Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon

Join the Dark Side!

Released in 1973, Dark Side of the Moon is regarded as the quintessential Pink Floyd album. This album is often referred to as "the" concept album and has been described by the band as a "meditation on the strain and stress of everyday life." It has sold over 28 million albums world wide and is the third best-selling album of all time. It remained on the Billboard Charts for 15 years, eclipsing all albums before it!

Dark Side of the Moon is probably just as famous for its album cover design -- its image can be seen just about anywhere in the mainstream media. Some say the idea for a black sleeve with a prism is derived from a series of conversations with band members, especially Roger Waters and Rick Wright.

Waters spoke about wanting something that symbolized the pressures of touring and the madness of ambition (the triangle is a recognized symbol of ambition). Wright, on the other hand, wanted something more graphic and less pictorial. Pink Floyd was infamous for the lighting in their shows during the 70s, thus the prism was an obvious choice to represent this.

Still, others say the sleeve design was originally proposed by Storm Thorgerson's early design team, Hipgnosis, the group that is officially credited for the album cover design. Regardless of who actually conceived the idea, one thing is certain: the images make wonderful Pink Floyd posters.

Track Listings:

1. Speak to Me/Breathe
2. On the Run
3. Time
4. The Great Gig in the Sky
5. Money
6. Us and Them
7. Any Colour You Like
8. Brain Damage
9. Eclipse