assault the well defended: Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon"

Anyways, the case against: It's too slow. "On The Run" is the only track with any real energy - not that NRG was ever Floyd's specialty. And it's mostly useless as audio accompaniment to "The Wizard Of Oz", unless you've got much better drugs than me.

[If this were a "Defend the indefensible" thread, I'd say that a cerebral soulless part of me will always retain a certain fascination/satisfaction with the sheer lushness of this sort of state-of-the-art pre-'80s recording. That'll never change. But there are so many other Floyd LPs I'd sooner listen to when I'm in the mood for Floyd, which is rare.]

The psuedo-jazz affectations of the saxophone. Being another mainstream band that thought adding black female vocalists makes things more soulful (I'm not sure of who sings on record, but I know they were guilty of this later). AOR affectations that clip off meandering songs before they develop and make possible singles weaker because they only really fit in the scope of the album. Songs about time and money that make amazing observations.

― mike h. (mike h.), Thursday, June 16, 2005 4:47 AM (3 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I don't think it matters, but wasn't the female singer actually white? Your point still stands though

Whatever happened to Custos?

Custos = Dom

people who go out of their way to attack records like Dark Side are pathetic to me. I mean, it's not one of my favorites, but it isn't offensive or anything. Like it or don't, jesus.

Hey, I like it! I think Christgau's comment about it being kitsch says more about him than it

http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/2004/0221/TroyDoris.jpg
Doris Troy

They were actually playing that Dub Side of the Moon thing in the bar I was in last night. Pretty good, and bot just in that "Well, it's better than the reggae tribute to the Police" way.

ftr There were three black female backing singers on Dark Side doing the three part harmony stuff, the vocalist on The Great Gig is Claire Torry who is white.

Thanks MaresNest, I knew she was white.

RIP Roger The Hat

It was with sadness that we heard the news this week that Roger "The Hat" Manifold, a prominent and much loved roadie in the 1970s for Pink Floyd, Johnny Winter, and many others, passed away on October 31st, 2009. He got his famous nickname due to his habit of wearing a top hat (and other such headwear) during his roadie duties.

He is best known to Floyd fans as one of the more notable voices heard on The Dark Side Of The Moon, providing lines such as "Live for today; gone tomorrow. That's me!" and "I mean they're gonna kill you, so if you give them a short, sharp shock, they don't do it again.... I mean, good manners don't cost nothing, do they? Eh?"

A suggestion that on later CD pressings a faintly audible orchestral version of The Beatles's "Ticket to Ride" can be heard after "Eclipse", over the album's closing heartbeats, may be due to a remastering error.[47]

Wow, I've been wondering about that for years. I always assumed this was intentional. And I never knew it was "Ticket To Ride..." Thats... kinda amazing.

I don't have a problem with this record at all. The only real criticism I could level at it, is that if I'm in completely the wrong mood, 'Us And Them' draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaags like a motherfucker.

pink floyd rules

I hate the sound of this record

forward he cried
from the rear
and the Pink Floyd rules

A suggestion that on later CD pressings a faintly audible orchestral version of The Beatles's "Ticket to Ride" can be heard after "Eclipse", over the album's closing heartbeats, may be due to a remastering error.
if you play "ticket to ride" backwards you can hear ringo say "pinnnnk floyyyyyd rullllles"

In fact, come to think of it: Nick Mason's drumming. Are those drum tracks completely laced with marijuana or could he just not be bothered? :D His drumming has this real 'I caaaaan't beeeeee arrrrsed' feeling about it, which I really don't get from many other Pink Floyd albums.

huh, the part where the drums come in on us and them is like my favorite part of this record

hell yes

should I turn off "Jamaica Jerk-Off" to listen to "Us & Them"

ridiculous question, I know

The most powerful drumming on the record has to be on either 'Time' or 'Eclipse'. The part where 'Brain Damage' segues into 'Eclipse' is THE moment on this record for me.

http://meanspeedmusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/pink-floyd-meanspeed-chart-speed-psychology-us-and-them-1a.jpg

I have no idea what this means but it rules

should I turn off "Jamaica Jerk-Off" to listen to "Us & Them"

ridiculous question, I know

― Euler, Friday, February 17, 2012 11:24 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes :)

I think if you read that graph starting right when "Us & Them" starts, it rules

lollll i love that graph.

http://meanspeedmusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/pink-floyd-meanspeed-chart-speed-psychology-us-and-them-2.jpg

wtf

by which I mean, it rules

no idea what i was on about 6 years ago re Gilmour's vocals. i love those vocals!

So I guess I'm the only one whose ever turned up the volume really loud after the "Eclipse" fadeout. I was like 13 when this happened, so forgive me.

this is one of those "first five CDs i bought" albums where, having listened to it probably 500 times in 1996, i can basically play it note for note in my head. but i grabbed a fixer-upper vinyl copy this week, it cleaned up beautifully, and man, despite some very corny moments it still works for me as just this lush 70s studio-band rock experience. upthread, noiseyrock complains about the sound being too "wet," but the wetness and the studio "space" are what make it magic.

my favorite is still "any colour you like," but "on the run" really jumped up in my estimation this time. were they early Kraftwerk adopters, or what?

"breathe" also always a favorite - really like that kind of gentle overdubbed vocal vibe with Floyd. see also "fearless" and "goodbye blue sky."

"on the run" really jumped up in my estimation this time. were they early Kraftwerk adopters, or what?

Floyd's use of a sequencer predates that of Kraftwerk by three or four years!

oh wow, i had that chronology way off... it just reminded me so much of Autobahn, especially the integration of these more 60s type psychedelic "special effects" with weird slowed down sounds panning darkly through the mix...

It's more Tangerine Dream than Kraftwerk but then there's a bit in "Autobahn" which does resembles this - and that sounds more like Tangerine Dream than Kraftwerk too.

gorgeous album

“On The Run” was used as the background music on WLS-AM in Chicago in the mid ‘70s-early ‘80s when the DJ spoke to the winning caller. So they’d announce, “The 15th caller wins tickets to see the Eagles at the Chicago Amphitheater!” or whatever the fuck it was. Then, on the air, the DJ would talk to the winner, and under their conversation would be “On The Run.” It wasn’t until years later, when I finally heard DSOTM, that I found out it was a Pink Floyd song.