Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon: 30th Anniversary Edition
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Free Music Notes for The Dark Side of the Moon: 30th Anniversary Edition
Free Music Review: No Way To Summarize, So See You on the Dark Side
Hit: 5 Stars
A themed album about the potential of society's pressures to drive a fellow to paranoid insanity, "Dark Side of the Moon" was a quantum leap for Pink Floyd, launching them out of BBC Top Gear reverie and into arenas and stadiums.
At this time, Roger Waters' lyrics weren't yet so weighty or preachy as to mention their subjects by name, so his brilliant words fit extremely well with the beautifully constructed, psychedelic music, mostly the creations of Pink Floyd's music department (Dave Gilmour, Richard Wright, and to a slightly lesser extent, Nick Mason). The lyrics never overshadow or outweigh the music, which even by itself could have made a substantial landmark of a record. Two of Wright's musical responsibilities, 'The Great Gig and the Sky' and 'Us and Them' are evocative masterpieces, and Waters' lyrics on the latter are nothing short of eerily poignant.
In fact, these were probably the best lyrics ever given to a psychedelic-oriented rock album, even if by 1973, Pink Floyd's "psychedelic" reputation was ready to fall away to more deliberate pieces of work; 'Money' was the biggest US single of Floyd's career at the time ('Another Brick in the Wall Part 2' was still six years away), and 'Time' is an album-rock radio staple to this day. The use of sound effects and spoken word snippets throughout the record were effective and hugely influential for many acts and albums to follow, but it's the brilliantly constructed, equal-band effort that makes it such a flawless work.
Its mystique allowed for "Dark Side of the Moon"'s appearances on Billboard's album chart for a record-breaking fourteen years. Arguably "the 'Sgt. Pepper' of the 70s," this monumental 9-track disc made Pink Floyd a name as commonly spouted as that of the Beatles, though Floyd kept their music somehow greater than the individuals who made it.
Free Music Review: Clear, well presented, excellent!
Hit: 5 Stars
Well, as always, your mileage may vary...
It is quite possible for someone to hear this version of the album and hate it. When I first put it on, I wasn;t too happy myself. Then I switched my receiver to direct input mode, bypassing all of the processing that the receiver does and, well, wow.
The sound of this album on the SACD tracks is a revelation. First, let's deal with the stereo mix.
This is clearly the original stereo mix, with all the little bits of hiss and the tiny sound of some big band playing the beatles barely audible at the tail end of the album. No noise reduction, just really good, clean mastering with all the punch this recording needs. The roto-toms in "Time" pop out of the speakers, the opening guitars in "Breathe" shimmer", and, well, everything is just right.
Then we get to the surround mix. This is very well done, reflects the orignal stereo mix exactly in volume of instruments, reverb, and tone, surrounds the listener well, and has absolutely no hiss whatsoever. Amazing. Simply amazing.
The cd layer is merely adequate. I agree with other reviewers, something went amiss with the cd layer. But I bought this for the SACD content, and that is simply awesome. To the "engineer" who said that he wouldn't consider buying a SACD player after hearing the cd layer of this cd, let me offer you an analogy of what you are saying:
I have a 1978 VW bus that I drive occasionally. It shares many common engine parts with some Porshes made at the same time. Your saying that the cd convinces you to ignore the SACD is like me saying that I don't like Porshes because my VW bus doesn't go 100 mph. Sharing parts doesn't make my car a Porshe, and just because the disc is round and shiny doesn't mean that SACD isn't any good.
Enjoy!
Free Music Review: Part 3 (Hopefully last but I'm not making any promises, LOL)
Hit: 5 Stars
Just wanted to say that in case it wasn't clear from my other two reviews that I truly do enjoy this album with just about all of the songs being great with very memorable lines and beats to them. From the words in Breathe to the great guitar and drums in Time to the funky beat of Money to the beautiful and then explosive parts of Us and Them to the wonderful Brain Damage and Eclipse that closes out this album, this is just a wonderful listening experience to enjoy. Buy this one immediately if you have not already, because though I still believe it is a tad overrated, I am now beginning to see more and more why it's been so popular all these decades. This is just one seriously catchy record!!! lol. I guess the only complaint I would have is that the remastering job just doesn't sound as good as some other newly remastered cd's I own. In my opinion the Elton John remasters of 1995 are far superior sound-wise, and even last years hybrid SACD disc of The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed sounds far superior to this one, which frankly I don't understand since both of them are in the same format. But apparently the guys at Abkco knew how to remaster their discs the proper way in that specific format and that James Guthrie didn't. It still sounds good, don't get me wrong, and you can definitely tell that it was remastered since it's so much louder than non-remastered albums I own, but just don't expect to be blown away by the quality of the remaster, okay? Well in closing, I would definitely recommend you picking up this new 30th anniversary edition because Dark Side of the Moon is a really good album with cool sometimes thought-provoking lyrics and very catchy melodies with some great artwork and pictures in the packaging to boot. Thanks for bearing with me through all 3 parts to those who chose to do so. Goodbye.Free Music Review: Dark Side of the Moon
Hit: 5 Stars
1. Speak To Me/Breathe- It starts off with sound effects taken from later in the album along with three guys talking about how mad they are and laughing. Then there's a small build-up to 'Breathe'. It sounds very relaxing and smooth. The lyrics are nice to listen to as well.2. On the Run- I'm not a big fan of techno, but if you're in to that then you might like this. To me it sounds alright, but not great.
3. Time/Breathe Reprise- 'Time' is my favourite song on this album. A terrific introduction followed by great lyrics sung very nicely with terrific guitar solos and background singers.
The 'Breathe Reprise' fits in well right after this song.
4. The Great Gig in The Sky- This is my favourite instrumental of all time. The piano sounds very nice and the vocals are very powerful and well-done. I thought the guy explaining why he wasn't afraid of dying fit in alright. Overall, this sounds really brilliant.
5. Money- Probably the most poplular song from the album, 'Money' includes an excellent riff and the saxophone solo is just plain cool. Really a great pop/rock song. "Heheh, I was in the right."
6. Us and Them- After the rocking 'Money', they tone things down for 'Us and Them', an excellent song with great echoing lyrics. I really liked the saxophone and piano in this one. Very powerful song.
7. Any Colour You Like- One of the most brilliant instrumentals ever. I think this is the most psychadelic song off the album. The organ and guitar sound incredible. Awesome song.
8. Brain Damage- I like this song mostly because of its lyrics and the background singers. They both are brilliant.
9. Eclipse- Just another great song from the album. It is the shortest one, though.
"There's no dark side of the moon really- as a matter of fact it's all dark..."
Free Music Review: Superb, Flawless, Brilliant album
Hit: 5 Stars
Listening to Dark Side of the Moon brings back memories of a generation. A generation that, musically, I was unfortunately not involved in. Dark Side of the Moon is one of the greatest rock and roll albums ever made. A steady heartbeat commences and closes the album. In between is some of the best music ever made. This is definetly worth buying again on the new 30th Anniversary edition, because the sound is clearly better. Although the original artwork is changed, and the back has the songs on it unlike the original, the music is still the same, and possibly better sounding. The lyrics in the songs are beyond compare. The chiming sounds on 'Money' were made by manually cutting tape and feeding it in the machine were revolutionary, and much more so because of the lack of technology that we have today. There were no drum machines in the 1970's. The album falls into a theme, perhaps except 'Money'. The theme is a relaxed, melodic type with incredible talent displayed on all instruments used. The vocals are...inspiring. When I first listened to 'Us and Them', I felt incredible emotion. It send me into tears, but I was incredibly happy at the same time. The Great Gig in the sky features incredible vocals by Claire Torry, where she sings no words, but an incredible, Aretha Franklin-type wailing that sends melodic shivers down a spine. 'Breathe' and 'Time' are very innovational songs. Of course 'Money' is a landmark. The ridicule of modern culture of the domination of the drive for money and power in people in the lyrics of the song are only made better by the slamming guitar, saxophone and percussion. The medley of 'Any colour you like','Brain Damage', and 'Eclipse' are a perfect end to a perfect album. For lovers of simply good music, "Dark Side of the Moon' is a necessity.