Getting stoned and listening to Pink Floyd’s 1973 opus Dark Side of the Moon is one of those classic rock clichés that is completely acceptable. It’s basically a musical rite of passage. In high school, my friends and I did the ritual a handful of times and with each listen came a stronger appreciation and fascination. If you have yet to spend the 43 minutes needed to experience the enlightenment, do so now. I’ll be here as a listening companion, gawking and praising along the way.
Side 1
“Breathe”
Some versions of Dark Side have this track split into two: the first being “Speak to Me” and the second being “Breathe,” but I’m more accustomed to them bleeding into one. This method of seamless song transitions will repeat for the remainder of the record, fore many landmark albums are to be heard as a whole rather than chopped into pieces.
Since Dark Side is a life achievement, it’s only fitting that the record begins with the simple sound of a heart beating. Interrupting the calm is a cacophony of cash registers and barely audible sound bites of people talking, but around the 1:12 minute mark a woman’s scream intensifies until…
If you’re high while listening to this record (which this is something that I don’t condone for obvious legal reasons), this moment when the band comes in at 1:16 minute is an orgasm of musical delight. Swaying and content, “Breathe” begins our musical odyssey.
“On the Run”
Supposedly Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright is afraid of flying and that feeling of stress and anxiety is represented by the organ which wraps around the listener in a sonic grip. Pink Floyd have said that this record deals with grasping mental health and “On the Run” adds instrumental flair to that theme.
“Time”
A symphony of old alarm clocks ring and banter in the beginning of “Time,” evoking an almost Twilight Zone atmosphere. “Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown” is a line of lyrics that has always resonated with me and I can vividly remember sitting in my 7th grade choir class lost in thought about what it meant. “Time” is one of Dark Side’s most accessible tracks. David Gilmour’s guitar scratching juxtaposed with Wright’s keyboarding sounds like two masters of pong in a match of a lifetime. This is one of the few tracks on the album that has the capability to standalone but it doesn’t need to. “Time” is a pivotal piece in the Dark Side Janga.
“The Great Gig in the Sky”
A fairly unknown session singer from Abby Road Studios was asked to come in and provide vocals for the final track of side one and the result made music history. Clare Torry’s voice is mesmerizing as it’s thrown around in “The Great Gig in the Sky.” I’ve been told that she was able to record her part in one take but that’s just a false urban legend. Gilmour confirmed the band compiled the best parts from Torry’s session to create the powerful vocal solo. A possible metaphor regarding death, “The Great Gig in the Sky” dazzles as we enter the second half of Dark Side.
Side 2
“Money”
One of Pink Floyd’s biggest hits that made them rich (ironic in that it’s a song that mocks the lavish lifestyle) “Money” is one of the only Dark Side songs to ever make heavy radio play. There’s a funkier persona attached to this track, due to its 7/4 song structure, and both the saxophone and guitar solos rip and roar.
“Us and Them”
A song that’s able to sway between beautiful and sad at the same time, “Us and Them” is the centerpiece for side two. Keep an ear out for the two sax solos, another oddball speaking section, courtesy of one of the band’s roadies and Gilmour, Wright and Roger Waters ability to harmonize into one mystic voice.
“Any Colour You Like”
Isn’t it funny how the English spell color with a u?
“Brain Damage”
Syd Barrett was Pink Floyd’s original leader who wrote most of their early songs but had to leave the band in 1968 after he began showing signs of mental incapability due to excess drug abuse, mainly LSD. “Brain Damage” is a direct response to Barret (“And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes…”) and I see it as an homage to the late mad genius. Musically, the guitar’s arpeggio structure recalls the Beatles “Dear Prudence” and the last 45 seconds of the track is a bridge that leads us into…
“Eclipse”
The cymbals crash and instantly we’re smacked with an electric keyboard right hook. Dark Side’s final track is an explosion of insight, “And everything under the sun is in tune/ But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.” After the music sizzles down to just a heartbeat, listen closely as an Abby Road Studios doorman leaves you with some parting wisdom.
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