Tag: Analysis

Time for another guest contribution: Adamo Prina, who has made a couple of contributions to the site in the past, has been considering the new Redux version of The Dark Side Of The Moon, by Roger Waters (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/latest/roger-waters-the-dark-side-of-the-moon-redux-album-annou.html). As you will know by now, it’s a new take on the classic, not a cover, or a re-recording, but Waters as a 79-year-old mulling over the themes and ideas within the 1973 classic, and realising that much of it holds true today, some 50 years later. Adamo has done his own mulling over of the album, and shares his thoughts below. Our thanks to him, and of course we always welcome contributions from any of you who wish to add their views or analysis of things – if you want to do so, please contact us through the normal address (matt@brain-damage.co.uk). The Prism Glass of an Aged Man’s Memories During the recording of The Dark Side of The Moon in 1972/73, Roger Waters came up with the idea of interviewing the studio staff using flash cards. Some were trivial questions, like “What’s your favourite colour?”, while others probed deeper into the album’s themes, such as “Are you afraid of death?” or “When was the last time you were violent?”. Waters aimed to elicit spontaneous and non-preconceived responses, and integrate them as sound elements in the recording, alongside heartbeats, ticking clocks, and jingling coins. In certain tracks, the voice is clearly audible, such as the words that mark the opening of The Great Gig in the Sky: “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 got to go sometime”. In others, the voices overlap chaotically, as happens at the end of Money, where all answers to the question “were you right the last time you were violent?” blend into an indistinct chatter of mingled voices. Often, these voices are crucial to the musical dynamics, like the words “I’ve been mad for fucking years – absolutely years” that open the album, or the laughter interspersed in the song Eclipse. Though this method might seem marginal, it is indicative of how Waters approached a music album: not just a collection of songs but a cohesive piece, both thematically and musically. With his interviews, Waters wasn’t merely seeking answers but also unifying elements and textures, sounds, and voices to bridge the gaps between songs or to inject unforeseen pathos or evocative content. Consider the words whispered at the album’s end by Gerry O’Driscoll, the doorman at Abbey Road Studios in 1973: “there is no dark side in the moon, really. As a matter of fact, it’s all dark. The only thing that makes it look light is the sun.” When I played the new “REDUX” version, my curiosity led me to immediately drop the needle on the record’s end to see how that iconic voice was replicated. To my surprise, the voice was missing. In his place was Roger Waters responding directly: “I’ll tell you one thing, Jerry, me old mucker. It’s not all dark, is it?”.