THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

The real strength of Dark Side of the Moon that made it a timeless classic and an unmatched success in many ways not only for progressive rock, but also for the whole 70s rock was not being "traditional prog" at all.

While the other prog rock giants were flexing their muscles in longer and longer songs, with longer and longer solos and exploratory use of synthesizers that would become a short-lived fad and a permanent problem for the genre, Pink Floyd was toning down the experimentalism and mixing catchy singalong tunes, soulful female vocals and saxophone solos, infectious rhythms to their sound.

Yes, there are experimental tunes, clever usage of synthesizers (On the Run), some inventive ways of incorporating sound effects to their songs (like the brilliant intro of Time, or the cash register sounds in Money). But there are also catchy tunes, singalong lyrics, simple arrangements, great conceptual lyrics without sounding pretentious. All that made The Dark Side of the Moon a timeless progressive rock classic, that can be enjoyed either for people who like the experimental nature of prog rock and people who like more conventional rock tunes.

The most impressive thing is that they made it in a very cohesive album, with so many different flavours and moods. Not like prog bands who released uncharacteristic songs that sounded like sellouts aimed to the singles market.

Kudos for the quartet in making a prog rock album, solid from the beginning to the end, that became one of the best selling and most remarkable albums of all time.