Relics (Remastered) - Pink Floyd

Compact Disc - Toshiba-EMI Records - TOCP-65556.

1996 - Japan - Reissue 2000.

Design: Storm Thorgerson, Jon Crossland.

Photography: Tony May.

Ship building: Models Solutions.

From an original drawning by Nick Mason.

Back cover

Disc

Booklet

Booklet

Booklet

Booklet

Booklet

Booklet

Booklet

Booklet

Insert

Insert

CD matrix

Pink Floyd

David Gilmour, Syd Barrett

Nick Mason, Roger Waters & Richard Wright

   About the artist and the album:

Pink Floyd is one of the most influential rock bands in history, formed in London in 1965. Initially part of the psychedelic underground scene, they gained attention with their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), largely driven by Barrett’s whimsical and surreal songwriting, they revolutionized music with concept albums that blended experimental soundscapes, philosophical lyrics, and striking visuals. The band’s classic lineup included Barrett, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason. Their work spans genres like art rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and even symphonic rock.

Some of their most iconic albums include The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979). These records not only achieved massive commercial success but also left a lasting cultural impact, influencing countless artists and shaping the sound of modern rock. Their live performances became legendary for elaborate light shows and immersive atmospheres.

Their music often explores themes of alienation, war, mental health, and societal critique. Songs like “Comfortably Numb,” “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” and “Another Brick in the Wall” remain timeless classics. Even decades after their peak, Pink Floyd continues to resonate with new generations of listeners.

Relics (subtitled A Bizarre Collection of Antiques & Curios), released in May 1971, is a highly significant compilation album by Pink Floyd. It was put together by EMI to satisfy market demand while the band was taking their time in the studio recording Meddle. Far from being just a standard "greatest hits" package, Relics serves as an essential bridge documenting the band's rapid evolution from whimsical 1960s psychedelia to heavy, experimental space rock.

The original cover of the 1971 vinyl record was not designed by the iconic Hipgnosis studio, but by the band's own drummer Nick Mason, who had studied architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic, drew the original cover himself. It features a whimsical, highly detailed black-and-white line drawing of a bizarre, imaginary mechanical contraption that elements of a ship, a submarine, and a massive pipe organ.

For the 1996 remastered CD reissue, designer Storm Thorgerson decided to bring Mason's concept into three-dimensional reality. He commissioned a workshop to build an actual, massive three-dimensional sculpture based precisely on the 1971 sketch. The sculpture was then photographed against a deep blue background to create a stunningly surreal new cover.