While I do rate this album a 5, that is simply because it is Pink Floyd. This is not Pink Floyd's best, second best, or even third best album, in my opinion. It is a great album, yes, but it is highly overrated. Yes, it runs together, yes, it broke a lot of ground in the early-mid 70s, and yes, it synchs up with the Wizard of Oz. And while this album does have the all-time classic "Money", and a few other "big" Pink Floyd songs, there are better Floyd albums out there (namely The Wall, WYWH, and Animals). Granted, this was the album that spent 700 some weeks on the charts, but I stand by my opinion that this is only the 4th best Floyd album.
For the ignorant, Pink Floyd is:
Roger Waters-bass, vocals, lyricist
David Gilmour-guitar, vocals
Richard Wright-keyboard
Nick Mason-percussion
1. Speak To Me-boring track, heart beat, cash register clicking, people talking, some guy laughing. (3/5)
2. Breathe-one of my favorites on Dark Side of the Moon. The music blends together extremely well--some of the guitar effects are brilliant, as is the slide guitar. Gilmour's singing trippy lyrics makes for a great song. (4.5/5)
3. On The Run-A 3 minute 70s techno song more or less, with a guy laughing in the background, and a man talking throughout parts of the song. A plane crashes at the end, perhaps symbolizing their attempt and failure to escape? (3/5)
4. Time-This song is one of my favorite Floyd songs of all TIME, and probably the best on DSOTM. The minute long clock intro gets kind of annoying, but after that, the song is great. Gilmour plays some awesome guitar and his singing is furious and passionate. (5/5)
5. The Great Gig in the Sky-Nice piano solo (keyboard? whatever). The lyrics in this song have fast become my motto for life. "I am not frightened of dying, any time will do. Why should I be? There's no reason for it, you've got to go some time". The woman's vocal solo is breathtaking to say the least. (4/5)
6. Money-one Pink Floyd song most non-Pink Floyd fans actually enjoy. The cash registers in the background throughout the song add a nice touch, and the bass riff is one of the most famous of all time. Besides, who doesn't love a great sax solo on a progressive rock album? Ok, ok, Gilmour's solos are good too. (4.9/5)
7. Us and Them-Another song with a great sax solo. The song is, in a word, beautiful. David Gilmour's singing along with the music in the background sounds incredible. (4.5/5)
8. Any Colour You Like-Funky instrumental song, but still entertaining to listen to because of the cool effects. (3.5/5)
9. Brain Damage-Political song through and through (would we expect any less with Roger Waters writing the lyrics?). Still, a good song, everything flows together nicely, and the man laughing in the background adds a bit of a creepy element. (4/5)
10. Eclipse-The conclusion to a great album, last 40 seconds or so is just a heart beat. (3.5/5)
Dark Side of the Moon, while groundbreaking in its time, and still a fantastic album, is overhyped in my eyes. I know I praised Pink Floyd non-stop throughout this review, and that's for two reasons: 1-I am a huge Floyd fan, and 2-this album is great, I just think there are better Pink Floyd albums out there. People trying to get into Pink Floyd will like this album because the songs are shorter and not as weird as songs like "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and any of the big three off of Animals.
