| CD Reviews Last updated: 12.9.05 Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Tracklist: 1. Speak to Me [Mason] / Breathe [Waters/Gilmour/Wright] (3:57) 2. On The Run (3:35) [Gilmour/Waters] 3. Time (7:04) [Mason/Waters/Wright/Gilmour] 4. The Great Gig in the Sky (4:47) [Wright] 5. Money (6:22) [Waters] 6. Us and Them (7:50) [Waters/Wright] 7. And Colour You Like (3:25) [Gilmour/Mason/Wright] 8. Brain Damage (3:50) [Waters] 9. Eclipse (2:01) [Waters] Total: 42:50 Introduction: Pink Floyd had previously recorded several albums prior to Dark Side of the Moon. All of them had moderate success, but once Dark Side of the Moon was released, the band gained much more attention. Dark Side of the Moon was and still is an innovative masterpiece. From beginning to end, this album is full of creative music, thought provoking lyrics, and interesting samples. Synopsis: Dark Side of the Moon begins with two songs on one track (the two are separated in later re-releases of the album) �Speak to Me/Breathe�. The first part, �Speak to Me� opens up with a thumping heartbeat, and contains some sound effects from several different songs found later in the album, including a cash register (�Money�) and ticking clocks (�Time�), as well as creepy laughter (�Brain Damage�). The song segues right into �Breathe�, which features a calm ambiance as well as some great vocals by Gilmour. �On the Run� is up next. It�s an instrumental track that travels at a rather fast tempo. It�s probably my least favorite track on the album, but that doesn�t mean it�s bad. In fact, it�s a very interesting track to listen to. It contains a lot of samples (footsteps, laughter, and thunder, just to name a few) as well. It�s meant to serve as a connector of sorts between �Breathe� and �Time�, the next track. �Time� is probably the most interesting listen, in my opinion, on the album, and is definitely one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs. After a few seconds, you�ll hear the ticking of clocks, followed by several clocks ringing simultaneously. A funny note, my dad�s roommate used to wake my dad up with the beginning of this song. Heh, stories aside, on with the review. �Time� contains some of the best singing on the album. David Gilmour delivers a flat out excellent guitar solo. His solo in this song is one of my favorite guitar solos ever. The female backup vocals add emotion to Gilmour�s vocals as well. The song contains excellent, intriguing lyrics too. Towards the end of the song, lyrics and music from �Breathe� reappear. �Time� fades right into �The Great Gig in the Sky�, which is mainly a piano driven track. Clare Torry sings vocals in this song. Her vocals are powerful and loud, but slightly relaxing in a strange sort of way. As her vocals get louder or softer, the music appropriately gets louder or softer along with them. �Money� as indicated by the lyrics, is a song about greed. The lyrics are interesting, as well as stingy, but hell, it�s a song about greed, what did you expect? The main guitar riff in the song is quite catchy, and the samples of cash registers opening fit in with the song rather well too. �Money� is often cited as a song that doesn�t fit in with the rest of the album, and I somewhat agree, but I still like this song a lot. The album goes back into its ambient phase with the next song, �Us and Them�, a very calm and soothing track, which fittingly features some nice and calm vocals from Gilmour as well. �Any Colour You Like�, another instrumental track, features some really great synth work. The opening synth lines will stick in your head. Gilmour delivers yet another great guitar solo that doesn�t disappoint. �Brain Damage� begins where �Any Colour You Like� left off. Roger Waters has the main vocal duties here, and he does a really good job. The lyrics in this song are excellent; many speculate this song is about former Pink Floyd vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, who suffered from a mental breakdown that made it extremely difficult for the band to continue playing with him. Lyrics such as �The lunatic is on the grass� and �There�s someone in my head but it�s not me�, as well as samples of insane laughter, support this. The final track on the album, �Eclipse� is a climactic end to this masterpiece of an album. The song�s lyrics reprise themes from previous songs on the album. Powerful female backup vocals add even more emotion to the song. The song closes out with the same heartbeat sample that opened the album. Such a fitting end to this high quality album makes this song one of my favorite album closers ever. Highlights: �Time�, �Money�, �Us and Them� Overall: Dark Side of the Moon is more than just an excellent album--it�s a surreal experience that simply must be heard if you�re a fan of rock music in general. If you don�t own this album yet, do yourself a favor and go out and buy it now. You won�t regret the purchase. Final Score: A+ Any questions, comments, submissions, or anything related to the site should be e-mailed to me: shadowdragonxx [at] hotmail [dot] com. Don't take anything from the site without permission. |
| Dark Side of the Moon Album line-up: David Gilmour - Guitars, vocals, VCS3 Nick Mason � Percussion, Tape effects Richard Wright � Keyboards, vocals, VCS3 Roger Waters - Bass, vocals, VCS3, Tape Effects Additional Personnel: Dick Parry � Saxophone on �Us and Them� and �Money� Clare Torry � Vocals on �The Great Gig in the Sky� Doris Troy, Leslie Duncan, Liza Strike, Barry St. John � Backing vocals Release Year: 1973 Label: Atlantic Produced by: Pink Floyd |
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