Pink Floyd - The Making of The Dark Side Of The Moon [DVD] [2008]

The most phenomenal recording in rock & roll history is thoroughly examined in Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon. The Floyd's 1973 masterpiece remained on bestseller charts for nearly 14 years, and its enduring importance is honoured here by all four members of Pink Floyd and key personnel (engineer Alan Parsons, mixing supervisor Chris Thomas, sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson and others) who played essential roles in the landmark album's creation.

Produced for the Classic Albums series, this thorough and thought-provoking study highlights a track-by-track dissection of the LP's master tapes (including the spoken-word passages that bookend the album), superbly interlaced with archival footage, early demo tapes, concert animations and latter-day acoustic performances by David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Richard Wright to demonstrate each track's contribution to the final mix--a sonic exploration that extends to the illuminating bonus features. Informative interviews abound (including Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke), and much-deserved credit is given to saxophonist Dick Parry, solo vocalist Clare Torry and former Columbia Records chairman Bhaskar Menon, who fostered the album's US commercial success. For Floyd fans, musicians and studio technicians alike, this is a must-have addition to any DVD library. --Jeff Shannon

Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon is both a masterpiece and a phenomenon. It is an iconic album with an instantly recognisable sleeve and music that has stood the test of time in the 30 years since its release. It is also one of the best selling albums in history. At the time of writing it has spent an astonishing 1380 weeks on the US Billboard Album Chart – that’s over 26 years! As usual the main programme includes interviews with all the members of the band: Roger Waters, Rick Wright, Dave Gilmour and Nick Mason, plus the engineer, Alan Parsons, the designer, Storm Thorgerson, and other people involved in the recording and release of the album. The programme combines archive footage of Pink Floyd in concert, in the studio and in rehearsal, with video clips, interviews and original demos.

Track Listing:

• 1) Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
  
• 2) Echoes
  
• 3) Breathe
  
• 4) On The Run
  
• 5) Time
  
• 6) The Great Gig In The Sky
  
• 7) Money
  
• 8) Us And Them
  
• 9) Brain Damage
  
• 10) Eclipse

Over 40 minutes of bonus footage, including the following:

• Brain Damage. A complete solo acoustic performance by Roger Waters together with his thoughts on the song.
  
• Money. Roger Waters and Alan Parsons discuss the song, intercut with Dave Gilmour playing guitar and Roger Waters playing bass.
  
• Us And Them. Rick Wright talks about writing the song and plays solo piano, along with excerpts from the full album track.
  
• Roger Waters’ view of the world and the continuing relevance of Dark Side of the Moon.
  
• Breathe. A complete solo acoustic performance by Dave Gilmour.
  
• Time. Roger Waters discusses the track followed by an excerpt from the animated video used at Pink Floyd concerts and Roger Waters’ original demo recording.
  
• Roger Waters on Rock ‘n’ Roll.
  
• Alan Parsons, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Dave Gilmour and Rick Wright talk about Chris Thomas, who produced the final mix of the album.
  
• Gilmour’s Guitars. Dave Gilmour illustrates the guitar parts from three tracks on the album: Breathe, The Great Gig In The Sky and Us And Them.
  
• Gerry has the last word….

DVD Technical Information

• Screen Format: 16:9
  
• Sound Formats: Dolby Digital Stereo
  
• Running Time: 93 mins approx
  
• System: PAL
  
• Language: English
  
• Subtitles: French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch

1) Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 2) Echoes 3) Breathe 4) On The Run 5) Time 6) The Great Gig In The Sky 7) Money 8) Us And Them 9) Brain Damage 10) Eclipse