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50th Anniversary Listening Party: Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”
March 25, 2023 @ 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
STORE EVENTS (North American local stores from 3 pm to 6 pm)
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of Pink Floyd’s iconic LP The Dark Side of the Moon, Premier audio stores will welcome local music lovers to a special event honoring the Floyd’s top-selling album the day after the worldwide release of the new deluxe box set. This new deluxe box set includes CD and gatefold vinyl of the new 2023 remastered studio album and Blu-Ray + DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions. The set also includes additional new Blu-ray disc of Atmos mix, plus CD and LP of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974’, a 160-page hardback photo book, a music book, replica 7” singles and memorabilia.
Date: March 25, 2023 (Saturday)
Time: 3 pm to 6 pm local time
THE ORIGINAL ALBUM: THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (“DSOTM”)
DSOTM is the eighth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 on a single LP.
DSOTM is among the most critically acclaimed records in history, and is often featured in professional listings of the greatest albums of all time. The record helped to propel Pink Floyd to international fame, bringing wealth and plaudits to all four band members. A blockbuster release of the album era, it also propelled record sales throughout the music industry during the 1970s. DSOTM has been certified 14× platinum in the United Kingdom, and topped the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, where it has charted for 964 weeks in total. With estimated sales of over 45 million copies, it is Pink Floyd’s most commercially successful album, and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. In 2012, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
THE RECORDING
Building on ideas explored in earlier albums, it condensed ideas into a more concise format and was immaculately well executed, after the band toured the album for a year worldwide before recording the album at Abbey Road with Alan Parsons at the helm of engineering in the quadrophonic system. The album is a technical tour de force, with many memorable songs beyond the singles “Money” and “Us and Them”. The album was recorded in two sessions, between May 1972 and January 1973. The first track recorded was “Us and Them” with “Money” to follow six days later. “Time” and “The Great Gig in the Sky” were the next pieces to be recorded, followed by a two-month break when the band spent time with their families and to prepare for an upcoming tour of the United States.
The album took the listeners on a psychedelic journey to the dark side of the moon. While a lot of the lyrics were trite, they are no different from the concept of Suspension of Reality from famed Hollywood films dating back to the 70’s.
THE COVER
Perhaps even more iconic than the music itself, at least by today’s standards, is the triangular light prism symbol that appeared on the album’s cover. Whip Hipgnosis offered the band many different options, according to Nick Mason, the drummer, the band clearly preferred the light prism / pyramid option. Today, that prism in poster form is immediately identifiable on college dorm walls all over the world, on tee shirts and has become a ubiquitous symbol of the psychedelic era.
The cover was designed by Hipgnosis, a London based art design group found by graphic designer Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell. Hipgnosis worked with Pink Floyd from the beginning and designed the covers for A Saucerful of Secrets, Ummagumma, Meddle, Atom Heart Mother and later went on to design the album covers for many of the preeminent English bands, including Led Zepplin, 10cc, AC/DC, Alan Parsons Project, Paul McCartney, The Nice, Peter Gabriel, Yes … If you are interested, there is a documentary – ‘Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)’
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Storm Thorgerson stated that the prism idea was related mostly to Pink Floyd’s light shows. “They hadn’t really celebrated their light show. That was one thing. The one thing was the triangle. I think the triangle which is a symbol of thought and ambition was very much a subject of Roger’s lyrics. So the triangle was a very useful – as we know, obviously – was a very useful icon to deploy and making it into the prism – you know, the prism belonged to the Floyd.” Roger Waters then suggested that the image should extend across the gatefold of the album cover and a heartbeat blip would be featured inside.
THE TITLE
From the beginning, the band intended to call their eight album Dark Side of the Moon – a reference to lunacy, a cohesive collection of songs about the pressures of life as a musician, most painfully experienced by the death of the band’s original leader, Syd Barrett. Roger Waters remarked that “Dark Side was the first [Pink Floyd album] that was genuinely thematic and genuinely about something”.
JOIN US!
Rediscover the joy you experienced when you first heard this album. Visit your local premier audio dealer and enjoy a unique listening experience with like minded music lovers.
CURATOR’S NOTE
TRAVELING DOWN MEMORY LANE … BACK IN 1973 …
I used to devour all the English music magazines every week religiously and had been following Pink Floyd. I had a used copy of Ummagumma (1969), and loved the classical music aspects of Atom Heart Mother (1970), although imho, side 2 was a load of junk. Money was tight and even though I had been working in a bar since I was 13, and worked several nights a week. I only had the budget to afford one LP every fortnight. Don’t ask me how I managed to splurge on stereo equipment but I did, while my friends were spinning around on low-powered motorbikes.
When the DSOTM LP was released on a Friday, March 16th, 1973, I cycled into Cork City after school to pick up the album. Having consumed all the reviews available back then, I was psyched up for the feast of progressive rock that combined rock, jazz & blues with experimental sounds, all wrapped with a polished sheen that was way ahead of its time. The album played fluidly from start to finish with no filler. It was definitely the ne plus ultra of a concept album. I raved about the album for months. No wonder it was such a glorious slice of perfection as the band had been touring & polishing the album for almost a year before they entered the studio to record this Magnum Opus.
… BACK IN 2003 …
I fondly remembered that for the 30th Anniversary of DSOTM, Capitol Records released the SACD with both stereo and multi-channel mixes, remastered by James Guthrie in 2003. I was active at the time in promoting the multi -channel SACD format with 5.1 channels. Business wise, we were distributing EMM Labs’ modified SACD player, hooked up to their multi-channel DAC. Listening to this album at Crest National’s, dedicated multi-channel listening room was a mind blowing experience. Music was coming at you from all sides with sound effects popping into the room unexpectedly. The extra channels of amplification allowed for greater separation between the instruments, and put the listener into the center of the soul stage for a truly immersive experience. I was a huge proponent of the benefits of multi-channel music and had a system at home with a phantom center channel, walking the talk.
… AND THE NEXT GENERATION …
I remember observing my then teenage son curating music selection for his friends and especially plonking down certain ones he wanted to impress right at the sweet spot of the listening couch. One of his choice selections was undoubtedly the Mobile Fidelity reissue on LP of DSOTM.
Most people, let alone his teenage friends, have never experienced the soundstage of a decent stereo system, let alone one that is properly set up. It is a treat to discern fidelity sound, and to experience music as if the musicians were playing in front of the listening chair. Hearing sound effects come in unexpectedly from all directions, the feeling of the music washing all over you, with the melodies from the most memorable songs tugging at your heart strings is really an unique experience. He would tell them to close their eyes and place each individual performer as if they were all standing in the room, performing just for them.
… TODAY …
I have been a champion of high-fidelity music and music playback for decades. The correct tone, timbre and pitch evokes an emotional response and an accurate presentation transcends music to an emotional connection to the soul of the musicians. Music is very much steeped in the Irish culture. These curated MORmusic.today events represent the collaborative power of the music and high end audio industry to recognize the finest examples of popular music and to desire to share musical experience with music lovers across North America, with the sole aim to reconnect and rediscover your favourite music that is properly presented with music systems that bring out great sound.
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