971. The song was also performed with free-form sections against a background of pretaped sound effects (most notably that of children playing), extending the 3 minute song up to as long as 30 minutes. The track was also issued in the US on the "Works" compilation album. These two tracks are from the "Top Gear" recording session of January 1969.

2. Green Is The Colour (Waters) 3. Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) 4. The Narrow Way - Part 1 (Gilmour) Three tracks taken from the BBC "Top Gear" broadcast of July 25th, 1969. The first, "Green Is The Colour", was originally titled "The Beginning", the opening sequence of the concept suite "The Journey". The song appeared on the soundtrack album "More", which was also released in July of 1969 and stayed in the Floyd repertoire through 1971. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" was originally titled "Keep Smiling People",then "Murderistic Women" before being included in "The Journey" entitled "Beset By The Creatures Of The Deep". "Axe" also turned up as part of the "Committee" soundtrack, and on "Zabriskie Point" as "Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up". The song appeared as a B-side to "Point Me At The Sky" on the compilation album "Relics", and a live version was released on the double album "Ummagumma" in 1970. It was filmed live on a number of occasions, once for "Live At Pompeii" and again in 1973 as a promo film available on the "Superstars In Concert" video. "The Narrow Way", originally titled "Baby Blue Shuffle In D Minor", was David Gilmour's solo composition for the album "Ummagumma". Gilmour confessed to a certain amount of desperation in trying to compose a track by himself.

5. Biding My Time (Waters) Originally titled "Work and Afternoon", this track originated from the concept piece "The Man", and the track has only been released officially on the compilation album "Relics". This version is taken from the Concert Gebow, Amsterdam show of August 17th, 1969.

6. Oenone/Fingal's Cave (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) 7. Rain In The Country (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Recorded for the movie "Zabriskie Point", but never used in the film or on the soundtrack album. These two outtakes are from the studio sessions in Rome, December 1969. Track 7 is now available on the official Zabriskie Point 2 CD re-release.

8. The Violence Sequence (Wright) This track, originally composed for the film "Zabriskie Point" would later become "Us And Them" on "Dark Side Of The Moon" two years later. Of the film sequence itself, Nick Mason recalls that "there was a lot of news film, of cops and students fighting it out, all with no soundtrack apart from this very lyrical piano thing which Rick played as a solo." This version comes from the Theatre Champs D'Elyses show, January 23rd, 1970.

9. If (Waters) Recorded for the album "Atom Heart Mother", released in 1970, "If" clearly indicates the future direction of Waters' songwriting. With a pleasantly disarming acoustic guitar line, Waters delivers some stark and disturbing lyrics about being insane. The track was essentially a filler on the album, and was not widely performed, although Roger Waters did revive it for his solo tours of 1984 and 1987. This recording is taken from the Paris Theatre, London, September 16th, 1970.

10. Cymbaline (Waters) 11. Atom Heart Mother (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) Recorded at Pepperland, San Rafael on October 17th, 1970, "Cymbaline" appeared on the soundtrack to "More" and was performed throughout the 70/71 era.It has been suggested that the song, about dreams and dreaming, was a reference to Shakespeare's "Cymbaline", but given the Floyd's failure to read Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" for the aborted 1972 Roland Petit Ballet project, this seems unlikely. "Atom Heart Mother" was a landmark for the Floyd as it devoted the entire side of an album to one piece, paving the way for "Echoes" and ultimately "Dark Side of the Moon". The track also brought together many of the sound effects that Waters had been interested in, along with an orchestra. The Floyd briefly toured with "Atom Heart Mother" accompanied by a live orchestra but had to rework the composition when played as a quartet. This version, performed without the orchestra, was also played during a 1970 TV broadcast from KQED studios in San Francisco.

Disc III
1. Blues (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright) A generic blues number from the Paris Theatre show of September 30th, 1971. These jams were a frequent, yet undocumented part of the Floyd shows of the early 70s. They were usually short free-form departures from the band's standard repertoire, and would occasionally appear on bootlegs with titles such as "Pink's Blues", etc.

2. Breathe (Gilmour/Waters/Wright) 3. On The Run (Gilmour/Waters) Taken from the Rainbow Theatre concert of February 17th, 1972, this was the first official performance of "Dark Side Of The Moon". "Breathe" is slightly different from its incarnation on the album, and "On The Run" features a powerful, driving riff by Gilmour with a bluesy accent. This was eventually dropped and replaced by the now familiar sound effects/VCS3 synthesizer track.

4. The Great Gig In The Sky (Wright) This version of "The Great Gig In The Sky" was taken from the Hollywood Bowl concert of September 22nd, 1972.

5. Money (Waters) A snippet of the demo performed by Waters, playing an acoustic guitar. It is important as it shows the difference between the original demo and the finished product, and indicates just how much influence the whole band has in shaping the final piece, despite what the credits say.

6. Brain Damage/Eclipse - Alternate Mix (Waters) The climax to "Dark Side Of The Moon". This mix was made some weeks after the initial release of the album, which differs from the quadraphonic release. It contains some alternate guitar overdubs, some of which can be seen being laid down in the film "Live At Pompeii". "Too much feedback?" remarks Gilmour during the session. "Don't worry about that. Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"

7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Gilmour/Waters/Wright) Taken from the Empire Pool Wembley show of November 14th, 1974, this version predates the release of the album "Wish You Were Here". "Shine On" saw the first use of the revolving mirror disc that was to become a staple of their shows for the rest of the decade. 32,000 people saw the Floyd those four night sat the Empire Pool, indicating the success of "Dark Side", yet ironically the band were unhappy with their performances. In particular, David Gilmour recalled this show with a sour note, describing it as "the worst we've done on the whole tour." The technical side of the show had some major hitches, although the audiences didn't seem to notice. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" was Waters tribute to Syd Barrett, who said of the track "I wrote that song, above all, to see the reaction of people who reckon they know and understand Syd Barrett. I wrote and rewrote and rewrote that lyric because I wanted it to be as close as possible to what I felt... and even then it hasn't altogether worked out right for me." The inspiration for the song was Gilmour's guitar riff. "I think it was a guitar line of Dave's that sparked me off," recalls Waters. "It's actually the signature tune from a radio show 'Take if from Here.'" The track was performed through the 1977 tour and again for the 1987 World Tour, ending at a rain soaked Knebworth in 1990.

8. Raving And Drooling (Waters) 9. You've Gotta Be Crazy (Gilmour/Waters) Along with "Shine On," these two tracks made their debut during the French tour of 1974. Ultimately, they would become "Sheep" and "Dogs", forming the core of 1977's "Animals" album. In this earlier version the lyrics do not have the animal motifs that would become so familiar, but instead are about the stresses and strains of everyday work.
"Raving And Drooling" features a thunderous bass line by Waters and finishes with the blistering guitar solofrom Gilmour.
"You've Gotta Be Crazy" also shows off Dave's virtuosity and has both Waters and Gilmour sharing the vocals. This recording is from the Nassau Coliseum, New York, June 16th, 1975. The 1975 tour also marked the last time that Pink Floyd previewed their new material, as the shows became more elaborate in terms of staging.

Disc IV
1. Echoes: Ex+. 18 June 75, Boston Gardens. At times (especially the quiet parts), the somewhat whistle-happy crowd gets on my nerves (who would have thought a New York crowd would be better behaved than a Boston one?) and I find the performance somewhat disappointing (particularly the vocals, which are kind of sloppy and strangely remind me of Barney from "The Simpsons"...). On the other hand, the sound is VERY clear, distinctly better than the last two tracks on disc 3, with great stereo (cf. 0:19, right channel -- "I hope they play the whole thing." :-) Another great track ID for you X-referencers.) The bottom line is that I don't enjoy this track nearly as much as other versions I have (though over time I've gotten used to it -- at first I hated it, now I can enjoy it to a certain extent, particularly the "jam", which is good); the band sounds tired and uninspired, though the playing is competent. I think the sax is somewhat out of place on this song ("Us and Echoes"?). Moreover, it just doesn't have the atmosphere present on earlier recordings -- that special, transcendent "Echoes vibe" just ain't there for the majority of the song. Then again, TSP's "One of These Days" has kind of spoiled me ;-). Supposedly, a poll taken concerning preferences between the Nassau date and this one, with Boston emerging the winner -- I recall one comment on the Nassau date about the band sounding "tired and sloppy" (!?) -- but if these tracks are any indication, I feel the opposite is true.

2. Pigs on the Wing parts 1 & 2: Ex-(SP). A half-step flat, and besides that there are some problems with high-end dropout. A little silly that this was put out with a speed problem, which admittedly is not that big a deal, but still...

3. Comfortably Numb: Ex+. Demo, with a WEIRD initial couple seconds -- an almost sinister sort of ...wwwwWAAAAHHH before the song really starts. Like the Money demo, amusing, but not really something you listen to more than two or three times.

4. When the Tigers Broke Free, 5. Mother, 6. What Shall We Do Now?, 7. Bring The Boys Back Home, 8. Outside The Wall: all Sup+. Laserdisc (or maybe vinyl for WtTBF, but if so then utterly pristine vinyl indeed), digital, flawless. After listening to the three other discs while writing this review, the wonderful sound on WtTBF was an absolute joy...but why *five* tracks of movie material?

9. The Hero's Return parts 1 & 2: Sup. Same comments that apply for all the other RoLO releases, and pretty interesting as well. However, IMHO Roger made the right choice in leaving that extra verse out...

10. Run Like Hell, 11. On the Turning Away: Sup+. Live RoLO. Nuff said. Some of you who spend their life savings on pricey RoIOs of Momentary and Bell tour stuff should Czech out these EPs; I didn't think I really liked the post-Waters Floyd, but I really get into RLH.

12. Money: Sup/Sup-. The sound is great, though not as well-blended as the above tracks (you'll really hear the difference in clarity, from tracks 10-11, when playing straight through). I *really* don't like Candy Dulfer's playing ;) but that aside, your standard live Knebworth material. -MT

Just wanted to let the word out that the edition of the Total Eclipse RoIO that's currently being sold is a pale copy of the original. Be warned!!! This is not the original set put out by Great Dane records...they are long gone.