The Dark Side of the Moon
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The Dark Side of the Moon
A prism refracting white light into a rainbow on a black background
Studio album by Pink Floyd
Released 1 March 1973
Recorded June 1972 – January 1973
Studio Abbey Road, London
Genre Progressive rock
Length 43:09
Label Harvest
Producer Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd chronology
Obscured by Clouds
(1972) The Dark Side of the Moon
(1973) Wish You Were Here
(1975)
Singles from The Dark Side of the Moon
"Money" / "Any Colour You Like"
Released: 7 May 1973
"Us and Them" / "Time"
Released: 4 February 1974
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. Primarily developed during live performances, the band premiered an early version of the record several months before recording began. The record was conceived as an album that focused on the pressures faced by the band during their arduous lifestyle, and dealing with the apparent mental health problems suffered by former band member Syd Barrett, who departed the group in 1968. New material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London.
The record builds on ideas explored in Pink Floyd's earlier recordings and performances, while omitting the extended instrumentals that characterised their earlier work. The group employed multitrack recording, tape loops, and analogue synthesisers, including experimentation with the EMS VCS 3 and a Synthi A. Engineer Alan Parsons was responsible for many sonic aspects and the recruitment of singer Clare Torry, who appears on "The Great Gig in the Sky".
A concept album, The Dark Side of the Moon explores themes such as conflict, greed, time, death and mental illness. Snippets from interviews with the band's road crew are featured alongside philosophical quotations. The sleeve, which depicts a prism spectrum, was designed by Storm Thorgerson in response to keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design, representing the band's lighting and the album's themes. The album was promoted with two singles: "Money" and "Us and Them".
The Dark Side of the Moon is among the most critically acclaimed records in history, often featuring on professional listings of the greatest albums of all time. The record helped propel Pink Floyd to international fame, bringing wealth and recognition to all four of its members. A blockbuster release of the album era, it also propelled record sales throughout the music industry during the 1970s. It has been certified 14× platinum in the United Kingdom, and topped the US Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it has charted for 957 weeks in total. With estimated sales of over 45 million copies, it is Pink Floyd's most commercially successful album, and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. In 2013, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Roger Waters.
Side one
No. Title Music Lead vocals Length
1. "Speak to Me" Nick Mason instrumental 1:13
2. "Breathe" (listed as "Breathe in the Air" on the original LP label) WatersRichard WrightDavid Gilmour
Gilmour 2:43
3. "On the Run" WatersGilmour
instrumental 3:45
4. "Time" (containing "Breathe (Reprise)") WatersGilmourWrightMason
GilmourWright
6:53
5. "The Great Gig in the Sky" WrightClare Torry[nb 12]
Torry 4:36
Total length: 19:27
Side two
No. Title Music Lead vocals Length
1. "Money" Waters Gilmour 6:23
2. "Us and Them" WatersWright
Gilmour 7:51
3. "Any Colour You Like" GilmourMasonWright
instrumental 3:26
4. "Brain Damage" Waters Waters 3:49
5. "Eclipse" Waters Waters 2:03
Total length: 23:42
General
Complete name : DarkSide of the Moon 1973\Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon\06. Us And Them.flac
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
File size : 43.0 MiB
Duration : 7 min 40 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 783 kb/s
Album : Dark Side Of The Moon
Album/Performer : Pink Floyd
Track name : Us And Them
Track name/Position : 6
Track name/Total : 9
Performer : Pink Floyd
Genre : Psychedelic Rock
Recorded date : 1973
Audio
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
Duration : 7 min 40 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 783 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossless
Stream size : 43.0 MiB (100%)
Writing library : libFLAC 1.3.2 (UTC 2017-01-01)
