I'm considerably aghast at how little I have to say of this album. As I've already professed in the beginning: Best. Album. Ever. Start to finish. Every ooh, every ahh, every timbre and shaft of light. The colours, the lyrics, the dazzling awesomeness of this wonderful little musical prism. It's all here on display, an aura for every ear, an emblem for every ember. A perfect synesthesia. The miraculous graying of forbidden light.
What's not to appreciate? You can choose any colour you like. If you've got no time, you can listen to it on the run. If you've got no money, speak to me; I'll lend you some. No sense waiting for an eclipse; just listen, and breathe. And don't fritter and waste about the Us and Them conflict -- they can keep their hitmebabyonemoretimes and iwantitthatways until they've suffered brain damage. We've got the greatest gig in the sky, circa 1973, always and forever. Besides, there's no dark side of the moon, really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark. A+ (I think I need a Leer jet.)
8 comments:
I have the LP in vinyl, I have the cassette, I have the live version from Pulse, I have the live version from last tour of Roger Waters, a great album, a masterpiece, one of my favourites no doubt about it...
What was that you were saying yesterday? "Bah! I don't care much for these cornerstone albums"
Yep. Because this isn't a cornerstone album or anything.
A+? It lacks the wildness of Piper at the Gates of Dawn and the sheer psychedelic power of Meddle. Everything that was great about Pink Floyd was distilled in an pristine, emotionless, hollow shell of its former self by Alan Parsons and the band. This was the beginning of the end for Floyd. Sure, it's not as terrible as the Wall, but it still pales in comparison to their creative peaks like "Echoes" and "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict."
Rahm,
Agreed.
Chuck,
This isn't a cornerstone album. This is the Best. Album. Ever. It defies categorization. It can't be a cornerstone when it's the fucking building!
Bob,
Don't mess with Floyd! They are my sacred musical ground and I advise you tread carefully! Seriously, inasmuch as I love Piper and Meddle, this album is it. Period. Wish You Were Here? Animals? The Wall? Beginning of the end? Bah, I say, like a sheep on Animals. The Final Cut was the end. This was the just one of the peaks. No, it's not early Floyd, but for all their quirkiness, they could have never mustered up this masterpiece. Songs like "Echoes" foreshadowed the greatness that is this.
Speaking of which, I heard a BBC version of "Echoes" on cassette in college many eons past and it was incredible. I'm going to go in my cave now and groove with my pict.
Ahh, I'm just messing with you. I love Dark Side. Meddle is a personal favorite, but in the scheme of things it doesn't measure up to their true classic. It's one of those albums that sold tons of copies for the very simple reason that it was just that good. Animals was the last good album though. For some reason, Waters got consumed by his vision (or lack thereof) and, for all its ambition, The Wall was pretty rotten. Even the Waters-less albums weren't as bad of The Wall and The Final Cut.
Oh, and Live at Pompei is one of the great concert films of all time (better even than Live After Death, I think).
Sure, The Final Cut is a stinker, but at least it's not a snoozefest. I can't even get through any of the post Waters albums without slipping into a coma. It's better to be terrible than to be completely boring.
And as much as I want to bash on Dark Side, I really can't do it with a clear conscience. It's a great album.
Any fans of Dub Side of the Moon out there? I picked it up last year, and while it's a bit of a novelty, it's rooted in something very true and very real. I see it almost as a statement that Dark Side's influence was so vast, it touched everything that came after it, even reggae.
Oh, and Bob... "an pristine?" You're an fucking genius.
Bob,
Hmm, not much to argue there -- you either love The Wall or you don't. I personally think Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall is perhaps the greatest string of albums ever. But I also know that The Wall is a thorn for some. Oh, well. Dark side still rules, and I I tell you what Bob. Meddle will be next.
Chuck,
Stinker. Har har har. You're sounding just like Master Cianan methinks. Aye lad, verily.
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