The Dark Side of the Moon de Pink Floyd
Álbum de Pink Floyd
- Fecha de lanzamiento: 1 de Marzo de 1973
- Sello Discográfico: Harvest
- Compositores: Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Nick Mason
- Productores: Pink Floyd
The Dark Side of the Moon es un álbum de Pink Floyd, publicado en 1973 por Harvest. El disco incluye 9 canciones, entre ellas «Speak To Me/Breathe In The Air», «On The Run», «Time» y «The Great Gig In The Sky».
The Dark Side of the Moon, lanzado en 1973, no es solo el álbum más exitoso de Pink Floyd; es un fenómeno cultural, una obra de arte sónica y conceptual que trasciende el tiempo y el género. Es uno de los álbumes más vendidos y aclamados de todos los tiempos. Concebido como un álbum conceptual que explora las presiones de la vida moderna, la locura, el paso del tiempo y la muerte, el disco es una experiencia sonora inmersivo y sin fisuras. Con su innovadora producción, sus letras filosóficas y su icónica portada, "The Dark Side of the Moon" transformó a Pink Floyd de una banda de culto del rock progresivo en una de las fuerzas más grandes de la historia de la música.
Contexto y creación
La idea del álbum surgió de Roger Waters, quien propuso crear un disco cuyas canciones estuvieran unidas por un único tema: las cosas que "hacen que la gente se vuelva loca". La banda desarrolló y perfeccionó el material en directo durante casi un año antes de grabarlo, una práctica inusual que les permitió pulir las composiciones. La grabación en los estudios Abbey Road fue un momento clave de la ingeniería de sonido. La banda, con la ayuda del ingeniero Alan Parsons, utilizó la tecnología de grabación multipista de 16 pistas hasta sus límites, experimentando con loops de cinta (como la famosa caja registradora de "Money"), sintetizadores y efectos de sonido. Una de las ideas más innovadoras fue grabar fragmentos de entrevistas con el personal del estudio y otras personas, cuyas respuestas a preguntas sobre la vida y la muerte se entrelazan a lo largo del álbum.
Claves musicales y temáticas
Musicalmente, el álbum es una pieza redonda de rock progresivo y art rock. Aunque las canciones individuales son memorables, su verdadero poder reside en cómo fluyen unas en otras, creando una pieza musical continua. El sonido es rico, atmosférico y meticulosamente producido. La guitarra de David Gilmour es lírica y emotiva, los teclados de Richard Wright crean texturas exuberantes, y la sección rítmica de Waters y Mason es a la vez sutil y poderosa. Temáticamente, es una meditación sobre la condición humana: el conflicto ("Us and Them"), la avaricia ("Money"), el paso del tiempo ("Time") y la salud mental, un tema que estaba muy presente en la banda debido a la tragedia de su ex-líder, Syd Barrett.
Las canciones del álbum
El álbum es una suite continua. Tras la apertura con el sonido de un latido del corazón en "Speak to Me", la primera canción, "Breathe", establece el tono reflexivo. "Time", con su alarmante introducción de relojes, es una poderosa meditación sobre la mortalidad. Una de las piezas más destacadas es "The Great Gig in the Sky", una improvisación vocal sin palabras de la cantante Clare Torry que se ha convertido en una de las interpretaciones vocales más famosas de la historia.
La cara B se abre con el único gran éxito del álbum en las listas de sencillos, "Money", famosa por su inusual compás de 7/4 y su icónico solo de saxofón y guitarra. "Us and Them" es una balada de jazz-rock melancólica y atmosférica. El álbum culmina con el clímax de "Brain Damage" y "Eclipse", una coda final que resume los temas del álbum, cerrando el círculo con el sonido del mismo latido del corazón con el que comenzó.
Portada
La portada, diseñada por Storm Thorgerson de Hipgnosis, es tan icónica como la música. Un simple prisma de vidrio dispersando la luz en un espectro de colores sobre un fondo negro es una metáfora perfecta de la música del álbum: un haz de ideas que se descompone en una experiencia sonora y lírica diversa y unificada. Es una de las portadas de álbum más reconocibles de todos los tiempos.
Lanzamiento y cifras
"The Dark Side of the Moon" es uno de los mayores fenómenos comerciales de la historia. Aunque solo estuvo una semana en el número 1 en Estados Unidos, permaneció en la lista de álbumes Billboard 200 durante 981 semanas (más de 18 años), un récord absoluto. Ha vendido más de 45 millones de copias en todo el mundo.
- USA Billboard 200: 1
- UK Albums Chart: 2
- Alemania (GfK Entertainment): 3
- Canadá (RPM): 1
- España (PROMUSICAE): 3
La crítica especializada
El álbum recibió una aclamación crítica universal y es considerado una obra sobresaliente absoluta. Fue elogiado por su ambición conceptual, su producción impecable y la calidad de sus composiciones. Es un álbum que ha trascendido generaciones y sigue siendo una experiencia auditiva esencial para cualquier amante de la música.
Listado de Canciones
- Speak To Me/Breathe In The Air
Letra
"I've been mad for fucking years, absolutely years, been over the edge for yonks, been working me buns off for bands..." "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..." Breathe, breathe in the air Don't be afraid to care Leave but don't leave me Look around and choose your own ground For long you live and high you fly And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry And all you touch and all you see Is all your life will ever be Run, rabbit, run Dig that hole, forget the sun, And when at last the work is done Don't sit down, it's time to dig another one For long you live and high you fly But only if you ride the tide And balanced on the biggest wave You race toward an early grave. - On The Run3:45
Letra
(Have your baggage and passport ready And then follow the green line to customs and immigration BA flight 215 to Rome, Cairo and Lagos) (Live for today, gone tomorrow, that’s me) - Time6:53
Letra
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town Waiting for someone or something to show you the way Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today And then one day you find ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking Racing around to come up behind you again The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older Shorter of breath and one day closer to death Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say Home, home again I like to be here when I can When I come home cold and tired It's good to warm my bones beside the fire Far away, across the field The tolling of the iron bell Calls the faithful to their knees To hear the softly spoken magic spell - The Great Gig In The Sky4:44
Letra
"And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it, you've gotta go sometime." "If you can hear this whispering you are dying." "I never said I was frightened of dying." - Money6:23
Money, get away Get a good job with more pay and you're O.K. Money, it's a gas Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash New car, caviar, four star daydream, Think I'll buy me a football team Money, get back I'm all right, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack. Money, it's a hit Don't give me that do goody good bullshit I'm in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set And I think I need a Lear jet Money, it's a crime Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie Money, so they say Is the root of all evil today But if you ask for a rise it's no surprise that they're giving none away "HuHuh! I was in the right!" "Yes, absolutely in the right!" "I certainly was in the right!" "You was definitely in the right. That geezer was cruising for a bruising!" "Yeah!" "Why does anyone do anything?" "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time!" "I was just telling him, he couldn't get into number 2. He was asking why he wasn't coming up on freely, after I was yelling and screaming and telling him why he wasn't coming up on freely. It came as a heavy blow, but we sorted the matter out." - Us and Them7:49
Letra
Us and Them And after all we're only ordinary men Me, and you God only knows it's not what we would choose to do Forward he cried from the rear and the front rank died And the General sat, as the lines on the map moved from side to side Black and Blue And who knows which is which and who is who Up and Down And in the end it's only round and round and round Haven't you heard it's a battle of words the poster bearer cried Listen son, said the man with the gun There's room for you inside "Well I mean, they're gonna kill ya, so like, if you give 'em a quick sh...short, sharp shock, they don't do it again. Dig it? I mean he got off light, 'cause I coulda given 'I'm a thrashin' but I only hit him once. It's only the difference between right and wrong innit? I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?" Down and Out It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about With, without And who'll deny that's what the fightings all about Get out of the way, it's a busy day And I've got things on my mind For want of the price of tea and a slice The old man died - Any Colour You Like3:26
Letra
Instrumental - Brain Damage3:46
The lunatic is on the grass The lunatic is on the grass Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs Got to keep the loonies on the path The lunatic is in the hall The lunatics are in my hall The paper holds their folded faces to the floor And every day the paper boy brings more And if the dam breaks open many years too soon And if there is no room upon the hill And if your head explodes with dark forbodings too I'll see you on the dark side of the moon The lunatic is in my head The lunatic is in my head You raise the blade, you make the change You re-arrange me 'till I'm sane You lock the door And throw away the key There's someone in my head but it's not me. And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear You shout and no one seems to hear And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes I'll see you on the dark side of the moon "I can't think of anything to say except... I think it's marvellous! HaHaHa!" - Eclipse2:12
Letra
All that you touch All that you see All that you taste All you feel All that you love All that you hate All you distrust All you save All that you give All that you deal All that you buy beg, borrow or steal All you create All you destroy All that you do All that you say All that you eat everyone you meet All that you slight everyone you fight All that is now All that is gone All that's to come And everything under the sun is in tune But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark.