The Dark Side of the Moon

I don't remember the first time I listened to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, but I do remember one of the first, which was when I was in a freshman in college in 1979. I was with a bunch of guys in some other guy's room (his name has long been lost in my cerebral cortex). The lights were out--alas, I don't recall a lava lamp--and we just sat in silence, listening. That's the kind of record it is. Ideally, it is listened to in complete darkness, with headphones, and loud.

This was Pink Floyd's eighth album, but it was the one that put them in the rock and roll pantheon. A concept album that largely addressed time, death, and madness, it is an aural masterpiece, using state of the art recording techniques, with lyrics that touch are lofty without being obscure.

The album was released forty years ago on March 1st. It was an instant hit, going to number 1 its first week. It would only stay there for one week, but remained on the charts a bit longer--741 weeks, to be exact. It routinely is listed in the top albums of all time, though not as high as I would put it. It's certainly in my top ten.

The album largely is influenced by the mental breakdown of Pink Floyd's co-founder, Syd Barrett, and is a journey of sorts, though not specifically linear. Beginning with the sound of a heartbeat, and the instrumental "Speak to Me," it moves into "Breathe," which could be seen as a birth, for that is a human being's first act. The instrumental "On the Run" makes excellent work of synthesizers, and in a sensory-blocked environment can really give a listener the illusion that they are traveling, even if they are completely stationary.

Then comes "Time," which is a gorgeous piece of music. "Breathe" ends very softly, and one can almost make out the ticking of clocks. Then an alarm bell rings, and if one is listening while laying back they can almost jump in surprise. The intro is heaven--reverb chords and syncopated percussion, finally breaking into the words of the song. One passage has always stuck with me, even though it is full of despair:

"You run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking,
And coming around to race up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death."

Yeah! That's what you should think every morning as you get out of bed. Then a reprise of "Breathe," ending with a perfect little encapsulation of religious belief:

"Far away across the field,
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spell."

This is followed by "The Great Gig in the Sky," a wordless meditation on death. Keyboardist Richard Wright plays a mournful dirge, while vocalist Clare Torry improvised a non-lexical vocal, almost like a keening. Torry would later sue and get song co-writing credit.

Side two begins with the sound of cash registers and other monetary sounds, as the album's biggest hit, "Money" begins. The song is notably for the saxophone play by Dick Parry, the guitar work by David Gilmour, and the cynical lyrics about greed:

"Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly, but don't take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say,
Is the root of all evil today.
But if you ask for a rise it's no surprise
They're giving none away."

Of course, the song and the album would make the members of Pink Floyd very rich.

"Us and Them" and the instrument "Any Colour You Like" used to be, for me, kind of the dull part of the album, but I've had a greater appreciation of this passage, sort of like finding a new appreciation for the somewhat colorless third movement of Beethoven's Ninth. Again, the sax of Dick Parry is prominent in "Us and Them."

The album ends with "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse," which leads to a catharsis of sorts.

"And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon"

It should be noted that the phrase "Dark side of the moon" refers to madness, not the astronomical term. Although there is meaning in that, as before the space age the dark side of the moon was completely unknowable--the same side of the moon always faces us, so we could never see what was on the other side.

The album was engineered by Alan Parsons, who later had his own band. He also engineered The Beatles' Abbey Road and Let It Be albums, an impressive resume. The sonics of the record are so friggin' amazing, as is the accomplishment of the playing of the instruments. Also, throughout the album there are recordings of spoken words that have come to have their own bit of fame, such as "I'm not frightened of dying, any time will do. Why should I be?" He later closes the album (right before the heartbeat) with, "There is no dark side of the moon, it's all dark." Peter Watts, the road manager and father of actress Naomi, provides the laughter during "Brain Damage."

Also, there is no connection between this album and The Wizard of Oz.