Four star

Not a greatest hits album because Pink Floyd aren't that kind of band.

But Echoes is a useful introduction to Floyd, albeit an overlong one - 26 tracks and more than two-and-a-half hours of music.

Two CDs cover the band's history from the acid-soaked late 60s ramblings of Syd Barrett to the adult orientated rock of 1994's Division Bell.

But smarter editing would have provided a far more friendly package.

Most of the Barrett songs, eg Astronomy Domine and Arnold Layne are now redundant period pieces which don't sit well with the later material.

Floyd are essentially the thinking man's rock band and what they lack in passion they make up for in precision and musicianship.

It's hard to deny that Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Time, Us and Them, The Great Gig in the Sky and Wish You Were Here are perfect entities.

Occasional bouts of meandering indulgence mar some of Floyd's music but this is mirrored by some sublimely melancholic soundscapes which are probably the ancestor of today's ambient scene.

A sensible package by a sensible band which will make a sensible stocking filler.

JS