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Old 08-09-2014, 17:46
Fat Buddha
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Whilst on holiday I got talking to a guy at length about various bands, mostly over several beers and G & T's. The topic of conversation moved on to Pink Floyd, and he posed the question "What makes the album Dark Side Of The Moon the utter masterpiece it is ?" Now we all agreed that Meddle and Wish You Were Here were also deserving of master works status, but DSOTM was on a level far beyond either. Not one of us could give a reason as to why it is. I would like to ask all you musos out there if you could offer a reason.
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Old 08-09-2014, 17:55
AntoniaA
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Dark Side of the Moon is beautiful, beyond beautiful really; within that beauty is madness. It touches something in the listener. No other album compares. I may not have answered your question adequately, it isn't easy to put into words. The album needs to be listened to in its entirety there's something about it which totally enfolds.

(I heard that Floyd are bringing out a new album, don't know much about it, could be a compilation of old stuff but those in the business are excited.)
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Old 08-09-2014, 18:24
bryemycaz
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Dark Side of the Moon is beautiful, beyond beautiful really; within that beauty is madness. It touches something in the listener. No other album compares. I may not have answered your question adequately, it isn't easy to put into words. The album needs to be listened to in its entirety there's something about it which totally enfolds.

(I heard that Floyd are bringing out a new album, don't know much about it, could be a compilation of old stuff but those in the business are excited.)
New album is the stuff which did not make the Division Bell in 1994. It's mainly instrumental stuff nice for collectors and a nice Swan Song for Richard Wright but that's all it is.

It will not be the next Dark Side but what is
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Old 08-09-2014, 22:18
Eraserhead
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DSOTM is one of those rare albums which just gets everything right. The band were still trying to find their feet after Syd's departure and despite some great flourishes none of the post-Syd albums to date had come together as a satisfying whole.

DSOTM took a leap of faith in being written around a set of universally identifiable themes - war, madness, greed, ageing - but which rather than being individual pieces somehow coalesced as a whole and one greater than the sum of its parts. Each band member contributed fully (unlike later albums which veered more and more towards Waters-only projects) and every track on the album is beautifully written and performed.

It's not to everyone's taste - the overall feeling of melancholia is too much for some - but it reflected the mood of its time perfectly, especially from a musical point of view where the early 70s were still on something of a comedown from the craziness of the previous decade and "serious" rock music had lost its way a bit.

It showcased the band at their creative peak and managed to chuck in a ton of ideas without making the whole endeavour seem too overblown or self-indulgent (again, a criticism often made of later albums, sometimes unjustifiably). Indeed, there's a lightness of touch in songs like "Brain Damage" which contrasts against the weight of their meaning (in this case the band still trying to come to terms with Syd's mental collapse)
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Old 09-09-2014, 08:29
Glawster2002
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Whilst on holiday I got talking to a guy at length about various bands, mostly over several beers and G & T's. The topic of conversation moved on to Pink Floyd, and he posed the question "What makes the album Dark Side Of The Moon the utter masterpiece it is ?" Now we all agreed that Meddle and Wish You Were Here were also deserving of master works status, but DSOTM was on a level far beyond either. Not one of us could give a reason as to why it is. I would like to ask all you musos out there if you could offer a reason.
I've read many music critics who would argue that Wish you Were Here? is a better album than Dark Side Of The Moon.

For me, Animals is the Floyd album I listen to the most
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Old 09-09-2014, 08:34
Heston Veston
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At least one article written about the album has pointed out that it came out at a time when the hi-fi industry was starting to take off and DSOTM was the ideal 'test' album.

I think it's the quality of the songwriting; both musically and lyrically. No matter how many times I've listened to it, the opening spoken-word "I know I'm mad, I've always been mad...I've been mad for ****ing years" collage of 'Speak To Me' fading into the soaring guitar/organ of 'Breathe' gets me every time.
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