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Submission courtesy of dorio
Band: Pink Floyd
Album: Dark Side Of The Moon
First release march 24 1973 * reedition CD august 1984 30th year anniversary edition 2003 SACD remasterised 5.1
When E.M.I released Dark Side Of The Moon on March 24 1973 crowds of Pink Floyd fans (including myself) had already heard some tracks of that album but very few of us were aware that those new songs will be part of an album, that will sale more than 25 million copies. And also that Pink Floyd will become the monster that it is today. A trademark. At the time of the recording Pink Floyd was still an underground band. They had Bands like Soft Machine as rivals and they could see a new generation sprouting: Genesis/Yes ect.
They had no doubt about the impact of their 8th album. Rick Wright will later say: " when the mix was done we sat down and listened to the whole thing. And I couldnt help but think that this album was fantastic".
Recorded at the mythic Abbey Road studios during the summer of 1972 Pink Floyd was in a sort of time cross-roads. Technology was changing. DSOTM is the first Rock album to be recorded on a 16 tracks with the very new Dolby system. It will also be (and sadly) one of the last real collaborations between Roger Waters and David Gilmour (the first was imagining concepts and writing the Lyrics, the second was imagining and polishing the music). The album's working title was The Eclipse. They played it in its integrality at the Rainbow in London.
Clearly Dark Side came in the nick of time to become the fetish of an entire generation, who just happened to love Hi Fi, and amazing Stereo effects. Till then their records had been like sounds edifices that some rock-critics had called vain and pretentious ventures. Decided to shut the mouth of those miscreants, Roger Waters (fascinated by the fate of his old friend Syd Barrett), will write most of the lyrics based around a unique theme: alienation. Very inspired, the bassist visit the deepest recesses of the human psyche trying to prove that little events apparently harmless can send a human being in a state of total madness, paranoia, schizophrenia, depression.
For years, Nick Mason, the drummer, collected sound samples with a tape recorder. Those sounds, they will use in profusion in the middle of their usual format: drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards. The cash register in Money the wall clock in Time and various noises like explosions, planes, races. Even the old Abbey Road doorman (jerry Driscoll) can be heard in the album opening: "there is no dark side of the moon in fact, everything is always hidden".
Simple words indeed, told by an old cockney debonair, but amidst the tremendous high tech/noise/confusion, those words will call a generation that will make of Pink Floyd their favorite band and a cult of Dark Side Of The Moon. In great form, the band will force Alan Parsons their sound engineer to fiddle with the sound. To obtain those almost unreal chorus Parsons makes them sing in 2 mikes and thus will obtain those famous telephone voice for On the Run.
The VCS3 synthetiser was used for the very first time. And some Beatles references can be heard. Far away echoes of Dear prudence on Brain Damage and the riff of I Want You (she's so heavy) on eclipse. One of the most poignant moment of the project, is the end of side B on vinyl Great Gigs In The Sky an instrumental by Richard Wright featuring the gospel female singer Clare Torry. Being told that she won't have any lyrics to sing, the Diva accepted to contribute in solo. As for the saxophone in Money it was the first time that the Pink Floyd used one.
And the hipgnosis cover with the famous label "produced by Pink Floyd" was another first. The final mix was so good that EMI recommended the visit of a certain Chris Thomas. He was a arty rock-champion, who had already done great things for Procol Harum and later on, he will produce Roxy Music, the Pretenders, even the Sex Pistols.
From the first day of it's release DARK SIDE OF THE MOON will fascinate the crowds boosted by the commercial single Money that album will stay in the Billboards for an unprecedented period of 736 weeks, with more than 24 million copies sold all over the world. It's an album that just cannot grow old.
One Melody Maker survey, will reveal that this album is considered by many ideal for sex. And the Great Gig in the Sky is played in every go-go bars all around the planet.
When he left Pink Floyd in 1987 Roger Waters will declare "Dark Side of the Moon was the end of the band after that we had nothing else to prove".
Track list:
11. Speak to Me ((mason) (1:13)
12. Breath in the Air (waters/Gilmour/wright) (2:46)
13. On the Run (Gilmour/waters) (3:35)
14. Time (mason/waters/wight/gilmour) (7:04)
15. The Great Gig in the Sky (wright) (4:48)
16. Money (waters) (6:24)
17. Us and Them (waters/wright) (7:49)
18. Any Colour You Like (gilmour/mason/wright) 3:26)
19. Brain Damage (waters) (3:50)
20. Eclipse (waters) 2:04)
Credits:
David Gilmour -- vocals, guitars, VCS3
Nick Mason -- percussion, tape effects
Roger Waters -- Vocals, Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, VCS3, tape effects
Richard Wright -- keyboards, Piano, Organ, vocals, VCS3
Leslie Duncan -- backing vocals
Dick Parry -- saxophone
Barry St. John -- backing vocals
Liza Strike -- backing vocals
Clare Torry -- vocals
Doris Troy -- backing vocals
Alan Parsons -- engineer
Chris Thomas -- mixing supervisor
Sleeve design, photography -- Hipgnosis
George Hardie N.T.A. -- sleeve art, stickers art
MultiQuote
well done dorio. nice to see you writing about the best album
well done dorio. nice to see you writing about the best album
Posted 09 July 2004 - 10:47 AM
