SurgRN911's Full Review: Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
OK everyone take the surprised look off of your faces, as you see what CD I am reviewing today. Actually it took me, quite a bit of time to be un-surprised myself. This is being done because I was challenged into it, gloated, and all but double dared, so I had to.
I must admit I do not, nor have I ever owned a record, CD, or tape by this artist. Fortunately for me, and I say fortunately, because I did not have to buy one. My challenger allowed me to borrow one of hers for this review, actually she picked this one out. So here goes nothing, for this type of music is way out of my league.
Pink Floyd - I thought it was one person, I never realized it was a band. Does this give you the chills about advancing any further? It does me.
1a. Speak To Me - written by, Mason
So far easy to describe, this tune opens with a heartbeat. Followed by voices talking, and laughing nothing I can grasp. Upon further investigation I find out this portion is an open mic just catching people chattering as they pass. Now I could do this, wonder if I'd stay on top of the charts so long? Hmmm I think we are now entering 1b. Ah this is where a joint might come in handy, but I'll settle for a Pepsi break.
1b. Breathe - written by, Waters/Gilmour/Wright
"Breathe, breathe in the air/Don't be afraid to care/Leave but don't leave me/Look around and choose your own ground/For long you live and high you fly/And smiles you'll give, and tears you'll cry/And all you touch, and all you see/Is all your life will ever be."
The above lyrics are haunting when I stop and really think about them. Indeed all we are is from experiences we have encountered. How could we be more or less, then what we have lived? If we never have been touched by or felt love, how do we know it? If we see hate all around us, and ape that behavior, all our life will ever be is hate. Therefore, we as a humane society need to do our part to teach, and show those who do not know kindness, empathy, or love, there is indeed another way. Make your touch count.
To be fair to this challenge I must describe what I hear in the music, how it makes me respond.
It starts out very mellow, guitars and drums, but a comforting feeling. It fits nicely with the lyrics, sad but hopeful. Noticeable synthesizers, and percussion in the middle of the song. A bit louder and a more frenzied sound but still tolerable, because the hope remains.
2. On The Run - written by, Gilmour/Waters
I get the feeling of flashing lights, at a train station. There is also a part early on here that sounds like the noise an ice skater makes on a new ice. Muffled sounds of running that grow louder as they draw closer. An annoying part where it sounds like the record is skipping playing the same beat over and over. I hear engines revving, and what sounds like a helicopter with laughing in the background. Finally what sounds like a crash as the song ends. Perhaps this is the death of the person who never gave love, or the one that wasted the talents that had been given to them. The one that was always on the run. (No lyrics)
3. Time - written by, Mason/Waters/Wright/Gilmour
This song opens with ringing bells and a lot of them. Different pitches, altered levels. It also has the sound of those old time balls on a string as they hit the paddle. I also notice an almost cowboy show tune, to me there is a part that just sounds like the Bonanza theme.
"Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time/Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines/Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way/The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say."
This song has a good message. Don't waste your time, there won't always be a tomorrow.
4. The Great Gig In The Sky - written by, Wright
I like the opening, soft keyboard sound, enter guitars and a mellow soothing sound, which does not last too long let me assure you. From this mellow sound you go into, loud and faster music. A very painful screeching follows, that makes me think of someone in agony, someone who has seen the fires of hell. Once again the music softens, as if an eternity of damnation has been removed and revoked.
The vocal (if you want to call it that) has a more peaceful sound, yet traces of yearning can still be felt. I wonder just what that yearning is for. More time, lost souls, or a gratitude that has been bestowed? The title of this song I guess would have most imagining a BIG party in the sky. I kind of get this, but only after redemption, an eye opening event. Guess this is what makes music so unique we all see/hear it in a different way. A few lyrics can be heard in this number, they are spoken and difficult to understand. Done in that speaking scat style, I could only manage one line.
" I never said I was frightened of dying."
5. Money - written by, Waters
How quaint, an opening with the sounds of a cash register. Bass guitars, keyboards, and percussion. The music is rather repetitive throughout this song, it just gets louder and deeper. There is a nice sounding sax in the middle of this song, that I like quite well.
As for the lyrics and theme I don't care for them. All about money. In one line it says "Money so they say, is the root of all evil today." In truth it is the love of money, now perhaps that would not have poetically fit but it's not just money, it's when we make it more important our top goal, that it becomes a problem. Too each his/her own, I just don't like this song.
6. Us And Them - written by, Waters/Wright
Musical opening very pleasant. Nice keyboard and soft guitar sounds. A few bars in, comes that wonderful sounding sax, so soulful and insightful. The music remains pretty constant throughout this song. It has a few louder peaks but all in all I did enjoy it.
The lyrics at times are echoed, and I guess a fitting song for the times we are currently in. It's about WAR and I have to admit my mind drifts to my younger brother who as a Special Force member is far away from home right now.
"Us, and them/And after all we're only ordinary men/Me, and you/God only knows/It's not what we would choose to do/Forward he cried from the rear/And the front rank died."
Please keep all our troops on home and foreign soil in your thoughts, and prayers, for they are allowing us to remain safe and free, at the sake of their own safety and freedom.
7. Any Colour You Like (No Lyrics) written by,
Gilmour/Mason/Wright
This song presents with tape effects, strong synthesizer, and a wonderful keyboard sound. It is soft and appealing. Just when you get your head into the music it changes to a harsher sound, increased tempo, yet the soft side can still be heard. For sure this is a tune for a pondering mind. You can be, or go anywhere you wish, as you listen to this musical master piece. A very abrupt ending.
8. Brain Damage - written by, Waters
One stanza in particular fascinated me in this song, please allow me to share.
"And if the cloud bursts/Thunder in your ear/You shout and no one seems to hear/And if the band you're in/Starts playing different tunes/I'll see you on the dark side of the moon."
The words in this song, lean towards a mental breakdown of some sort, at least as you listen initially. However, after studying them further, I find it a song of diversity. If we don't act, and say things others can accept as "the norm" we are often labeled different, crazy, egocentric, or weird. Thus why I choose the above stanza. The band playing is your mind, and if no one hears, sees, or acknowledges your uniqueness, you'll be on the dark side of the moon. Alone in your sanity and your reality, because people are afraid of what they don't know.
The music opens with a single guitar and the distant sound of a cymbal. I'm sure the eerie feeling derived from the music was intentional. The music has portions where it escalates loud and creepy. A cynical laugh can be heard at different times, with that same moaning sound as found in "The Great Gig In The Sky" I enjoyed the music portion, except for that moaning.
9. Eclipse - written by, Waters
Louder beginning than some of the other tunes. It is done in a list type poetry, which I actually find very interesting. The last lines in this song pretty well sums it up.
"And everything under the sun/Is in tune/But the sun is eclipsed/by the moon."
Thus making the moon all dark, in which case has us all on the dark side of the moon.
As the heartbeat began this CD so too does it end it. Very well orchestrated, life begins with a beating of the heart, and so too when it ceases, so does life.
Susi thanks for the challenge. I have to admit that Pink fella ain't as bad, as I had thought. Some of the tunes I actually liked, once I could get the lyrics down. In fairness though some of that music was awful (smile). However, I learned a lot by taking that walk on the dark side of the moon. Yet, I have to confess I took an every ready charged flashlight with me.
I have learned a little of the diversity I spoke of earlier. I gave this CD a shot. I listened and played it over and over, and I have to say it is brilliant. The lyrics are phenomenal, and for the most part the music enjoyable. I will now take a large slice of that, humble pie, hold the whip cream.
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