THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

"Dark Side of the Moon" is the 8th full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Pink Floyd. The album was released through Harvest/EMI in March 1973. This was the release that lifted Pink Floyd from a successful act that mainly had a following in Europe to international stardom. "Dark Side of the Moon" remains to this day the best selling album in the group´s discography with an estimated sale of over 40 million copies. We´re talking an album in the top 10 of the all time best selling albums in the history of popular music. The album is a concept piece with the main theme: "Things that make people mad". The theme was suggested by bassist Roger Waters and the other members of the group were hooked on the idea.

The music on "Dark Side of the Moon" is varied and incorporates several new elements that haven´t been heard on earlier releases by Pink Floyd. Lots of studio tricks, female backing and lead vocals, and dominant sections with saxophone soloing are some of the new features on the album. We´re of course also treated with the trademark mellow vocals, but also more rocking rough ditto which is great for the variation on the album. There are 10 tracks on the album (some CD releases merge the first two tracks "Speak To Me" and "Breathe" into one track thus making the album a 9 track release). All tracks seque into each other either by short sound effect interludes or they simply sound like parts of one longer track which for example is the case with "Us And Them" and "Any Colour You Like". Tracks like "Breathe", "Time" and "Brain Damage" have always been highlightsto my ears but it´s tracks like the experimental instrumental "On the Run" with it´ss extensive use of studio tricks and the female led "The Great Gig In the Sky" that stand out as being vastly different from anything else Pink Floyd had released up until then.

There is a notable increase in the use of synths on "Dark Side of the Moon" compared to earlier releases which is also a feaure that provides the album a fresh and occasionally almost futuristic sound. David Gilmour´s guitar soloes on the album also deserve a mention as they are quite frankly fantastic. Packed full with emotion. Quite a few guitarists out there could learn a lot from David Gilmour. Putting equal amounts of great emotion into each note can sometimes be much harder that playing faster than the speed of lightning, and that´s exactly what he does. Each note he plays are given just the right bend, which gives his playing a lot more impact than more "clinical" players.

The production on the album is outstanding. The sound provides the album with a timeless quality that doesn´t imediately give away the fact that this album was recorded and released in 1972-1973 (the recording sessions for the album began in June 1972). A great audio achivement.

"Dark Side of the Moon" is a classic progressive rock album and it´s no wonder it is such a popular album. The sound production is gorgeous, the musicianship excellent and the songwriting intriguing and varied. It´s the timeless quality of the material that´s probably the album´s greatest asset though and probably the main reason why, it keeps enchanting new generations of rock listeners again and again. The fact that the band seamlessly combine mainstream oriented pop/rock elements with progressive rock is another asset. It´s not something a lot of artists have done with success. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.