The only explanation for the album's unexpected success is their burgeoning reputation on the live circuit. Atom Heart Mother, the side-long title track of which has not dated well at all, was similarly patchy. Their second, third and fourth albums were also far from flawless, being a hodge-podge of experiments, live jams and soundtrack vibes. Commercially, the Floyd had spent the previous three years in the wilderness, with the last three of their first five singles failing to make an impression in the charts (the band subsequently released no singles until 1979's Another Brick in the Wall, Part II). Pink Floyd's fifth album, Atom Heart Mother, released on October 10, 1970, was their first to reach the UK #1 spot (on October 24, 1970). As such, this is not a ' greatest hits', but truly a ' best of.' for the period. Furthermore, the requisite ' previously unreleased' track stands up easily alongside the rest of the cuts. The roughly chronological track listing (there are a couple of exceptions) flows well, and includes not only the hits, but also significant b-sides and album tracks, included with regard to their strengths. Many commentators have disparagingly singled out these years as a ' wandering' period in the history of the Floyd, but I disagree Relics (subtitled "A Bizarre Collection of Antiques and Curios") ably demonstrates the group's developing versatility and willingness to explore different avenues of expression, as opposed to accepting defeat in the aftermath of Barrett's departure, or mindlessly churning out facsimiles of their first psychedelic hits.Īs a result, Relics is a compilation that is eminently listenable, one that definitely bears repeating. Relics chronicles the progress of the band as they totter away from English psychedelia (" Arnold Layne", " See Emily Play", " Paintbox", " Bike") and freak-out (" Interstellar Overdrive", " Careful With That Axe, Eugene"), trying on for size English whimsy (" Remember A Day", " Julia Dream"), cabaret (" Biding My Time"), heavy metal (" The Nile Song") and pastoral atmospherics (" Cirrus Minor"), all steps on the path to " Echoes" and Dark Side of the Moon. After the band's initial creative navigator Syd Barrett left the band in early 1968 (replaced by David Gilmour), the remaining members shuffled around for the next three years, gradually finding their own musical vision. Relics is an excellent introduction to the 1967- 1969 period of Pink Floyd's recorded output. Despite being the second in a total of six Pink Floyd compilations, Relics is highly-regarded among Floyd fans, who remember it nostalgically as the only compilation for many years (and, arguably, still) to properly highlight Pink Floyd's early strengths. Relics is an early Pink Floyd compilation album, originally released in mid-1971.