OK then, Botley, don't flip out!
I wrote an e-mail to Vernon Fitch, runner of the Pink Floyd archives, a while ago about this.
This is what I mailed him:
"Pink Floyd Archives:
First of all, I would like to complement you on the great job you did with the Pink Floyd Encyclopedia.
But this is odd...
About a year ago, I went to my local record store, and was amazed to find a mint vinyl copy of Dark Side of The Moon. It has a Capitol 'rainbow' label, which I read signifies a later pressing. It has to be a later pressing, because I doubt the record could have survived long in mint condition, and all of the other original DSOTM pressings I have seen have a pyramid Harvest label.
So, amazed at my find, I quickly bought it (only $9.00 with the posters and stickers!) and rushed home to listen to it. Imagine my surprise when it sounded strangely 'different'.
Listening through headphones, a good deal of the whole first side was mixed differently. Examples:
SIDE ONE:
Speak To Me: the heartbeat, which is mixed in the center on the CD, is mixed to the left on my copy. The clock that enters right before the words "I've been mad for ****ing years" ticks twice on the CD, but the same clock on the vinyl ticks 5 or 6 times. The crossfade of "Speak To Me" and "Breathe" is more obvious, with a loud swish in between the two songs.
Breathe: this is mixed the same as the CD version, with the exception of the crossfade between the former song and this one.
On The Run: a good deal of the stereo effects on this song are mixed differently. For example, the spoken words "Live today, gone tomorrow, that's me" start on the right and pan to the left as usual, but the laughter which is deposited on the left channel ends with a reverbed effect in the CD. On the vinyl, the laughter has an echo effect, with three 'echoes' of the laughter. Right at the end of the song, the plane crash pans quickly from right, to left, to right again. Also, the plane crash sounds between this song and "Time" sound a lot more clearer.
Time: this is also mixed the same as on the CD, with "Breathe
(Reprise)" also mixed the same.
The Great Gig in The Sky: the music backing, to my recollection, is
mixed largely the same. The main differences here are the singing and spoken voices. There are two major differences here: the first is that the spoken words "I never said I was afraid of dying" are 'delayed' a small bit from where they would usually be, and are clearer than the CD. The other difference is that the singing, at the end when the just piano and bass are playing, is mixed differently, with the vocals coming out of the right channel and the reverb attached to the vocal panning from right to left.
SIDE TWO:
Almost all of these songs (Money, Us and Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage, Eclipse) are mixed the same, with one exception: the spoken words and laughter at the end of "Brain Damage" are clearer than on CD.
So, what could be causing these differences? I know it's not my stereo equipment, because I have played another copy of DSOTM (a Harvest 'pyramid' label pressing) on my turntable, and that copy was identical to the CD version when played through my equipment. I do know that Capitol used 'condensed' quadrophonic versions of "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" on Works,
but those versions don't sound like the versions on this copy. And I've found that every Harvest label vinyl copy of DSOTM sounds the same as the CD version of the same album. So, I see three possibilities for these
differences:
1. That this version is on every 'rainbow' label version of this album.
Maybe Capitol took it upon themselves to 'remix', or at least work with their stereo master tapes, of DSOTM when they started to press versions of that album onto their own 'rainbow' labels instead of Harvest 'pyramid'
labels. That would account for the differences being on the only Capitol 'rainbow' label pressing I have seen.
2. That this certain version is a factory pressing mistake, with the
condensed quad version on side one and the regular version on side two. If this is true, then this could be the only version that got out of the factory, along with maybe three or less companions.
3. The most ridiculous reason, even though there is a very slight
chance this is true: that my copy is a truly unique copy, and no other pressing in existence is like it. I very seriously doubt this, though; the world isn't that nice.
So, if anyone at the Pink Floyd Archives could write me back with an answer about this, than I would be very much obliged, because it is driving me mad! Thanks for your time."
This is the reply I got:
"Hi Shane,
Thanks for the message. I will certainly look into this. This is the first I have heard of it. It is most likely done when they mastered the LP. But I will have to check my copy of that particular pressing to be sure.
Many thanks for pointing it out to me.
Vernon Fitch
Pink Floyd Archives"
As he never wrote me again, I'm assuming that my copy is like every other rainbow-label Capitol pressing of DSOTM.
I'd be interested to know if anyone here on APFFN has a rainbow-label, 1992-pressing DSOTM. I would like to know if these differences are on any copies anyone here may have of this pressing.
(Sorry for the long post...)