Pink Floyd’s Masterpiece Among Masterpieces: Wish You Were Here 50th Anniversary Edition (2CD)

Half a century after the original release (September 12, 1975), Pink Floyd presents the 50th Anniversary Edition of their defining album, Wish You Were Here.
This 2CD set includes the original album (5 tracks) plus 9 studio rarities as bonus tracks (6 of which are completely unreleased).

To commemorate the album release announcement, the previously unreleased early demo of “Welcome to the Machine” – originally titled “The Machine Song” – has also been unveiled.

Though more compact compared to the grand scale of the final track, “The Machine Song (Demo #2, Revisited)” serves as a tantalizing prologue to what awaits on the ‘Wish You Were Here (50th Anniversary Edition)’. Furthermore, this release includes Roger Waters’ original home demo of “The Machine Song (Roger’s demo)”, an unreleased instrumental mix of “Wish You Were Here” featuring David Gilmour’s pedal steel guitar, and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1–9)”—presented here for the first time as a single continuous track, reuniting the version originally split across the album’s A and B sides. This new complete edition has been revived with a new stereo mix by James Guthrie, allowing listeners to experience the band’s creative vision from a new angle.

“The Wall” is a monumental work in rock history that has remained on “best albums of all time” lists for half a century. It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, debuted at number one in both the UK and US, and reached number eight on the Oricon charts in Japan, where it was a huge hit, second only to “The Dark Side of the Moon” in popularity. It was a huge hit in Japan, reaching number 8 on the Oricon charts, and is the second most popular album in Japan after “The Dark Side of the Moon”. It includes the requiem for Syd Barrett, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”; the hypnotic sonic beauty of “Welcome To The Machine”; the scathing satire “Have a Cigar”, which immortalized the line “By the way, which one is Pink?” (It is also part of the legend that the vocals were performed not by Waters or Gilmour, but by Roy Harper, an artist outside the band). Furthermore, Pink Floyd’s ninth album, Wish You Were Here, which included the title track that has become an eternal standard, is undoubtedly a masterpiece among masterpieces that marked a decisive moment in the history of popular music.

The themes of “absence,” “isolation,” “impermanence,” and criticism of insincerity in the music business are embodied in the album’s iconic artwork. The visual double meanings created by Hipgnosis, led by Storm Thorgerson and Aubry “Poe” Powell, sparked the imagination the moment they were seen and are still talked about today as a magnificent design that fused rock and art.

Aubry “Poe” Powell of Hipgnosis looks back on this era:
“In the 1970s, album covers were as important as the music itself. The cover influenced record sales. Record stores had as many as 10,000 different sleeves on display at a time, which is why our work had to stand out from the crowd and catch the eye.

I remember asking Storm (Torgerson), ‘How do you set a man on fire? ’ There was no digital processing back then. He replied, ‘Poe, you just have to do it. ’ And that was that.

It’s important to remember that at that time, among the artists signed to EMI and Capitol, the only ones who had complete creative control over their album covers were The Beatles and Pink Floyd. That’s why we could do whatever we wanted freely. It was truly wonderful. Just as Floyd was an innovative band back then, Hipgnosis also strove to remain inventive. We were determined to uphold that abstract, enigmatic imagery, and that’s precisely why we could make it happen for Pink Floyd.”

Even in 2025, the passionate support and relentless exploration surrounding Pink Floyd’s music shows no sign of waning. The groundbreaking 1972 live film ‘Pink Floyd at Pompeii’ returned to screens in a newly restored version, sweeping cinemas worldwide. The simultaneously released live album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, marking a historic achievement for Floyd: their first UK number one in 11 years and their seventh overall. It received high praise from critics and audiences alike, with The Guardian calling it “a mesmerizing and strange portrait of a band on the cusp of greatness.” Fifty years after its release, ‘The Wall’ continues to resonate powerfully, showing no signs of fading. If anything, its impact has grown more vivid, proving itself a timeless work. This 50th anniversary edition sheds new light on this album, a major turning point in Pink Floyd’s journey, serving as a valuable key to exploring its depth.

Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 0.76 x 12.19 cm; 68.04 g
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ SONY LEGACY
EAN ‏ : ‎ 0198028767224
Manufacturer Reference: 0198028767224
Original Release Date: 2025
Label: SONY LEGACY
ASIN: B0FPLSM2JQ
Country of Origin: Italy
Number of Discs: 2