Pink Floyd "The Dark Side of the Moon" Album Review

During the past few weeks I've been brainstorming new ideas for my music blog so I can attempt to keep it updated on a more frequent basis. And I came up with this idea that I'm about to put into fruition by writing this post. So I've written a couple of album reviews in past but have decided on a new concept when reviewing albums as writing the long spiels that I usually do take forever meaning that I can't update my blogs as often as I'd like to. With that in mind I thought I'd write a little about the album I'm reviewing and its history/back story and then have specific questions I answer with my thoughts and opinions of its contents. For newer releases I think I'll try write in a little more detail like I have with my previous reviews however, I thought having a strategy would allow me to review albums and update my blog more frequently. I thought in order to introduce myself to new music I'd purchase a couple of new albums every so often that perhaps I like the name of, or I liked the cover art etc. By doing this I might discover some new bands and you lovely people might too! So to start us off I thought I'd write about an album I picked up a few days ago. I know it's a classic album and a lot of you will know it well but perhaps I might introduce some of my generation to this band/album by writing this review!

Anyway, today's album is by the legendary classic rock band Pink Floyd who formed in the city of London in the year of 1965, I believe. Initially the band consisted of members Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright all whom of which were just students at the time. The band gained popularity in London's underground music scene and by the year of 1967 has released a successful debut album called "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and two charting singles. Later that year David Gilmour joined the band and just a few months later in 1968, Syd Barrett left the band. Over a period numerous band members left and re-joined, touring until the year of 1994. They did however reunite for a final performance at Live 8 back in 2005 and have since been said to have no plans to reunite for any further live performances which is a shame for young fans like me. However, it would never quite be the same without the full line-up as unfortunately some of the band members have since passed away, so I suppose I'll just have to enjoy video footage and hope someone invents a time machine!

According to my research Pink Floyd has over 250 million records worldwide which is absolutely incredible! I mean seriously, how cool would it be to say you're a part of a band that has sold as many albums as that over the years?!

 

Album Name:

The Dark Side of the Moon

 

Release Date:

1st March 1973

 

Genre:

Rock

 

How Much It Cost Me:

£5.00 from Sainbury's (a great bargain if you ask me!)

 

My Favourite Song in the Album:

I know this may sound a little cliché considering this is probably the most famous song on the entire album however; I have to say "Money" is an outstanding song and is currently one of my favourite songs to jam along to on my bass guitar. But seriously, there's no denying it; it's an incredible song!

 

My Least Favourite Song:

On a lot of albums there's at least one song that I don't warm to however, there isn't really a song on this particular album that I dislike. They're all in their own right amazing pieces of music and I'd be lying to say I disliked any of the songs.

 

What Made Buy This Album?

I've always been familiar with Pink Floyd's music ever since I was little; I suppose you could say I was brought up around it alongside so many other amazing bands. However, I was flicking through my music books a few weeks ago deliberating what song to learn next on my bass guitar. I came across "Money" by Pink Floyd and out of all the songs in my book that one really stuck out at me so I decided to give it a shot. I spent hours on end teaching myself "Money" from start to finish and listened to it over and over again until I got it right. I really fell in love with that song and decided to go check out "The Dark Side of the Moon" album. The music instantly caught my attention and I NEEDED to buy myself a copy of the album. So we were in our local Sainsbury's store picking up a few bits and pieces when I went for my annual look round the Entertainment isle. My eyes soon fell up that distinctive album cover; yes, that was of course "The Dark Side of the Moon" album cover! Coincidental! Without a doubt I had to buy a copy of the album particularly when it was only £5! An absolute bargain in my opinion! So my friends, that is the story of how I came to buying Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" album.

 

Do I Regret Buying This Album?

Absolutely not! It's filled with some amazing songs/pieces of music by such a legendary band and of course I got a great bargain when buying it too!

 

5 Random Facts about This Album:

1. The band's iconic album cover was designed by an artist named Storm Forgerson (brilliant name!) who was a friend of Pink Floyd's guitarist David Gilmour as teenagers and was best man at David's wedding to Polly Samson in 1994. Storm's design for the album cover featured a prism which apparently was inspired by the lighting used during the band's concerts. 

 

2. Throughout the ten tracks in the album a range of voices and laughing can be heard. These voices were actually recorded by a number of different people including roadies, the band's road manager Peter Watts and even Abbey Road Studio's doorman Gerry O'Driscoll. I also heard somewhere that one of my all-time favourite singers Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Linda were interviewed however; their voices did not make the final cut.

 

3. The album was originally meant to be called "Eclipse: A Piece for Assorted Lunatics".

 

 4. The sound engineer who worked on "The Dark Side of the Moon" album was a gentleman named Alan Parsons who also worked on another classic album which just so happened to be The Beatles' "Abbey Road" album. He was actually nominated for a Grammy for the Best Engineered Recording, Non Classic for his work on The Dark Side of the Moon album.

 

5. The Dark Side of the Moon album to date still holds the record for the longest running LP on the Billboard 200. The album remained on the Billboard 200 for over 800 week straight-incredible stuff if you ask me!

 

Overall Thoughts:

Overall, Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" album is in my opinion absolutely amazing and lives up to all the raving reviews I've heard people say about it! It's filled to the brim with some outstanding tracks which are completely unique in comparison to other music I've listened to. I know a lot of my older readers will no doubt have this album in their collection or at least have heard it but to all my younger readers out there, who haven't discovered this legendary album go out and buy it! You NEED to hear this incredible album!

Fleetwood Mac: On With the Show Tour, The SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow 8th July 2015

A few weeks ago, my family and I caught the legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac's third and final concert in Glasgow as part of their "On With The Show" tour. If you've been keeping up with my other blog you'll probably have heard the exciting news that thanks to an amazing charity named Rays of Sunshine, I actually had the chance to go backstage at Fleetwood Mac's first Glasgow concert back in June and met with Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood. That was an amazing experience, I'm still in awe that my dream of meeting Stevie came true. It was definitely one of the most surrealist things I've ever experienced. So if you'd like to read more about my special night click here.

Again, Fleetwood Mac put on yet another outstanding show! Having seen them live on three occasions now, twice during this tour and once in the previous tour back in 2013; I'd definitely say that was the best out of the three shows. I'm only sixteen years old and have been lucky enough to see some of the most iconic/legendary bands and artists during the past few years that I've been gig-going. Out of all the bands I've been fortunate enough to see I am having serious deliberations whether Fleetwood Mac or Queen are my favourite. It's an extremely close call shall we say!

From the very second the lights fade into darkness and there's this eerie but rather exciting cricket like sound filling the room, a shiver runs down your spine. You just know it's going to be special. Before long, one by one each member of the iconic band made their way onto stage welcomed by the roars of the Scottish crowd. The loudest roars of which was probably received by Stevie and Lindsey as they walked on stage hand in hand. Moments later, arguably one of Fleetwood Mac's most famous songs "The Chain" kicked off the evening's set list. I personally, couldn't think of a better song to start with. That song instantly catches your attention but it isn't until a single spot light falls upon the band's bassist John McVie and that iconic bass line fills the rooms; it just hits you and shivers run down your spine. A great start to an amazing evening!

John McVie

The evening's set list consisted of 23 of the band biggest hits including Dreams, Rhiannon and Everywhere to name just a few. Tusk, the title track of one of the band's album released in 1979 was definitely a performance to remember. It was probably one of my favourite performances of the evening. It's what I would describe as a lively, folk rock song which really showcases just how incredible an musician and songwriter Lindsey Buckingham truly is.

Tusk was soon followed by another song from the same album, Sisters of the Moon. A large moon is projected onto the screen and develops through the different stages such as a crescent moon and a full moon, this definitely adds to the already eerie atmosphere that the song creates. As you'll probably have gathered I am extremely inspired by Stevie Nicks, her music and of course how she brings her songs to life. Hearing Sisters of the Moon sung live gives me shivers and captures my imagination.

Before long, the audience are treated to a stunning acoustic section which if you've ready any of my other blog posts you'll know is one of my favourite parts of a concert. Like I've said before, acoustic performances capture the artists true emotion and of course the beauty of the song. During Fleetwood Mac's acoustic set, Lindsey Buckingham dedicated Big Love a song from the Tango in the Night album to his eldest son William who was celebrating his 17th birthday back home in America. Every time without fail, Big Love completely blows me away. Lindsey Buckingham is in my opinion one of the best guitarists ever and deserves so much more credit for it than he actually receives. He has one of the most unique fingerpicking styles when playing as opposed to the typical playing with a plectrum. Big Love really blows me away, it seems to catch the audience's attention as we all watch in complete and utter awe. Simply amazing!

Stevie Nicks soon joined Lindsey to perform a stunning song named Landslide-one of my Mum's all-time favourites. Prior to the song she spoke about a previous visit to Scotland where she visited Turnberry, which is situated on the West Coast of Scotland and how she spent time with the falconer and flew the birds there. She fondly told the audience of how she was asked by the falconer to name one of the birds and can anyone guess what she decided to name it? Well, she named the little bird Rhiannon after her song which is pretty special! And of course the performance of Landslide was just as breath-taking as I remembered. How can you not love that song? The mini acoustic set was concluded with Never Going Back Again from the band's biggest album, Rumours.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham performing 'Landslide'

Another song that the audience was treated to was Gypsy from the Mirage album. Over the past few months Gypsy has become one of my all-time favourite Fleetwood Mac songs, it wasn't that I didn't like it before I just think I really began to listen to the song and the words really spoke to me. Stevie tells the most inspiring story prior to performing the song about a shop named "The Velvet Underground" that she used to visit before she became a member of Fleetwood Mac and how all her heroes such as Janis Joplin and Joni Mitchell used to shop their. Basically the underlying message of Stevie's "Velvet Underground" story was to never give up on your dreams no matter what anyone tells you. Those words are of course extremely relevant and meaningful to me, more so now than ever. Towards the end of the song, as Lindsey performs his guitar solo Stevie steps to the side a little and twirls round and round. On the large screen behind the band, the camera focuses on Stevie as she twirls and a video effect is used to make it look as if though she's dancing rain-very atmospheric and fits perfectly with the feel of the song. It's very beautiful and absolutely breath-taking to sit there and watch.

After a great performance of the well known 80s hit Little Lies, my very favourite performance of the evening then took place. This was of course, Gold Dust Woman. Like I said during one of my previous posts, Gold Dust Woman blows me away every single time without fail. For me, there is something special about that song and the performance Stevie Nicks gives the audience during is mind blowing. She evidently puts her heart, mind and soul into it; the power and emotion she portrays is incredible and extremely enchanting. I sat there that night completely mesmerised by the song and awe of just how amazing a performer Stevie Nicks truly is. If you want to know the reason why I love and admire Stevie Nicks so much go look up videos of Gold Dust Woman on YouTube and you'll see why. That song is extremely special to me and hearing it live really brings the words to life in ways that I can't even begin to describe.

Lindsey Buckingham continued to enchant us with a mind-blowing performance of I'm So Afraid. The guitar solo during the song was absolutely outstanding. I can only begin to imagine just how painful and tiresome it is to play guitar like Lindsey. There are so many great guitar players out there but in my opinion Lindsey is a hidden gem that so many often forget about. Seriously, Lindsey Buckingham's guitar playing is nothing short of amazing and his performance of I'm So Afraid proves just that.

Christine McVie

As the night went on the crowd became more and more wilder. According to my parents this was a REAL Glasgow audience. I've to numerous concerts in Glasgow throughout the past few years but I don't think I've ever witnessed a crowd as lively as that before. By the time Go Your Own Way began to play everyone really lost it, everyone was up dancing, having a good time and enjoying themselves. Why shouldn't they!? Although, I must say my family and I were extremely taken aback to turn to our side and see a woman sitting there KNITTING! Seriously, who would pay good money to attend a concert and spend the entire show engrossed in knitting a scarf or jumper. No offence but there's something far wrong with that! What's the point in even going in the first place? I've certainly seen it all now!

Anyway, despite the strange person beside us Go Your Own Way was electric and the crowd was probably as loud as the band which says a lot. My family and I were up dancing around in the isle, me included in my wheelchair-it's too hard not too! The electric atmosphere continued into World Turning which consisted in a lively drum solo from Mick Fleetwood who is by far one of the craziest drummers I've seen. He had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand, making all sorts of crazy noises. I must admit I was a little hoarse by the end of the show from participating in the mad antics-oops!

Don't Stop came next much to the delight of the audience before a stunning performance of Silver Springs. And last but certainly not least was the song that my Mum in particular had waited a VERY long time to finally here live; that was of course Songbird. Christine McVie took centre stage with a grand piano to perform this with Lindsey Buckingham perched on a stool beside her, accompanying on guitar. It was a perfect ending to yet an another amazing show!

Mick Fleetwood

The entire band gathered together on stage for one final time that evening to take a bow before disappearing off into the darkness of the wings leaving Mick Fleetwood to say his final farewell to the audience. What an brilliant evening! I can't quite believe I booked tickets to see Fleetwood Mac all those months ago and it's over already! I sincerely hope I will have another opportunity to see them perform live as every single show I've attended has been nothing short of amazing! To those of you living in Australia and New Zealand, if you can go buy tickets for one of their shows towards the end of the year! If I could, I'd be over there on flash for one of the shows (okay, maybe two or three!). I'd seriously do anything to see them live again so seriously, if you ever get the opportunity to see Fleetwood Mac DO IT!