The Dark Side of the Moon

[nutso42]

Allow me to begin by saying I absolutely love Pink Floyd. I own all their albums, four of which are my all-time favorite albums (Animals, The Wall, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and Wish You Were Here).
But something that's bothered me for years: I don't see why everyone loves The Dark Side of the Moon.
I mean, it's a GOOD album, probably the best of it's year. But I don't understand what makes it so much better than all their other stuff, and why it's regarded as one of the best of all time.

I'm clearly missing something. Please enlighten me. Cure me.

[nashvillebill]

How old are you?

When DSOTM came out, there was nothing like it. The music production was superb, the recording itself was quite well-mixed and mastered...on top of very creative music.

[nutso42]

Originally Posted by nashvillebill

How old are you?

20, so clearly I wasn't there to witness it's revolutionary power. I was just curious if there's something else to it I'm missing, and why it's regarded as better than their other stuff.

[Kmonk]

I'm 52 and to be honest, Pink Floyd has never done anything for me. There are a couple of songs that I like and I can appreciate the talent but for some reason, I have never developed a liking for them enough to want to buy their albums. The only one I own is Dark Side Of The Moon and I rarely listen to it.

[ffutterman]

I think part of it is the transitions they were going through. They lost Syd, and you can see some hints of Dark Side on Meddle, but Dark Side is when what you'd consider the "Pink Floyd sound" really coalesced.

[Lonesomedave]

Originally Posted by ffutterman

I think part of it is the transitions they were going through. They lost Syd, and you can see some hints of Dark Side on Meddle, but Dark Side is when what you'd consider the "Pink Floyd sound" really coalesced.

i take a slightly different point of view....

i would say that DSOTM AND Meddle were the last two really good Pink Floyd albums, and both are equally good.

after you listen to ECHOES, it is really hard to stomach their later c**p....

just sayin'

[nashvillebill]

Another factor...how good is your stereo?

To really experience it requires a very clean stereo with great bass response. And a good recording, either a very good vinyl copy or a remastered CD.

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by nashvillebill

Another factor...how good is your stereo?

To really experience it requires a very clean stereo with great bass response. And a good recording, either a very good vinyl copy or a remastered CD.

Is this why hi-fi bores who are content to spend 2k on a CD player and $300 on a power cord only ever use all that hilariously-priced equipment to listen to Pink Floyd?

Or is it because Pink Floyd is the choice of middle management types with a lot of disposable income and not a lot of imagination...

[SBassman]

Wow - some pieces of work here.

In an era where today's generation now worships One Direction, Katy Perry,
and other things that come out of my rear on the toilet, I don't get how there could be even a single person on the planet who doesn't understand and fully appreciate the great work of DSOTM.

If you can't hear it, you might want to put the bass down and take up knitting.

[bill reed]

i think there are some albums that really stand out and the dark side of the moon was one of them,
mike Oldfields tubular bells was another and jeff Wayne War of the worls was another.
Beatles Sgt, Pepper was another.

[Musiclogic]

HiFi bores as you call them are usually Audiophiles who listen to music not only for the entertainment, but to disect every nuance of a recording.

Audiophiles prefer pristine reproduction of recorded music, not the 75% efficiency of Mp3's or even worse Mp3's run through another program to make them more audibly pleasing.

Pink Floyd isn't THE reason, but probably a good reason, or Older Rush, Yes, Styx, Kansas, King Crimson, ELP, Asia, etc. Etc. Recordings have nuances that you will never hear in an Mp3 or upgraded Mp3 format, only on a CD or Album.

Dark Side was the break out for PF and has songs most replayed on the radio, thus it has become a legendary recording. Not all about the music, more about the accessibility.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by SBassman

In an era where today's generation now worships One Direction, Katy Perry,
and other things that come out of my rear on the toilet, I don't get how there could be even a single person on the planet who doesn't understand and fully appreciate the great work of DSOTM.

If you can't hear it, you might want to put the bass down and take up knitting.

+1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon

Definitely worth a read for the more casual or uninformed fan.

Yes, it was cutting edge and profound when it came out, but with 741 weeks on the charts and as their best-seller, there must be something to it that resonates with people long after it's release. Keep listening, I hope you find it.

On the other hand, congrats to OP for putting Animals on the list. I've always loved that record, one of my favorite Floyd releases, but it gets slagged a lot, unfairly IMHO.

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

+1
...Keep listening, I hope you find it.

[nutdog]

It sounds really cool when yer trippin. I mean, uh, that's what I heard.

This post contains information believed to be accurate and complete at the date of preparation. However, no guarantee is expressed or implied by nutdog or any subsidiary of nutdog. Advice given assumes compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

[Josh Ryan]

My ears are probably not good enough to really appreciate it, I have DSOTM on CD but when I listen to it I'm probably in my office and streaming it from the NAS as a 320 vbr mp3. I know, the horror.

Anyway, lets be nice about everyone's fidelity choices here and stick to rule 1.

[nashvillebill]

I didn't mean to come across as an audiophile fanatic, I laugh at the guys who buy $400 speaker cables...

However, an Ipad or computer speakers, listening to really low-quality mp3, isn' t nearly as profound as having a decent 1970's-era receiver with maybe 75 watts per channel, into a set of 3 way speakers. (Even more power, of course, is better as long as it's reasonably well-made!) There's something about feeling those low-frequency notes as you hear him running through the airport....then the clocks go off!!

[Floyd Eye]

DSOTM is a great album. So is The Wall. Meddle is probably my favorite though. Or maybe Atom Heart Mother. Then again, I really dig Opel ( Syd).

I see no reason to pick one.

[nutso42]

Originally Posted by SBassman

I don't get how there could be even a single person on the planet who doesn't understand and fully appreciate the great work of DSOTM.

If you can't hear it, you might want to put the bass down and take up knitting.

As I said, I love the album, it's definitely fantastic (and I've read the Wikipedia article). I understand the concept, the genius ideas that went into it, but as I said, I just don't understand why it's regarded as the best of PF's output.

[bill reed]

I still have my Quadraphonic LP but its been a long time since i had my revox with its quad catridge wired into my old sony quad amp, but i do remember how good it sounded, the running is the train station was amazing so was Money, and the alarm clocks going off in 4 speakers, WOW. was the only Quad LP i ever bought 1972 i think.

[Doner Designs]

Quads. Ha. Look up what a Dark Side quad is worth nowadays. Crazy.

I sold my quad 8 tracks and bought a Stingray with the proceeds a couple years ago.

Re PF - Animals and Division Bell are the ones I would take to the desert island.