Why 'A Collection of Great Dance Songs' Left Pink Floyd Fans Cold

In 1981, Pink Floyd released A Collection of Great Dance Songs, a compilation that annoyed fans more than it pleased. The title itself felt like a joke — Pink Floyd had never made dance music. But the real frustration came from the absence of any new material. After the success of The Wall and the departure of Roger Waters looming, fans were hungry for fresh work, not a repackaged greatest hits with a bizarrely mismatched title.

The album only included three tracks from The Dark Side of the Moon, none from Wish You Were Here, and a re-recorded version of “Money” that David Gilmour handled mostly alone because of legal disputes. That re-recording, which stripped away the original sax solos and sound effects, felt unnecessary and cheap. For a band that prided itself on conceptual depth, this compilation seemed like a quick cash grab with no new artistic statement, and it remains one of the worst-reviewed entries in their catalog.