Back in January 2020, we advised that later that month the long-awaited reissue of the hybrid multichannel SACD (Super Audio CD) of Pink Floyd’s iconic 1973 album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, was due. Unfortunately, due to unspecified reasons (which were possibly related to the first appearance and spread
of Covid-19) the reissue was delayed. Great news for all of you who have been patiently waiting on confirmed information of when you could get your hands on this – it is now seemingly starting to ship out to those who have ordered it! Originally released in the SACD format (having a separate stereo layer playable on all normal CD players) in 2003 as part of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the album, the SACD proved very popular. However, it has been out of print for some years, so the reissue will be welcomed by many. The release comes on the Pink Floyd Records label (catalogue number PFR24) via Analogue Productions, and they are selling it fairly much exclusively through their US-based AcousticSounds.com store (https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/133317/Pink_Floyd-The_Dark_Side_Of_The_Moon-Hybrid_Multichannel_SACD), although for those in the UK and other places might prefer to use the UK’s Rough Trade (https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/pink-floyd/the-dark-side-of-the-moon-analogue-productions-sacd) as despite the total cost being similar to buying from Acoustic Sounds, it might negate the chance of having to pay customs charges or import duties. The mix on the SACD/CD layer is the same as the 2003 release, but as you’ll see from the unboxing video below, the packaging has been updated with a slipcover, with the disc held in a well-illustrated book housing. For those unfamiliar with the format, SACDs provide high audio quality, and in certain cases (such as this, and the other Floyd SACD, Wish You Were Here) multi-channel, surround mixes too. The TDSOTM and WYWH SACDs both sound superb, and it is worth checking to see if you have suitable equipment to play multichannel SACDs. A number of Sony CD players are compatible with SACDs, and indeed some Playstation consoles play SACDs with no problem. Other makes of CD/DVD/Blu-ray players do support the format, but this varies from model to model. There are a number of “universal” players out there which include SACD in their capabilities. It is worth checking the specifications of players, particularly if you are looking to pick up a cheap, second-hand machine on eBay and suchlike.
