The band had been performing elements of "The Dark Side of the Moon" for about a year before finally hitting the recording studio at Abbey Road Studios in London. Especially in this case it helped to sharpen their skills and fine tune their collection of songs which would end up being the story of this album.
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| One of the greatest album covers of all time. |
Before I begin this look at DSOTM this is a great time to suggest that in my observations good music is timeless. When I sat down to listen to this particular album all the years between 1972 and today were washed away. Now my graying hair did not return to the vibrant black it used to be but that did not change the fact that the music, lyric and scope are just as meaningful and compelling today as the day it was written.
One last note before I move on. This particular album by itself sold millions of stereo hi-if systems in the 1970's. The engineering which was handled by the band and Alan Parsons is perfect and took stereo sound to levels never achieved before. The sound of this album is pure magic.
Ok onto the music. What remains so compelling here besides the amazing music is the story it tells. The album is basically about living in very stress filled times, full of pressures, dangers, fleeting time, sanity and death.
Each side of the album is a continuous piece of music. The five tracks on each side reflect various stages of human life, beginning and ending with a heartbeat, exploring the nature of the human experience, and (according to Waters) "empathy".
Side One
The album opens with Nick Mason's short intro "Speak To Me" which includes many of the sound effects yet to come plus the beating heart of a baby. The sound then transitions into the simply peaceful and soothing "Breathe". Gilmour's vocals are innocent capturing life just beginning. An instrumental is next titled, "On the Run" and the sounds of an airport and our main character running in order not to be late for the plane. The pressures of travel are captured in this song. The following song, "Time" is the only one on the album written by all four band members and it is excellent. The producer, Alan Parsons decided to start the song with the recording of clocks from an antique clock store. The message here is a very relevant message to us as we all grow older, with time seeming to slip away out of our control. What is also amazing is that Roger Waters felt this way at the grand old age of 29!
Side one finishes up with Richard Wright's "The Great Gig In The Sky". This one in particular is one that the band had been working on for at least a year, under several different titles. The song originally was tried with radio traffic from the crew of Apollo 17 but that was scrapped at the last minute and replaced by the amazing vocal talent of Clare Torry.
Side Two
Side two gets things started with a Roger Waters song, "Money" sung by David Gilmour. Once again sound effects are used with cashiers opening and closing to start the song. This song talks about how money controls everyone. The following song is probably my favorite on the album, "Us And Them". Here you have a song where the music was written by Richard Wright and Waters penning the lyrics. David Gilmour handles the vocals. This is also the longest song on the album at 7+ minutes and has two great sax solos. The narrative here is the stress of war and ends with our character surviving (war) only to end up struggling with the monotony of entering the workforce.
"Any Colour You Like" is a short instrumental and perhaps the only filler here although it leads perfectly into Roger Waters' "Brain Damage". This song touches on mental illness and the insanity that can effect us because of the pressures and stress of living. I am sure Syd Barrett was on his mind when writing this one. The album is complete with "Eclipse" and ends with a very quiet outro and the same heartbeat the album started out with.
The pacing of this album along with the high tech sound creation with the help of Alan Parsons cannot be disputed. The success of this album can be proven by the fact that it remained on the billboard charts from 1973 until 1988. That is a record 741 weeks. The Dark Side of the Moon is one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums among fans and critics, and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Each side of the album is a continuous piece of music. The five tracks on each side reflect various stages of human life, beginning and ending with a heartbeat, exploring the nature of the human experience, and (according to Waters) "empathy".
Side One
The album opens with Nick Mason's short intro "Speak To Me" which includes many of the sound effects yet to come plus the beating heart of a baby. The sound then transitions into the simply peaceful and soothing "Breathe". Gilmour's vocals are innocent capturing life just beginning. An instrumental is next titled, "On the Run" and the sounds of an airport and our main character running in order not to be late for the plane. The pressures of travel are captured in this song. The following song, "Time" is the only one on the album written by all four band members and it is excellent. The producer, Alan Parsons decided to start the song with the recording of clocks from an antique clock store. The message here is a very relevant message to us as we all grow older, with time seeming to slip away out of our control. What is also amazing is that Roger Waters felt this way at the grand old age of 29!
Side one finishes up with Richard Wright's "The Great Gig In The Sky". This one in particular is one that the band had been working on for at least a year, under several different titles. The song originally was tried with radio traffic from the crew of Apollo 17 but that was scrapped at the last minute and replaced by the amazing vocal talent of Clare Torry.
Side Two
Side two gets things started with a Roger Waters song, "Money" sung by David Gilmour. Once again sound effects are used with cashiers opening and closing to start the song. This song talks about how money controls everyone. The following song is probably my favorite on the album, "Us And Them". Here you have a song where the music was written by Richard Wright and Waters penning the lyrics. David Gilmour handles the vocals. This is also the longest song on the album at 7+ minutes and has two great sax solos. The narrative here is the stress of war and ends with our character surviving (war) only to end up struggling with the monotony of entering the workforce.
"Any Colour You Like" is a short instrumental and perhaps the only filler here although it leads perfectly into Roger Waters' "Brain Damage". This song touches on mental illness and the insanity that can effect us because of the pressures and stress of living. I am sure Syd Barrett was on his mind when writing this one. The album is complete with "Eclipse" and ends with a very quiet outro and the same heartbeat the album started out with.
The pacing of this album along with the high tech sound creation with the help of Alan Parsons cannot be disputed. The success of this album can be proven by the fact that it remained on the billboard charts from 1973 until 1988. That is a record 741 weeks. The Dark Side of the Moon is one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums among fans and critics, and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time.
In 1994 Pink Floyd performed the entire DSOTM album live all over the world. Here you can see it from 2 angles.
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