Dark Side of the Moon

This is my 3rd cd version of this album,also had the vinyl,way back in the day,couldnt help myself the carrot of the live disc sold me,so what do you need to know?

Disc 1 : is the original disc,remastered by James Guthrie again,his '94 remaster was perfect as far as i could tell and truth be told i cant really detect any noticeable difference,sometimes with these 'new' remasters i think you will convince yourself to hear something different.initially on first play i thought possibly a little clearer,the background voices slightly more audible,after a couple of listens with the headphones and comparing to the prev disc im not too sure.Whats not in dispute is this is a fantastic piece of music that has stood the test of time,beautifully arranged.played and recorded nearly 40 years ago,its hard to believe there will be a first time buyer,so i guess most will know already what their buying.

Disc 2 : now i've never heard any live 70's recordings of 'dark side...' so this was my principle reason for buying and its well worth it,clocking in at around 12 mins more than its studio counterpart there a couple of moments were the band add in a little extra,nothing too much to change the overall feeling and what a performance,all four members on fire and a sound quality that frankly stunned me,i thought a recording 37 years old may suffer but this is absolute quality and worth the purchase price alone.

The sound quality on the remaster is excellent so no worries there,the packaging ,well that a different story.the 2 discs are housed in a tri fold digi pak which the seams are already tearing,the housing for the discs quite tight,so beware when taking in/out,the booklet is very average,no improvement on the '94 remaster,just the lyrics and photos already available previously,all housed in a flimsy slipcase,if it wasnt such a superb musical release i would have been tempted to dock a star.

The rhetorical question of course is why not just release a live set from wembley '74? answers on a ten pound note to EMI.

Ultimately its the music that counts and this is a 10/10 on both cd's,a truly wonderful album with outstanding live bonus disc.

Fans of Pink Floyd know DSOTM like the back of their hand; they can recite the lyrics, hum the melodies and play air guitar like pros. The question is, can this SACD version make it sound any better? Put simply, yes it does....and then some.
Floyd's music has always lent itself to cutting edge audio technology and the 5.1 SACD mix is proof of this. Using an SACD player and a 5.1 system you get true surround sound. Now this means that the voices in "Speak to Me" swirl around the listener, clocks chime as if their in your room and coins jangle about you. But more than this, now that there are 5.1 channels of sound the music is clearer and better defined. It has more presence, placing the listener in the centre of the music. It provides a full audio experiance.
Yet it it incredibly subtle. Now instruments are intricately placed to enhance the listening experiance; there are no gimmicks here. In "Time" the rototoms sound as if they are in the centre of the room, as if they are directly in front of you. The sax in "Us and Them" comes solely from the centre speaker given it far more clarity than before (the sax used to get lost in the mix before, I felt). Subtle effects, yet hugely effective.
All in all such near studio-like quality in the sound (this depends on how good your system is) adds to the music, sharpens it, makes a thirty year old album seem new.
For any Floyd fan DSOTM is an essential purchase and this SACD is just as neccessary. Get it whilst you can...

Like a true Floydian I collect all PF and Roger Waters' albums. I recently received the newly released SACD-version of DSOTM. The remix did wonders for the album and the sound is amazing. As the sound is now decently distributed on a 5.1 surround amplifier, you not only hear new sounds but it's also much clearer than the normal stereo version - especially on tracks such as "Time" and "Money". The long wait was definitely worth it. For any fan of Pink Floyd or Roger Waters, this SACD is an absolute MUST have. Can they now please release SACD versions of the other albums as well.