The Dark Side of the Moon
The Glasgow Science Centre Planetarium was hosting The Dark Side of the Moon album by Pink Floyd and I was fortunate to get a ticket and go along to listen to what is one of my all time favourite albums. I could spend all day writing about Pink Floyd and the fact their music has featured heavily in sound tracking my life, but I will hold that over for another day.
The Planetarium is the ideal venue for laying back in a big comfy chair and staring up at the ceiling, marvelling at the amazing graphics that have been sequenced to the album, and listening to a sound system that is on an entirely different level to what I’m accustomed to. I know this album so well, yet I was still picking up on things within the songs that felt as if I was hearing them for the first time. This was written and produced in a time when records were supposed to be listened to from start to finish, ideally in one sitting, preferably in a space with no interruptions and with headphones on. You don’t get headphones in the Planetarium, but folk fell silent and stayed in their seats throughout the performance. It began with a fifteen minute introduction about the Planetarium and what they do there, and then it was over to the album. The graphics have to be seen to be believed. The scale and the sense of movement as we were transported through time and space, across landscapes, moons, planets, stars, and even dropping in and out of the rings of Saturn, was simply amazing.
I have bought The Dark Side of the Moon album many times. I have a vinyl copy, a cassette, and a couple of issues in CD. The first CD copy I purchased had the word ‘The’ dropped from the title. It was subsequently reinstated for later releases. For example the 30th Anniversary release has the full title again. One of the many fun facts about the album! I have the official live renditions – Wembley London gig from 1974, and the Earls Court London from 1994, which is available on the Pulse album. The 1974 gig is available with the Experience Edition of The Dark Side of the Moon, and is also available as a separate CD. I don’t collect all the numerous different releases that are available, but have picked up the more significant ones where there are been a remaster or remix or a particular commemorative one. Having copies in different mediums is a reflection of my age and the fact I have experienced first hand the changes in listening technology over many years. I never expected to see vinyl come back the way it has and although I still have a vinyl player, I don’t have the desire to go for the boxed vinyl sets. I have a couple of books on the album (as part of a larger collection of books on Pink Floyd generally) so all in all this record has been a special one for me.
In recent years there have been releases of Pink Floyd gigs that have surfaced as a result of the 50 year copyright ruling. This resulted in the band doing what’s known as a copyright dump. Release a whole load of live recordings on streaming services for a few weeks and then pull them just before the 50 years are up. A European Union regulation means these recordings need to be officially released otherwise they lose control of the recording and it goes into the public domain where it can be released by anyone without having to pay the band for the privilege. The copyright dump gets around this, by typically streaming them for a short time or making them available on limited CD releases. Other bands are also doing this as those still popular and selling from the 1960’s have become vulnerable to their copyright expiring. Often these recordings are not considered up to scratch, and are really only of interest historically to hear how the band and their music progressed. These are of huge interest to collectors though. I have some of these releases, and have an early take of The Dark Side of the Moon from Sporthalle, Boblingen, Germany on the 15th of November 1972. The CD is titled Eclipse Live in Germany. I also have a live FM Broadcast recorded at the Spectrum Theater, Philadelphia, PA 15th March 1973. This called The Sound of Philadelphia. Sound quality varies as does the playing and singing, but these were never intended for release. Fascinating to hear them though as the early live gigs are different from the final album version and you can get an insight into how the songs developed over time.
The Fiction Factory 