In the early 1970s, it would have taken a small miracle for any kind of Pink Floyd to be successful. With their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the band shot itself in the foot and Syd Barrett went insane from drug overdoses and mental health issues, leaving the rest of the band to continue without him. Barrett had become one of the most sought-after psychedelic performers in music. The band was open to exploring new musical territory, but everything reached its zenith with Dark Side of the Moon.
However, the preceding album is typically where the real Pink Floyd comes from. Throughout the band’s epic song “Echoes,” Roger Waters blossomed as a songwriter, and gigantic sonar sounds were produced. Each member gave it their all to create something stronger than they could have alone.
The majority of the material had already been put through road testing before they started work on Dark Side of the Moon. Piecing together the track listing piecemeal during their live performances hits like “Time” and “Breathe” saw many iterations before being recorded.
The band, seeking to discuss both the positive and negative aspects of the human condition, produced one of the best meditations on contemporary life with the assistance of engineer Alan Parsons. Even though each member contributes their distinctive qualities to the record, a significant argument almost caused a rift between them before the album was even complete.
David Gilmour and Roger Waters had acrimonious arguments regarding the record’s sound as it was being produced. Every time the group entered the studio, they were making incredible progress, but Gilmour would remember how Waters wanted to take things back to a more direct approach.
Speaking with Guitar World about the album’s mixing process, Gilmour mentioned that engineer Chris Thomas kept things calm during the sessions. He said, “Chris Thomas came in for the mixes, and his role was essentially to stop the arguments between me and Roger about how it should be mixed. I wanted Dark Side to be big and swampy and wet, with reverbs and things like that. And Roger was very keen on it being a very dry album. I think he was influenced a lot by John Lennon’s first solo album, Plastic Ono Band, which was very dry. We argued so much that it was suggested we get a third opinion.”
It’s easy to discern that balance even though the CD has a vast mix throughout each song. When listening to the song “Money” alone, it’s simple to notice how the band’s two creative sides complement one another. Gilmour begins the song with a powerful rock and roll solo before matching it with a second, tone-deadening solo.
On the other hand, the band could have benefited from their decision to work on both sides of the production. Although none of the band members expected to make Dark Side of the Moon, their many hours of labor paid off since the record might have been recorded even now.