A Collection of Great Dance Songs

A Collection of Great Dance Songs
Greatest hits album by
Pink Floyd
Released23 November 1981 (1981-11-23)
RecordedJanuary–August 1971; January–July 1975; April–December 1976; April–November 1979; 1981
GenreProgressive rock
Length43:01
LabelHarvest
Producer
Pink Floyd chronology
The Wall
(1979) 		A Collection of Great Dance Songs
(1981) 		The Final Cut
(1983)
Pink Floyd compilation albums chronology
A Nice Pair
(1973) 		A Collection of Great Dance Songs
(1981) 		Works
(1983)
Singles from A Collection of Great Dance Songs
  1. "Money"
    Released: December 1981

A Collection of Great Dance Songs is a compilation album by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on 23 November 1981 in the United Kingdom by Harvest Records and in the United States by Columbia Records.

Content

The album contains alternative mixes of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (comprised parts 1, 2, 4 and 7) and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)".

"Money" was entirely re-recorded, as Capitol Records refused to license the track to Columbia/CBS Records. David Gilmour re-recorded the track himself, playing most of the instruments, and co-produced the song with James Guthrie. Dick Parry reprised his saxophone parts on the track.

Title and packaging

House in Dungeness, where the photo for the cover was allegedly taken[1].

The ironic title was a reference to the disco rhythms of "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)", as well as Nick Mason's joke that the band's U.S. label "probably thought they were a dance band".[2] The album art featured a photograph of ballroom dancers anchored to the ground so they cannot move. The inner sleeve had pictures of dancers on either a white (UK) or black (US) background.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Louder Sound6/10[6]
MusicHound Rock[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on 29 January 1982 and Platinum on 6 July 1989 and Double Platinum in August 2001. The album reached number 37 on the United Kingdom charts and number 31 in the United States. Columbia issued the remastered CD in 1997 in the US and most of the world save Europe. Then a 1997 remastered CD was re-released in 2000 on Capitol Records in the US and EMI for the rest of the world including Europe. The album was released once again in 2016 under the band's Pink Floyd Records imprint, distributed by Sony Music internationally and by Warner Music in Europe, and was released on LP as well as CD.

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), Robert Christgau said of the album: "With the rerecorded 'Money' sporting a livelier bottom to protect them from truth-in-titling and felonious injury charges, this gathers up their tuneful moments, which have always been far between – so far between, in fact, that even the unconverted may miss the ersatz symphonic structures in which they're properly embedded."[4] Rob Sheffield was less enthusiastic in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), writing that both this compilation and the next, 1983's Works, are "pointless 'hits' collections from a band that disdained hits".[8]

Track listing

Original LP

All tracks written or co-written by Roger Waters, co-writers listed below.

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."One of These Days"
Meddle5:50
2."Money" (Re-recorded in 1981 at New Roydonia Studios) The Dark Side of the Moon6:46
3."Sheep" Animals10:25
Total length:23:01
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (edit)
  • Gilmour
  • Wright
Wish You Were Here10:41
2."Wish You Were Here"
  • Gilmour
Wish You Were Here5:26
3."Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" (edit) The Wall3:53
Total length:20:00

8-track cartridge

Program 1
  1. "One of These Days"
  2. "Wish You Were Here"
Program 2
  1. "Sheep"
Program 3
  1. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (Edit)
Program 4
  1. "Money" (1981 re-recording)
  2. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" (Edit)

Personnel

Pink Floyd
  • Roger Waters – bass (except on "Money" and "Sheep"), lead vocals on "Sheep", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", and "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II", backing vocals, rhythm guitar on "Sheep"
  • Richard Wright – keyboards and synthesizers (except on "Money"), backing vocals
  • David Gilmour – lead and rhythm guitars, lead vocals on "Wish You Were Here", "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" and "Money", bass on "One of These Days", "Money" and "Sheep", keyboards on "Money", drums on "Money", backing vocals
  • Nick Mason – drums (except on "Money"), vocal phrase on "One of These Days"
Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly chart performance for A Collection of Great Dance Songs
Chart (1981–82) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] 14
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 18
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 22
French Albums (SNEP)[12] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 36
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[15] 24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[17] 5
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 37
US Billboard 200[19] 31

Certifications

Certifications and sales for A Collection of Great Dance Songs
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[20] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[21] Gold 25,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[22] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[24] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Alleged "Great Dance Songs" house sold, but misidentified". 25 March 2015.
  2. ^ Wawzenek, Bryan (23 November 2016). "How Pink Floyd's "Great Dance Songs" Became a Collector's Item". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. ^ Ruhlmann, William (2011). "A Collection of Great Dance Songs - Pink Floyd". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  4. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1990). "P". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  6. ^ Stubbs, David (6 December 2017). "Pink Floyd - A Collection Of Great Dance Songs/Delicate Sound... album review". Louder Sound. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  7. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 872. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  8. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (2 November 2004). "Pink Floyd: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media, Fireside Books. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0451". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Lescharts.com – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 30 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "A collection of great dance songs".
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  18. ^ "Pink Floyd | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Pink Floyd Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  20. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1992 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  22. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  23. ^ "British album certifications – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  24. ^ "American album certifications – Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 June 2016.