Album Review: The Dark Side of the Moon- Pink Floyd (1973)

48 years ago this week, Pink Floyd released one of the most groundbreaking albums of the 1970’s with their 8th LP The Dark Side of the Moon. This album is largely recognized as one of the band’s best. In fact, it is probably my favorite Pink Floyd album with 1979’s The Wall coming in at a close second. When looking back at Pink Floyd’s catalog, it’s amazing to hear how much of a sonic shift and leap this album took compared to their previous 7 records. This album also spent a record 783 consecutive weeks, or about 15 years, from 1973 to 1988 on the billboard top 200 charts.

What makes this album so memorable to me is the way that each of the songs connect to each other. At times, while listening to the album it can feel as though it is one 48-minute song, rather than eleven separate ones. The instrumentation on this record is very sparse which helps create the space-like mood that I feel while listening to it. Now, I'm going to briefly highlight some of my favorite songs on the album.

The first song worth examining is “Time” which begins with a 2:17 instrumental part that includes a heartbeat, a percussion solo played by drummer Nick Mason full of whistles and octobans, and different sized toms which help create the kind of spooky mood that the rest of the song has. 

The second track on this album that most people recognize is “Money.”  This song starts with the sound of a cash register and the clinking of change before the lyrics come in. This song is unique in that it is played in a 7/4-time signature. When taking into account the odd time signature, the saxophone solo which begins at around the 2:05 mark in the song, and another one of guitarist David Gilmour’s signature guitar solos, it’s easy for me to hear why this is one of the band’s most well-known songs. 

The last song I wanted to discuss in this post is “Us And Them.” Like the rest of the album, this song is a beautiful example of a song that is mellow, but has just enough energy to keep a listener engaged. 

Overall, I hope this review gives a little insight into why The Dark Side of the Moon is a timeless classic that even casual music fans still enjoy listening to 48 years after its release.