Dark Side of The Moon

by Pink Floyd

Product Description:

Pink Floyd: David Gilmour (vocals, guitar); Richard Wright (vocals, keyboards); Roger Waters (vocals, bass instrument); Nick Mason (percussion).

Additional personnel: Clare Torry (vocals); Dick Parry (saxophone); Doris Troy, Liza Strike, Barry St. John, Leslie Duncan (background vocals).

Recording information: Abbey Road Studios, London, England (06/1972 - 01/1973).

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON was a benchmark record. It turned the musical world on its ear with a hitherto unseen combination of sounds, and changed things considerably for Pink Floyd. For this project, Pink Floyd resurrected older and unfinished numbers, some of which came from the multitude of soundtracks the band members had previously worked on. The film ZABRISKIE POINT, a study of American materialism from a foreigner's perspective, provided "Us and Them" (originally titled "The Violence Sequence"). Waters rewrote "Breathe" after its appearance on his and avant-garde composer Ron Geesin's score for THE BODY, a surreal medical documentary.

Floyd and their long-time engineer, Alan Parsons, used a multitude of sound effects--from stereophonically projected footsteps and planes flying overhead ("On the Run") to a roomful of ringing clocks ("Time"). Further adding to the record's mystique, barely audible spoken passages were sprinkled throughout--a result of hours interviewing random Abbey Road occupants about their views on insanity, violence, and death. Floyd must have struck a nerve: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON remained on Billboard's albums chart for an astounding 14 years. It made Pink Floyd a household name, elevating them to the level of the Rolling Stones and The Who in the rock pantheon.