The Dark Side of the Moon Tracklist
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on March 1st, 1973.
It is a concept album that takes listeners across various stages of human life, beginning and ending with a heartbeat. The themes often revolve around conflict, morality, greed, time, and mental illness.
As a culmination of their inner-space explorations of the early 1970s, the Floyd toured the bulk of Dark Side in Britain for months prior to recording. But in the studio, the band articulated bassist Roger Waters‘ reveries on the madness of everyday life with melodic precision (“Breathe,” “Us and Them”) and cinematic luster (Clare Torry’s guest-vocal aria, “The Great Gig in the Sky”). It’s one of the best-produced rock albums ever, and “Money” may be the only Top 20 hit in 7/4 time.
On May 7th, 1973, they released the album’s first two singles, “Money,” and “Any Colour You Like.”
People often ask me about the voices on Dark Side. I was trying to gather audio snippets to mix into segues on Dark Side. Rather than interviewing people I came up with the idea of writing a series of questions on cards. The cards would be in a stack on a conductors stand in front of a mike. We would scour Abbey Road Studios for willing guinea pigs, bring them to the studio, sit them down, roll tape and then ask them to respond to each card in order. As I recall the first card was something irrelevant and innocuous, like “What’s your favourite colour?” and the last was the more enigmatic “What do you think of The Dark Side Of The Moon?.” I can’t remember the ones in between, except for: “Are you afraid of dying?,” “When were you last violent?,” “Were you in the right?,” “Do you ever think you’re going mad?
If so why?.” End of story.
“The Dark Side of the Moon” Q&A
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Translations
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Were any of the songs on The Dark Side of the Moon used in any movies?
“Us and Them” was originally intended to be used in Michelangelo Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point, but he was later quoted saying he rejected the scene where the song would’ve been used because
It’s beautiful, but it’s too sad, you know? It makes me think of church.
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How many copies of the album have been sold?
Dark Side is estimated to have sold around 15 million copies in the US alone, and over 45 million worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in the history of music.
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What have the artists said about this?
One of the great things about an album like The Dark Side Of The Moon, for example, is what is not played. The way instruments appear and then GO AWAY! Sometimes for great periods of time. The Hammond Organ enters for the first time on the “Run rabbit run” line in “Breathe” and then goes away until the middle of “The Great Gig in the Sky,” then doesn’t reappear until “Us and Them,” then goes away until “Brain Damage”/“Eclipse.” It is only on 4 songs on the whole record. The Farfisa Organ is used instead on Home and “Time,” and there is no Hammond at all on Home, “Time,” “Money” and “Any Colour You Like.” It would kill it to have it on those tracks. Space is key. Playing to simply fill a hole is one of the most irritating traits a musician can possess. If you have nothing to play for a minute or two, leave the stage, if necessary
—John Carin, multi-instrumentalist and singer, recurring session musician for Pink Floyd, David Gilmour and Roger Waters since 1987
