With additional room now allowed by the division of everything post 'Dark Side Of The Moon' to a second collection, 'Video Anthology Volume 1' covers Pink Floyd's brief career as a psychedelic pop singles band, then delves headlong into their glory days as the masters of trance-like, spacious (yet somehow claustrophobic) head music.

As noted previously, the quality of 'Video Anthology 1' seems to suffer from some additional generational loss compared to the original 'Anthology,' and some of the edited excerpts appear to be edited even more to make space for additional material. It's a tough loss on both counts, but the newly-added footage (in wildly-varying quality, of course) makes for some very entertaining viewing indeed.

What exactly is lost? "One Of These Days" / 'French Windows' (which one has to wonder why the hell for?), tiny pieces of the "Saucerful Of Secrets" excerpts, a TV spot for 'A Collection Of Great Dance Songs' and 'The Final Cut' (along with Journey's 'Frontiers' -- no joke) the amended version of the "Learning To Fly" video, and, depending on which version of 'Video Anthology' / "Rarities' you own, all of the MTV spots (be it the "Learn To Fly" with Pink Floyd contest or any bits of the channel's 1988 'Pink Floyd Weekend' promotion).

What exactly is new? A snippet of "Pow R Toc H," a priceless bit of the infamous Hans Keller interview following "Astronomy Domine," a version of "Interstellar Overdrive" from 'Tonite Let's All Make Love In London,' the American Bandstand performance of "Apples And Oranges," dual additions from "Let There Be More Light" and "Flaming," "Any Colour You Like," and (in the masochism department) excerpts of "It Would Be So Nice" and "Sysyphus."

A rundown of the contents...

"Arnold Layne" -- Syd Barrett and the boys cavorting on the beach and playing with a department store clothes dummy. Not much else to it, really, but it says something about how pear-shaped Pink Floyd's later video output really is when one considers that, 33 years later, this is still one of the coolest bits of promotional footage of the band to ever circulate (even Roger Waters must have thought so, as he screened it during all of his 'Radio K.A.O.S.' shows in 1987 and then screened stills from it in 2000). Like most early Floyd films, "Arnold Layne" is more Monkees than mind-expanding, but the specter of a young (and supremely goony-looking) Roger Waters flying about in reverse-motion is reason enough to make this a keeper.

"Interstellar Overdrive (Live)" -- A very brief black and white cutaway to some concert footage that doesn't so much spotlight the band as the very weird people who danced to their music. Pulled from the previously reviewed 'The Pink Floyd - London '66-'67' tape.

"Pow R Toc H (Live)" -- From the old BBC 'Look Of The Week' show, we get a whopping 30 seconds of this song in superb quality. Then it's on to the next selection. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

"Astronomy Domine (Live)" -- From the same source as the previous song and in similarly spectacular quality, this full performance is an excellent reminder of the sound and fury that was Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd. Dressed in a kind of droopy-sleeved wizard's cowl, Barrett raises and lowers his arms and waves 'em about while his shadow jerks about on a wall full of star-like running blobs behind him. The rest of the band is seen in silhouette (which is fine, since we'll get to see plenty of them later on in this compilation).

An extra special bonus follows "Astronomy Domine" as the band walk over from their psychedelic freak out to the corner of the studio set occupied by good ol' Hans Keller, who immediately butters up the band with "why must it be so teddibly loud? I cannot stand it!" A few moments later, Syd is heard to say "maybe the music we play isn't directed at dancing necessarily like the average pop group." Heh heh -- no shit.

"Interstellar Overdrive (Live)" -- The full version snipped straight out of 'In London 66-67' (and, puzzlingly, shown in greatly-edited form about 3 videos back).

"The Scarecrow" -- The Pathe newsreel intro says it all -- "and as another mallard flies up on it's predestined course, we take you to something else that could be strictly for the birds. Pop group The Pink Floyd -- performing 'The Scarecrow' from their latest LP -- have taken their improbable psychedelic colors into the open air.'" Boy, do they. Nick trades hats with a scarecrow. Roger walks into the tall grass and dies, I think. Well, maybe not -- we see him and the band goofing around in some shrubbery a few seconds later, followed by more excruciating Monkee-ing around with a scarecrow. To top it all off, Roger and Nick get into some kind of 'Scanners' duel, with Nick, apparently in agony from Waters' attack, clutching at his right hand before creating a psionic gun with his hands. He then makes the scarecrow-like Waters pay dearly. What's truly terrible is that as retarded as this sounds, it's *still* not the lamest clip on this tape.

"Apples And Oranges" -- Gosh, I wonder why this single stiffed. Taken from the band's creepy appearance on 'American Bandstand,' "Apples And Oranges" is in moderately watchable quality, but even that is enough to see that Syd was gone daddy gone. The rest of the band (particularly Roger) seem to be watching their flaking-out leader out of the corners of their eyes as they gamely mime along to the music and look like they would rather be *anywhere* else but on that set (unsurprisingly, the camera stays on Nick most of the time). I guess 'American Bandstand' wasn't even trying to fool anyone back then as the band lip sync the tune without a microphone in sight. This is about as exciting as watching The Cars perform (only The Cars showed more stage presence on their worst nights than the Floyd did that day). The stare Syd aims into the camera at the end of the song as Dick Clark walks up speaks volumes.

"Apples And Oranges" -- A song so shite they play it twice. God, what a trial by fire for poor David Gilmour. While the rest of the band looks like they're having a positively whimsical time lip-syncing the fuck out this god awful mess, Gilmour looks like he would rather be tied up and eviscerated by a pack of rabid dogs. Stone-facedly looking somewhere else whenever the camera is aimed at him, he mouths a few words here and there and generally stays out of sight as much as possible. Of the other three, Roger Waters is far and away the most entertaining (as those who have seen him perform "Every Stranger's Eyes" can attest, he can mime with palpable gusto) -- he almost blows the illusion a couple of times by looking like he's going to burst into laughter. I can't say I can blame the man as I spent the entire video laughing my ass off.

"See Emily Play" -- I feel the need to delouse after watching this. As colossally inane as "Arnold Layne" was winningly cute, this is perhaps the most painful to watch of any Pink Floyd film (even "It Would Be So Nice" comes off pretty well compared to this). For those not in the know, this is another clip of Pink Floyd Mk.II gallivanting around to the strains of Pink Floyd Mk I. Worse; they do it in a similar fashion as Journey's "Separate Ways" video, while also acting like ten year-olds who just overdosed on Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. Roger Waters seems to think his bass guitar is a Stinger missile launcher. Nick Mason air drums as if he were having a spastic episode, and his little dance during that harpsichordy-sounding middle bit makes me want to retch in embarrassment (not that the little dance at the end with all the guys twirling about while holding hands didn't). Lessee, what else? Oh yeah -- Roger also believes his bass is a Louisville slugger and he smacks an invisible pop-fly well into foul territory, but a fast-thinking Mason catches the errant invisible ball in his hat for the out. Semi-colon fucking D, people.

"A Saucerful Of Secrets (Live)" (Excerpts) -- No real live audio version is included here, just about a minute and change of various live shots from over the years set to the chaotic "Syncopated Pandemonium" section of the song. Some interesting/disturbing bits, like Rick Wright slowly removing with a rose in his mouth, ballet dancers twirling about while the Floyd's stage geysers smoke into the air, and Roger banging on a gong. Get used to the gong thing, by the way -- it's kind of a recurring motif over the rest of this collection.

"Let There Be More Light" (Edit) -- Irritatingly cut off, but kinda lame at the same time. All we have here is some footage shown on French TV of the band running around the tube station in slo-motion in a black-and-white "screen within your screen," if you will. Once safely on the train, the band breaks into some totally spontaneous and heartfelt-looking lip sync before making a break for the stairs. My, what a long staircase they have to climb.

"Flaming (Live)" -- Wheee! A slide whistle! That's about the only portion of this horrid-quality bit from French TV that I can speak of with fondness. The picture and sound are wobbly as fuck, which nearly induces seasickness by the time it's over. Through the sickening distortion, it looks like David Gilmour is finally starting to show some enthusiasm as last. Of course, something this murderous on the ears and eyes *has* to be a full version and not merely an excerpt. Huwarf.

"Let There Be More Light (Live)" and "Flaming (Live)" -- Both sourced from a 1968 ORTF TV live performance, in color, and in pretty watchable quality. There is something strange about the way these two clips were shot -- from the side and behind the band with only sporadic cuts to a frontal view. Barrett had been out of the band for five months when this was filmed, yet it strikes one as a bit odd that the oddly-dark haired Gilmour is hardly ever shown straight on from the front -- most of the footage instead concentrates on Waters and chapeau-wearing Mason, with Wright seen almost exclusively from the back. Is it just me or was someone trying to hide something?

"Astronomy Domine" -- Back to very fuzzy black and white with Dave Gilmour taking ever more confident lead vocals (as evidenced by the plenty of provided close-ups). After sitting through the previous god awful clips, it's a relief to see Pink Floyd finally beginning to head towards respectability in the visual department. It's also good to see some females showing up in these videos after the all the little boy shenanigans of the previous bits, though eventually these mystery ladies take over the entire focus of the film after the halfway point of the tune. BONUS -- we also get to see a close up shot of Roger Waters' teeth. Overall, this ain't too shabby considering what came before it, but the end result is still a little too cheesy for comfort.

"The Scarecrow" -- Stupid it may have been, the color film for this bit is a more interesting viewing experience than this black and white "performance" clip that was shot in a field where barley grows, I assume. Dave seems to mime lead vocals this time, while Roger listlessly taps on his bass with a stick, looking pretty forlorn. Thankfully incomplete.

"Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (Live)" (Excerpt) -- From Belgian TV, and starting in with a full-screen shot of Roger Waters' face just as he begins to sing the first verse, this version of "Set The Controls..." is a horrible tease to watch as we only get a piece of the song in comparatively pristine quality before it cuts off...

...and is instantaneously replaced by another version from the BBC, which is unfortunately inferior in quality to the previous clip thanks to the overly fucked-with "psychedelic" color scheme. It all could be a lot worse, I suppose -- the middle section has a kind of building windup to it that sounds either like a VCS-3 or an air-raid siren -- but coming after the beginning of the other bit, it feels like we missed the better of the two versions. Unfortunately cut off before it ends, god damn it.

"Point Me At The Sky" -- Oh dear. Was I just saying these guys were finally breaking out of their embarrassing phase? Actually, there is the germ of a good promo clip in here somewhere, but ah well, it's a wreck in the end. Looking like a very badly dubbed home movie, "Point Me At The Sky" features Rick Wright cracking up at some unheard joke and annoying a cat while sitting in a rocking chair. The camera swings along to the music just before the first chorus. How nice. We then see biplanes flying about, perhaps piloted by Nick Mason and Dave Gilmour, but who really knows or cares anyway? Oh yeah, Gilmour mimes breaking explosive wind in the rocking chair somewhere in the second verse. After the song is over, an offscreen audience actually breaks into applause. Fucking masochists.

"It Would Be So Nice" -- Hooray! The worst piece of shit Pink Floyd ever recorded had a fucking PROMO CLIP! It's black and white, shot tight in on the band (who actually appear to be enjoying themselves, the sick bastards), and mercifully cut off after first verse.

"Sysyphus (Live)" (Excerpt) -- Another very brief musical excerpt, this time set to a neat little visual collage that moves us out of the post-Barrett singles phase and into the spooky, pre-'Dark Side Of The Moon' section of Pink Floyd's career. Lots of news articles and concert posters flash on the screen as we follow the band's progress away from the charts and into the rock underground. My favorite part of this clip -- seeing the newspaper article titled "NO MORE SINGLES FOR PINK FLOYD." Yessssssss, my suffering is over!

"Atom Heart Mother (Live)" -- Heh, it figures ... our first taste of Pink Floyd finally becoming truly special is this god awful-quality endurance test. Constructed to give us a look at Pink Floyd "behind-the-scenes" as the band toured Japan in 1971, "Atom Heart Mother" is kind of like one of those ever popular 80s hair metal band "life on the road" videos 16 years before such things became hip. Even if the quality of this clip was first-rate (instead of somewhere between fourth and fifth), the footage of the band on some dinky little stage on a Japanese hillside is shot from too far away to really be of any interest, and the endless glimpses of the band arriving in a plane, walking through the airport and doing whatever it is they do afterwards are only marginally more entertaining. The highlights (if you have to ask) -- equipment labeled PINK FLOYD LONDON sits around importantly, the band's hair is blown about by the wind in suitably impressive fashion, Roger's then-wife makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo, and we are blessed with a full-screen shot of Gilmour chewing on his lower lip for about 10 seconds. Watch once to say that you have, then skip past it forever more.

"Cymbaline (Live)" -- Now *this* is more like it! Taken from the band's well-known KQED broadcast (which will be covered in it's entirety in the "Pre-'Dark Side Of The Moon' Years" post), "Cymbaline" is in excellent quality and comes as a wonderful surprise after the oppressively muffled marathon of boredom that precedes it. This performance is about as intimately documented as the band has ever allowed -- shot in close and tight, with lots of lingering views of what everybody is doing with their instruments. We also get some close-quarters looks at each member of the band, of course, and they all look exactly as you would expect (considering the time period) -- David Gilmour looks greasy and unkempt, clean-shaven Rick Wright is nearly hidden beneath waves of dark hair, Nick Mason seems to lurch about a bit while playing the drums with trademark bad posture, and Roger Waters strongly resembles an evil troll. The song itself is played pretty much the way it always was in those days, though the extended middle "sound effects" bit is thankfully excised. Remarkable.

"Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (Live)" (Edit) -- Starting off with numerous shots of people lighting off fireworks, holding on to sparklers, and hanging around what look like huge bonfires, this version of "Set The Controls..." from the Kralingen Pop Festival is, like "Cymbaline" before it, packed with close-in and intimate shots of the band -- only this time they are wound up to full whirling fury. Those accustomed to the band's rather reserved stage presence in recent decades will find much to gawk at here, particularly Roger Waters (now strikingly shorn and in a fittingly pink shirt) beating the living shit out of his pet gong, and Nick Mason flailing away at his drum kit with rarely-seen abandon. It's too bad the makers of 'Video Anthology Volume 1' couldn't throw on the entire version of this song, for this is one hell of a live clip.

"A Saucerful Of Secrets (Live)" (Edit) -- Another clip from Kralingen, and also another partial performance (all we are shown are the "Storm Signals" and "Celestial Voices" sections of the piece). Some soothing visuals are edited in around the music here (water flowing steadily by, for instance), which greatly enhances the remarkable stage footage. Really, the only visual blemishes to this clip are a few cutaway shots to the audience are very dark and indistinct (almost in the realm of old stock footage). Musically, David Gilmour wasn't in terribly great voice that evening, but his oddly tone-deaf sounding "ahhhh"'s can be easily ignored by watching Roger Waters egging on (or yelling at) Nick Mason as the song crashes to it's end.

"Careful With That Axe, Eugene" - A cobbling together of various bits of black-and-white footage from Australian TV circa 1971. This isn't a true performance clip, per se, and it's not terribly enthralling to sit through, either. Happily, it's also very brief.

"Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (Live)" -- A full performance this time, sourced from Peter Clifton's 1973 music documentary 'The Heart Of The Sun.' On it's own, this version of "Set The Controls" would take the cake for the best live clip on 'Video Anthology 1' if it weren't for the picture and sound quality (which is unfortunately fair at best). Memorable images include a look at David Gilmour in his beloved GILMOUR ACADEMY shirt, a flashing siren light glimpsed during the frantic midsection of the piece, some very cool silhouette shots of the individual band members with Mr. Flaming Gong in the background, plus some atmospheric footage of crashing waves, volcanoes boiling over, steam rising from vast fields of cooling lava, and tranquil, glistening ocean water. Almost magical.

"Careful With That Axe Eugene (Live)" -- Unrelentingly intense, and hands down the best live clip on the entire 'Video Anthology' series. "Careful With That Axe Eugene" is a full performance (though shorter than usual for the time) pulled from another Peter Clifton movie called 'Superstars In Concert,' and is as visually stunning in quality as the previous clip was disappointing. Most of "Eugene" is focused on Roger Waters (looking oddly handsome at that precise point in time) making all manner of bizarre noises with his mouth while smiling. Cah-reeepy. We also quickly ascertain that Waters is one of those gods amongst men who has figured out how to get his bass guitar to hold his cigarette while he plays or sings. Most interesting of all, "Eugene" shows us the meager beginnings of the classic Pink Floyd lighting/stage presentation, with the band now being evocatively lit in previously unseen hues of green, yellow, red, orange and blue. During Waters's climactic scream, towering twin pillars of smoke explode from behind the drum kit as the lights switch to brilliant bright red. If all of this weren't enough to accurately pinpoint the time period from whence this footage originates, then the VCS3 lurking near Rick's right shoulder should make it pretty clear -- welcome to 1972.

"Any Colour You Like (Live)" (Excerpt) -- Within seconds of starting to view this clip, my first reaction was joyous shock of actually seeing a piece of a professionally filmed 'Dark Side Of The Moon' performance. However, watching this for a few more seconds after that dampened my enthusiasm considerably. Taken from the same source as the previous clip, "Any Colour You Like" is a live version of the song set to a random assemblage of snips and scraps (many of which appear to be repeated from the previous video). Bastards. Anyway, a few unique shots at least make this worth watching -- we get a pan across the stage during a performance of one song or another, a shot of David Gilmour sheathed in blue light, boatloads of dry-ice smoke billowing everywhere, and shots of the 'Dark Side Of The Moon' album in close-up. Irritatingly, the clips start to repeat themselves after a minute before the song fades down and the end title screen pops up. I say again ... bastards.