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It is
considered by many fans and critics to be the band's
magnum opus, and is generally hailed as the record that
defined their sound[1]. It was a landmark in rock music,
featuring radio-suitable songs such as "Money", "Time",
"Us and Them", and "Brain Damage/Eclipse" that also
incorporate ethereal concrete sound techniques. Some
critics use the album as a point of reference between
"classic" blues rock and the then-new genre of
electronic music. However, the work's softer touches of
lyrical and musical nuance are what make Dark Side stand
apart from its peers. All four of the band members
participated in the writing and production: David
Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright.
It is also important to note that this is the first Pink
Floyd album with all lyrics credited to Roger Waters. It
stayed longer on the US Billboard Top 200 chart than any
other album in history (741+ weeks).Released March 24,
1973
Recorded. Abbey Road
June 1972-January 1973
Genre. Progressive rock
Electronic music
Musique concrète
Length 43:00
Label Harvest, EMI (UK)
Harvest/Capitol, Capitol (US)
Producer(s) Pink Floyd
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Recorded at Abbey Road
Studios between June 1972 and January 1973, the album
sessions made use of the most advanced techniques
available for recording instruments and sound effects in
rock music at that time. Along with the conventional
rock band instrumentation, Pink Floyd added prominent
synthesizers to their sound, as well as some
unconventionalThe Dark Side of the Moon deals
conceptually with the pressures of modern life that can
drive normal human beings to insanity: materialism, the
increased pace of life and travel, the encroachment of
old age and death, the inhumanities of society and armed
conflict. These themes are not just delivered with
words, but are suggested with sounds and lyrics. For
example, the sound of an airplane crash in the track "On
the Run" represents a fear of flight. "Time" discusses
how quickly life can slip by those who are unaware of
it, using actual alarm bells to wake the listener. "The
Great Gig in the Sky", which had a working title of "The
Mortality Sequence", comments on the nature of death.
The lyrics and sound effects of "Money" flippantly
endorse greed for ironic effect, and states that it is
"the root of all evil today". "Us and Them" deals with
interpersonal conflict and the insanity of warfare. The
meaning of "Any Colour You Like" is not as clear as the
other songs, but it is thought to represent the fear of
taking risks when making choices - the song title came
from an answer frequently given by a studio technician
to questions put to him: "You can have it any colour you
like", which was a reference to Henry Ford's description
of the Model T: "You can have it any color you like, as
long as it's black". "Brain Damage" reaches out to the
outsiders ("lunatics") who may be the only people that
recognise society's faults. It also is about their
former member Syd Barrett, who was forced to leave the
band due to mental illness. Finally, "Eclipse" describes
the true essence of a person through the impact they
have left on others.
Precursors to the Dark Side concept can be found in many
of Pink Floyd's earlier works. The band had previously
performed a conceptual piece, The Man and the Journey,
based on the everyday life of a man during their 1969
European tour. Roger Waters' lyrical obsession with
insanity was in part precipitated by the departure of
Syd Barrett (a founding member of Pink Floyd) following
his mental collapse. Perhaps most important to the
gestation of Dark Side is the song "Echoes" from Meddle,
which also deals with interpersonal relationships using
progressive ambient music. However, the decision to
tackle individual parts of life in an album-length
concept work is said to have been conceived during a
band meeting in Nick Mason's kitchen circa late 1971.
noises: an assistant engineer running around the
studio's echo chamber (during "On the Run"), myriad
antique clocks chiming simultaneously (as the intro to
"Time"), and a specially-treated bass drum made to sound
like a human heartbeat (at the beginning and end of the
album).
Another novelty found on Dark Side is the metronomic
sequence of sound effects played during "Speak to Me"
and "Money". This was achieved by laboriously splicing
together recordings of ringing cash registers, clinking
coins, tearing paper, and buzzing counting machines onto
a two-track tape loop (later adapted to four tracks in
order to create a unique "walk around the room" effect
in quadrophonic presentations of the album). Pink Floyd
also perfected the use of other studio techniques such
as the doubletracking of vocals and guitars (allowing
David Gilmour to harmonise flawlessly with himself),
flanging effects, odd trickery with reverb and the
panning of sounds between channels. To this day,
audiophiles use The Dark Side of the Moon as a reference
standard to test the fidelity of audio equipment,
despite the fact that it was originally mixed from
third-generation tape with Dolby noise reduction.[2]
Waters, Roger@
dir.yahoo.com/.../Rock_and_Pop/Waters__Roger
Gilmour, David@
Sites about David Gilmour, former Pink Floyd guitarist,
with news, blogs, galleries, biographies, discographies,
and more.
dir.yahoo.com/.../Rock_and_Pop/Gilmour__David
Barrett, Syd@
Find sites about former Pink Floyd frontman, Roger Keith
"Syd" Barrett with music downloads, biographies, photos,
interviews, reviews, and more.
dir.yahoo.com/.../Rock_and_Pop/Barrett__Syd__1946_2006_
Mason, Nick@
dir.yahoo.com/.../Rock_and_Pop/Mason__Nick
Wright, Richard@
dir.yahoo.com/.../Rock_and_Pop/Wright__Richard
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