THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

For a few years in the 1970's I was a very junior colleague of Roger Waters' then father-in-law. In truth, I never gleaned any great insight from him, apart from the advice that it was not worth having children, because 'they break your back, and then they break your heart'. But the awe in which I held this person can surely be imagined on this website. At that time every note, every word, of 'Dark Side of the Moon' was engraved in my consciousness from its incessant broadcast from all corners of the college where I had been an undergraduate when the album was released. It swept the field as far as student acclaim was concerned - few were interested in my prog-head albums with weird names like 'Selling England by the Pound' or 'Brain Salad Surgery'. The only distant competitor was 'Aladdin Sane' as I recall.

I still recall my reaction to first hearing DSOTM - THIS is Pink Floyd? Pink Floyd of the frying eggs and howling dog? So they really can produce the best music ever? This album is still unique for the experience in which the listener is immersed - one enters a Looking-Glass world of magic and surprises that somehow encompasses the reality of human fallibility in a gentle and captivating manner. Every moment is genius and innovation. And the entire world of popular music recognises this - DSOTM is historically the runaway best-selling album on Prog Archives, the album any of us could cite to explain to anyone what Prog Rock is.

All of which leaves only one genuine question - why does DSOTM not occupy the Prog Archives #1 best album spot that it seems to deserve by any objective criterion? I don't think this is hard to answer - the explanation surely lies in the album's very popularity. In crafting highly accessible tracks in the musical style of the 1970's (I refer to 'Time' and 'Money' in particular), Pink Floyd produced episodes in the album that simply don't sound 'progressive' in comparison to its peers. Actually, having said this, I am reminded of the funky beat of 'Money' by The Flower Kings' 'White Tuxedos' on their recent 'Desolation Rose' album. But that's an exception that proves the rule - it's unusual.

Verdict: the ultimate art-rock album.