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Pink Floyd’s classic bestselling album The Dark Side of the Moon is turning 50, and is still relevant and unsettling to some. Photo: SCMP

Why Pink Floyd’s 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon is still relevant, as a special 50th anniversary box set celebrates its legacy

  • The album stayed in the US Billboard charts for almost 1,000 weeks, and has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide
  • A new special release box set includes remastered versions of the studio album, and a live recording from 1974, on CDs, vinyl, DVD and Blu-ray Disc
Music
USA TODAY

Pink Floyd’s classic album The Dark Side of the Moon is about to turn 50.

One of the bestselling releases of all time, it will be reissued on March 24 in a special deluxe box set (US$299.98) with remastered versions of the 1973 album and the live recording “The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974”, both on vinyl, CD and Blu-ray Disc.

The Blu-ray Disc and DVDs boast new high-resolution, Dolby Atmos and surround mixes of the albums.

Why is The Dark Side of the Moon legendary?

Special deluxe box set with remastered versions of the 1973 studio album and the live recording “The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974” to mark the 50th anniversary of the original release. Photo: Sony

The album, released in March 1973, went to No 1 on Billboard’s album chart and, subsequently, spent more than 966 weeks – or more than 18 years – on the Billboard charts.

It is also among the top 25 bestselling albums in the US, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Pink Floyd’s The Wall is also in the top 10. The biggest all-time seller? The Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975.

More than 50 million copies of The Dark Side Of The Moon have been sold worldwide. The album was added to the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in 2012.

Pink Floyd in 1973 (from left): Rick Wright, Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason and Roger Waters. Photo: Corbis

Why does the album remain relevant?

Its spacey, effects-laden soundscape transcends generations. And the subject matter is evergreen.

The band began work on an album in late 1971 with stress as a common thread, drummer Nick Mason writes in his memoir Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd.

Their discussions yielded “a list of the difficulties and pressures of modern life that we particularly recognised. Deadlines, travel, the stress of flying, the lure of money, a fear of dying, and the problems of mental instability spilling over into madness,” Mason said. “Armed with this list Roger [Waters] went off to continue working on the lyrics.”

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Bassist and lyricist Waters told Uncut magazine in 2003: “If The Dark Side of the Moon is anything, it’s an exhortation to join the flow of the river of natural history in a way that’s positive, and to embrace the positive and reject the negative, given that one might be able to identify with the things which seem to be a matter of great confusion to a lot of people.”

What are the most popular songs?

“Money”, which opens with the sound of cash registers, was the first single released from the album. It reached No 13 on the Billboard singles chart and remains a staple on classic rock radio. “Us and Them” was also released as a single.

Although it was not released as a single, “Time” with its cacophony of clocks chiming and ringing, is also a classic rock staple.

“Brain Damage” refers to a lunatic “on the grass” and “in the hall”, which are references to former bandmate and Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett, who was dismissed from the band in 1968. His use of psychedelic drugs led to erratic behaviour and schizophrenia, the band has said. Barrett died in 2006.

Roger Waters performs during his tour, at Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, US, in September 2022. Photo: Reuters/Amr Alfiky

Are Pink Floyd still recording?

Keyboardist Rick Wright died from cancer in 2008. Roger Waters, who begins a European tour in March, has made “The Lockdown Sessions”, new versions of previously released songs, available on YouTube and music streaming services.

David Gilmour and Nick Mason released the song “Hey Hey Rise Up”, a protest song created in collaboration with vocalist Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band Boombox. Proceeds from sales of the single will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief, the band said.

And what’s the connection between The Wizard of Oz and The Dark Side of the Moon?

The band has always denied any link to the classic movie, but an urban legend persists that if you sync the movie and the album, you will see some “tidy thematic coincidences” between them, music publication Goldmine said.

Why are some upset about The Dark Side of the Moon 50th anniversary logo?

The band’s social media accounts were updated this month with the new 50th anniversary logo, which has a pyramid and the number 50 with the zero filled with rainbow colours. That didn’t sit well with some followers, who apparently thought the band were supporting LGBTQ principles by using the rainbow, which has come a symbol of gay pride.

The album’s cover has always had a prism emitting a rainbow-coloured array of light.

“Apparently, Pink Floyd is ‘woke’ because they put a rainbow on the 50th anniversary logo of an album that had a rainbow on its original cover,” wrote one person on Twitter. “I [expletive] can’t deal with the ignorance.”

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