The story behind a watershed album

“Us and Them” is the reason I am a Pink Floyd fan. To this day that song is, for me, the ultimate Pink Floyd expression. Through “Us and Them,” I discovered the perfect grandeur of Dark Side of the Moon. In my opinion, it is the best album ever recorded.

This DVD was therefore an easy purchase for me. What could be better than hearing straight from the band and the recording team on how the album was crafted? Even in its lofty position as one of rock’s greatest albums (741 consecutive weeks on the Billboard album chart), there’s still a lot to learn about DSOTM and this DVD does a great job telling the story.

Guitarist David Gilmour, bassist and lyricist Roger Waters, keyboardist Rick Wright, drummer Nick Mason, producer Alan Parsons, mixer Chris Thomas, and others all give valuable insights into the recording of the album and it’s place in rock history. (As a side note, Roger seems to have aged quite well.)

Throughout the DVD, we see archival footage of the Floyd recording DSOTM. The footage is also available on the “Live in Pompeii” DVD. There’s nothing new here, but having it certainly rounds out the documentary.

Even better, we see a lot of footage that was made for Floyd concerts in the 1970s when the band performed DSOTM (in its entirety). This footage was projected on “Mr. Screen,” the Floyd’s trademark round movie screen. I’ve seen bits and pieces of the footage, and read descriptions of the rest of it, so it’s nice to get a better idea of what audiences experienced at Floyd shows.

Early Seeds
I have always believed that one can see a thread in the Floyd’s music that leads inexorably to DSOTM. From the “space jams” of A Saucerful of Secrets to “Cymbaline” on More, to “Echoes” on Meddle, and the often overlooked Obscured by Clouds (recorded in 1972), the Floyd were honing their talents, building to Dark Side. The DVD begins with a similar concept, highlighting “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” and “Echoes” as steppingstones toward DSOTM.

What’s interesting is that Waters’ work on Music from "The Body" (recorded in 1970) is not mentioned at all. A track entitled “Breathe” is an obvious precursor for Dark Side’s second track “Breathe in the Air.” Only Dave Gilmour mentions Obscured by Clouds, and then only in passing.

The interesting thing about pre-DSOTM Floyd is the scale of the music. Two of the Floyd were architecture students (as I remember, Wright and Waters), and tracks like “Set the Controls…”, “Saucerful of Secrets,” “Atom Heart Mother,” and “Echoes” are musical equivalents of skyscrapers. But what percentage of the record-buying public want to climb to the top of a skyscraper?

Gilmour and Mason helped bring the music of DSOTM down to earth…or the moon, I guess, so that it was accessible to the masses. (To be honest, this concept is not mine. I’m pretty sure I’ve read someone else’s thoughts on the Pink Floyd architecture angle. I’d give credit if I knew who wrote it; I’ve done a poor job recounting it here.)

(added 12-30-03) In an attempt to identify the source, I pulled out my copy of Nicholas Schaffner's excellent Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey. I have not found a reference to the architecture angle, but found this telling quote: "Visiting his old friend [Gilmour] just prior to its [DSOTM] release, former Jokers Wild drummer Clive Welham-no great Floyd fan-didn't expect much when Dave insisted on playing a master tape of their new album. Yet he was bowled over, and over the following days and weeks found himself compusively listening to the advance copy Gilmour had pressed upon him. 'That was the first Pink Floyd album that i had liked, that I thought was a total package. To me that was the emergence of four years of Dave being with them, and having gotten their music a bit more rounded, a little less esoteric.'...To Nick Griffiths, subsequently the band's recording engineer, the secret behind the Pink Floyd magic is simply this: 'Dave made people enjoy it, and Roger made them think. The combination worked really well.'"

Finally, I forgot to mention that in a way, DSOTM is the tallest of all Floyd skyscrapers. Whereas "Atom Heart Mother" and "Echoes" were only one side of a record, Waters stretched a concept to fill both sides. But, the songs on DSOTM are complete entities in themselves, making the whole much easier to digest...or "climb", if you want to complete the skyscraper metaphor.

From the Stage to the Studio
As hardcore Floyd fans know, the Floyd premiered DSOTM in February 1972 as “Eclipse: A Piece for Assorted Lunatics.” The band would tour with this show for several months before going into EMI’s famed Abbey Road studios and recording a perfected and somewhat altered version. Perhaps no other album has been recorded with as much preparation. The album was finally released in March 1973. How did the band get from Eclipse to Dark Side of the Moon? The DVD explains all that.

Except for “Speak to Me” and “Any Colour You Like,” each track is discussed to some degree. I suppose those two tracks were passed by because they are instrumentals. Of course, “On the Run” and “The Great Gig in the Sky” are instrumentals, but a lot more went into those tracks.

Highlights
Each chapter is definitely worth viewing. With “On the Run,” Gilmour demonstrates how the band created the manic soundscape conveying a sense of paranoia and danger. From his own studio, Gilmour also identifies some of the bits that went into the track. One comes to really appreciate the “performance” factor of creating “On the Run.”

For me, “Time” ranks second only to “Us and Them” in the Pink Floyd canon. This is a great section of the disc. Parsons explains how he got the clock effects and what was done with the female backing, and Gilmour plays his solo. We also see Dave playing an acoustic version of the “Breathe Reprise” and providing the vocals. Very nice stuff.

Somewhat surprisingly, a fair amount of time is dedicated to “The Great Gig in the Sky.” We get a lengthy performance from Wright as he plays the opening bars all the way up to when Clare Torry’s vocals would kick in. Parsons demonstrates the effects used on Torry’s vocal and we learn that her vocal was a complete improvisation in the mixing stage of the album! One of the most moving and heart wrenching performances I know of is an improv!

At the end of “The Great Gig in the Sky” chapter, Hipgnosis chief Storm Thorgerson briefly explains the work that went into designing the timeless album cover. Apparently the band took no time at all choosing the prism cover. One wonders what the alternatives were.

In the “Money” section, Waters plays an acoustic version of the first few bars, demonstrating how he pictured it as a blues tune. “Money” is well known for it’s odd 7/8 time signature, but we also learn that for Gilmour’s searing solo the time reverts to standard 4/4. Dick Parry’s contribution on saxophone is also mentioned, and the band discuss what success after DSOTM did to them individually and as a band. Gilmour’s comments relating to Wish You Were Here are especially noteworthy. I would certainly love to see a Classic Album DVD devoted to that album.

“Us and Them” knew life previously as a piano piece Wright came up with for the soundtrack to Michelangelo Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point. It was unused, and was thankfully resurrected as the centerpiece of DSOTM (or at least that’s how I view it). Parsons plays a version of the song without the familiar echo and also demonstrates what he did with Gilmour and Wright’s vocal.

DSOTM is famous for its spoken parts, especially the closing “There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it’s all dark.” We learn how those comments were captured and a better idea of who is sharing them. Many of the spoken bits are isolated and clearer than ever on this DVD.

I’ve mentioned how Parsons isolates individual pieces of the mix throughout the DVD. I found it fascinating to hear pieces and layers of songs, really for the first time. DSOTM is deservedly known for its production values, and it’s great to see every tiny piece come together.

Bonus Material
The DVD’s bonus items are additional interviews and Gilmour explaining some guitar parts. In his review, Mobiprof said he felt the bonus material should be part of the main feature. I thought that would be my feeling too, but I think the bonus interviews (especially Roger’s) are a tad tedious. Thankfully, Roger’s extreme political views are kept in the bonus section. One can make an argument for a few pieces being part of the main feature, but I think a concise feature backed up with supplemental bonus material is better than a drawn out feature.

Final Thoughts
I actually enjoyed this DVD more than I expected to. It made me want to listen to the CD again, even though I did just a few weeks ago. Fans of Pink Floyd and Dark Side of the Moon will definitely want to add this to their collection.

I can think of only two drawbacks, but they are minor. First, we don’t see any new footage of the band recording the album. As mentioned above, what we do see is available on the “Live in Pompeii” video, and it’s likely that there isn’t anything beyond that.

Second, I would have preferred a “State of the Floyd” section, an explanation of where the band was as they began working on DSOTM. What prompted Waters to write such evocative lyrics? How did the band add more pop hooks than ever before? What was different with the band from the time they recorded Meddle to when they recorded Dark Side? The DVD does set the stage a bit, but I would like to know more of the story.

As mentioned above, Wish You Were Here should be part of the Classic Album series, and the story of The Wall is one that must be told someday.