> The enduring qualities of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon have made it an
> epic in the annals of music, and carried it to a remarkable milestone.
> Perhaps a toast is in order. The band's Dark Side of the Moon release is on
> e of the top recordings of all time and has been on album charts for 26
> years.
>
> Said Glenda the Good Witch to Dorothy from Kansas, "Just tap your heels,
> and you'll take a trip to the Dark Side of the Moon."
>
> OK, that's not how The Wizard of Oz goes. But someone with too much time on
> his hands -- and a ready supply of mind-altering substances -- once
> discovered that Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album provides a nifty
> alternative soundtrack to the classic movie.
>
> Apparently, if you start the album on the third roar of the MGM lion, the
> music and lyrics perfectly parallel much of the action. But this trippy bit
> of trivia does not begin to explain the album's massive appeal and
> endurance.
>
> Dark Side of the Moon turns 30 today, and continues to enjoy status as one
> of the top-selling albums of all time and an essential part of our rock 'n'
> roll consciousness.
>
> Ironically, as if to demonstrate one of the album's themes, its original
> U.K. release (March 24, 1973, a week after the North American release) was
> marred by a bit of capitalism gone awry. Scheduled for a press showcase at
> the London Planetarium, the planned quadrophonic mix had not been produced
> in time. The record company went ahead with an inferior stereo mix and,
> according to drummer Nick Mason, "they'd got the most terrible speakers."
> The band refused to participate, so the label erected cardboard cut-outs of
> the musicians to "welcome" the press. The reporters had a field day, one
> even quipping that he couldn't tell the difference.
>
> Despite this inauspicious release, and mixed early reviews, Dark Side of
> the Moon has put up staggering numbers, selling more than 29 million copies
> worldwide. It will be certified double diamond in Canada next week, marking
> sales of two million.
>
> It stayed on Billboard Magazine's Top 200 Album chart for 741 weeks in
> total -- more than 14 years. Of those, 591 weeks were consecutive, from
> Dec. 18, 1976 to April 23, 1988. It dropped off due to a change in
> Billboard's chart system, but returned to the Pop Catalog Album chart,
> created in 1991, and has maintained a position there ever since.
>
> Just last month, DSM marked its 1,342nd week (almost 26 years) of chart
> placement, earning it a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. No
> other album has persisted longer on any chart in history.
>
> But at the time, the album's massive success nearly drove the band apart.
> The recognition that they may have reached their peak left nothing left to
> strive for. In a June 1978 interview with Melody Maker, guitarist David
> Gilmour reflected, "When you have something like Dark Side of the Moon ...
> all those goals suddenly disappear because you've got them. There was
> definitely a danger point at that period. We could have easily packed the
> whole thing in."
>
> Fittingly, DSM was one of the first albums available on CD in August 1984
> -- in fact, its catalogue number is EMI001 -- and remains one of the top 10
> best-selling compact discs of all time. And to commemorate the anniversary,
> EMI will release DSM on Super Audio CD (SACD) format next Tuesday. Remixed
> and re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, the hybrid SACD will be
> playable on any conventional CD unit, but those with SACD-compatible
> systems will hear it in 5.1 surround sound.
>
> Mark Collen, senior vice-president of global marketing for EMI, says DSM is
> perfectly suited to a high-resolution format like SACD, "which can
> faithfully capture the subtle nuances of the Floyd's intricate music."
> Original sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson has also re-worked his prism
> design for the 30th anniversary cover.
>
> DSM is a staple of the programming on Ottawa's classic rock station, CHEZ
> 106. Tracks like Time, Money and Us And Them combine for approximately 11
> spins every week, and the album is played in its entirety about four times
> a year, "just for fun", says station manager, Danny Kingsbury.
>
> Kingsbury feels that the album's prevailing feature is its revolutionary
> production.
>
> "People probably didn't even appreciate it at the time, but when you listen
> to it now, it's not dated at all. It's brilliant sonics. It will last
> forever."
>
> Craig Bailey is the host of Floydian Slip, a weekly Pink Floyd radio show
> heard in Vermont since 1995.
>
> "Dark Side is a blast," he muses. "Full of layers of ambient sounds,
> effects and dialogue-solid songwriting, excellent production and fine
> musicianship. It's one of the best-recorded albums ever made."
>
> The inventive dialogue on DSM provides some of its most memorable moments,
> like the infamous lunatic laughter of Pink Floyd roadie Roger The Hat, on
> Brain Damage.
>
> And the closing words of the album, "There is no dark side of the moon,
> really. Matter of fact, it's all dark," uttered by Jerry Driscoll.
>
> These were culled from interviews conducted by engineer Alan Parsons.
> Participants flipped over cards and answered questions compiled by the
> band, like "Do you fear death?" and "Are you mad?".
>
> Erik Haller, general manager of the HMV superstore in Toronto, is a big fan
> of the album.
>
> "Way ahead of its time. The way the voice and sound are mixed is timeless.
> The theme and music appeals to all generations."
>
> He also notes that current electronic artists were most certainly
> influenced by the atmospheric sound of DSM. In fact, Radiohead cites Pink
> Floyd as an influence on its breakthrough OK Computer album.
>
> Clearly, DSM's dark, introspective motifs struck a universal and timeless
> chord. It's easy to see that the album's themes of alienation, greed,
> wasted time, death -- all the things that drive people mad -- are still
> frighteningly relevant. The extent of its abiding popularity is evident
> from SoundScan's sales figures, still tracking an average of 8,000 copies
> sold weekly in the U.S., and almost 700 in Canada.
>
> And new generations of fans continue to discover this influential album,
> apparent on the many Pink Floyd forums on the Internet.
>
>
>
>
"I don't know if pop is an art form? I should think it is as much as sitting
down is."
Syd Barrett, 1970
....
