THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Dark Side Of The Moon is quite possibly the most famous prog album and is one of those gateway albums that gets people into the genre. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with it on those grounds; it's a fine introductory album. But is it truly a masterpiece? Not really.

There are two camps that DSOTM will cater to, and those are the aforementioned new listeners who haven't really ventured into prog rock yet; the other are people stoned out of their minds. Sometimes both. Since most people listening to this album are in one of those two demographics, it definitely gets reflected in its very high score. But to a seasoned prog listener who's heard their way around the world and back, this album is really lacking.

The first half of side one sets a comatose pace; Speak To Me/Breathe sounds sort of like one of the Grateful Dead's less active songs. Wharf Rat, for one, comes to mind. Up next is "On The Run", which while more energetic than the past 4 minutes, doesn't do much to invigorate. "Time", the first of the album's better songs follows and after a long enough intro, leads into the verse which, while I can't say any copying was necessarily involved or intended, reminds me a bit too much of George Harrison's "Hear Me Lord" from "All Things Must Pass" for my comfort. The real high point of "Time" is the solo, though. David Gilmour's playing suits the song well; the solo comes across as well composed and is never ostentatious. "The Great Gig In The Sky" finishes side one with a wordless female vocal solo. It's nice but not especially emotionally charged.

Side 2 opens with "Money", which is a decent, more blues-oriented song that features good saxophone soloing. Afterwards is "Us And Them", a ballad that, aside from its once again marvelous sax playing, drags a bit too much. The interplay in "Any Colour You Like" picks up the pace a little bit. The album ends with "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" which continue in the vein of the rest of the album in that there's nothing wrong with them but they aren't exceptional. And just like "Time", "Brain Damage" gives me memories of Uriah Heep's "The Magician's Birthday" more than it should for an album hailed as original.

Overall, though, DSOTM is a great introduction for new prog listeners. It's also a pretty good album if you tend to pay more attention to the lyrics than the music. But if you're coming in expecting something totally innovative (bear in mind that this came out the same year as Lark's Tongues In Aspic) and musically brilliant, there just isn't much going for it. A good but non-essential addition to any music collection.