Pink Floyd
The Dark Side of the Moon (Immersion Edition)
Capitol/EMI
by David Chiu
One of the greatest albums in rock got a massive upgrade. For those who have listened to The Dark Side of the Moon many times and have purchased its various reissues over the years will be pleasantly overwhelmed with this new six-disc Immersion Edition. It not only contains the newly-remastered original album, but it also features a previously unreleased 1974 live performance of Dark Side at Wembley; unreleased tracks including “The Hard Way” from the aborted Household Objects project; the original 1972 mix of the record; and DVDs containing a 2003 documentary and 5.1 and Quad versions of the record. (There’s also a scarf, marbles and coasters for those who love nick-nacks). It will probably take you a couple of days or a week to sift through all of this stuff if you are obsessively inclined. There are some really fascinating aspects revealed on the previously unreleased stuff such as hearing the 1972 mix, where some of the differences are either subtle or distinguishable from the final version (i.e. sound effects, laughter, etc.); and the ’74 concert gives the listener an idea of what an experience it must have been like to hear the entire album performed in its entirety. But even without all the extras, Dark Side of the Moon remains a timeless album–perfectly produced and sequenced, from the sardonic “Money” to the anti-war “Us and Them,” to mortality in “Time”; not to mention the extraordinary “The Great Gig in the Sky” and the dizzying “On the Run.” This new edition lives up to its brand: it’s one completely immersive experience into a classic album.
NewBeats 