a-l-b's Full Review: The The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
This is the album that needs no introduction, British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's classic 1973 album Dark Side Of The Moon. During this period in the band's history, Roger Waters had essentially assumed control of the band as far as lyrics and general ideas went. However, the rest of the band was also gaining control in their own respects, if that makes any sense at all. For example, guitarist David Gilmour became the lead vocalist on this album, which many think was a good decision since his voice is arguably far superior to that of Waters. In any case, the band set out to make an album about fear, insanity, confusion, and even death.
We start off the album with a track that is actually combination of two songs. Actually, to be fair, "Speak To Me" is not necessarily a song itself, but rather a short intro to the real first song, "Breathe". Its odd instrumentals and surrealistic atmosphere set up the rest of the album. Also, many of the sound effects in the background foreshadow the later songs on the album. I'm still not sure exactly what the song is about, but it may be telling listeners to just chill out and "breathe in the air" once in a while instead of going about their pointless daily routines all the time.
The next track is an electronic instrumental titled "On The Run". This song contains a lot of interesting sounds that I can't really place. Some of the electronic sounds in this song range from sounding like the blades of a helicopter to just being spacey background noises. And let's not forget the constant laughter in the background and the crash that ends the song (created by Gilmour's guitar). After said crash, we hear a man running, signifying that the song is over.
After that, we have the first true masterpiece on this album, "Time". This was one of the singles from the album, and for good reason. This song is over seven minutes long, which is not very long nowadays but was undoubtedly unconventional for the length of a single at the time. The first two and a half minutes of the song are an intro with the sound of clocks getting louder and louder, with a loud, ominous noise building up to the start of the actual singing part. This is probably my personal favorite song on the album. Just look at the lyrics:
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
It doesn't take Einstein's intelligence to figure out that this song is about not wasting time, because it will eventually run out. When it does, you will regret not spending said time on something more valuable. At the end of this song, there is a second part called "Breathe (Reprise)". Unlike the "Speak To Me/Breathe" combination, this is simply considered part of "Time", evidenced by the fact that the band itself recognizes it as such in concert. In any case, it is merely a short verse with the same music from "Breathe", and the transition from "Time" to "Breathe (Reprise)" is so smooth that they should always be considered one song.
Next up is a song called "The Great Gig In The Sky". This song is very interesting due to the fact that it is the only song on the album credited only to keyboardist Richard Wright. Another thing that makes this song very interesting is the fact that it has a beautiful vocal from a female singer named Clare Torry, only there are no actual lyrics. Confused? Fans of this album will know what I'm talking about. See, instead of singing actual words, Torry kind of wails. The reason she was not asked to sing words is because the wailing is supposed to represent fear of death. This song is yet another brilliant moment from the group, and is executed perfectly.
The big single from this album that everybody most likely knows is undoubtedly "Money". The title is self-explanatory, as this brilliant song is about greed and how many people who have money treat it like some godlike material and blow it all on material things. The lyrics speak for themselves, particularly the second verse:
Money, get back
I'm alright, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack
Money, it's a hit
Don't give me that do goody good bullshit
I'm in the hi-fidelity first class travelling set
And I think I need a Lear jet
After this great single comes a song called "Us And Them". Gilmour (by way of Waters's lyrical talent) tells a story of one group against another. Since the "us" in the song is described by the line "And after all, we're only ordinary men," it is most likely meant to be the working class, while the "them" is clearly a giant force like the government. The song is very unique due to the fact that it is slow and jazzy during the verses, but very loud and epic (with a chorus of background singers) during the chorus. At seven minutes and 48 seconds, this is the longest song on the album.
Next up is a synthesizer-produced instrumental called "Any Colour You Like". This song has a very cool sound to it, and goes along with the rest of the album. This song, while it may be an instrumental, is not filler and is in fact very creative. The guitar and keyboard sounds, when fed through the synthesizer, produce a very beautiful sound that makes this track great. (Plus, if you skip any track on this album, you need to go jump in a lake.)
After this comes another familiar song, "Brain Damage". Although many do know the proper name for this song, it has often been referred to as "Dark Side Of The Moon" due to the chorus. This song is about insanity, referring to former band member Syd Barrett's horrible state of mental health (the reason for his firing in the first place). Roger Waters sings in harmony with Gilmour on this track. The lyrics on this one are pretty straightforward, particularly in the following verse:
The lunatic is in my head
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me till I'm sane
You lock the door
And throw away the key
There's someone in my head but it's not me
This song is often combined with the next one when played on the radio. That brings us to the last track of the album, "Eclipse", also sung by Waters and Gilmour in harmony. This song is written in a very strange format, as every line starts off with "All (that) you...", and none of them rhyme, until the final lines of "And everything under the sun is in tune/ But the sun is eclipsed by the moon". These are the final lyrics of the album, followed by some sound effects, until it finally fades into nothingness.
This album's brilliance cannot simply be described in a written review, it must be heard for you to truly get what it is all about. If you're looking to get into Pink Floyd and you need to purchase one album, Dark Side Of The Moon is the only option. Pick it up today (it's only about $10 at FYE, where they normally rip you off); you'll be glad you did.
In March of 1973, Pink Floyd released one of the most successful albums of their music career and in music history. The most noted tracks on this albu...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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