(10) Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)

"The Dark Side Of The Moon" is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founding member, principal composer and lyricist, Syd Barrett. The Dark Side of the Moon's themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state.

The suite was developed during live performances and was premiered several months before studio recording began. The new material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London. The group used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time, including multitrack recording and tape loops. Analogue synthesisers were given prominence in several tracks, and a series of recorded interviews with the band's road crew and others provided the philosophical quotations used throughout. Engineer Alan Parsons was directly responsible for some of the most notable sonic aspects of the album, and the recruitment of non-lexical performer Clare Torry. The album's iconic sleeve features a prism that represents the band's stage lighting, the record's lyrical themes, and keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.

By condensing the sonic explorations of "Meddle" to actual songs and adding a lush, immaculate production to their trippiest instrumental sections, Pink Floyd inadvertently designed their commercial breakthrough with "Dark Side of the Moon". The primary revelation of "Dark Side of the Moon" is what a little focus does for the band. Roger Waters wrote a series of songs about mundane, everyday details which aren't that impressive by themselves, but when given the sonic backdrop of Floyd's slow, atmospheric soundscapes and carefully placed sound effects, they achieve an emotional resonance. But what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music, which evolves from ponderous, neo-psychedelic art rock to jazz fusion and blues-rock before turning back to psychedelia. It's dense with detail, but leisurely paced, creating its own dark, haunting world.

Track listing

01.  Speak to Me  (Mason)  - 1:07

02.  Breathe (In the Air)  (Gilmour, Waters, Wright)  - 2:49

03.  On the Run  (Gilmour, Waters)  - 3:45

04.  Time  (Gilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright)  - 6:53

05.  The Great Gig in the Sky  (Torry, Wright)  - 4:44

06.  Money  (Waters)  - 6:23

07.  Us and Them  (Waters, Wright)  - 7:49

08.  Any Colour You Like  (Gilmour, Mason, Wright)  - 3:26

09.  Brain Damage  (Waters)  - 3:46

10.  Eclipse  (Waters)  - 2:12

Released:  1 March 1973

Recorded:  at

Abbey Road

Studios, London

Genre:  Progressive Rock

Length:  42:59

Label:  Harvest

Producer:  Pink Floyd

Engineering:  Alan Parsons

Personnel

David Gilmour - vocals, guitar, synthesisers

Nick Mason - percussion, tape effects

Roger Waters - bass guitar, vocals, synthesisers, tape effects

Richard Wright - keyboards, vocals, synthesisers

Dick Parry - saxophone on "Money" and "Us and Them"

Clare Torry, Lesley Duncan, Barry St. John, Liza Strike, Doris Troy - background vocals