Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ is one of the most famous and best-selling albums of all time. A flagship release of the progressive rock genre that dominated the late 60s and much of the 70s, it changed the world of music forever with genre-fusing instrumentation and progressive vocal sampling techniques. Put together by bassist Roger Waters, guitarist David Gilmour, keyboardist Rick Wright and drummer Nick Mason, the album brought all of them fame and wealth, going platinum many times across multiple decades. It’s one of the most famous progressive rock albums of all time, adored around the world by people of all ages, due to its unprecedented musicality, timeless lyrics and unconventional recording techniques. In this review I’m discussing the album’s merit as being possibly the greatest album of all time, and the societal and cultural factors that got it there.
The album’s recording began in the summer of 1972 and it was released the following year in 1973. At the time, Pink Floyd was a relatively stable band – the band was not undergoing any of the same problems that had plagued the group in the late 60s. Nick Mason later recalled how the band was able to be ‘much more focused’ and that is shown by the album’s relatively quick production and musicality. Dark Side of the Moon represented a shift in the band’s environment – their previous album ‘Meddle’, although commercially successful, was deemed to abstract by the band, and they wanted a more ‘straightforward’ album. Waters wanted an album that reflected the difficulties that plague life – the lust for wealth, the endless dilemma of travelling and work, and the slow descent into madness. Although recording was slowed down by tours and family, the complete work was finished in a few weeks. ‘Us and Them’ was the first song finished – a song that resonates even today and is recognizable by most people due to its texture, emotion and poignant lyrics. ‘Time’ and ‘Great Gig in the Sky’ shortly followed, with the rest of the album being finished after a short break. After a short 1973 tour, the iconic vocals of Clare Torry were added to ‘Great Gig in the Sky’ giving the song its iconic female vocals, and the saxophone was added to ‘Us and Them’. The most noticeable aspect of the album, however, is the use of synths throughout. Pink Floyd used 16-track mixing (one of the first bands to ever use such technology), giving the band more experimental freedom. This freedom can be heard extensively in ‘Time’, ‘On the Run’ and (my favourite song) ‘Brain Damage’. Many of the techniques used in these songs are still used today.
Dark Side of the Moon was an instant hit. For 750 weeks it stayed on the billboard charts, between 1973 and 1988, going platinum 15 times. Gilmour later said it marked a ‘turning point for the band’ and that a popular album is the ‘goal of any band’. However, Pink Floyd’s popularity did not die after the album’s release, with later works being just as popular. Dark Side of the Moon’s popularity is unique in terms of its lifespan, scope and breadth of its audience. Why is this? When asking why the album became so popular, we have to ask two questions – what made the album unique enough to be so popular and what was the context of the album’s creation?
The early 70s was a time of massive change in the industrial sector. Manufacturing was being moved to poorer LEDCs as industry grew, leaving many of the youth at the time with uncertain futures. Whereas their parents were almost guaranteed work in a factory, the next generation had to adapt to the new society they were growing up in. The government was being seen in a new light – from being a protector of the people to a dark, ominous figure of corruption, mainly in the US. The decline of religion, the Vietnam War and the death of western industry all created the perfect template from which to destroy the West’s sense of meaning and purpose. Dark Side of the Moon became a symbol for these new generation – a universally relatable picture of the human experience in a post-industrial society: a place of lust, greed, corruption and madness. The album helped change the lives of the people who listened to it, as it helped listeners understand they were not alone in their thoughts and fears. The album encouraged thinking and strengthened a new culture of people. I believe for that reason alone, Dark Side of the Moon will live forever as the best album in the history of music, and I encourage anyone who has not heard the album or Pink Floyd in general to do so at least once in their life.
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