Thirty years after its original release, the carrot being dangled before the faithful to celebrate yet another anniversary of this icon of the rock era is a version in a format called 5.1, although it's hard to imagine how another sonic clean-up will help the toked-up trudge of Nick Mason's drumming...
Thirty years after its original release, the carrot being dangled before the faithful to celebrate yet another anniversary of this icon of the rock era is a version in a format called 5.1, although it’s hard to imagine how another sonic clean-up will help the toked-up trudge of Nick Mason’s drumming. But it’s worth raising a cheer, for while it probably wasn’t their finest hour artistically, this latest reissue does offer the chance to challenge the idea that Dark Side Of The Moon is a monument to turgidity and misguided ambition.
Dark Side Of The Moon was the first rock record to assume an extra-musical life of its own, acquired by millions almost as a lifestyle choice. Even the States fell at the band’s feet?never entirely at home with UK prog, the comparative simplicity of this music made art-rock for the mass market a reality.
It’s perhaps the enigmatic nature of the beast that is its enduring marvel; that one can listen to it and not have the faintest idea why it leaves you uplifted, a particularly incongruous reaction given its dyspeptic content. “How did they do that?” you ask and, of course, there’s no answer. There are no grand gestures, no coups de th