Last Updated on 27 January 2026 by Massimo M.

On March 1, 1973, Pink Floyd’s most successful album and one of the best-selling in rock history, The Dark Side of the Moon, was released.

The dark side of the moon, in fact, remained in the Billboard charts for 824 weeks (more or less 15 years) from 1973 to 1988. An epochal success due above all to the originality and genius of the musical inventions and to the development of the entire album as concept album dedicated to the various aspects of human life and its, more or less apparent, madness.

The Dark Side of the Moon was recorded in Abbey Road Studios and as chief audio engineer Alan Parsons who had already worked with Pink Floyd in previous productions was hired. It was Parsons himself who brought Pink Floyd together with Clare Torry, who will masterfully and inimitably interpret The great gig in the sky, considered by many to be one of the most intense songs in Pink Floyd’s discography.

The story of Clare Torry it’s a strange story, Alan Parsons, who had heard her sing, invited her to the Studios to introduce her to the musicians and to have her sing something in the new production. When she shows up at the recording studios they give her little guidance, mostly asking her to improvise a melody on the backing track. Alan Parsons says: “She arrived and within two hours it was all done. At first she accompanied Richard’s backing track with typical soul phrases, like ‘oh, yeah baby’ or something like that. We told her to sing without pronouncing words, so he had to repress his habits a little. But there was no need for any other indications – he just had to ‘feel’ the piece… and he did” They had created a masterpiece, but they didn’t know it yet.

Structurally the album is divided into five tracks per side which actually represent the various stages of life. In fact, it is no coincidence that the album begins and ends with the sound of heartbeats.

The album opens with Speak to me which is, in practice, a set of sounds that represent birth and anticipate what life will be. It starts with the reproduction of a heartbeat and continues anticipating all the characteristic sounds of the subsequent musical pieces contained in the album.

The second track Breathe continues the “story” by suggesting rest after a great effort or, more likely, continuing on the metaphor of life, it wants to suggest the calm after the ordeal of birth, the stillness after giving birth.

The story continues with the third track which is entitled On the run and is openly inspired by the fear of dying during one of the frequent journeys that Pink Floyd were forced to face. The song was created using some particular cutting-edge technologies for the time, which allowed the blending of sounds entirely coming from an airport.

The following, TIME, is one of Pink Floyd’s most famous songs and is also one of the few that was composed by all the members of the band. The theme developed, as clearly suggested by the title, is that of the passage of time and how often, as young people, time is not given the right value, almost letting it slip away only to then realize, but too late, that they have wasted it.

The great gig in the skyis the fifth track and I already talked about how it was created a little while ago. However, I quote from Wikipedia what concerns the compositional aspect ”

The piece is divided into four parts.

The first part opens with a sequence of piano chords in 4/4 by Richard Wright, to which are later added the steel guitar of David Gilmour and the bass of Roger Waters. The very sweet melody features two phrases pronounced by Gerry O’Driscoll who, at the time, was one of the doormen at the studio in Abbey Road. The lyrics read “I’m not frightened of dying, anytime will do, I don’t mind… Why should I be frightened of dying? There’s no reason for it, you gotta go sometime ( I’m not afraid of dying, it will happen at any moment, I don’t care… Why should I be afraid of dying? There’s no reason, sooner or later you have to go.)”. These two phrases, together with the phrase pronounced by Puddie Watts at minute 3:33 are the only meaningful vocal emissions present in the entire song

After a brief break, the second part opens, where the vocalizations of Clare Torry enter, together with hammond organ and drums, like an explosion. Contrary to the first part, which is a long series of different chords, this piece is based only on the alternating G-7 and C+9 chords, until the climax which also closes the second part.

The third part is, harmonically, equal to the first. The drums disappear, and the bass and piano remain as the basis for the singer’s much lighter singing and at the end of the tour we hear a whisper, reconnecting to the lyrics of the first part, “I never said I was afraid of dying”. said to be afraid of dying), uttered by the aforementioned Puddie Watts.

The fourth part returns to the turns of G-7 and C+9 but remains calm and without drums, the singing gradually becomes lighter until it vanishes at minute 4:29, the moment in which the last piano chord is played and guitar, which is held until the sound runs out at the end of the piece, except for a slight bending</ a> performed by intervening in the sound box of the piano, probably by pressing on the string of the last note between the clip and the peg.”

Side B opens with another rock masterpiece, Money, a very famous song that develops starting from a powerful rhythmic base borrowed from the looped sound of a cash register. The song is clearly a criticism of the excessive weight given to money in the modern world and the attachment to material things.

US and themis the second track on the B side and comes from a previous, barely sketched composition that keyboardist write had proposed to Michelangelo Antonioni as music for his film Zabriskie Point who however did not use it “Despite the group considering it perfect for the violent scenes of the film Antonioni was not convinced, saying: “It’s wonderful, but it’s too sad. It makes me think of a church.” (Wikipedia). The composition is conceived as a harsh criticism of the war.

The following song, Any color you like, is entirely instrumental and does not have a “declared” meaning like the previous ones. It is an instrumental song that combines elements of funk, rock, blues and jazz, and combines them with the use of synthesizer. This song takes the listener towards the next song, Brain damage, which deals with the theme of human madness. In the lyrics of the song, the title of the album is mentioned, a unique case in the entire album, and this suggests that the title of the album itself is a reference to the dark side of the human being or to madness.

The closing of the album is entrusted to Eclipse which, continuing on the melody of Brain damage, leads to the final line where the heartbeat proposed at the beginning of the vinyl is heard again and which closes the circle of the musical narration

The Dark Side of the Moonwas one of the best-selling albums in the world and is among the top 25 best-selling albums in the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

It has been republished several times over the years in both the original and remastered versions. Particularly interesting is the 2011 Immersion edition consisting of three CDs, two DVDs and a BD, as well as a 40-page book and lots of bonus material.

The Dark Side of the Moon original

Side A

Speak to Me – 1:30 (music: Nick Mason)
Breathe – 2:43 (Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright)
On the Run – 3:30 (music: David Gilmour, Roger Waters)
Time + Breathe (Reprise) – 6:53 (Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour)
The Great Gig in the Sky – 4:15 (music: Richard Wright)

Side B

Money – 6:30 (Roger Waters)
Us and Them – 7:49 (Roger Waters, Richard Wright)
Any Colour You Like – 3:24 (music: David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright)
Brain Damage – 3:50 (Roger Waters)
Eclipse – 1:45 (Roger Waters)

The Dark Side of the Moon 1994 remasterd vers.

Speak to Me + Breathe – 3:57 (Speak to Me: Nick Mason; Breathe: Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright)
On the Run – 3:31 (music: David Gilmour, Roger Waters)
Time + Breathe (Reprise) – 7:05 (Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour)
The Great Gig in the Sky – 4:47 (Richard Wright)
Money – 6:23 (Roger Waters)
Us and Them – 7:48 (Roger Waters, Richard Wright)
Any Colour You Like – 3:25 (musica: David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright)
Brain Damage – 3:50 (Roger Waters)
Eclipse – 2:06 (Roger Waters)

The Dark Side of the Moon SACD 2003

Speak to Me – 1:16 (music: Nick Mason)
Breathe – 2:44 (Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright)
On the Run – 3:32 (music: David Gilmour, Roger Waters)
Time + Breathe (Reprise) – 7:06 (Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour)
The Great Gig in the Sky – 4:44 (Richard Wright)
Money – 6:32 (Roger Waters)
Us and Them – 7:40 (Roger Waters, Richard Wright)
Any Colour You Like – 3:25 (music: David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright)
Brain Damage – 3:50 (Roger Waters)
Eclipse – 2:04 (Roger Waters)

The Dark Side of the Moon Immersion Edition

Disc 1 – CD – The Original Album, Remastered in 2011

Speak to Me – 1:07
Breathe (In the Air) – 2:50
On the Run – 3:45
Time – 6:53
The Great Gig in the Sky – 4:44
Money – 6:23
Us and Them – 7:49
Any Colour You Like – 3:26
Brain Damage – 3:47
Eclipse – 2:13

Disc 2 – CD – The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley, 1974

Speak to Me – 2:46
Breathe (In the Air) – 2:51
On the Run – 5:09
Time – 6:32
The Great Gig in the Sky – 6:50
Money – 8:41
Us and Them – 8:10
Any Colour You Like – 8:11
Brain Damage – 3:44
Eclipse – 2:19

Disc 3 – DVD (Audio Only) – The Dark Side of the Moon Multi-Channel Audio Mixes

5.1 Surround Mix (2003), 448kbps
4.0 Quad Mix (1973), 448kbps
LPCM Stereo Mix (1973), Remastered in 2011
5.1 Surround Mix (2003), 640kbps
4.0 Quad Mix (1973), 640kbps

Disc 4 – DVD – Audio-Visual Material

Careful with That Axe, Eugene (Live in Brighton, 1972) – 7:43
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (Live in Brighton, 1972) – 9:13
The Dark Side of the Moon 2003 Documentary – 25:30
Concert Screen Films In LPCM Stereo And 5.1 Surround Mixes (British Tour 1974, French Tour 1974, North American Tour 1975) – 59:00

Disc 5 – Blu-ray Disc – High Resolution Audio and Audio-Visual Material

The Dark Side of the Moon (5.1 Surround Mix (2003) 96kHz/24bit) – 43:26
The Dark Side of the Moon (Original Stereo Mix (1973) 96kHz/24bit) – 43:26
The Dark Side of the Moon (4.0 Quad Mix (1974) 96kHz/24bit) – 43:26
Live in Brighton 1972 – 16:57
Careful with That Axe, Eugene – 7:44
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun – 9:13
The Dark Side of the Moon 2003 Documentary – 25:32
Chapter One – 5:48
Chapter Two – 4:30
Chapter Three – 5:17
Chapter Four – 5:09
Chapter Five – 4:22
Concert Screen Films (LPCM Stereo)
Concert Screen Films (5.1 Surround Mix)

Disc 6 – CD – Extra Audio Tracks

The Dark Side of the Moon Early Mix (1972)

Breathe (In the Air) – 3:10
On the Run – 3:30
Time – 6:57
The Great Gig in the Sky – 4:11
Money – 6:53
Us and Them – 7:15
Any Colour You Like – 3:26
Brain Damage – 3:51
Eclipse – 1:39

Extra Audio Tracks

The Hard Way (From the ‘Household Objects’ Project) – 3:10
Us and Them (Richard Wright Demo) – 5:39
The Travel Sequence (Live in Brighton June 1972) – 4:37
The Mortality Sequence (Live in Brighton June 1972) – 3:24
Any Colour You Like (Live in Brighton June 1972) – 4:45
The Travel Sequence (Previously Unreleased Studio Recording) – 2:21
Money (Roger Waters Demo) – 2:38

In 2023, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the first publication, a new version of The dark side of the moon was released on the market.

The Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary is a box set that contains:

a 2023 remastering of the album by James Guthrie presented on both vinyl and CD;< /li>
a remastered version of The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley 1974, also available on both vinyl and CD
two BDs and one DVD with 5.1 surround sound mix (2003), Dolby Atmos mix (2023) and a new stereo mix.
Other items in the set include a 160-page hardcover photography book from the 1973-1974 tours of Jill Furmanovsky, Aubrey Powell, Peter Christopherson and Storm Thorgerson;
a 76-page songbook of the original album;
two seven-inch singles of “Money”/”Any Color You Like” and “Us and Them”/”Time”;
a replica of a booklet and an invitation to the album launch event at the London Planetarium on 27 February 1973;
four posters.

It should also be noted that this is the first time that The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley 1974 has been made available on vinyl and as a stand-alone release. In fact, it was previously only available as part of The Dark Side of the Moon Immersion and Experience editions (2011).

Pink Floyd discography

The dark side of the moon – Pink Floyd