CD CHOICE:The Dark Side of the Moon EMI *****
"None of us imagined that decades later you could go to the remotest part of the globe and find cassettes of The Dark Side of the Moonrattling around in the glove compartments of Third World taxis," famed 1960s producer Joe Boyd once said of Pink Floyd. Pretty much any successful band, mega or otherwise, has an albatross around their necks in the form of a song or album that they are defined by.
Pink Floyd are lucky: they’ve had two distinct phases (in-the-zone psychedelic and full-blown, concept-driven progressive rock), and during both they released era-defining albums that influenced successive generations of rock groups as well as gaining them a worldwide audience.
It's estimated that The Dark Side of the Moonhas sold more than 35 million copies. That figure will surely be added to by the year's end if this latest reissue by EMI, in full collaboration with the band members, is anything to go by.
Indeed, The Dark Side of the Moonkicks off a reissue surge that features the development of a multi- format line-up of packages (encompassing CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, SACD, a variety of digital formats, viral marketing, iPhone Apps). The album comes in a six-disc "Immersion" box set and two-disc "Experience" versions, as well as a collectors' vinyl LP and various digital formats.
Of course, the obvious question to answer is this: does anyone really need another copy of The Dark Side of the Moon?
Two answers: if you don’t own a copy, then you either view it with indifference or as a prime example of bloated, over-familiar dinosaur rock.
If you do own a copy, then you'll know that – taken, as it should be, as a complete listening experience – TDSOTMis an indelible piece of art that never fails to draw the listener into its world of handwringing, "quiet desperation", occasional optimism, skyscraping vocals, and often quite solemn, hymnal understatement.
See pinkfloyd.com
Download tracks: Breathe, Time, The Great Gig in the Sky, Us and Them, Brain Damage
