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The Dark Side of the Moon

#23
Doner Designs said:
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.
Click to expand...

Hi
my quad record was played so much it well worn and scratched. ever party I had that record was played.
wont be worth much in it's scratched and used condision.
 
#24
I'm gratified to see Meddle mentioned so often in this thread ... "Echoes' is probably my favourite piece by Pink Floyd .... and I've got a soft spot for "Astronomy Domine" off "Ummagumma" ... like Weather Report before Jaco, Floyd before DSotM just doesn't exist for a lot of people.
 
#25
It's a beautiful-sounding recording. Stereo stores have long used the clock alarm sequence to demo their high-end speakers.
It manages to succeed on so many levels at the same time: pop, folk, art rock, abstract sound collage, classic rock, etc. It is one of the first and most successful albums that bridged separate songs into one long album track (or two sides). It also has some of the widest dynamic and emotional range of any album ever recorded. The highs and lows of energy on this album are incredible. The lyrics speak to so many people about the alienation and isolation they experience in their own lives. You don't have to like Pink Floyd to love this album.

And not least, the whole album is SO much more than the sum of the individual songs. The album itself is a work of art, apart from the songs that make it up.

The atmosphere on DSOTM reminds me of another classic: Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue", which not coincidentally is another album that transcends genre in its popularity.
 
#26
My first "real" experience with Floyd was at the laser show (Dark Side mind you) at the planetarium. In addition, it was my first dance with Mary Jane. Sold. Way before that I saw the wall at the theater, and it freaked me out. Planetarium+Dark Side=Sold.
 
#28
Lonesomedave said:
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....
Click to expand...

+1

The tour just before DSOTM came out was by far my favorite of those I caught shows on, since they were still tweaking the DSOTM songs in one set and doing the older stuff in the other.
 
#29
Back in the day, I "discovered":
. Marijuana
. Pink Floyd
. Quadrophonic Stereo
. Original Masters Recordings

...............all at the same time.

Believe me, I had no idea music could sound like that.
Dark side of the Moon changed my life!
 
#31
nutso42 said:
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.
Click to expand...

Making Pink Floyd's Dark side of the Moon

Start there and watch all five parts, maybe it'll give you a bit more appreciation for the piece. ;)

p.s. it's also on Netflix streaming if you have the service
 
#33
DSOTM is what it is, like everything else, you either like it or not, maybe you like just a few songs or none at all.

To me, it is the greatest album of all times, I get tears in my eyes everytime I listen to the whole album.

Nobody can convince you to like it, it is the same thing I feel about Led Zeppelin, I know it must be great but I listen a couple songs and it just soudns meh to me...
 
#34
giacomini said:
DSOTM is what it is, like everything else, you either like it or not, maybe you like just a few songs or none at all.

To me, it is the greatest album of all times, I get tears in my eyes everytime I listen to the whole album.

Nobody can convince you to like it, it is the same thing I feel about Led Zeppelin, I know it must be great but I listen a couple songs and it just soudns meh to me...
Click to expand...


I guess you're not familiar with Led Zeppelin III.
 
#35
smeet said:
It's a beautiful-sounding recording. Stereo stores have long used the clock alarm sequence to demo their high-end speakers.
It manages to succeed on so many levels at the same time: pop, folk, art rock, abstract sound collage, classic rock, etc. It is one of the first and most successful albums that bridged separate songs into one long album track (or two sides). It also has some of the widest dynamic and emotional range of any album ever recorded. The highs and lows of energy on this album are incredible. The lyrics speak to so many people about the alienation and isolation they experience in their own lives. You don't have to like Pink Floyd to love this album.

And not least, the whole album is SO much more than the sum of the individual songs. The album itself is a work of art, apart from the songs that make it up.

The atmosphere on DSOTM reminds me of another classic: Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue", which not coincidentally is another album that transcends genre in its popularity.
Click to expand...

Best response yet, well done.
 
#36
Lonesomedave said:
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....
Click to expand...

I have to say, I do believe DSOTM was the Floyd's high water point - their magnum opus and their masterpiece, if you will. My heart is with early Floyd - Ummagumma, Meddle, Atom Heart Mother, Obscured by Clouds, and Dark Side of the Moon - IMHO those were the best albums they ever produced (The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and A Saucerful of Secrets are fascinating Sixties artifacts: they sound primitive and quite dated by comparison).

Alas, most of the under-40 crowd - and nearly all of the under-30 crowd - know about nothing that came before Dark Side. To them, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall IS Pink Floyd... :rollno:

MM
 
#40
I think the success of this album has to do with a rare synergy of a complete/total recording and overall audience taste. I'm struggling to put this into words.

First, the album. It is essentially one work and incorporates many genres. The composition has changing components at multiple levels and overall is sparse, interesting and accessible. It holds interest for many as it proceeds. It is just blank and easy enough that it picks up projections - that is, it becomes what the listener is about.

Next, the audience. It has a very wide audience, due to its composition. Party? Nap? Rock? The soundscape even works for meditation. Counter-culture sub-types can all come together under the banner of this album. It runs off few and gathers many.

Put these two together and you have something that rarely happens. My 2-cent opinion is about what makes an album popular and sell across people groups over a series of decades. My opinion is not if/why I like it or not, as that's not what you asked. Are you missing something? Not sure. But it is certainly a great album. And in its day, it was a gem among gems.

It's an "evergreen" work -- always current.
 

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