It is hard to believe that it has been a little over 30 years since I heard an album that has since gone on to become one of the all-time classic recordings in the global history of rock ‘n’ roll: The Dark Side Of The Moon (TDSOTM) by Pink Floyd. This year, the album celebrates its 40th anniversary of release.
I was in college then and what fascinated me first was the album design. Besides the now ubiquitous prism and colours of the rainbow on the cover of the vinyl jacket/sleeve — as it was known then — the fold out album was something that I had never seen before. However, when the album was played to me, I did not follow it at all; well, mostly. Clocks chiming, clanging of coins, the resonance of a heartbeat, and the reverberation of idle chatter; the list of sounds is virtually endless but, as much as I found them fascinating, I did not comprehend the underlying theme/concept of the album. But that was then and this is now.
Of course, over a period of time and after repeatedly listening to the album, I gradually began to appreciate it.
Since then, I have added multiple TDSOTM CDs to my collection, beginning from when I bought my first CD player in 1989…soon thereafter, I bought the “original” sound recording of TDSOTM. Next, in 1992, I picked up a re-mastered version of the album and, in 2003, the 30th anniversary. I also bought a 2007 Pink Floyd compilation box set containing CDs of all their 14 albums called Oh By The Way (apparently, I have one of the 10,000 limited edition sets that were manufactured for global consumption); the title making reference to a line in the song, Have A Cigar (from Wish You Were Here): “Oh, by the way, which one’s Pink?”
Then, in 2011, Pink Floyd’s record label released the Immersion Box Set of TDSOTM, which featured the classic studio album digitally re-mastered and presented as a limited edition box set featuring six discs of rare and unreleased audio and video material, plus a new 40-page oversized perfect-bound booklet, a book of original photographs, exclusive merchandise, and facsimile collectables. In all this, I ordered a 2003 issued Making of The Dark Side Of The Moon DVD too, from Amazon.
The passion behind the album did not end merely with the recordings for me; I visited Bangalore in April 2002 to watch member Roger Waters’ first concert in India as part of his In The Flesh tour and to witness him play select songs from TDSOTM, culminating with yet another visit to the Indian shores, live in Mumbai in February 2007, as Waters played the entire album as part of his second set. I had an opportunity of seeing Waters live again, in Washington DC in October 2010, while he was performing The Wall — another classic album of Pink Floyd — but, alas, it happened in the same month of my taking on a new corporate assignment and I could not make it.
However, there are no regrets, as last month saw the three surviving members of Pink Floyd (keyboardist Rick Wright died of an undisclosed form of cancer in his home in England in 2008, aged 65) inviting fans to gather on their website (www.pinkfloyd.com) to stream TSOTM to celebrate its 40th anniversary. As the fans listened, the band members requested them to tweet their memories, photos, and comments on the album.
Over the course of the streaming, the image of the moon on the website darkened with the arrival of every new message from fans.
To further honour the album, original designer Storm Thorgerson has created 14 new variations of his original cover that will be unveiled on the band’s site over the next few months.
Other activity surrounding the anniversary includes the broadcast in England of a brand-new Tom Stoppard play on BBC Radio 2. The celebrated playwright’s hour-long drama, entitled Dark Side, airs on August 26, and will incorporate music from the album as part of its “fantastical and psychedelic” story.
While I could go on speaking about what is undoubtedly one of the greatest albums ever recorded,
the proof of the pudding remains in the listening.
If you haven’t heard it yet, it’s never too late to start and, if you’ve heard it before, let the addiction remain as part of your dark side.