Review #55: The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
#55: The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
Imagine you’re on a road trip in Kansas, and for some indescribably stupid reason, you’re only allowed to listen to James Brown that whole time. James Brown is a delight, a runaway train, but you just don’t know his music very well.
Then Dark Side of the Moon comes on — all lush strings, gravity-defying vocals, and insane sound effects.
Whiplash! But in the best way. James Brown is decidedly earthly, and Pink Floyd lives up in space, somewhere between Jimi Hendrix and the Velvet Underground. It was exactly what I needed.
FAVORITE SONGS:
“Speak to Me” — Creepy but celestial — normally I hate inscrutable intro tracks, but this one made me feel like I was entering a dream.
“Breathe (In The Air)” — Hurdling down an empty highway on a Sunday afternoon, watching those wind electricity generators spin slowly under the clouds…
“On The Run” — Literally felt like I was in a different universe, like waking up into a different dream.
“Time” — Loving these clocks.
“The Great Gig In The Sky” — This incredible background vocal is by Clare Torry, who also does a lovely cover of Dolly Parton’s “Love Is Like A Butterfly.”
“Money” — Pink Floyd and sound effects, man. There is no excess to this album. The RS blurb notes that this “may be rock’s only Top 20 hit in 7/4 time.”
“Any Color You Like” — I love how these songs just bleed into each other. The guitar in the middle is so crunchy and trippy.
“Brain Damage” — See you on the dark side of the moon…
“Eclipse” — Oh wow I love the unsettling heartbeats at the end.
LEAST FAVORITE SONGS:
“Us and Them” — This song is slightly too slow for me to enjoy it but the saxophone is gorgeous.
IS RS FULL OF IT?
Nope. I did not realize that Pink Floyd were geniuses until I visited the Dark Side of the Moon in Kansas.
