The Dark Side of the Moon

I remember reading something a long time ago..about Ron Geesin and Roger Waters being friends...hanging out..and listening to American Avant-garde 20th century composers...and American Electronic artists like Mort Garson, Wendy Carlos, Ruth White and others.

In the late 60s and early 70s musicians were interested in meeting Bob Moog to purchase and get pointers on how to use a Moog synthesizer. Geesin and Waters shared a common interest in that area. Ron Geesin seemed to adapt rhythm patterns for synthesizer which were pulsating and to some degree tied in with the sound ideas of the American Electronic artists. ..although..Ron Geesin had his own distinctive style and characteristic of sound to ever be like anyone else.

Roger Waters was interested in using Electronic sounds for "On The Run". It has similarities to Mort Garson's "Leave The Driving To Us" recorded in 1969. Roger Waters obviously interested in adding another dimension of Electronic sound to Pink Floyd. This was evident on Meddle with the usage of sound effects and earlier the attempt of obtaining a white noise vibe throughout Saucerful Of Secrets.

Sections of Rick Wright pieces from Ummagumma are stylistically based off early Berlin School such as Tangerine Dream Zeit and later Atem...Both have similarities to the soundscapes of Rick Wright on Ummagumma. Roger Waters "Several Small Species Of Furry Animals " is almost like a Ron Geesin parody.

This whole time period is fascinating to me. Strangely Syd Barrett's character begin to surface in their lyricism. He seemed like a ghost appearing ..disappearing in sections of their songs where it seemed like they were singing about him.

For a few years Waters, Wright, and Gilmour wrote songs ....which again..had similarities to Syd Barrett's songwriting. ...just as Barrett's songshad similarities to Pink Floyd in the early 70s. "IF" from Atom Heart Mother contains a Syd Barrett writing formula. "Free Four" from Obscured By Clouds truly sounds like Barrett. Syd Barrett songs "Dominoes ", "Baby Lemonade", "Wolfpack", "Golden Hair" sound to me as if they could have been on Pink Floyd albums in the early 70s.

Dark Side Of The Moon took a different direction although the chord progression during the verse "The lunatic is on the grass" was commonly used by Syd Barrett.

Edited by Jacob Schoolcraft - March 17 2023 at 17:13

A wonderful bit of knowledge from the masterful Alan Parsons regarding the engineering behind Darkside of the Moon.




https://youtu.be/6PJOgD-btOU?si=JRGxbQG28mmnUskR

Edited by progbethyname - November 06 2023 at 11:50

JD wrote: Your link doesn't work. edit Oh, I just saw what you did wrong.  Here...

JD. Thank you, brother. I fixed it.

I only first heard the album a year and a half ago, I'm a near Prog Noob. I've got a long way to go. My first true exposure to prog. I remember looking at the track listing and being amazed about a 7-Minute song called 'Time' (7 minutes was a long song for me back then) and I couldn't wait to listen to it. Lo and Behold I near transcended when that guitar solo hit. I had found the music I loved. Every song on there is amazing, even Any Colour You Like. 10/10 record, it deserves it's place in history.