And so it starts/ Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

So this is how this blog is gonna go down.
Every week we will post two blogs, one on NEW music/albums/artists, by Brad, and the other on CLASSIC music/albums/artists by me, Henry, PLUS, on top of that, an "Album of the week", as voted by Brad and Myself. Got it? OK, lets kick this in the teeth...

Looking for a classic album? something to relax to? You simply cant walk past " The Dark Side of the Moon", the Incredible 1973 album by brilliant prog rockers, Pink Floyd. Easily the most listened to album on my iPod and probably the my favorite, and in my opinion, the greatest of all time, Dark Side of the moon is a masterpiece of modern music. Sitting at fourth best selling position of all time, behind two M.J albums and AC/DC's "Back in Black", Dark Side has sold 45 million copies and spend 14 years in the Billboard 200, longer then any other record in the history of music. These fearsome records are proof that this album is nothing to be sniffed at, But that's sales, time for the technical side of things. The incredible, solid bass rifts and dark, depressing lyrics are thanks to the tyrant of Floyd, Rodger Waters, dear I say it, one of the best song writers of all time. Waters has sculpted this album to perfection, with every drumbeat and every tight guitar solo building and building for 43 minutes, till the album reaches its epic climax in "Eclipse". like most Pink Floyd albums, the themes of Dark Side of the Moon are very dark. Whilst not a developing storyline, like their later work "The Wall", focused on a single, central character, Dark Side follows life in general. The songs build around the ideas of death, insanity, capitalism, pain and old age, ending with a summery of life. These themes, combined with the slow beat of Nick Mason's drums and the rythmic lyrics of Waters, sung by lead guitarist Dave Gilmore gives the whole album a very somber feel, a brilliant example of this is "Time".
The high point of the album, to me at least, is the incredible, unearthly wailing and finely tuned keyboarding of "Great Gig in the Sky", the late keyboardist, Richard Wright's key contribution to the record.
For me, Dark Side of the Moon is the epitome of Pink Floyd, written after the troubles with Syd Barrett and before the the unpleasantness of the Wall, easily the greatest album ever recorded.

Highlights: The whole thing really, but, if I must, are "Time", "Great Gig in the Sky" and "Us and Them" through to"Eclipse"
Sales: 45 Million records world wide
Personnel: Rodger Waters; Song writer, Bass, Vocals
Dave Gilmore; Lead guitar, Vocals
Nick Mason; Drums; Percusion
Richard Wright; Keyboard, Vocals

Key Factors Which Make It Totally Awesome: Mind blowing instrumentals, Intermittent quotes, Tight lyrics
Rating: An easy 11/10

Next Week: Joy Division