THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

It took a few years for the musical success that was Pink Floyd to generate into the commercial success that was Dark Side of the Moon. They had experimented in Meddle (1971) with the side-long "Echoes", but now were prepared to have an entire album evolve from the one theme.

Quite easily the most recognisable cover or as David Gilmour put it, "It'll look great in shop windows." was to become one of the most memorable concept albums of last century. What first sounds like the trials and tribulations of going through life (Speak To Me, Breathe and Time) becomes the merciless journey of a rock band (The Great Gig In The Sky, Money and Us And Them). Pink Floyd had survived the madness of Syd Barrett, whose influence still resides in "Brain Damage" and the follow up album, Wish You Were Here (1975).

Within a short time radio embraced "Money", but the prog listener embraced the album. It held the artistic quality of young artists but at the same time tackled music with the maturity of a band like Pink Floyd. Where in six years time the sense of unity and musical/artistic symbiosis was to be lost between Roger Waters and David Gilmour after The Wall (1979) hit the markets, The Dark Side of the Moon overcame the ambitious dreams of less established bands and embarked upon a journey of telling a story in under 43 minutes.

Clare Torry adds an unforgettably free-flowing and impromptu sounding addition on "The Great Gig in the Sky", while Alan Parsons engineering effort on the entire album created a smooth interchange between tracks and helped define Pink Floyd as audio experimentalists of great talent, if not genius.

Regardless of its supposed playability with The Wizard of Oz, Dark Side of the Moon has a great playability within any household. The audio listener's seventh heaven overcomes a great mental block after this album has been played.