THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

There is a whole lot going on for this album. It was my first glimpse into prog, but that's probably I don't seem to like it so much as a "progressive rock masterpiece": it's simplistic in music. But don't get me wrong, I love this album, and the songs themselves are performed really well, but everything is super static and doesn't change a lot. This is why they call it space rock I suppose. After I listened to this for the first time, I went to listen to other bands like Yes, ELP, etc... and in comparison, THIS is the album to spearhead the face of popular progressive rock?

Okay, so on to the album... it kind of reminds me of a Moody Blues album with spacey overtones: all the tracks (with the exception of side 1 ending) fade into each other giving the impression it's one big piece. These guys play fairly most of the time, all the instruments get to play well with each other. I should note that, unlike other bands, the lyrics here are not about mythical landscapes and such, but rather darker and more serious. "Speak To Me" starts with a collage of sounds fading into "Breathe In The Air" which gives you an idea of what most of the album sounds like. That space rock sound of slow tempos. The guitar takes the stage and it isn't until halfway, an organ comes in. "On The Run" is probably my favorite because it's one of the most progressive/pseudo-experimental pieces. a sequenced VSC3 square runs across the track with collaged noises to join. Then comes "Time" which has since been heavily rotated as a radio hit in my local city. Song itself is a neat psychedelic rock song with a reprise to "Breathe In The Air" which to me is one of the more "progressive" songs. Nice electric pianos in this one that complement the guitar. "The Great Gig In The Sky" is my least favorite track. The song itself starts so nicely with an almost symphonic piano/slide guitar intro. But then comes the singing. I've tried countless times to understand to the point of getting someone to ruin a perfectly good instrumental segment... The only time I enjoy this song is under the green influence... Anyways, the song fades out with the singing too (thank God).

Side 2 opens with the radio mega-hit "Money". It's a nice blues rock-esque piece, and I'm sure at the time the message of the song was actually meaningful, but with these guys becoming so damn profitable, it's lost all its original "value" (get it? value as in money? haha...). Some nice saxophones and guitars playing here. "Us and Them" begins the most progressive part of the album. It starts slow and spacey with the saxophone coming back for more playing. Nice atmospheric organ and guitar playing here. "Any Colour You'd Like" is my second favorite (I'm a keyboardist if you couldn't tell). Richard plays a mean VSC3 synth solo that compliments the space rock background of this part. Then the guitar comes in for a solo which then leads to a duet between both. "Brain Damage" comes in with psychedelic lyrics and is balladesque. Nice guitar and organ stuff here. The synth comes back in at the end for some encores. "Eclipse" is the ending of the album at last with the lady singing again, but this time it seems right because this track is loud and makes you feel accomplished for sitting through.

I'll say it again, this is an amazing album, but to me, it's only an amazing "rock" album, and it is more "crossover prog" and "prog-related" if anything. If you want to hear some crazier space rock that essentially fuses progressive experiments with the space-madness, check out Gong's "You". That is the best space rock I've ever heard. Pink Floyd and prog rock are like the tortoise and the hare respectively. The hare is fast, changes a lot, and is essentially better in every way. The tortoise, on the other hand, is slower and is constant, and won the race with the race resembling the greater popularity.