The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd (CD, Oct-1990, Capitol)

A strong contender for the greatest album ever released. 'Dark Side of the Moon' spent over 14 years in the US Billboard charts and has a total of nearly 7 years in total in the British album charts, making it the longest and 5th longest chart runs ever respectively for any album. Now chart success doesn't necessarily equate to artistic greatness, but this album is widely acclaimed as a true classic.
The music runs continuously, each song merging into the next (except for one break - this was an LP release originally), all on the general theme of life and its trials. The tracks themselves are superb, ranging from (almost) straightforward rock songs like 'Money'(a US top 20 single with some very neat time changes) and 'Time', through languid accoustic tracks like 'Breathe in the Air' and 'Brain Damage', to the almost transcendental 'Great Gig in the Sky' featuring an incredible lyricless vocal performance from the initially uncredited Clare Torry. And then there is the frankly psychotic 'On the Run' with its fast paced cyclic rhythm and explosive crescendo.
But what really makes this album great is the addition of various sound samples such as manic laughter, screams, chiming clocks, looped cash registers, a heartbeat, and - most notably - various quotes such as 'I know I'm mad. I've always been mad, like most of us are' and 'There is no dark side of the moon really. As a matter of fact it's all dark'. These were apparently responses to a series of questions on a card which were put to various people in and around the studio, and the inclusion of these was the icing on the cake.
The production is far better than anything else of the period and introduced a whole new experience to multi channel listening. To this day it still sounds incredible on a set of headphones.
Even though many of the songs are excellent on their own merits, it is the whole album as opposed to its parts that gives the most gratifying results. This is an absolutely essential part of any serious music collection. Enjoy....

What made this concoction so popular at the time was a series of coincidences. The western world was now fully stereoed-up; the band hooked up with an immaculate engineer by the name of Alan Parsons (yes, that one with the project) and last, but not least, the band bothered to write some really fine songs. This was a long way from the half-baked nonsense that had plagued Ummagumma or Atom Heart Mother. Gilmour's guitar was now exquisitely tasteful (the heart still breaks over that little phrase about 36 seconds into ''Breathe'') and zen-like in what he could leave out (check the most underrated track ''Any Colour You Like''). The sound effects are as hackneyed as a 70s stereo demonstration record (that this album effectively replaced in most hi-fi stores at the time), yet the overall flow of the album still satisfies as it merges existential ballads (''Time'', ''Us And Them'') with cynical rockers (''Money'') and arena-impressing freak outs (''The Great Gig In The Sky'').

This CD is a CLASSIC! It will go down in history like The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, RUSH, The Doors, Queen, Santana, The Who and The Eagles. Life would simply be incomplete without ever have heard this album. It is one of the biggest and greatest albums of ALL TIME! And it isn't "just music". Pink Floyd is AN EXPERIENCE!!!! An experience like no other you will ever live to compare to in the music world. Pink Floyd has consistently produced masterpieces throughout the decades. Roger Waters still tours to this day. And you have only experienced TRUE Pink Floyd when you have seen the show LIVE! I have seen this performance LIVE twice in my life and feel like there is no better way to see a show. You can't go wrong with the tunes. And the list of tunes I would recommend listening to are endless. But ANYONE who has never listended to this album is really missing out on one of the greatest experiences life has to offer. Enjoy!

The PINK FLOYD Dark Side of the Moon album defies categorization. The first time I heard it shortly after its' release, I was stunned. I was hearing music like I had never heard before. It was lovely, deep, fun, emotional, stirring, captivating, enveloping, profound, and just plain beautiful. The sound effects were great and greatly enhanced by a Dynaco Quadapter (which delivered state-of-the-art surround at that time), which made the effects even more fun. I don't have the ability to adequately express what this album means to me, but I'll try by saying that after all of these years, it remains at the top of my all-time favorites list, and it is likely that nothing will ever surpass it. Thank You PINK FLOYD.

Pink Floyd's accessible gem is a great album but I often wonder what it was that made the critics and the fans fall in love with it so much. I mean, sometimes it sounds more like Alan Parsons than Pink Floyd. Regardless, it's a great project and despite the lack of quirkyness and avant-garde moments it holds a special place in my CD collection. Brain Damage and Eclipse are by far my favorite songs here and they give the album a strong powerful ending that keeps me coming back. 4 Stars.