I recently bought the 25th anniversary edition Dark Side Of The Moon SACD. I’ve been listening to Pink Floyd for ages now and pretty much know this album by heart, but hearing it in 5.1 was like hearing it for the first time! Ambient noise seamlessly blending into music, melodies and themes intertwining effortlessly, the album is a work of technical brilliance as much as musical genius.
Turn the volume up, the lights down and prepare for a journey through life in 2 chapters! This is what the album represents to me anyway, and a lot of the magic is in the https://lyrics. The first song Breathe speaks first of the wonder and freshness of life and then of its gradual deterioration into routine. Of course there is the occasional moment of excitement and chaos, as illustrated by On The Run, a psychadelic synthesizer based instrumental that brings to mind images of war and general panic.
The next track is Time and it begins with several clock clanging and chiming simultaneously. Continuing the theme of boredom with routine from Breathe, it goes on to talk about the persistence of time regardless of our actions or feelings and how our realisation of this always comes too late.
By the time Breathe reprises, we have come to terms with the ups and downs of life. We have searched for our reasons to go on and found it in home, family and faith.
’’Home.... Home again
I like to be here when I can
When I come home cold and tired
It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the fields the tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees to hear the softly spoken magic spells...’’
I mentioned earlier that this was a journey through life in 2 chapters. The Great Gig In The Sky, my favourite tune is the conclusion of what I consider to be chapter 1. The song has vocals but no https://lyrics. The theme of death is suggested in the snippets of conversation at the beginning. Without using any words singer Claire Torry takes us through the fear, anguish and eventual acceptance of death. Death knows no language, she says. Words are simply not necessary. Legend has it she got the vocal down in one take and then apologised to the band for it! I hope she feels better about her performance in hindsight.
Here you will notice the only pause between songs on the entire album. Then coins start to jingle, cash registers jangle and chapter 2 begins... While the first half of the album spoke of life in general, we will now be exploring the peculiarities that make us human. Money, as the title suggest is about exactly that. It is about the human tendency to expect something in return for what we give and the endless pursuit of wealth above all else. The solos on this song are magnificent. I especially like the sax solo.
The themes of war enemity and politics are brought up in Us And Them. I’m sorry I have to kill you... It’s nothing personal you know... Just following orders. How human life becomes a commodity that gets spent without any conscience. Roger Waters lost his father in World War II and has strong feelings on the subject of war. This much is apparent in the bitingly sarcastic and cynical tone of the https://lyrics.
Any Colour You Like is a mellow guitar driven instrumental that is pretty much open to interpretation. Guessing from the title and its placement within the album, I’d say this is about self indulgence and the perils thereof. The song is bluesy, somewhat psychadelic and eventually blends into Brain Damage, which deals with insanity - another uniquely human condition - and the excuses we make for it. I love the simplicity of this song - that and the fact that it makes me think of Syd Barrett.
’’The lunatic is on the grass...’’
’’The lunatic is in my home...’’
’’The lunatic is in my head...’’
The finale is entitled Eclipse and speaks not only of our ego, but also of our insignificance in the wider scheme of things. No matter what we do, good or evil, no matter whether we build our lives on trust or suspicion, or whether we help or hinder society, in the end we are all part of a larger picture - under one sun - and if that sun happened to be blocked out by the moon, we’d all be in the dark...
I’m sorry if anyone got bored reading this, or worse, if it turned anyone off actually listening to the album. It’s really a must-have, regardless of musical preference. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s one of the most intelligent pop/rock albums ever made.