Pink Floyd- The Dark Side of the Moon

Ah, what would a prog blog be without a mention of this one? Yes, yes, we have all heard of this album. Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973, a year many (myself included) consider the absolute peak of the progressive age. The Album sold like hotcakes, and the worldwide sales figure has exceeded over 30,000,000 units, making it in the top selling albums in history across the world. But what in this album has made it the most successful prog album of all time? Proficiency plus accessibility.

Dark Side culminates the growth and development of Pink Floyd since their foundation in 1965. Syd Barrett (Guitar/Vocals), Roger Waters (Bass/Vocals), Rick Wright (Keyboards/Vocals) and Nick Mason (Drums) organized as a psychedelic outfit, popular on London’s Underground scene. In 1967, the group released The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, a key album in British psychadelia but a total flop in America. Barrett was the group leader, but experiences with LSD and undiagnosed psychological disorders prompted the others to abandon him in 1968, replacing him with David Gilmour. Through the remainder of the 60’s, the group toyed with psychedelic expansion, and when Progressive Rock appeared, they turned to its freedom for expression. Dark Side was their 8th album, and all the individual songs segway directly into each other. Waters wrote all lyrics, while the entire band got involved with the composition.

The album begins with “Speak to Me”, a tape collage of all the sounds that the rest of the album uses (heartbeats, cash registers, clocks, screams, and more). Waters compiled it, but gave it to Mason as a gift for royalties. The song segways directly into “Breathe”, a sonic song with lush keyboard atmospheres. Lyrics deal with the subject of birth. This song is the most open and free on here. Afterward another electronic collage called “On The Run” comes in, combining speeded up synth waves, meticulous pressing of buttons in the studio, and more sound effects to make a transition a song in itself. One of the three longer, key pieces, “Time” (Seven Minutes) follows. Time is about, well, time, and how we regret all the missed opportunities in our old age. A montage of alarm bells starts of the song, and Gilmour showcases great guitar prowess here. The A side of the record closes with “The Great Gig In the Sky”, a slower piece consisting of Wright playing grand piano, and hired female vocalist Claire Tory wailing. An interesting end.

Side two takes off with the world famous “Money”, the biggest hit from Dark Side. In 7/4 time, this song has thumping bass, an amazing sax solo, killer guitar, and all around, is utterly fantastic. “Money” by far rocks the hardest on Dark Side of the Moon. The lyrics deal satirically with the issue of greed, praising the consumption of caviar and corruption for personal gain. Afterward, we are treated to “Us and Them”, a song about war. This has an open feel, contrasting with the hardness of “Money” that preceded it. The song bounces around as if in open air and also has another sax part. Afterwards, there is a segway into the instrumental “Any Colour You Like”, an instrumental that’s mostly just some prog rock elevator music (in a good way). After that comes “Brain Damage”, a song about insanity. The lyrics include the line “I’ll see you on the Dark Side of the Moon.” leading to misconception that this is the title. This song about lunatics bounces around, but not like prior songs. It seems more closed in. “Brain Damage” has less instrumental prowess than the rest of the album. Dark Side closes with the brief “Eclipse”, which takes a look at the worthiness of a human life. The album returns to the heartbeat that started “Speak to Me” and fades out. (Bonus! If you turn the volume way up about 25 seconds before the album ends, you can hear an orchestral version of The Beatles “Ticket to Ride” played, but only on CD, probably due to a mastering error.)

There are millions of interpretations of this album, and any Google search will produces lots of literature. Personally, I see the Album as social commentary on the choices we make during life and the way we handle them after the fact. Songs like “Money” and “Us and Them” talk about decisions, decisions to use money honestly or corruptly, what to do in war, or under pressure. Meanwhile “Breathe”, “Time”, and “Brain Damage” all handle what the effects of the choices we make has upon us (helplessness, regret, insanity). “Eclipse” speaks about what the true meaning of life is: everything we do in itself gives life meaning. Roger Waters himself, however, had in mind the concept of human nature and the mutual experiences of man.

This is not an essential prog album. It is an essential album. Dark Side of the Moon challenges listeners to really think and draw conclusions, all to a backdrop of sonic guitar, keyboards, and bass. Excellent in every way, Dark Side deserves a Grade of A+.