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John Harris - Dark Side Of The Moon
Artwork by Storm Thorgerson |
Published by Da Capo Press (USA), October/November 2005
Dark Side Of The Moon: the one
album above all that sums up, and represents, Pink Floyd, in the
public's mind. The album that saw the culmination of a young band's
dreams come to fruition. The album that also had the members growing
up, becoming aware of the meaninglessness of money, war and suchlike,
and looking at life, death and the bits in-between.
It is with this in mind (and to
provide a handy, well-informed precis for the casual reader) that John
Harris takes us through the history of the band. Kicking things off
with the prologue, Harris has the band members (especially Roger Waters
and David Gilmour) in reflective mood, back in 2003/2004.
This well-written, well-paced
book features the whole story of the album, from the early days of the
band, through to every aspect of the development of the music and
recording, retold through the extensive interviews with all members of
the band, together with other key individuals involved.
The book is bolstered with rare
photographs; the US edition (Da Capo Press) is peppered throughout with
unusual shots, many of which have come from Nick Mason's own archives.
The UK edition, for some reason unknown to us, sadly features just a
selection of these shots. The text is, however, identical across all
editions.
The large number of obviously
first-hand interviews, and the use of Nick's pictures, give an added
edge to the book, distancing it from other books which can sometimes be
simply rehashes of other published works.
Harris finds the musicians in
candid mood, talking honestly about DSOTM's genesis and roots, and
Harris, too, keeps a sense of perspective about the music.
He has clearly worked hard on
each step they took to the finished piece - one particularly
interesting sequence has Harris analysing, almost beat-by-beat, the
stumbling attempt at a public debut of the piece in Brighton, England,
in January 1972. This aborted performance gave an absorbing vision of
the work at that time - with some songs a world apart from the final,
recorded versions, some 14 months later.
He has also garnered, in his
research, an incredible amount of detail on the recording sessions -
more than we've seen published anywhere else - and this segment of the
book is a captivating look at the reality of these sessions, how each
track developed, and the band's style of working.
For those who think a book
focusing on a single album is a narrow topic, think again. Harris has
brought the creation (from the band's earliest days, right through to
the recording sessions themselves) into sharp, lively focus. It is an
absorbing and well-constructed look at a classic album, with
refreshingly honest views from all the main protagonists.
With enough new material and
information to satisfy even the most knowledgeable Floyd head, the
drawback (other than the fewer pictures in the UK edition) is that it
leaves you wishing for other albums to be covered in similar depth. How
about it, John?
The publishers have set up a special website - www.darksideofthemoonbook.com
- which is definitely worth a visit. Alongside information about the
book and the author, there is a ten picture photo gallery which
includes four from Nick's archives (such as Earls Court 1973 and Syd
Barrett, late 1967), and four from Jill Furmanovsky's archives (such as
Brighton 1972, on stage). There is also an excerpt from the book - the
prologue.
Orders for this book can be placed through these special links: Amazon.com (US/International), Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, France and Germany.
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