Nearly 60 years after their formation, Pink Floyd remains to be one of the most influential rock bands of all time. The band formed in London in 1965, becoming one of the first British psychedelic rock bands. Their eighth studio album, "Dark Side of The Moon," recently had its 50th year anniversary at the beginning of this month, having been released on the 1st of March, 1973. Previous to its release, it was promoted with two singles, "Money" and "Us And Them." This album is considered to be one of the most influential rock albums in the world with it being a pivotal point in the history of rock music as a whole, inspiring other iconic bands such as Nirvana. It is sometimes even compared to Nirvana's 1997 album, "Ok Computer," as both albums were influential within the rock scene and focused on similar concepts of the modern world and creativity. "The Dark Side Of The Moon" is among some of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time, and it is the album that brought Pink Floyd international fame. Having over 45 million copies sold worldwide, "The Dark Side Of The Moon" is the best-selling album of the 70s, and the 4th best-selling album in history.
"The Dark Side Of The Moon" has ten tracks and a running time of 42 minutes. The intro track, "Speak To Me," is purely instrumental, incorporating different sound effects and spoken word, which then immediately transitions into "Breathe (In The Air)." This second track has a lengthy instrumental intro, which slowly develops into vocals. There is also seemingly a jazz influence with the instrumental as well. "On The Run" begins with another lengthy intro; however, it has more of an upbeat mood, and has more of a techno-styled instrumental with 8-bit-like sound effects and noise. This song has no singing vocals and only has snippets of the spoken word. To an alarming start, "Time" begins loudly with ticking sound effects, percussion, and what sounds to be a metronome. This song has a darker feeling than the previous songs, with the percussion and bass focus giving it a darker tone. The sung vocals in "Time" are much more aggressive and louder than those in the previous one as well. There is also a guitar solo, also more aggressive than previously. "The Great Gig In The Sky" begins with a piano, an instrument not featured previously. This is another with no words actually spoken. There are only vocals: not from Pink Floyd's vocalist at the time, but by Clare Torry. "Money" is one of the most atmospheric tracks on the album, as the guitars have distortion and the vocals are layered, creating a distinctive psychedelic sound. It also incorporates saxophone, showing a clear jazz influence. "Us And Them" is in the same boat, as it also has a saxophone, and even a solo with this instrument. The vocals within this song are much softer, and the singing returns to a whispered type style. "Any Color You'd Like" is also another fully instrumental piece with no vocals. Returning to vocals with sung lyrics, "Brain Damage" is a softer, more acoustic-like song. It has a similar dark, spooky atmosphere to that of "Time." "Eclipse" is similar, and it is one of the shortest songs on the album. All of the vocals are very soft, and so are the instrumentals.
This album, a record-shattering record, is timeless and remains iconic to this day. Last week, Pink Floyd released a remaster of the full album for the 50th anniversary. This remaster includes a live recording of a performance from 1974-a year after the album had been released.
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