Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd > Reviews (28)

I suppose the key word to use for this 1973 album is 'progressive' rather than any other description. Prior to the album's release, the entire length had been performed as a mammoth stage performance, provoking largely positive reviews. It then took a year or so before the resultant effect turned itself into one of the most commercially successful albums of all time. With varying degrees of speed and lyrical involvement, and a heavy level of innovative synthesiser sounds, the album is beautifully constructed and follows a theme of 'things that make people go mad'.

The first thing I noticed about the album is the patience the first track (a dual track, really) demands from the listener. Taking a full 30 seconds to build up to an audible sequence, Speak To Me/Breathe has an instrumental intro that softens into the soothing vocals by the time its second half announces itself. I instantly found myself relaxed, and therefore open to musical suggestion. The fact that this was essentially 2 tracks, and merges into 1, isn't unique about the album. There are tracks that run into other ones throughout the album, and flowing from one to another gives a sense of relaxation and assumes a certain level of trust.

We move from the minimal vocals on Breathe straight to the instrumental On The Run, which does what it says on the tin, frantic and fast sounds making it sound like you're on the run and the pressure is building. Keeping in with the 'madness' theme of the album, the fourth track, Time, also has elements that I can associate with in being annoyed or a feeling of going mad: that of alarm clocks starting off straight away. Perhaps a moment to mention that the theme was a concept suggested by band member Roger Waters, and seems to make suggestions to former band member Syd Barret who had left a few years previously, following mental health issues. The album has mentions of madness throughout it, and Time certainly does seem to pinpoint the whole feeling.

However, it's the powerful backing vocals and saxophone of Us And Them that I found the most memorable part of the album. The lead vocals are soothing and gentle, a trademark of the kitsch band's general vocals. The use of strong choirs to provide the backing vocals almost admits the need for something a little less depressing and morose, and I think this is a good thing. I probably wouldn't hold this in such high regard had these elements not been present, and when the lead vocals and the choir backing combine towards the end of the 7 minute long Us And Them, it's a powerfully moment indeed.

But what does it all sound like? Well, the use of synthesised music in the 1970s wasn't a common thing, by any means, and with experimental styles coming from the more commercially mainstream bands such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys, and the heavier rocky styles being controlled by a series of heavier bands and again the commercial side of something like the Rolling Stones, synth was a bit of a new concept. Pink Floyd dabbled here, very much so, but without completely giving up to it.

Any Colour You Like is a very psychdelic and multicoloured (an aptly named track if I ever heard one). It's followed up by a very thoughtful and relaxed track, Brain Damage, with focus on electric guitar sounds (without going overboard) and soft vocals, once more. And of course, they couldn't resist the choir vocals for backing effect again, quoting the title of the album within the lyrics.

The album produced two singles, the aforementioned Us And Them, as well as Money. I found this second track made me look at the rest of the album in terms of the whole point of it, and what it was trying to do, and I find that you can draw your own opinions from what they suggest. There are suggestions of what can make you go mad, but it's not just that, it what can make you mad as in angry, as well, and Money highlights this, for me. The ringing tills and the almost angry approach to the song are really exaggerated here, and it's a great follow up to the penultimate song I'll mention from the album: The Great Gig In The Sky. This track I could listen to all day, if not purely for the fabulous vocal performance of Clare Torry throughout it. Her voice stays in your mind way after she has finished singing, and I found it ultimately powerful and haunting, even though there are no obvious words coming from her, merely sounds like 'woah' and 'yeah' if indeed these were the words that she was uttering. Very very powerful track.

And then the final track does what I had hoped it would: bring everything together. Lyrically, it mentions the whole madness aspect, talks about The Dark Side Of The Moon, has a little maniacal laughter, and combines the band's soothing vocals with the powerhouse of Torry's vocal chords and the choir and an instrumental crescendo, before giving over the final 20 or 30 seconds of the album to a fading sound before complete silence speaks volumes about what you've just listened to.

The album artwork is instantly recognisable, and I knew it for what it was long before I actually ever listened to the album. The notion of the Prism effect, and how what goes in one way doesn't necessarily come out the other side the same, is a well explored one, and very well summed up here, with a rainbow effect on exiting despite being tight and together to start with. Less is more with this design, and does its job as being instantly recognisable.

1 Speak To Me
2 Breathe
3 On The Run
4 Time
5 Great Gig In The Sky
6 Money
7 Us And Them
8 Any Colour You Like
9 Brain Damage
10 Eclipse

My track list here shows the first track as two separate tunes. This ultimately depends on which track listing you follow, and although they flowed without noticeable change from one into the other, they were two very contrasting themes and so I chose this listing. The album is a very powerful one, and lovely to listen to on a quiet afternoon while relaxing and doing absolutely nothing else. It's a message to us to say that there are things that may bug us, and at times we may feel we are going mad, but to hang on in there, and to enjoy what you can. The vocals are either soothing (the band) or in crescendo (the choir) or emotionally powerful (Clare Torry) and the whole experience was very moving. I didn't like every single track on there, but as a construction piece of an album, I was very impressed, and it gets a big thumbs up from me. Recommended.