The Later Years 1987-2019

The Later Years 1987-2019 is an explicit sequel to The Early Years 1965-1972, the 2016 box set that rounded up nearly all the loose ends and detours from the first era of Pink Floyd, the fearless period when they were figuring out what the band could do. The Later Years covers a different time, when their most pressing challenge was demonstrating that they could thrive artistically and commercially without the presence of Roger Waters, the bassist/songwriter who charted Floyds direction between 1973s Dark Side of the Moon and 1983s The Final Cut. In the parlance of these deluxe box sets, that decade amounts to The Middle Years, a period far more prolific than 1987-2019, when the group released just two studio albums along with two live albums and a posthumous project that didnt arrive until 2014, by which time the group had largely been inactive for 20 years. This is a roundabout way of explaining that the source material for The Later Years isnt as rich as it was for The Early Years, a problem that has been addressed by emphasizing the luxurious aspects of this decidedly lavish box sets. As a package, The Later Years eclipses The Early Years, containing replicas of tour programs, laminates and posters, a hardcover book of photos, and a folio of lyrics, all housed in a heavy 12x12 box. The video material is similarly thorough, containing all the promotional clips from A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell, and Endless River, along with assorted documentary and behind the scenes footage, films projects at concerts, and, best of all, footage from the 2007 tribute to the departed Syd Barrett which featured the last live performance of David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright together. This version is also presented as one of the two 7 singles included in the set, but unheard aural rarities arent necessarily the point of the set. To be sure, there are some, including a clutch of seven largely instrumental outtakes from the Division Bell sessions in 1994, but much of The Later Years consists of tweaks to the existing catalog. Most dramatically, A Momentary Lapse of Reason is revised so its stripped of shiny 80s accouterments and sounds more like The Division Bell. Some of these alterations are subtle, some are startling, and the overall effect is striking: Momentary is now softer and streamlined, sounding more like a Floyd album than a Gilmour solo effort. The rest of the box is devoted to live material, available on CDs and Blu-Rays and DVDs that mirror each other. Delicate Sound of Thunder is remixed and its film is restored, P*U*L*S*E isnt here as an album but the film has been re-edited, Live at Knebworth 1990 -- a concert previously excerpted on a various-artists compilation -- is here in full, along with live B-sides released between 1987 and 1994, and a 1989 concert in Venice that is an exclusive on the Blu-Ray/DVD portion. Another Blu-Ray/DVD exclusive is a 5.1 mix of The Division Bell, whose absence feels even stronger when the rest of the box has so much live material that generally follows the same set lists and arrangements. The repetition is noticeable but ultimately minor for the boxs target audience of dedicated Floyd fans, who will surely appreciate the care given to both the remastering and the packaging. On that level alone, The Later Years is something of a wonder, which means its certainly worthwhile for those who have the interest and the cash to partake. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine