Echoes is a double-CD collection of some of Pink Floyd's best songs; it's also an interesting document of the band's history. They began life as Syd Barrett's mandrax-flavoured nursery-rhymers--gnomes, scarecrows, cats and bikes a speciality--before clasping the wings of Icarus and ascending towards the sun on an epic space-rock odyssey, eventually turning left once they reached the dark side of the moon and burning up on re-entry, crash-landing on every earthlings' home hi-fi with the imperious but seething embitterment of their (or more pertinently, Roger Waters') pomp rock; the sociological (Animals), totalitarianism (The Wall) and World War (The Final Cut). And it's all here--30 years of the Floyd's awesome back catalogue on two CDs.

From the summery, childhood enchantment of “See Emily Play”, to the square-bashing school discipline of “Happiest Days Of Our Lives”, and “A Momentary Lapse in Reason”, this really is the very best of the Floyd - from the throbbing "One Of These Days" (conceived as an attack on disc jockey Jimmy Young), to the pop operatic “Great Gig In The Sky”. and the genius silvery fluidity of Dave Gilmour's guitar work. This is timeless, as many members of Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Blur, Beta Band etc will no doubt testify.