The Dark Side Of The Moon is the best produced album of all time.
I have written two papers on this album and can talk endlessly about its tragic backstory with Syd Barrett or the deep meaning of it's lyrics, but I want to focus instead on the production of this album. Specifically it's composition and layout.
This album is truly a masterpiece as a whole, and should be listened to as a completed package rather than individual tracks. Every song perfectly builds on the next. They bleed together so seamlessly you don't know when one ends and the next begins. 10 songs split perfectly in half with 5 on side A and 5 on side B. It's organized absolutely perfectly and hasn't been topped since.
The intro song "Speak To Me" is a perfect set up. It starts out with a few seconds of silence to get you to think "Is my volume turned up?", and once you start to turn it up you begin to hear the heart beat of the album. The song takes you through a quick journey of what's to come with ticking clocks, cash registers, melodic wailing of a strange women, and the laughter of a mad man. It all builds into a crescendo until it stops and the next song tells you to....
"Breathe" and relax. That was only a taste of what's to come. You can take it easy and sit back in your chair. This album has only just started, so take a deep breath and gather yourself before we need to get...
"On The Run". A bridge between songs that on a normal album would only be 30 seconds long. Pink Floyd was able to make a bridge that keeps you engaged, but more importantly sets the pace for the next song. This track is much more than a waste of...
"Time". It was intended to lull you into a rhythm that is purposely interrupted by alarm clocks and ringing bells. Wake up, because this song is a big one! Played on the radio all over the world and the second most recognizable track on the album. There's not much that needs to be said about the heights this song has reached. It has climbed all the way to...
"The Great Gig In The Sky". Where we float high above everyone around us and bask in the openness. There are no words that need to be said when you're looking out at the vast emptiness. Just the emotions to be felt from deep within. So much can be pulled from Clare Torry's vocals. It's a beautiful song, but it won't be played on the radio and let's be honest, we need to make some...
(This is where side one ends on the vinyl. It's a perfect fade away and an intended break in the album to allow you to flip the record and let the next song to come in hard without sounding out of place.)
"Money". The big single from the album. Is it ironic that this is the most profitable song off the album? Or that it's criticism of wealth and capitalism has made the band millions? Is Pink Floyd still able to relate to the common man, or has their success put them on the other side of...
"Us And Them"? Should there even be an us and them? After all we are only ordinary men. Can't we all sit back and enjoy some beautiful saxophone? It's important to remember that we shouldn't be putting everyone into categories and fighting. Anyone can be...
"Any Color You Like". Another 3 minute long bridge song, but in reality it's the backbone of the back half of this album. Side B blends perfectly together because of this song. It links everything so that it could be enjoyed as a whole even if you had...
"Brain Damage". My favorite track off this album. It's a beautiful song with deeper meaning than just the struggle with mental illness. It's a song dedicated to Syd Barrett that hits so hard they made an entire album referencing back to him with Wish You Were Here. It's a reminder that this band has a past history, and it shouldn't be forgotten. It is a shame though because The Dark Side Of The Moon put everything Pink Floyd did before it in an...
"Eclipse". And there we have it. We've come back around with another song encompassing everything that has come before. A perfect summary of the album with a fade out back into the heart beat we heard at the start. Not only does every song play perfectly into each other, but the album plays back into itself. You can loop it right back to the beginning and not lose a beat.
Now take all of that perfectly composed genius and wrap it up in the most iconic album art ever. Every aspect of the album is so perfectly put together that I believe it is the best produced album of all time.
