An absolute psychedelic masterpiece, Dark Side Of The Moon is a must have in any rock music collection. The album was released in March 1973 after nine months of meticulous work. This was the band’s magnum opus. Indeed the album which to many latter day aficionados is the Floyd.

The group dealt with stress, lunacy and death in contemporary society; this is conveyed via the classiest production jobs (by the Floyd themselves) on record. Pink Floyd’s instrumental prowess and mastery of sound effects was their commercial-meets-conceptual equinox. All the extra-musical weirdness (esp. the Syd Barrett days) gets reduced into a strong, orderly set of songs. Cunning little details like the cash-register ring on Money or the alarm-clock buzz on Time actually enhance their surroundings. That’s indicative of Floyd’s newfound focus and discipline; so are the catchy chorus and Water’s pointed lyrics. Even the spare, distinctive packaging reflects the clarity and precision of the music. All these made for the mood music of the decade.

Dark Side Of The Moon was a gigantic seller. It provided the Floyd with their first U. S. No. 1 and took up permanent residency on the British chart for more than two years. Another highlight about this album is the superb, minimalist art work of the cover designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis who produced the illustration of light refracted through a prism.

The band includes

Roger Waters: Bass

David Gilmour: Guitar

Rick Wright: Keyboards

Nick Mason: Drums

Label: Capitol/Harvest 1973

Format: 2 X Vinyl, LP Album

Released; March 1973

Genre: Rock

-- Reviewed by Pilak Bhatt

Pilak Bhatt is a 54 year old Mumbai resident who is still keeping the turntable spinning. Bhatt is one of many avid LP record collectors in the country and also around the world who has a passion for music and collecting LP records. Bhatt has a collection of almost 1 lac LP records. He buys and sells LPs, advises on turntables and has his own Music Circle shop at Kandivili, Mumbai that stocks loads of LPs. He can be contacted on 9820365979.