This "Later Years" box has mixed feelings for me.
As many of us, because our year of birth, "Momentary" was the first record released by Pink Floyd that we saw released and had the chance to buy on release date, so for many of us, was the first Floyd we heard, it was in my case.
I liked it, and when "The delicate sound of thunder" was released, it was also my first contact with the old Floyd stuff, you know, "wish you were here", "money", "another break in the wall" etc. Then the vhs of that concert came out, the Venice 89 broadcast, Knebworth 90... All those were my first steps into Floyd, the new, and the old.
Then, I started digging in the old stuff, and as soon as I got in my hands records like "Wish you were here", "the wall", "dark side" or "animals", suddenly, "momentary" looked like a stranger... as it wasn't son of the same parents.
With the only exception of "learning to fly", "sorrow", "one slip" and "on the turning away", the rest of songs were like a pale imitation of Pink Floyd, and when I had an original copy in my hand, reading the credits, I discovered why. It was David Gilmour record, with many studio musicians, and some bits of Mason and Wright (as other drummers and keyboardists were credited as well).
"Division Bell" was quite the same to me, but with a high difference. It still sounded very very different, but at the same time was beautiful. Like the Gilmour incarnation of the band really found their own style. I loved this record, and in fact I still do, but the fact that David Gilmour recents solo records (Island and Rattle that lock) sound quite like Division, to me, "Momentary" and "Division" became clearly solo Gilmour records with Floyd members.
I dug more into the old Floyd stuff, became fan of the Barrett record and the next record when Barrett was leaving (just one song by him) and I had the same feeling that with "momentary" when I got to listen "the final cut", another Floyd record that didn't sound Floyd. You only get to understand that record when you listen to Roger Waters's "The prons and cons of hitch hicking".
This "The Later Years" box has as prons the fact that covers the period of the band that made me a fan, but the cons of being the period of the band that after discover the golden years of the band, became a dissapoinment.
However, I would love to have the "Delicate", "Venice" and "Knebworth" dvds with proper image, sound and integrity!
