Interesting question for philologists and philosophers! Sounds like (pardon the pun) that transcending (or attempting thereto) time could be an oxymoron or a tautology.
"No one told you when to run, You missed the starting gun." Not only is this lyric poetic, it resonates with so many people. Who wouldn't be able to relate? And Brain Damage/Eclipse just builds and builds to this epic crescendo that's euphoric and orgasmic. It's almost like they were channeling something devine. It's as close to perfect as mere mortals can achieve. And, it is kind of cool to listen to it with The Wizard of Oz.
Sure, but let's agree, musically it's Time and Money that are distinguishable and have really unique melodies - the rest of the album is either sound effects or one extra long Breathe... Now, imagine you don't understand the language of the lyrics...
I can't even estimate how many times I've listened to Dark Side, and I still get chills and tear up *every single time*. I feel like I know it like the back of my hand, and yet I continue to get new things from it as I get older, which is amazing because the people who produced it were roughly half my age, and came from a completely different background than I did. It's a landmark achievement, and my musical soulmate.
What really amazes me is the life perspective it took to not only put these types of feelings into clear and relatable words but also perfectly capture the shifting moods with such beautiful soundscapes and melodies. These guys were only in their 20's when they worked on this but somehow had the perspective of old men looking back and reminiscing over a lifetime of memories. Incredible and unmatched, this album is a piece of my soul, I am forever greatful.
"and you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking" "racing around to come up behind you again" "the sun is the same in a relative way but you're older" "shorter of breath and one day closer to death" best lyrics ever.
I always sob at “and everything under the sun is in tune/but the sun is eclipsed by the moon” - meaning no matter how we mortals think we have mastered our lives that we will inevitably die (“matter of fact it’s all dark”) and everything we ever loved or valued etc will also fade away with us. It’s so heartbreakingly perfect. Absolutely beautiful and shattering at the same time…the heartbeat at the beginning marks the beginning of life (Clare’s shrieking vocals (which we will later hear in full in the Great Gig in the Sky) are like a woman giving birth into the madness of the world) and the end as “Eclipse” reminds us of death as we hear the heartbeat isolated and as we hear those brilliant final lines “there’s no dark side of the moon really…matter of fact it’s all dark”
The music, the lyrics, the recording, the packaging, the cover and other aspects are absolutely top notch. It moves everyone that has listened to it in one way or another. Plus is one of few albums that gives you the actual urge to sing along, laugh, cry and do your air instrument of choice the whole way through, over and over.
I remember an evening in 1974 when I with a group of friends sat down and listened to Dark Side for the first time. It made an impression that is hard to explain. The lyrics and the sounds went to the heart of my existence and seemed to be written personally for me. We all felt it. The emotion of that first hearing can't be explained but, you hope that everyone will one day experience it and get something very special in their life that wasn't there before.
I heard The Dark Side for the first time in a listening booth at a record store in 1973. I remember being (almost literally) stunned by the experience. What you have to remember, when hearing the album in a 21st century context, is how different the album was from almost anything else at the time. It was a turning point for the band. I still love the album, but never as much as I loved it that first time!
When us 90s kids got ahold of the rebellious chords of The Wall, a lot of us ignored Dark Side to our detriment. We were foolish kids, and I'm glad I got to appreciate the brilliance of this record. It's a wonder to listen to from beginning to end!
I haven't listened to this band or watched this channel in years. Out of nowhere an hour ago I decided to pop on Wish You Were Here and start downloading Dark Side... and then I see this uploaded 10 minutes ago. Music finds its way! great to see you still pumping out content.
A few things from me : What’s amazing about this album is given how ubiquitous and seemingly omnipresent it has been for fifty years, everyone can have their own unique and personal experience with it. This is also incredible given how very clear and direct the lyrics are. It’s also incredible how it became popular on its own terms. Yeah there were campaigns and such. But if you think about it, it wasn’t either the “AM rock” nor the glam rock of the time. Sure it had catchy tunes, but it also had sonic experimentation. And again, it can be appreciated on its own terms but definitely gives you room to (clears throat) breathe. I have literally grown up with this album and it still amazes me how I can still enjoy and appreciate this album on many many many levels. Well done, lads. Well done =]
I agree with you. There is nothing more human than this album. I don’t care who you are or what stage of life you’re in you feel this album in your soul. My opinion is this is the greatest album ever written it’s beautiful beyond words.❤️✌️🌼
I bought my copy in 1980, and listened to it hundreds of times and still listen today. I was so impressed, I bought a Stratocaster around the same time but just recently learned the Time solo note for note because there is no way I can go to the grave without being able to play, perhaps, the greatest solo of all time. I'm almost there with all those crazy bends...
I’d love to see a video about Obscured by Clouds. It’s probably the least talked about of their albums (aside from More), both of which are film sound tracks. OBC is definitely the predecessor to DSOTM musically and I’d say lyrically as well. It’s my favorite of their albums, and it’s always baffled me who it remains so obscure ;)
I absolutely love Obscured By Clouds. Definitely one of my favorite Floyd albums along with MORE as well. I'm glad someone else out there appreciates it. Thank you for bringing it up.
I watched an album review of OBC on a different channel. The general critique I heard was along the lines of having interesting ideas but they never go anywhere or develop. While it doesn't have sprawling epics, OBC feels developed to me. I didn't even realize it was a soundtrack until years after I first heard it. There are some quality songs that stand on their own. However, it's probably not in my Top 5 Floyd albums. I do appreciate that it's one of the few Floyd albums where I don't feel it's a necessity to listen to a whole album side at a time to get the full experience. But I don't find it a chore to listen to the album either.
The absolutely perfect tone on all the instruments combined with Alan Parsons' amazing production. The perfect blending of the guitar and keyboards on the rhythm sections. The way Richard Wright found the perfect tone and chops to compliment David's rhythm guitar is sublime. There's no better blending of guitar and keyboards.
I used to listen to this album almost every night before I went to bed. I never really analyzed it the way you did. But I think you're right on great job.❤
Remember that the album was toured for a year PRIOR to release. This gave the band plenty of time to hone the songs - in the same way that the Beatles did in the lengthy studio sessions only Pink Floyd did this on front of an audience. It is this that IMHO gives this album the X factor, great music, lyrics and concept are all a given!
Us and Them is my favorite song on this album and the rest flow together quite well. Every time I listen to t, is album I discover something new, it seems. There is a lot going on on this record and keeps my interest. Very good review.
Turned 50 years old this year but is still sooo relevant. Theres no other record in the entire music industry like this one. It’s themes apply to all of us, while we exist on this Earth simultaneously. Its a must listen.
Great review. For me I think it's amazing that my 14yo son asked for a copy when we were in the record shop sifting. Why do you want that lad? I heard bits of it on the internet and had to have the full album. I honestly at that point knew my son had great taste in music.
Pure lightning in a bottle. This album is a few years older then me. But this was probably the first album that i kept wanting to play over and over when i was a kid. Even when i had my own copy at 5 years old, i remember just leaving my suitcase record player on the floor and watching the triangle spin. Its still hypnotic to this day. It sure looked strange as a blue triangle when i was a teenager. I dont know how many times i have owned this album, tape, cd, and 8 track. Lots of times. In fact, i got the weird pressing i found back in the 90s in a thrift store. Still had the 1979 receipt inside it. This album will never ever get old. But i like Atom Heart Mother the best.
I think “Any Colour you Like” is a reference to Henry Ford who once quipped about the model-t “you can get it in any color you like as long as it’s black.” Meaning that society tends to present a choice but sometimes there’s nothing there.
Imagine how a couple of guys in their late twenties create a musical suite that serves as an obervation of, well, life in general. A string of songs, each one brilliant in their own right but mind blowing when listened to as a whole album. An album that makes oberservations that fifty years later are about as relevant as they were when written, that musically still holds up perfectly and has teenagers wear that iconic design on t-shirts (as seen just today). That said, DSOTM ist not my favourite Floyd album but it shares second place with Animals (I think, subject to change). And the only reason is that Wish You Were Here has this ethereal, sublime quality that just blows my mind. Conceptually Dark Side is far superior, though. And the sleeve, oh dear, there is nothing like it.
I think a wise decision on Hipgonisis' part is making the cover a prism reflecting colours - I think the title "Any Colour You Like" is representative of all the paths in life you can take. The song is a moment of clarity on all of the paths humankind could take, that the album explores, and the cover reflects on that. God, I love this record.
For me, "Dark Side of the Moon" is like a candy "sampler" -- there's something for everyone -- moody/melancholy ("Us and Them") -- the brevity of life ("Time"). This LP stands alone. Nothing like it has ever been produced, nor shall it ever again. Alan Parsons had a hand in this brilliant LP. Thank you, Vinyl Rewind.
Any Colour You Like is a quote from ford. "You can have it any colour you like as long is it's blue" I think this song is about choices that we think we have the control but actually doesn't
Man.. we should all appreciate how well spoken and well written is this analyse. The guy said everything and more!! Solid points and arguments!! How to not love this album?
i feel like the heartbeat in the beginning vs the heartbeat in the end feel different. i remember my first time listening to it front to back really changed my perspective on life and how i live it. at first the heartbeat in speak to me feels uncomfortable, like it was anticipating something big. and when you hear it at the end, it felt like the album was reminding me that i am in fact alive, i have this heartbeat, and i am living my life right now. it really changes your view but that was just me
I love that the great gig in the sky comes right in the middle of the album, just after time (a song about time obviously, but then how we use the short time we have). It would’ve been so easy to put it at the end of the album, but if you believe in that ‘great gig in the sky’, time is irrelevant and there is no end, so it makes perfect sense to put it in the middle. Genius. Musically it fits much better there than at the end of the album anyway, but I thought it was cool
You've outdone yourself, Eric. You said in the beginning of the video, "what is there left to say?", and I thought surely you wouldn't be able to add anything new... But, the way you have articulated it here managed to make certain themes of DSotM clearer and more pronounced to me. I'm 29 and have been having a tough time dealing with the intrusive existential thoughts, "what's it all about?", "why am I here?", "why anything?" Fun thoughts to entertain from time to time but not every single day for months on end. Your analysis has helped to remind me that worrying about what is beyond our control is an injustice to the magical time we do have here, which deserves to be enjoyed in every inch. I needn't say more except thank you.
It's one of the few albums that you can put and listen from the beginning to the end and it feels like your listening to this long amazing single song.
I would say that the summary that I took from DSOTM was that it helped me with dealing with death. Getting older (I'm in my fifties) and being disabled, I got the inevitable midlfe crisis where I worried about dying and the obvious fear of missing out and so on. So focusing more on this album I realised and it gradually sunk in that we shouldn't worry unduly about our day to day worries because the bottom line is it's wasted. You have one life - you are FAR better off spending ervery moment enjoying what you like and not worrying abaout the banal.
I think it comes into most people's lives when they are listening to music that wasn't normal pop music, added with the angsty subtext, then coupled with the whole idea of what is life, it just ticks off all of those things and it can mean different things at different times when you listen.
It’s a brilliant album first and foremost. It has one of the most iconic albums covers of all time, and it's from an iconic band. Plus the themes are so wide and relatable that it still manages to be relevant to new audiences.
I found the album in 1979 when I was 14. A cousin introduced me to Pink Floyd playing Wish You Were Here to me. I barely understood what it was about but I was fascinated by the music and the album concept. Weeks later I stumbled over The Dark Side of the Moon in a tiny record shop. I must have listend to it about ten years earlier when they used to play record music in the stereo departments of big retail stores. Somehow the prism looked familiar. So I bought it. Listening to it for the first time was like a revelation to me although parts sounded familiar. Whenever I bought an album these days I listed to it at least once a day. Pocket money was very limited and there was no shop where I lived. Therefore you worshiped a new album very very much. I tried to understand the lyrics but my English was very limited at that time. But I understood that the album in general and the song Time in particular had something to do with life, with MY life. "And then one day you find ten years have got behind you" - ok. I was "young and life is long and there is time to kill today". I always listed to TDSOTM although there had been times when I did listen to it less frequently. Then I turned 50+. And in those years I revisited the album again like you visit an old friend you haven't seen for a long time. I thought I knew what to expect. Then Time hit me like a hammer! "And then one day you find ten years have got behind you" - or maybe 20, 30 years - "no one told you when to run you missed the starting gun" - BAAMMM!!! Tears shot out of my eyes - that was me!!! "And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking" - now listening to it with almost 58 and ME/CFS, unable to work for a living anymore. "The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older - shorter of breath and one day closer to death." When you get older all these words get a different meaning. Maybe it will be TDSOTM that I will request being played in my final hour. In some way this album has accompanied me "all my life".
Aussie Floyd just played the entire DSOTM live for the 50th anniversary and it was the most enjoyable concert I’ve ever been to, right there with Paul McCartney, that’s how good they were to me
I love the care that went into this album, it gets lost a little with CD and streaming (and CD was my first DSOTM experience). But when you look at the original vinyl release: side one ends with Great Gig In the Sky and reflects on this idea of your own mortality you face after your twenties and then the record ENDS and you literally have to come back to reality to flip the record over. I think that was a completely intentional choice by the band to force an experience by the listener using (and abusing) the format
Although I am 51 years old and a 70s rock fan, I am a late comer to PF. I just purchased the 2016 remaster and yep, the hype is justified. What a piece of art.
Thanks for this video! It’s such a great look at one of my all time favorite albums. Brilliant insights into the album and you’ve added a new layer to my enjoyment of it.
I was seven years old when this album debuted. As you might imagine, I was unaware of this as a child in 1973. I didn't experience this masterpiece until a college roommate introduced me to Pink Floyd in the mid 1980s. As a person now approaching six decades on planet earth I can say without any question that this is the best album of all time. The Important thing is to listen to it in its entirety, without interruption (as you mention). It hasn't been topped as an entire album, not by the Beatles or Beach Boys or any other.
So many things I want to say, but I’ll keep it as short as I can, this was an awesome video. There’s too many timestamps for me to wanna go through, but man you did an excellent job, especially during, well, all of it very insightful, very well thought out video it was worth the wait. I’ll be 34 next month. When I was 16 and I was smoking pot, I showed my friend, dark side of the moon and he was sober at the time, but he loved it. When he told his father, I played him dark side of the moon he assumed that I must be on drugs and he was a little bit concerned about our friendship. Not that it matters, but my friend started smoking pot shortly after, and he always thanked me for that. For what it’s worth that’s my little story. Love you brother 🥂
Hey man. I love your channel. This particular album deals in universal themes and that is why it is a classic that hits on so many levels to so many different generations/listeners🤘🏽🤘🏽🫶🏽
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My dad died a few years ago at the age of 50 from brain cancer, he was a life long pink floyd fan, and as he was bed bound for a few months before he passed, he listened to his DSOTM CD every day for those last few months. I will always remember coming downstairs and more often than not, the song ‘The Great Gig in The Sky’ would be playing. I never really thought about it until now but when you talked about the meaning of that particular song it really hit home. It really was a mid life crisis, and i’m sure he was thinking about his own mortality.
First heard it when I was 7 or 8 (1982/83) on the old man's stereo. It really spaced me out, like in a good way. Got my own copy at 13 on cassette. Now I have it in 5 or 6 different formats...original US Harvest, 1982 rainbow Capitol, reissue from a few years ago, 80s CD, 1992 CD, Immersion....
The Dark Side of the Moon’s lyrics are about the “Human Condition” -- how people perceive the events that happen to them … “Us and Them” lyrics: “Us and them.” “And after all, we’re only ordinary men.” “Me and you.” “God only knows, it’s not what we would choose to do.” “Time” lyrics “Fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way” “Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.” “You are young, and life is long.” “And there is time to kill today.” “And then one day you find.” “Ten years have got behind you.” On the opposite side of the “Human Condition” is -- “introvision” The Beach Boy’s Pet Sounds album -- how you feel about things that happen to you. Look at the lyrics of each of Brian Wilson’s songs. “I just Wasn’t Made For These Times” lyrics: “I keep looking for a place to fit in where I can speak my mind.” “I’ve been trying to find the people that I won’t leave behind.” “I know there’s an answer” lyrics “They come on like they’re peaceful, but inside they’re so uptight.” “They trip though the day and waste all their thoughts at night.” “Here Today” lyrics “Right now, you think that she’s perfection.” “This time is really an .exception.” “Well, you know I hate to be a downer.” “But I’m the guy she left before you found her.”
This video made me think about how I have thousands of vinyl records and been listening to music for 40 years but never owned or sat down and listened to this.
My uncle , Ian 'Bush' Hollyhead co-designed that cover. He also did the Houses of the Holy Led Zep logo to cover the naked girls for the USA market; the robot arms grasping each other for Floyd, the first Animals designs amonst many others. His business partner did the DSOTM postcards.
I love "Dark side of the moon". Pink Floyd was one of my favorite bands when I was younger. I think their album "Wish you where here" is my favorite. My third favorite - "The Wall" came out when I turned 18. The Bible in 1 Timothy actually says The love of money is the root of all evil.
One theory on "Intro" and "Breathe": "Intro" is the perspective of a newborn being newly born. The sound of the mother's heartbeat and the inexplicable noises as it officially makes its way into the world and to life. "Breathe" is the mother's perspective, giving her baby advice about life, living, and some things to be aware--and careful--of.
The real reason why Dark Side of the moon had phenomenal success isn't only the lyrics of Waters or David's and Rick's vocals, but Bhaskar Menon, the chairman of capitol devoted more attention to Floyd. Menon also persuaded Steve O'Rourke to stay with him for Dark Side, and Menon moved heaven and earth to mount a phenomenal media campaign. They also released "money" as single, that was the biggest factor. Sales went trough the roof.
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“Home, home again…” siempre me meo en esa parte pa
WOW! Look at you, sittin' at nearly a quarter of a million subs! I can say I knew you when! I always knew you'd blow up. Hope all is well in your world.
As the man from the former USSR, I must say it's not considered that high among many of us (I'd rather say, we prefer The Wall). Was not and is not. Because, let us be honest, first of all, without the lyrics the album loses a lot. Then, the melodies are bluesy psychedelia, mostly sounding the same. One may or may not say that we all are vodka drinkers (I am not, my parents weren't), but to our sober states of mind... There are moments in the album that are memorable, but without getting to the lyrics, without being familiar with the blues (Russian Empire never had colonies in Africa...), without being exposed to the wide use of LSD and its relatives, without being familiar with the singing style of gospels the album just sounds, well, innovative to some extent, with all its sound effects, the clever use of them. Like, Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin or King Crimson were never THAT MUCH popular among the Soviet audiences, while The Beatles, Deep Purple, Queen, Uriah Heep, Nazareth indeed were... So, you see, the popularity question is always a bit questionable.
Growing up in my early teens I knew loads of people who didn't know the first thing about music but they all loved DSOTM, the the thing they all had in common was that they were all massive stoners 😂
I'm 65 and grew up with this album (went through several vinyl copies, cassette and then CD). 50 years have now got behind me. At this stage in my life I will not associate with anyone of my generational cohort who admits to disliking this album- seriously.
