BEST OF 1973:Pink Floyd "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973)

The Dark Side of the Moon
release date: Mar. 24, 1973
format: cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd
label: Harvest (org. release); EMI (2011 remaster) - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Speak to Me" - 2. "Breathe" - 3. "On the Run" - 4. "Time" - 5. "The Great Gig in the Sky" - 6. "Money" - 7. "Us and Them" - 8. "Any Colour You Like" - 9. "Brain Damage" - 10. "Eclipse"

8th studio album by Pink Floyd. The album was already under way in the early 70s after recording Meddle (1971) and the soundtrack album Obscured by Clouds (1972) and apparently began with the ideas for and an initial version of the track "Eclipse", which closes the album, a song the band had been playing at live concerts. The album is different. Actually, it's just that, 'cause it sounds like nothing else, and that's also its biggest strength. It's a concept album in the way that it has a founding idea behind it, which is to deal with things in life that bothered the band members at the time when things became difficult while working with Syd Barrett. These things were identified as 'time, money, madness, death'. The album contains great tracks like "Breathe", "On the Run", "Time" and "Money", but the greatest thing about the album is the album itself. I remember listening to pieces of it as a kid in the mid and late 70s, and I also recall how out-of-this-world the album felt like. It fascinated and interested like no other album. It has been reissued, remastered, reproduced, and repackaged a zillion times or more, and it's one of the best selling albums ever made (in the US it's the second best selling album, and #8 in the UK). Naturally, it's in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Today I find that the album still has an appeal, which is quite outstanding. The cover art was made by (George Hardie) at Hipgnosis.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone Album Guide, Sputnikmusic, The Daily Telegraph 5 / 5 stars ]

1973 Favourite releases: 1. Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon - 2. Black Sabbath Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 3. John Cale Paris 1919