THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

The cover of "The Dark Side Of The Moon" from 1973, designed by Hipgnosis, is legendary and brilliant. A tight beam of light breaks through a prism into a colorful spectrum. It is the perfect visualization of the concept of music. For the eyes, that is; for the ears, you have to be inside. Well, "The Dark Side Of The Moon" is the perfect sonification of the concept of music. Powerful, this album has been praised so often, so much has been written about it.

Google almost explodes when you type in the name of the album. In addition to a kiloton of reviews and related articles, you can also indulge in various books and documentaries about the album. Writing a review of "The Dark Side Of The Moon" is almost mandatory for me, but well, what do I do with that enormous lava flow of information?

Just listen carefully to the music and add some facts where necessary. It is not my intention to bombard the world with new facts and juicy scoops. There is enough musical content to discuss.

"The Dark Side Of The Moon" combines experimental music with catchy progressive rock, incorporating various genres, from ambient to jazz, and from electronica through classic rock to psychedelic music and even gospel. It is incredibly creative, and the lyrics also have captivating imagination. Roger Waters has let loose lyrically in the chaos of the artist's life, addressing topics such as the passage of time, greed, isolation, and insanity. For a personal touch, various people were interviewed by Waters, and their statements were later edited into the music. This was a task for the young engineer Alan Parsons, who also dealt with other sound effects, such as the ringing clocks in Time and the footsteps in On The Run.

The album opens with a heartbeat in Speak To Me. Here you actually hear Nick Mason's bass drum, for which he has duly received credit. With some screaming, we land in Breathe (In The Air), sung by David Gilmour. This relaxed song is characterized by controlled bass tones, dreamy piano, and tasty pedal steel guitar playing. The ever-intensifying vocals are accompanied by strong organ chords, leading to the introduction of On The Run. The relaxed atmosphere of the previous track sharply contrasts with the hurried synth riffs of this instrumental piece. It becomes clear that "The Dark Side Of The Moon" can go in any direction.

Time is a fantastic song with lively rototoms in the intro, atmospheric ooh-ah background vocals, a heavenly guitar solo of respectable length, and an emotional reprise of Breathe. All the creativity of "The Dark Side Of The Moon" reaches its peak in the jazzy The Great Gig In The Sky. The decision to let guest vocalist Clare Torry do a wordless improvisation here works fantastically. The emotions burst from your speakers. A long fade-out follows.

With some nostalgia, I say goodbye to side A and immerse myself in the next five tracks. Money, played to death on the radio, remains a great song. It is propelled by a smooth 7/4 rhythm, first established by various cash register sounds and later by the bass guitar. It gains extra shine from the lusty saxophone playing of Dick Parry. His playing fits perfectly with the bluesy and funky approach adopted. Parry is also present in the subsequent ballad Us And Them. The beauty of this composition lies in the swells towards bombastic richness. Pink Floyd does that so well. It's truly an impressive experience to let yourself be buried like this. Us and Them transitions into the instrumental Any Colour You Like, where the VCS3 synth makes its presence felt. It seems clear to me that albums like "Atom Heart Mother" and "Meddle" are genetically related when you hear Any Colour You Like. At that moment, there is a certain tension in the album. You feel that the finale is approaching. Roger Waters sings the last two songs himself, and that makes sense. No one understands the meaning of his lyrics better than he does. In Brain Damage, he talks about the madness of the former Pink Floyd guitarist Syd Barrett. It's an emotional song that gracefully continues with the actual finale, Eclipse.

What an album, what an album.

Originally posted on www.progenrock.com