THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

I don't think there is such thing as "the best album", I think that everyone could have a favorite one and all the opinions are equally valid, but if I'm wrong and it is right to say that an album can be considered as the best one, I think "The dark side of the Moon" should be one of the first options for the title. It's amazing how well did this album fit into the pop culture and became a legend, an album that even now, 47 years after it was released, is still one of the most sold albums every year.

The album that put Pink Floyd in all the world's sight, which its cover is well-known for almost every single person in the world (even if they haven't actually listened to it) is like a buffet of emotions, an amazing journey through human fears and feelings. From start to end, this album is maybe the most ambitious in the band's career.

1.- Speak to Me/Breathe in the air (03:57): The album starts in silence and then, softly, we can start hearing a heart bumping harder and harder every time, then we hear clocks, cash registers, human voices talking, then laughing, like a preview (or pre-sound) of what the album will be about, some mad screaming and finally the song starts: "Breath in the air" has a solid drum rhythm, the harmonic keyboards of Rick Wright and the mystic guitar riff, then the vocals completing the music which was already perfect anyway. This song is a majestic overture of something that is going to become an amazing piece of art.

2.- On the run (03:35): Uff! Something is going to explode! The hypnotic keyboard melody and the precise hi-hat playing make the structure of this song which later starts to give us samples of all kinds of noises that are trying to tell a story and then, yeah, something explodes.

3.- Time (07:04): The intro with the clocks is unbelievable, then everything calms itself and the ambient turns much more relaxed. Drumming, an exquisite guitar riff, and the keyboards, oh man, those keyboards!! The song's start is simply majestic. Then the singing starts changing the melody a little, the girls' chorus and the epic guitar solo, everything is just mind-blowing.

4.- The great gig in the sky (04:47): Three elements on this song: drums, grand piano, and the human voice, the voice of Clare Torry gave this song its uniqueness. There is something really spiritual going on in this song. This song was recorded in just one take, they hired Clare Torry to sing this piece, she went to the studio, did what she was supposed to do, and then she left the studio in some kind of emotional shock; she never appeared in any other Pink Floyd record ever again, she was there right in the moment. I saw Roger Waters playing this song alive four years ago; he had two beautiful female singers who couldn't reach the magic of this piece vocalizing together. This piece was unrepeatable.

5.- Money (06:22): The first song of the B-side of the album, is probably the most famous and the one that I like the less, but still an amazing one. It starts with the sound of a cash register and then the classical bass line in 7/4 followed by the drums in the same signature, later the sax solo played by David Gilmour's old friend Dick Parry gives the song a fresh jazzy mood. Then we can hear another amazing guitar solo along with very precise drums giving space to the song's coda. The rockiest song of the album ends with samplers of male voices talking and then Rick Wright's organ and Dick Parry's sax sound close the song in a very romantic and sensual way.

6.- Us and them (07:50): Beautiful, majestic, unbelievable, emotional, hypnotic, man!! Forget the rest of the album, this song is a masterpiece itself!! Grand piano, sax, a soft melody, very light cymbals. You want to cry, you want to fly. Astonishing!

7.- Any color you like (03:25): An instrumental piece that shows that there is a thin line between free jamming and a well-rehearsed instrumental piece. Beautiful

8.- Brain damage (03:50): My personal favorite song of the album, clearly they were remembering Syd Barrett when they wrote this one, "there's someone in my head, but it's not me", there's something really sad but at the same time beautiful about this song.

9.- Eclipse (01:57): The album ends with "Eclipse", a very short song that talks about everything and nothing; the music ends slowly and we can hear a heartbeat leading us to the real end of the album.

"The dark side of the Moon" is an album that you can love or hate, there are no intermediates.

SONG RATING: Speak to me/Breath in the air, 5 On the run, 5 Time, 5 The great gig in the sky, 5 Money, 5 Us and them, 5 Any color you like, 5 Brain damage, 5 Eclipse, 5

AVERAGE: 5

PERCENTAGE: 100

ALBUM RATING: 5 stars

I ranked this album #23 on my TOP 100 favorite Progressive Rock albums of all time.

Share this PINK FLOYD review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Uruk_hai
• Report this review (#2462144)
• Buy PINK FLOYD music online with PA partners
• Show all PINK FLOYD MP3/Stream
• Go to PINK FLOYD page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Dark Side of the Moon page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for PINK FLOYD related discussions