Are you sitting down? this come as a shock...

...(no, haven't changed any of my kit).

After everyone was tucked up and in dozy land, I decided to listen to... wait for it... Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' album. It's the first time I've listened to it in a couple of years. In fact it's only the second time I've played the album since I purchased the Leema back in 2010, and the first since acquiring the Naim CD5i.

I've slagged off Prog rock and all the pretentious 70s stuff so many times, but with the lights off... actually quite enjoyed the 'Prog Experience'.

Wouldn't say I've been converted - or seen the light - or allude to any pious u-turn nonsense, but I could see myself spinning the silvery thing once every eight months or so.

What do they say about 'little acorns...'?
 
chebby said:
So if you've always disliked it, how come you had the CD?

Bought it in HMV's 'bargain basket' (£2.99 I think), and it added to the collection. Never really had an affinity with Prog or Art rock, but with the Naim CDP/Leema/PMC it sounded terrific. Bags of atmosphere.

Thought it only fair to give the album a reappraisal.

*EDIT* Not fully answered your question. back in the days when I had a cassette recorder, used to record the radio 1 Top 40 on a sunday, and in addition, Capital Radio had a section where they invited listeners to choose songs based on a set subject. That particular week, the subject was finance: Songs chosen were Brass In Pocket by The Pretenders, Wall Street Shuffle by 10cc and other one was Money by Pink Floyd. I recorded a selection at the time, and quite liked it... eventually the tapes died and so I purchased Money on a ex-Juke-box single.
 

MeanandGreen

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I'm thinking of getting this on SACD. I'm not much of a Pink Floyd fan, think I've heard The Dark Side Of The Moon once. I remember thinking "is this what all the fuss is about?"

Since getting a SACD compatible machine I've been keen to try the format out. Problem is the stuff I want is way too expensive, hence thinking of getting the Pink Floyd album as it's comparatively cheap compared to others.
 
MeanandGreen said:
I'm thinking of getting this on SACD. I'm not much of a Pink Floyd fan, think I've heard The Dark Side Of The Moon once. I remember thinking "is this what all the fuss is about?"

Since getting a SACD compatible machine I've been keen to try the format out. Problem is the stuff I want is way too expensive, hence thinking of getting the Pink Floyd album as it's comparatively cheap compared to others.

Well, the standard CD sounds cracking: The separation, where the insruments flash from one speaker to the other, is mind-blowing.
 

chebby

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MeanandGreen said:
... think I've heard The Dark Side Of The Moon once. I remember thinking "is this what all the fuss is about?"

Since getting a SACD compatible machine I've been keen to try the format out. Problem is the stuff I want is way too expensive, hence thinking of getting the Pink Floyd album as it's comparatively cheap compared to others.

plastic penguin said:
Bought it in HMV's 'bargain basket' (£2.99 I think), and it added to the collection.

So neither of you really liked it but, because it's cheap, you'll give it a go.
 
chebby said:
MeanandGreen said:
... think I've heard The Dark Side Of The Moon once. I remember thinking "is this what all the fuss is about?"

Since getting a SACD compatible machine I've been keen to try the format out. Problem is the stuff I want is way too expensive, hence thinking of getting the Pink Floyd album as it's comparatively cheap compared to others.

plastic penguin said:
Bought it in HMV's 'bargain basket' (£2.99 I think), and it added to the collection.

So neither of you really liked it but, because it's cheap, you'll give it a go.

If you read my *EDIT* it explains why I bought the album.
 

ID.

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chebby said:
MeanandGreen said:
... think I've heard The Dark Side Of The Moon once. I remember thinking "is this what all the fuss is about?"

Since getting a SACD compatible machine I've been keen to try the format out. Problem is the stuff I want is way too expensive, hence thinking of getting the Pink Floyd album as it's comparatively cheap compared to others.

plastic penguin said:
Bought it in HMV's 'bargain basket' (£2.99 I think), and it added to the collection.

So neither of you really liked it but, because it's cheap, you'll give it a go.

To be fair, there are a number of things that I'm prepared to go back and try, whether it be food, fashion, music, movies etc. just because my tastes change. Sometimes it is just to see what all the fuss is about, and if the price of entry cheap it doesn't hurt.
 

Vladimir

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And what are your impressions of the album? What emotions and ideas has it stirred within you? Is it brilliant and deserving of its glory or simply overhyped?
 

Jim-W

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I know that it's received wisdom to lump Pink Floyd in with the 'progressive rock' fraternity, but, in reality, they don't sit comfortably in that camp. When I was a young jumbucky,'progressive rock' was anything outside the mainstream or music that dared to move away from the verse-verse-middle eight-verse structure; 'Dark Side Of The Moon' certainly does this, but there's real songs with a gravity to the subject matter and not enough inane noodling to label this as 'prog.'

It's very easy to knock these old chestnuts, these bastions of 'classic rock' and I'm certainly no fan of the genre, but 'Dark Side Of The Moon' tackles big isues in a lyrically and musically sophisticated manner without ever sounding pretentious or veering towards melodrama: quite an achievement in the world of pop music. More than this though, it's an engaging and enjoyable listen despite being one of the darkest records I've heard: I'd put it in the company of 'Pink Moon' and 'Time Out Of Mind' for it's bleak contemplation of the human condition.
 
Vladimir said:
And what are your impressions of the album? What emotions and ideas has it stirred within you? Is it brilliant and deserving of its glory or simply overhyped?

I can understand why it has such a following. It's well crafted and it's very much a concept album. The SQ is very impressive, although whether I could stick hearing 20-minute tracks on a regular basis is another thing altogether.
 

Vladimir

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plastic penguin said:
Vladimir said:
And what are your impressions of the album? What emotions and ideas has it stirred within you? Is it brilliant and deserving of its glory or simply overhyped?

I can understand why it has such a following. It's well crafted and it's very much a concept album. The SQ is very impressive, although whether I could stick hearing 20-minute tracks on a regular basis is another thing altogether.

Well, when I first heard it I was less than 14 and I didn't understand any of it, just some weak mushy boring melodic rock. But when I got in my idea driven energetic late teens and early 20s, it really moved me because I was involved in a lot of civil organizations and protests, I had musician friends, we had a small experimental band sessions etc. I heard the idea of the album and I was blown away. I didn't care for the sound quality, not one iota. I listened to that album on repeat non stop for days. I was impressed what kick ars instruments the band used and never bothered how rubbish my speakers that reproduce them were.

Now when I listen to it, I listen to the production, the craftsmanship and the artistry, the sound quality, and I don't idolize it that much from an idea perspective. Yeah, goverments and people suck, life sucks, but there are nice things, so stop whining, others have it worse. As long as my hi-fi plays it brilliantly. *biggrin*
 

relocated

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"I've slagged off Prog rock and all the pretentious 70s stuff so many times, but with the lights off... actually quite enjoyed the 'Prog Experience".

Is it pretentious, or is it that a lot [most?] of the musicians that made up those bands, were classically trained? Presenting their own take on classical music, eg ELP, or wanted to create 'new classical', away from 3 minute radio tunes.

Whatever, you've found something different to listen to, so no bad thing especially at bargain bin price.
 

Vladimir

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I thought Experimental music had its alternative take on classical. Rock bands implemented some of it in their creative peaks to show off (Sgt. Pepper's, Ummagumma etc.) but when rock needed an inspiration, it stole* (significanlty) from the Mississippi delta. But then again, they stole everything from everywhere, Led Zeppelin being the worst offender of them all.

*When you don't credit the original artist you took creative material from, it's called stealing.
 
relocated said:
Is it pretentious, or is it that a lot [most?] of the musicians that made up those bands, were classically trained? Presenting their own take on classical music, eg ELP, or wanted to create 'new classical', away from 3 minute radio tunes.

Whatever, you've found something different to listen to, so no bad thing especially at bargain bin price.

Both.

It wasn't the sort of music I grew up with, and thus couldn't associate with that syle of music. In the 60s my older brother was a scooter lad, so I grew up hearing Motown, Stax, The Who, Small Faces, The Kinks etc etc. so when this art or Prog rock came along it bored me.

After my 1978 epiphany (The Jam on the OGWT), and other mod revival bands came along, I wanted a piece of the action. For nearly 7-years the mod thing became a lifestyle, had all the clobber, buying a load of obscure soul and mod bands, as a well as the mainstream acts.

That said, the Punk Floyd album made a nice change.
 

Freddy58

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Hiya PP.

If you haven't already, check out 'Pulse' (DVD or u-tube)
thumbs_up.gif
 

Covenanter

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Music is a matter of taste which as the Romans said cannot be disputed. However I do think that the late 60s early 70s was a period when a lot of pretentious stuff came out and DSOTM was of that era. I was 23 when it came out and it didn't "speak" to me although a lot of my friends thought it was the DBs.

If people enjoy it then that's great. Just not for me.

Chris
 

letsavit2

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Hope you have a sub or nice deep speakers to feel the heartbeat through the album.

when we are long gone in about 10000years they will be playing that album in respect to our century.....
 

davedotco

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I was lucky enough to be able to get to get away from school and see Pink Floyd in the early days, at the Arts Lab and UFO.

This was the days of Syd Barrett, gigs varied from the inspirational to the totally chaotic, after he left the band became more melodic, the live tracks on Umagumma being a good representation of their early post Barrett performances. I saw them a fair amount during this period culminating in the Hyde Park gig that premiered Atom Heart Mother.

I didn't see them for a while after that until we obtained tickets for Robert Wyatts benefit at the Rainbow. We didn't know who would be playing and was reasonably pleased to find out it was the Floyd.

The evening commenced with a Wyatt-less Soft Machine playing a 45 minuet set, with the rest of the evening being given over to Floyd. Rumour had it that they were going to play some new material, but no one knew what, DSOTM had not been released, even to the radio, so we had no idea.

DSOTM was performed in full, in surround sound and included the full crashing aircraft setpiece, it was the first performance, the first hearing of the album ever.

Needless to say we were all just blown away, neither the album nor any of their future work came close.
 

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