Our Album Side is Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon [UPDATED]

Dark Side of the Moon is Pink Floyd's eighth studio album released March 24th, 1973 (wow, that's 38 years ago). The British quartet's concept album contains five tracks on each side reflecting various stages of life, you'll hear a heartbeat at the beginning and ending of the record. The original title was Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics).

The album is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for being on the charts longer than any other record in history. It was at number one for a week and remained on the charts for 591 consecutive weeks and spent a total of 26 years on some Billboard chart.

 

Dark Side is one of the top 25 best selling albums in the U.S. and is the sixth best seller in the U.K. Alan Parsons engineered the recording at the Abbey Road Studios, for which he was nominated for a Grammy. All lyrics were written by Roger Waters. The Official Site of Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon has 30 Floydian Facts about Dark Side, here's a sample:

  1.   Speak To Me (instrumental)-On this track the "stoned" laughter was contributed by Pink Floyd's Road Manager Peter Watts, actress Naomi Watt's father. Cue cards were handed out to roadies, anyone at Abbey Road, doormen, and members of the band Wings including Paul and Linda McCartney with about 20 questions like "Are you afraid of dying?  and the most spontaneous answers appeared on the album.

   2.   Breathe-The slide guitar on this song was played on a pedal steel David Gilmour purchased in a pawn shop in Seattle in 1968.

   3.   On The Run (instrumental)-During the recording, studio time would be interupted by soccer and Monty Python on TV, Pink Floyd were such fans that money from the success of the album would be used to fund the movie Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

   4.  Time-Dark Side has sold about 35 million copies worldwide.

  

   5.  The Great Gig in the Sky-Richard Wright played the piano and staff songwriter Clare Torry was paid double to come in on a Sunday and improvise her wailing vocal solo.

The band on Dark Side of the Moon:

     David Gilmour-guitars

     Nick Mason-drums

     Roger Waters-bass

     Richard Wright-keyboards

BONUS FLOYD FACT: "Dark Side of the Rainbow"-the rumour is that if you play this album while watching the Wizard Of Oz movie you'll notice all kinds of similarities between the music, the lyrics and the movie. (I've tried this and there are lots of cosmic coincidences, just remember to start the album at the third roar of the MGM lion at the start of the film. Some say to begin when the movie turns to color, I've tried both and they each create some fun and strange stuff).

What album do you want to hear at the end of April?