THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Ah, the fabled DSOTM. Referenced by all forms of media, heard and owned by millions, yet somehow... prog! Our favourite subgenre's most famous album, even. Does it deserve such a distinction? Well...

Speak to me: Many often complain about the filler in other albums, but this piece of junk seems to be praised everywhere. I don't understand that at all. Sure, the heartbeat at the start is a nice little intro, but I can't say I care for the sound effects used over the course of the album all mashed together. I'm not saying it's Seamus-esque, but it's certainly not worthwhile either. 2/10.

Breathe: This is a very good song and what I wish had kicked the album off. "Breathe! Breathe in the air!" is a fabolous opening lyric and the instrumentation displayed over the song makes it useful. Not fantastic, but again, very good. 8/10.

On the run: Out of all of the songs on this album, this seems to be the one that people pick when they have to pick one they dislike. I have to disagree with that, I think this is a nice little transition between Breathe and its sister song. Repetitive? Certainly. Still good? Again, certainly. 8/10.

Time: This is where the album kicks into overdrive. I find the clocks at the beginning very annoying, but once you get past that (about thirty seconds in) the song is pretty close to perfection. I love the build up to the lyrics, the following part and the reprise of Breathe at the end. In my opinion, the best song on the album. 9/10, would be a 10 if it didn't have those annoying clocks.

Great gig in the sky: Time's closest rival for the title of "best", in my view. I can imagine that by themself, the vocals would be pretty plain and American Idol-esque. Yet somehow, the band has created a fantastic backing for them and turned it into a wonderful song. 9/10, as the first side comes to a close.

Money: No word on if we're in colour yet. The wildly popular single is a very good song, aside from the fact that it seems to drag on at some points. I love the Parry saxophone and just about everything about this track. 9/10.

Us and them: The album's longest song takes over where Money left off and provides some nice spacey sounds. Again, I like the saxophone, but not as much as on the previous song. The loud part that comes in at about 5:55 and ends at 6:20 may be the best short stretch on the album, beating out the similar stretches earlier and later on due to the lack of vocals. I like the vocals, I just like the other part better. 8/10.

Any colour you like: More nice spacey sounds as the album heads down the home stretch. Wright shows off a bit here, much like he did in backing on the last track of the first side. 9/10.

Brain damage: "I'll see you, on the dark side, of the moon". Such a great line. The lyrics are nice... but hey, lyrics don't make a song good. Music does... and the music here is kind of bland. 7/10.

Eclipse: Essentially the second part of "Brain damage", but with a slightly different tone in lyrics. What was nearly the title track provides a bland ending to the album... though I do like the heartbeat, again. 7/10.

Overall, like few others, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Yeah, it has some very nice parts, but to call this an automatic masterpiece (or their best album) is just lunacy to me. I'll give it four stars and that's a slight stretch. It's probably more like 3.5... but the site doesn't allow for such a thing.