Classic Albums: The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon
by Matthew Longfellow
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Pink FloydDirector: Matthew Longfellow
Brand: RED Distribution
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Running Time: 49 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-08-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- Color; Dolby; DVD; NTSC
Movie Reviews of Classic Albums: The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon
Movie Review: You will want to play the album again right after watching
Summary: 5 Stars
This look at Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of Moon" is a template for the entire Classic Albums series in terms of providing insights and not simply telling stories out of school. On the one hand we have Roger Waters sitting with an acoustic guitar explaining and playing songs, and on the other there is engineer Alan Parson sitting in front of the mixing board not only explaining but also showing how they came up with some of the most memorable bits of this album. In between (in more ways than one) is Dave Gilmour, who brings out a series of guitars to recreate bits and pieces of the songs and then puts on his glasses to play around with the mixing board himself, letting us here the layered guitars. Never has a look at "how they did it" for a record album been more fascinating. Nick Mason and Richard Wright are interviewed as well, so everybody gets their turn to talk about the legendary album that was on the Billboard charts for almost fourteen years.
Waters wrote a series of songs that had as their subject matter the rather mundane aspects of life. The result was that Pink Floyd was directed toward making a concept album and if there is a key revelation in this documentary it is that these songs were essentially constructed before they were mixed. That is pretty amazing when you get the examples of the soundscapes and various effects that created some of the most richly textured music of that period (I wanted to ascribe a particular genre to the album but there is everything from psychadelia and art rock to jazz fusion and blues-rock on this album). The documentary goes into detail track by track on the album, but obviously some songs will stand out more than others (e.g., "Money," "Time").
The deleted scenes are pretty substantial on this DVD and give you more of the same. The end result is a sense of wonder at how every thing fell into place for the band to perfect the album. My favorite story is about Parsons bringing in Claire Torry, an EMI staff songwriter and session vocalist, to do the wailing wordless vocals at the climax of "The Great Gig in the Sky." But there are also nice stories about saxophonist Dick Parry and the guys who did the voices. Waters, Gilmour and Wright all play some of the songs on acoustic guitar, which gets contrasted with not only the finished tracks but also demo tapes. There is also footage from the old days to remember that these old men were once rock stars who put together one of the great concept albums of the rock era. The disharmony that would eventually rip Pink Floyd asunder is only hinted at when the conflicting visions of how "Dark Side of the Moon" should be mixed and does nothing to take away from enjoying this look at the classic album, which, of course, you will want to listen to again a couple of times after you watch this documentary.
Summary of Classic Albums: The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon
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