cripper's Full Review: Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
At the beginning of 1973, Pink Floyd were still a relatively unknown band trying to be successful as musicians. Sure, you might argue that albums like Meddle, Pipers at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets had already put Pink Floyd on the music map, but it is true to say that by 1973, they did not have the impact that other bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Who did. As a result, many people did not initially find anything special about the album, Dark Side of the Moon, which came out in 1973. No one could have predicted (with the possible exception of the band) that this album would become the album that would stay in the Billboard Top list for 741 weeks (that’s about 14 years!) or could have thought that this album would be considered by many, not only to be Pink Floyd’s best album, but perhaps the best album that has ever been written.
It is easy to believe that, yes, this is simply the best album ever made. This could be due to the musicianship from the band. Or it could be Roger Waters’ ability as a songwriter. It could be the album’s sheer originality. It could be the guitar solos from David Gilmour. Hell, it could even be the amazing atmosphere they manage to create with all their songs. Could be the special effects. God knows what it is! There is something about this album, which makes it click and separates itself from other musical publications.
The band is made up of Roger Waters as their bassist, David Gilmour as their guitarist, Richard Wright as their keyboardist (no, he’s not the backup musician from the British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway) and Nick Mason on the drums. Gilmour, Wright and Waters take turns on the vocals, but combine their talents together and you got yourself a musical powerhouse here!
You can immediately tell that this album is different as soon as you start listening to it. The first part of the first track, Speak to Me, is basically a montage of people’s voices and their views on insanity, which come after the sound of a heart beating, increasing in its dynamics. The band blends these different voices together with other sound effects that are used later in the album. All these sounds clash together, and soon a scream comes from above all the noise that is created from the voices and sound effects, which breaks right into the serene bass line that starts Breathe (which is still part of the first track of the CD I purchased). The bass line, along with the keyboard, creates the peaceful atmosphere to the song. Gilmour’s guitar is used infrequently in the song, and is only there for the occasional high note, while Mason’s drums are used to provide a solid rhythm throughout the song. The song’s lyrics are extremely thought-provoking, and it basically leaves you thinking about life and the decisions you have made, which have enabled you to “choose your own ground”. This song, with its tranquil nature, is a perfect way to begin the album.
After this nice beginning, we move onto a fast-paced composition called On the Run, which is dominated by Richard Wright’s keyboards. As the song progresses, you feel the song moving faster and faster, despite the fact it is not moving quicker at all. All the sound effects used in the song make it seem like this song is about fast moving vehicles, and as the piece gets increasingly louder and seemingly faster, we hear a big “crash”, and we are left to hear the aftermath of the crash. This will lead into Time, which is perhaps the best song from this album.
Time starts off with alarm clocks and bells ringing out loud, and it surprises you after you have been left listening to the result of the crash from the previous track. Soon after the clocks die down, Mason comes in with a rhythm on the bongos and the syncopated feel allows Gilmour and Waters to build up right into the first verse of the song, in which Mason starts with the drums and Wright comes in with the keyboards. This song probably has one of the nicest guitar solos ever from Gilmour, and the delay/distorted effect he uses is more than suitable for this song. Gilmour’s high-pitch bends are so immense, and this is what Gilmour would become famous for. The song’s lyrics, which are sung with a sense of alarm by Gilmour, are about how important time is, and why we should not waste it. Again, it leaves you thinking and it leaves you amazed (mouth-wide-open) on how Waters (the bassist) can come up with something so intelligent (well, it probably is true that the drugs helped, but still; other bands used drugs and haven’t come up with anything close to this!). The song eventually leads back into Breathe (Reprise), which is basically a conclusion to the first song, and still has that serene atmosphere from the first track and the lovely bass line that was used.
At this point, you are thinking, “this is as good as it can bloody get!” But, right after you think you heard enough, you soon hear the chords silently echoing out of Richard Wright’s piano, which starts off Great Gig in the Sky. The chords are so wonderfully played that the slide guitar and bass that comes in soon after the intro can put you right in a peaceful state of consciousness. There are more views on insanity, and soon, the drums come in with soprano Clare Torry scat-singing throughout the song (she is a backup musician). Torry’s voice is amazing! She sings this song with a lot of feeling, and despite the fact she seems to be screaming out of insanity, there is some kind of magnetism to her voice, which attracts you to listen to this song and puts you at peace. The complex bass and drum parts blend in perfectly with the simple piano part, and add Torry’s lovely soprano part to the song, and you got yourself a masterpiece.
Money comes next, and this song talks about how money makes us greedy, selfish and basically, how it breeds evil. The song starts off with a powerful, pulsating bass line that is, essentially, the melody of the song. Throughout most of the song, it is just the bass, occasional keyboard part and the drums that are used throughout the verses and chorus. However, we soon break into a rich-sounding saxophone solo (no pun intended; hehe, clichéd phrase I know) from Dick Parry. The flutter-tonguing used throughout the solo creates this majestic feel to the solo, and the richness of the solo is reached by sustained notes and pitch bends. This soon breaks into a Gilmour special. This long solo, although all over the place at times, is a phenomenal solo, which showcases Gilmour’s ability. He uses the whole fretboard, but does this effectively by using lower pitch notes during the quieter parts of the solo and the effective high-pitch bends during the dynamically louder parts of the solo. This song, despite what many other people think, is one of the better songs on the album, and I feel Floyd were successful in creating the song’s luxuriant atmosphere, and again, superb lyrics from Waters plus the use of effective sound effect from various monetary devices.
Initially, I did not like the next track on the album, Us and Them, because of its extremely peaceful nature, despite the lyrics of the song (the songs are about how people fight in war and how they are no different from one another). However, I was able to appreciate how well the song was put together after listening to the song a few more times. The saxophone solo, along with Richard Wright’s introductory keyboard solo, creates the song’s relaxing (sorry to use such limited vocabulary throughout a review, but the album is quite tranquil and peaceful all the way through!) atmosphere. Not much else to say, apart from the fact that Gilmour’s voice is powerful and in retrospect, fits perfectly with the theme of the song.
The next song, Any Colour You Like, despite not being one of Floyd’s bigger songs, is a masterpiece in my opinion. Richard Wright’s keyboard work here is amazing, as is Gilmour’s guitar work and these are the backbone to this instrumental. The keyboard solo fills up the beginning part of the song, and Wright uses the whole keyboard in this song and the solo is played so coherently and beautifully, despite the fact that it is played at quite a fast rate. This creates the song’s uneven atmosphere, which is added even more by the guitar’s loud dynamics, which contrast with the keyboard solo. The uneven yet soothing nature of the song prepares for the album’s climax.
However, before this climax can be reached there is the song, Brain Damage. This song is about insanity, and personally, this is not one of my favorites on the album. The guitar work is good though, with Gilmour filling up the spaces in the verses and starting off with the intro. Gilmour creates very strange high-pitched noises on the guitar, which is used to represent the insanity of the song, and this is reached even more so, when the laughter from Speak to Me comes back in. The other instruments do not really have a big role in this song, and it is Gilmour yet again, who steals the spotlight with this song.
However, the last song starts off superbly with Richard Wright’s keyboard solo, and the way he manages to create the song’s fast and loud style contrasts greatly from the last song, and the change is done so subtlely that you hardly notice that you have moved onto the next track. The guitar is present in this song, as is the rhythmical presence of the drums and bass, and since the presence of all the instruments can be felt, you can feel the album reaching its climax. This is helped even more by the lyrics, which sum up the whole album, and at this point, you think, “WOW! Everything is clicking now! The song ends with the heartbeat that is used at the beginning of the album.
What else can I say? This is the ultimate music experience! Great lyrics. Solid drumming. Powerful bass lines. Phenomenal keyboard work. Stunning guitar work. Excellent musicianship. Sheer originality. I can’t sum it up in this review! I hope that from this review, you can see why this album is considered to be the best album ever made! Trust me, do yourself a favor and go buy this album as soon as possible! I may like the album after this better (Wish You Were Here), but it cannot be disputed that this is quite simply one of the best albums ever!
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