It’s a quite night with a chill still
holding in the air. My wife is at her
mothers, I have the house to myself for the evening. A good time to put life on pause for a few
hours. I thought to myself what do I
enjoy, what has relaxed me in times gone by… The companionship of a good dog
has always brought me comfort so I brought Tarrna in, after a little bit of
playtime she settles down beside me, content with my hand on her back. The smooth creamy taste of an Irish Stout for
some reason gives me the feeling that everything will be OK so I opened a
Guinness, I poured it quickly into a pint glass allowing the thick foam to
build. I could have sat there on the
floor for the next few hours feeling the warmth of Tarrna’s head laying across
my leg and sipping the creamy brew till I decided to go to bed, letting the
world chart its course without me.
Still my mind began to wonder, thoughts of
what I had to do tomorrow, thought of what’s going on at work, and thoughts of
the daily upheavals I’m exposed to continue to surface. I needed just a touch of a distraction to
occupy my thoughts, just a little something to lead me to the moment of
solitude I was seeking, I needed a bit of music. My music collection is quite extensive and
varied, ranging from the pounding rhythms of Aerosmith, the classics Mozart,
Chopin and Beethoven, to the twang of Hank Williams (Sr. and Jr.), the rhythm
blues of Robert Johnson and on and on.
As I scrolled through looking for just the right tone, the right mood, I
came across the familiar picture of a prism being struck on one side by a
single intense beam of light while emitting a rainbow of color from the other
side, it was Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon.
Released in March 1973, the music is 40
years old now. I thought back to when I
was very young, putting the vinyl album on the little record player in my room,
listening to the mixture of sound effects spliced with the electronic
synthesized arrangements’ of Richard Wright’s keyboard, the bluesy notes from
David Gilmore’s Guitar, the primal beat of Nick Mason on the drums and all
being linked with the subtle rhythm of Rodger Waters on bass guitar. The music for the evening was selected and I
drifted off to a simpler time, if but for a little while.
Dark
Side of the Moon
Speak To Me / Breath In The Air (4:00) This two part
arrangement starts with dizzying sound effects building then going directly
into the haunting drawn out sound of Gilmore’s lap steel guitar, the vocals are
like a sirens call beckoning, smooth and reassuring.On The Run (3:33) A repetitive volley of synthesized effects fused with clips of nondescript vocals. A sound version of the rush and stress of life. As harsh as it begins, it maintains its energy throughout to an explosive end.
Time (7:06) The ticking of clocks builds to a defining crash
of bell and alarms only to subside into ebb and flow of drums and guitars that
take a hurried pace then just as suddenly dipping to a peaceful loll. The
vocals tell a story of time passing and of years quickly lost. It almost hits a little close to home… one of
my favorites.
The Great Gig in the Sky (4:44) Operatic, mixed with a bit
of the early Floyd psychedelic , a female voice (Clare Torry) leads this
arrangement in a hypnotic journey. I
picture a building storm at sea, the crashing waves as the storm tightens its
grip, then picture its passing and the gentle rocking calm that follows. Just close your eyes and enjoy… The Great Gig
in the Sky
Money (6:32) A staple on Classic Rock stations still, the
tale of greed and envy could come out of today’s headlines “MONEY… Share it
fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie”
Us And Them (7:40) This is the “ONE”… If I were told I could
have only one jewel from this box of gems it would be this one. Beginning with an alluring combination of
keyboard and saxophone followed by the vocals of David Gilmore, feels like a
warm blanket of sound is being draped over you.
The warmth gives way to a powerful choirs but quickly returns to the
comfortable warm blanket. This track
sets the tone for the finish of the album. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Yayz5o-l0
Any Colour You Like (3:25) An instrumental continuation of
Us and Them with more synthesized lead and a bit of a chance for Gilmore to
showcase his guitar greatness.
Brain Damage (3:50) The music
is inviting and whimsicle, you could almost picture a child dancing around on a
playground but the dark story being told by Roger Waters lyrics soon commands
your attention. This dark story ended up
being a glimpse of what would follow on the next few albums. Dark… but powerful, the loss of Syd Barrett
from the band due to mental illness had left its mark… the loss had left its scars…
Eclipse (2:04) A perfect closing to the journey this album
took, the pace seems to quicken as voice after voice joins the choirs only to
fade into the sound of a single beating heart that too, fades into silence.
Upon release, Dark Side of the Moon topped
Billboard’s Top LP chart and remained on the chart for 741 weeks (1973-1988)
selling well over 50,000,000 copies (DSotM is still ranked #1 for consecutive
weeks on the chart, the next closest LP spent 490 weeks on the chart). Rolling Stone Magazine has it listed at #43
in its list of “500 Greatest Albums Of All Time”. I would have ranked it a bit higher not only
for the music and cutting edge recording techniques used by Alan Parsons, but
also for the influence it had on generations of bands that followed.
Audio (42:49)
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Dark+side+of+the+moon+pink+floyd&view=detail&mid=FA7ED352469338578FBDFA7ED352469338578FBD&first=81&FORM=NVPFVR
Richard Wright,
Pianist/Keyboardist/Singer/Songwriter, passed away 15, Sept. 2008
Syd Barrett,
Singer/Songwriter,
the founder and original inspiration for Pink Floyd, passed away 7, July
2006.
I know some of you may have been looking
forward to my usually critical stories on political figures and their egregious
behaviors and activities… but even I have to step away from their lunacy once
& awhile, and wallow in my own.
“See You On The Dark Side Of The
Moon”
The TOMCAT
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