Arguably the greatest British rock band of all time, Pink Floyd were always on the look out for some experimentation, using the versatile electronic gadgetry that all of us have come to associate them with. During the mid-sixties, they became the pioneers in music related to space and the universe. Even though there was very little market for their music at that time in their home country, as most of Europe was still hooked on classics and the transition was more in the favor of “Beatle-ish” music, their tours to the United States received massive response.

The Dark Side of the Moon was Pink Floyd’s ninth album and it somehow brought about a greater fan following to the band. Even though the theme of the album was not something unusual at that time; and the album, true to its name, mainly concentrated on the darker aspects of our lives. But fusing this theme with techno-rock music was something that only the band in question could have accomplished so successfully. The songs in the album, it seems are somehow connected to each other, and are really less enjoyable if not listened together, as they hardly make complete sense on their own. This is the case especially with track numbers 3 to 7, namely “On the Run”, “Time”, “The Great Gig in the Sky”, “Money”, and “Us and Them” respectively. It is often argued that the album could have done without “The Great Gig in the Sky”, but in my humble opinion, there would be a serious lack of flow without this particular number, not to mention getting deprived of the truly spectacular vocal display by David Gilmour. True textbook singing, something that all of us can learn from. “On the Run” is a non-vocal track, which is more than a fitting intro to “Time”, a fusion of country and rock with an unmatched guitar solo by Gilmour. “Money” and “Us and Them” bring about a jazzy feel to the album with melodious saxophone solos by Dick Parry. All in all the whole album seems like a build-up for the last track, “Eclipse”, which was also going to be the name of the album during its recording, and can be considered the title track of the album.

The Dark Side of the Moon can easily be called Pink Floyd’s rise to fame. It was their first album that made to the Top 40s in the US and earned them acclaim around the world. Some are even of the opinion that this album was the peak of their musical careers, because nothing could have been created with more finesse in their genre. But this, of course is an arguable point, as many claim The Wall (which was produced almost a decade later) as their best album. The album’s claim to success may be attributed to the technological advancements taking place in the music industry at that time, which made Pink Floyd’s particular genre a more viable option. But then again, these numbers sounded just as good live, during their countless tours to the US after the release of this album. A collaborative work of all four members, The Dark Side of the Moon is truly a one of a kind productive effort that has been and will be remembered for decades to come.