The Dark Side Of The Moon: The Making Of The Pink Floyd Masterpiece

by John Harris

A behind-the-scenes, in-depth look at the making of one of the greatest sonic masterpieces and most commercially successful albums of all time. Over three decades after its release, Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon' remains one of the most acclaimed albums of all time. Its sales total around 30 million copies worldwide. In its first run, it took up residence in the US charts for a mind-boggling 724 weeks. According to recent estimates, one in five British households owns a copy. This, however, is only a fraction of the story. 'Dark Side' is rock's most fully realised and elegant concept album, based on themes of madness, anxiety and alienation that were rooted in the band's history -- and particularly in the tragic tale of their one -- time leader Syd Barrett. Drawing on original interviews with bass guitarist and chief songwriter Roger Waters, guitarist David Gilmour, and the album's supporting cast ,'The Dark Side of the Moon' is a must-have for the millions of devoted fans who desire to know more about one of the most timeless, compelling, commercially successful, and mysterious albums ever made.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Biography Memoir, Ebooks

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather short book that is less about the making of "The Dark Side of The Moon" as it is a quick history of the band in general with a slight focus on that album. It's not very in-depth but there were some quotes and tidbits I was unfamiliar with as someone who used to be a huge fan as a teenager - although maybe that's because I was never really into that album and more into the early Pink Floyd.

It was easy to read and not a drag, but I'm not a big fan of biographers who seem quite distant from their subjects and overly critical over things that are rather subjective. Personally, I really like Rick Wrights whimsical early tunes, and A Saucerful of Secrets isn't a bad album. Still, not a bad book, just a little superficial and not as much about the album itself as I'd have thought. Especially if you're looking for something that goes into the music itself.

[Hachi ◇♡◇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

◇◇English down bellow◇◇

Considero este un libro para cualquier público, claro, si eres fan de Pink Floyd que mejor. Aunque el título habla del cómo se hizo el álbum "Dark side of the moon" no es por completo cierto. Es una especie de resumen cronológico de la banda, donde se pueden encontrar datos poco conocidos sobre la banda o las composiciones de las canciones, esto para un fan es oro puro. Por otro lado, el autor me parece por momentos sesgado.
Es una lectura que vale la pena hacerse, sin duda.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

I consider this a book for any audience, of course, if you're a Pink Floyd fan, all the better. Although the title is about how the album "The Dark side of the Moon" was made, it is not completely true. It is a kind of chronological summary of the band, where you can find little not known facts about the band, or the compositions and making of the songs, this for a fan is pure gold. On the other hand, the author seems biased to me at times.
It is a read worth doing, yes, no doubt.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As your common or garden rock band biogs go this one, 'The Dark Side of the Moon' by John Harris is quite good. Of course, as the title indicates, this book should be based on the Floyd masterpiece album.
However, the reader is over half way through, before the intricate recording details at Abbey Road are divulged. In all but name this is a biography of the band, from the Syd Barrett led embryo in Cambridge, through the UFO sets of the late psychedelic sixties, leading to Dark Side in 1973.
SEVENTY THREE! Christ, that's coming up for 40 years old. In fact it's over forty years since I first saw Floyd play live.
As the book states, the album sales now top 30 million worldwide, and continues to sell a quarter of a million copies per year. In it's first run, it took up residence in the U.S. album charts for a mind boggling 724 weeks and according to recent estimates, one in five British households owns a copy. Dig it? Well, dig it out, it still sounds relevant, vibrant and powerful today.

[Del · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent enough read, although the fact that the first half of the book deals with Syd Barrett and how the band regrouped after he 'reached for the secret too soon', kinda cements the band's status as really boring guys who managed to create some of the best guitar music ever recorded. It does throw up some interesting parallels in that the album deals, in broad terms, with alienation, lack of communication, madness and loss; and yet the recording sessions seem to have been the last time the band were functioning as a well-oiled machine. The success of The Dark Side of the Moon, and the huge amounts of money that began to roll in with it, started the rot that would lead Roger Waters to grow increasingly frustrated at the rest of the band, who he judged (with some good reason, it appears), to have got fat and lazy, in creative terms.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

Man Roger Waters might be my hero but he sounds like a difficult friend to have ngl

It is the first non-fiction book I was looking forward to reading, and I enjoyed reading it. I had never read a non-fiction about a band/an album/music, so I don't really have a point of comparison. I learnt fun stuff and loved some of the quotes that were included. I saw lots of reviews mentioning the lack of focus on the album itself during the first half of the book, but in my opinion it was all relevant stuff to set the context in which the album was created. Plus I would've picked any book on Pink Floyd, not necessarily on the Dark Side only, so I didn't mind it at all.

However, some bits felt so long and a little boring (like the details about the level of echoing that is mentioned so much) and the assumption that the Dark Side was their absolute peak is not one I share so I didn't really agree with these bits. I was also a bit bored of the whole last chapter about the marketing of the album, although I know it was relevant to include. Also very pro Gilmour book!

But overall I'm so happy I found a non-fiction book I liked, and I loved reading so much about the whole process Pink Floyd underwent post-Syd Barrett in order to find their musical identity through Atom Heart Mother and Meddle.

[Toby Litt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book version of a Classic Albums kind of documentary.

John Harris has put in a lot of research and interview time. Unfortunately, the band don't have much of interest to say. This was completed just around the time of Live 8, when the bickering was being put aside.

There are hints of more interesting stuff. I suspect Roger Waters, fearful of losing American sales, doesn't want to say just how 1960s radical the worldview of 'Dark Side' is. (R.D.Laing is clearly behind his view of madness, as Harris details.)

The narrative flows smoothly, through the album's faltering birth. What's most fascinating is that, after the concept album about stasis and intertia that was 'Meddle', Pink Floyd produced a great album that - at almost no point - did any of them show any enthusiasm over. By which I mean, no whooping, no punching the air. When Clare Torry added her show-stopping vocals to record, she thought they wouldn't be used - such was the tepid response (in her presence) of the band.

And another backing singer, Lesley Duncan, says, 'I have a very clear memory of standing in the control room, listening back to what we'd done, feeling this very chilly atmosphere and thinking, "Have we done something wrong? They obviously don't like what we're doing." The most we got was "That'll do." There were no smiles...'

How completely contrary to all ideas of how to motivate people. And yet the record is extremely passionate. Perhaps because of bad communication all along.

[Rod Horncastle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is all about the album Dark Side Of The Moon. Very Cool!

This book spends about 70 pages leading up to the making of the album, and it also shows us life after the album and tour. If you're a fan of Pink Floyd: then this is a treasure.

I used to hate Pink Floyd (crappy stoner music), until I saw their "Momentary Lapse of Reason" tour in Toronto "1987"?. Sure the audience is filled with misfit hippies. But the musicians were pure professionals of the highest order. You can't make music like that unless you are at the top of your game.
I even loved Roger Waters "Pros and Cons of Hitch-hiking" album. Which had Eric Clapton and David Sanborn ripping it up.

This book is really about 4 musicians and the studio engineers who made the Dark Side. It mentions Alan Parson more than a few times. And even includes the legendary Sax player and Back up vocalists who graced the album. What a masterpiece.

And we get all the chaos and general grouchiness of the band. None of them seemed to really ever bond as friends. But great music doesn't necessarily require that to happen. This book tells it all. Some fun pictures too.

There's even a funny comment about them recording the live Video at Pompeii. "We didn't invite any audience because we wanted to make an Anti-Woodstock." Zero community. Now that's the heart of Pink Floyd. They were never Damn hippies. Just artists.

[J.T. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-researched telling of the making of the Floyd masterpiece, although the familiarity of the material and the lack of any behind-the-music gossip means the book, unlike the album, is not an essential purchase. I would imagine recapping the bickerfest that was the making of 'The Wall' would make for a more intriguing read. Having said this, fans of 'Dark Side' with an interest in its production should find much to enjoy.

[Victoria Heinecke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for some more background on how the music was made and some of the keys and chord progressions, to get a better idea as to how the music and the message tied together. There was a scant mention of the 7/4 and 4/4 change up in "Money" but that was all.

If you want a book about life in a rock band, it's good. If you want to learn about the music itself, it's a bit lacking.

[Felipe Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting information about one of progressive rock most iconic albums. There is a lot of interesting research on the transition from the Syd Barret led Pink Floyd to the post-Syd lineup finding their own style.

[Michel Sindaha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subject matter itself is infinitely attractive for any fan of the record and the group. The author possesses a low, under-spoken voice, that, if, anything, does not serve to hinder the subject matter. The organization of the material is quite acceptable and much of the material itself is golden, including details about Clare Torry’s brilliant contribution to ‘The Great Gig In The Sky,’ and Alan Parson’s active role in the treasure that came to be The Dark Side of The Moon.

Details about the bands interpersonal peaks and nadirs are sprinkled throughout the writing; the reader, equipped with some background info regarding the groups tensions, will be able to form a more coherent image of the dynamic’s at play that lead to the breakdown in the 80’s.

Certainly worth a read for any lunatic for whom the album played a contributing role in their dam breaking open a few years too soon.

See you on the dark side of the moon.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good writeup of the history and creation of one of my very favorite albums.

Although I enjoyed the first 1/3rd of the book about early Barrett-era Floyd, it felt a little out of place as a “Making of Dark Side of the Moon” section.

Overall and enjoyable read for anyone who wants more insight in to one of popular music’s most iconic pieces.

[Ryan Merrifield · Rating 3 out of 5]

oi davey what a book innit

[Irwin Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a big fan and having read a couple books about Pink Floyd that covered their whole career, "A Saucerful Of Secrets" 25 years ago and just recently Nick Mason's "Inside Out", I was interested when I found this at the used book store the other day. I'm more of a "Wish You Were Here" or "Animals" kind of guy but "Dark Side Of The Moon" is obviously great and these sessions always sound so interesting when I've heard/read about them.

Since I started this book within hours of finishing Mason's book, I could have done without the history of early Floyd that makes up a little under half of the book. Not everybody is going to have just read a Floyd book (or ever read one) so I get why it's there but it's probably longer than is needed to provide context, especially since this book is so brief and it takes up such a large chunk of it. Having just read "Inside Out" I also could have done without the author using it as a source so often. I found myself re-reading quite a few of Nick's quotes/passages.

However even with that going against me coming in I still enjoyed it. I especially found it interesting how he went into the early live performances of the album and how it evolved in concert before being put down in the studio. That's pretty important due to the way Pink Floyd would premiere and constantly tinker with songs at their live shows long before they recorded them. I mean they were playing songs that would wind up on Animals when they were touring Dark Side and that was 2 albums away. So to go really in depth you have to go into their live shows a bit and this John Harris guy was clearly listening to some old Floyd bootlegs and giving some pretty good breakdowns of the shows that were part of the album's evolution. Even breaking down the crowd reaction to the new songs when it's audible on the recordings. The studio work isn't overlooked or anything but just not as in-depth as I was kind of expecting for such a monumental album and some of it I had already read so I just didn't feel like I learned much there.

Overall it was interesting but probably should have been longer and with the short length he sometimes goes into a little more detail about some things than he should while other things get less detail than they deserve. If it had been long he could have gone into detail on all of it and I would have found it a little more even but either way I learned some things and it added a lot of stuff that Nick didn't get into in his book. So even though there's some repetition it was a pretty good companion piece.

[Steven Kaminski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always interested in what inspires artists. And when it comes to Pink Floyd's masterpiece 'Dark Side of the Moon' as this book shows it was a weird convergence of different personalities, a lead singer trying to assert himself and the ghost of the former leader of the band who was still very much on their minds...

- Syd Barrett was the leader of Pink Floyd. But his use of pot and LSD (paired with his rumored schizophrenia) really led to his collapse at the same exact time the band started going places. They were scheduled to record in the studio right after his first catatonic episode which happened right before a show.

- Roger Waters who was very close to Syd...seems to have reacted to his collapse in a way that...not joking...seemed schizophrenic. He was the biggest advocate of kicking him out of the band but also tried the absolute hardest to keep his sound, influence and writing about him.

- David Gilmour was really a prodigy. Universally regarded as the best guitarist in the underground scene he was really underutilized by Pink Floyd until later recordings. His biggest impact was that because of his guitar playing Floyd could expand songs into bigger pieces (which is highlighted with 'Echoes' off of Meddle).

- For Dark Side they actually tested and took the songs on the road for six months before they were recorded by Alan Parsons which gave the album a real framework. The book is really fascinating with a lot of in depth interviews from all of the personalities...

[Mark Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It appears to be based on Harris’ interviews of band members and material he has gleaned from other publications. The cover gives the impression that it is solely about the making of the album, Dark Side of the Moon. But we are treated to a large dose of early Pink Floyd history first. So the structure doesn’t quite work, it’s neither a proper history, nor an in-depth study of an iconic album.

I would have liked more history. As it was, I learnt some new things about the band. The story of Roger Waters’ father is tragic as he turned from a conscientious objector into a communist anti-fascist who fought and died at Anzio before his son was born. I also had not realised the extent of the shadow cast over the band by its first songwriter and singer, Syd Barrett. Syd basically left after the first album. But the band seemed to profit from his artistic legacy in their live shows for some years. Indeed, many people, including Harris and Pink Floyd themselves, seemed to agree that the three albums released following Barrett’s departure were a bit rubbish.

The story about the genesis of Dark Side of the Moon is interesting, especially the way they used live performances to hone and improve the songs before committing them to vinyl. Harris draws out the album’s themes of alienation by modern society and the importance of human relationships. But he also highlights the irony that these four Englishmen had little idea about how to interact with other human beings. Despite its minor faults, this is a book that is definitely worth reading.

[Paul Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Harris writes well, in terms of both the band's internal relationships and their music. He does a good job in noting that Rick Wright's talents and contributions weren't given the credit they deserved. He also acknowledges the musical talents of Dave Gilmour. Most satisfying, though, is that he doesn't hold back from expressing what everyone knew about Roger Waters's delusions about his superiority in musical talent. Yes, he was the driving force without which these albums may never have come to light, and his writing—albeit peppered with his dreadful Leftie views—showed some real ability. Yet to this day he believes that in every sense he was the only real talent in Floyd.
The best quote in the book was from Wright, who Waters had lambasted for buying a nice house with his share of their new-found wealth. Waters accused him of betraying his roots, etc. Nevertheless, like all good Socialists, Waters was inconsistent. Soon after, Waters also bought a house—bigger and more expensive than Wright's. When confronted about his double-standards, Waters claimed it was his wife's decision, not his.
For all his pontificating about ending hatred and strife, his own hatred for Christian morality is part of the very problem he claims to oppose. Like his hero and fellow champagne-socialist John Lennon, he's best ignored as much as possible.
For Floyd fans, I'd recommend the book as a good accompaniment to Dark Side, one of the best albums ever.

[Adina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn’t about Pink Floyd, it’s about me, but John Harris accidentally ghost-wrote my last two years.

Because let’s be real: Dark Side of the Moon wasn’t just a record, it was a group therapy session disguised as vinyl, and I too have been stuck in a concept album I didn’t sign up for. Only mine had less lasers, more crying in hostel bathrooms, and a rotating cast of men who thought “emotional availability” was a food allergy.

Reading about the band splicing madness into music, I kept nodding like: yep, I also tried to turn my nervous breakdown into something people might applaud. Pink Floyd had Abbey Road. I had Zoloft, shrooms in Laos, and an emotional support playlist that could raise the dead. Same vibe.

Harris explains how the album is about time, death, money, madness, and the human condition. Cute. My remix adds ghosting, avoidant boyfriends, oversharing with strangers, and losing half my belongings in Asia. Still charts high on existential Billboard.

So yeah, five stars. Because sometimes survival is the masterpiece. And if Pink Floyd can make their chaos immortal, maybe I can too.

[David Lai · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a teenage schoolboy I listened to DSOTM maybe hundreds of times, wearing out my copy until it skipped every few seconds all the way through "Money". It meant a lot to me then; I was so much into the music that I forgot it was music. When I was a bit older, I thought the lyrics were naive and simplistic, and I was drawn to more complex things.

John Harris's book is both a history and an analysis, tracing in detail the genesis of the album, its place in the life-story of Pink Floyd, the uncertain and precarious process of making it, the input of the various people involved, and the album's impact and consequences. While reading the book, I listened to the album numerous times, and was struck anew by its originality, complexity, cohesion both musical and lyrical, and by its emotional power. It stands up really well after all these years, and every part fits so well that it's almost miraculous. The lyrics, while simple, seem absolutely right. So well done, John Harris, for making the familiar seem new and fresh again.

[Tata Bolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such a pleasure read. It took me so long to finish because of work concerns but it was riveting every time I picked it up to read. It's amazing to read about the creative process involved at the time when they don't have the technology we took for granted now. Some examples, dropping coins from 6 floors up just to get the desired sound; literally looping miles of tape in the whole breadth of a room; literally splicing and putting together sections of "spliced" tapes. And the number of people involved, from producers to graphic artists designing record sleeves... Dark Side is such a fascinating album and reading about how it all came together was such a pleasure.

It was also fascinating to read about the different personalities and background of each member of the band that influenced greatly the music they created. The tension, the clash, etc. etc. I'm up for re-reading this again when I have ample time to just sit through it until I finish.

[Mazie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dark Side of the Moon is about Pink Floyd. Specifically the making of the album The Dark Side of the Moon. However, it goes more in depth about the band members relationships with one another and what the band was doing before, after, and during the making of the album. The book starts in 1966 and the reader hears about events that occurred until 2005. The events are mainly set in London, but since the band tours the events also happen in many other places. The best feature of the book is all of the direct quotes from band members and people who worked on the album. A recommended audience for this book would be a fan of Pink Floyd and their music. There are many places where specific lyrics are explained, so it would be beneficial to the reader to know the songs being talked about. This book really helps the reader have a new understanding and respect for the album.

[Jeremy Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good account of this band and their best record
This was bought for me as a Christmas present, which I read immediately. The author gives an expansive, detailed account of the making of DSOTM, but in the context of the history of the band. He sees their artistic effort and inspiration (not, I think, inaccurately), as building up to this album, and then decaying away afterwards. Interestingly, this view seems to be shared by some of the group - particularly Roger Waters, who comments on p168: "To be that successful is the aim of every band. And once you've cracked it, it's all over."

Harris seems to have done a pretty thorough job in researching the story (such as it is) behind DSOTM, and generously cites his sources. Chief among these is the relevant episode of the Classic Albums series, but he also finds useful things in "Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii", along with some careful listens to bootlegs of the band's live performances at the time. He also appears to be refreshingly free from any hero-worship, as he takes a commendably dim view of some of Roger Waters' dafter comments, especially during the lengthy and bitter break-up of the band. This means, however, that his praise and enthusiasm is more meaningful, especially when he lavishes it on this inventive, original and thoroughly memorable record.

Originally reviewed 2 January 2008

[Jon Lisle-Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was ubiquitous

Dark Side Of The Moon was a monster. Upto this release, I'd bought all their LPs. But, in my social environment wherever I went this record was playing so, perversely, I didn't get a copy until many years later.
This book tells the story of the genesis of the band, the loss of Syd Barrett and the struggle to escape from his influence. It feels very true to the era, of days and nights of hashish and red wine. Inflation was running at 20% so work was not cutting it economically. That meant I spent the period of this music's dominance earning little and living in a squat which gave the music extra meaning.
As a music work it had a coherence which has seldom been equalled. Its impact has never been surpassed except maybe by The Who's Quadraphenia.
Dark Side still stands up and this book explains why.

[Calum Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful read, easy to get through, though if there is to be a criticism it's that you sometimes feel as though the author has a predisposition against any of the Pink Floyd music released pre Dark Side, which does seem to manifest itself rather strongly at times.

However, informed as it is by a host of interviews and an extensive knowledge of the bootlegs available from Floyd concerts of the era, this book offers a truly excellent insight into how the album developed, going back before the band were even aware that they were composing pieces that would end up on this particular album. Very nicely structured and not an extraneous word in there, definitely worth a look to put an album you thought you knew into a different light.

[Kent Hayden · Rating 2 out of 5]

The making of one of the most iconic rock albums apparently wasn't too deep or at least with this author's rendition. I was hoping for a full account of the engineering of the the album but basically got vignettes of Pink Floyd's production. This account was too lightweight to be of interest except for two bits about 'Breathe' being influenced by Neil Young's Down By The River and Brain Damage was inspired by Dear Prudence by the Beatles. Too little and too much filler.

[Herman Schmitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Acabei de ler
Para o disco que representou o hino da geração das drogas, teve um processo de criação bem careta até. Parece que a decadência mental do Syd Barrett pelo LSD nos anos anteriores, levou a banda a consumir um outro tipo de droga: o workaholic. Esse disco foi o resultado de quase dois anos de trabalho compulsivo. Esse é o segredo da perfeição técnica da obra. O resto é lenda estimulada pelo departamento de marketing da gravadora.

[Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short book, more about the band as a whole rather than the actual album of the title. There were a lot of episodes and anecdotes that I hadn't heard before about the Floyd, one of my favourite groups. Having just bought 'another' remastered version of Dark Side, on vinyl this time, and also getting a new stylus for my turntable I look forward to exploring the album with renewed interest and informed by the analysis of Harris. Worth a read if you're a fan of the Pink Floyd!

[Patrick Pilz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, but certainly only for absolute Pink Floyd fans. This book tells the story of the band from its inception to its first masterpiece. A lot of detail and background tells a paints a very detailed pictures of the events between 1967 and 1973. I personally liked Nick Masons Bio better, but still an enjoyable read for die-hard fans, like me.

[T.W. Huey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written overview on the creative process behind the making of Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon." A few things I would like to have seen included in the text was a day-by-day listing of what the band worked on during the recording process, and a little more music theory in the breakdown of the songs.

[Elton Henriksson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it over the afternoon, it's really interesting if you're into Pink Floyd or 60-80s rock at all. It features some other popular artists like the Beatles and Elton John.
Overall it's a good read and you'll get a pretty good insight what happened during the years before and through the making of The Dark Side Of The Moon.