Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon CD (album) cover

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Pink Floyd

 

Psychedelic/Space Rock

4.61 | 4736 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
5 stars Masterpiece that proves it's possible to combine good music and commercial success, Dark Side of the Moon is still one of the best sold albums in history, and it's amazing because it's not a piece of cake for everybody.

Floyd was starting to leave behind the very complex and ultra aggressive early sound when they decided to do something special, softer but musically complex and transcendental, a space album oriented, full of sound effects with reminiscences of the late 60's sound and explosions of madness typical of British psychedelia, a perfect combination of modernism and melancholia.

The band is perfect, Gilmour's voice is precise for the album and his guitar is outstanding, he creates a dark mysterious atmosphere much more common in very early Genesis than in Pink Floyd, but also aggressive is some parts. Waters is also perfect, his bass is strong but delicate when needed.

Wright works in team with Gilmour because his keyboards help to create the atmospheric sound I mention before, last but not least Nick Mason, never before so powerful as in this album, the drums at the opening of Time are amazing, in a low tone but with a strength that is unique.

Who deserves a special mention is Alan Parsons, his work as a producer is impeccable, there's not a single mistake or weak point in his area. Also must recognize the good vocal work in "The Great Gig in the Sky" by Claire Torry very well backed by Doris Troy, Leslie Duncan, Leslie Strike and Barry St. John.

The first four songs "Speak to Me/Breathe in the Air", "On the Run" , "Time" and "The Great Gig in the Sky" form a semi epic, the strongest section of the album.

The next track "Money" is IMO the weakest of the album (without being bad), sounds very different to the rest of the album. The jazzy "Us and Them" with a melodic saxophone and a beautiful piano section is another highlight. It's followed by "Any Color you Like" in which the keyboards are weaker than in the rest of the album, but possibly the only almost pure psychedelic song in this album.

"Dark Side of the Moon" is closed by "Brain Damage" supposedly dedicated to the politicians even when some people believe it's a tribute to Syd Barret and the splendid but somehow depressing "Eclipse".

Still I'm not sure if Dark Side of the Moon is a concept album, or if the first four songs are a long epic instead of separate tracks, but....Who cares? It's a masterpiece that has to be in a preferential place in any musical collection.

Ivan_Melgar_M | 5/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this PINK FLOYD review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.