BUCKET LIST UPDATE No. 117: Listen to Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” from start to finish

Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon'

Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” is one of the most iconic rock albums of all time. Originally released in March 1973, it’s raked in all sorts of honors over the years, including a No. 43 ranking on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

Despite all of this, I couldn’t honestly say that I’d ever listened to the complete album from start to finish even though I knew I had heard a few of the songs from the album. For that reason, I added this album to my “bucket list” a couple of years ago and finally took the time to listen to it from start to finish on Saturday morning.

“The Dark Side of the Moon” is 42 minutes and 59 seconds long and consists of 10 tracks. Songs on the album include “Speak to Me,” “Breathe,” “On the Run,” “Time,” “The Great Gig in the Sky,” “Money,” “Us and Them,” “Any Colour You Like,” Brain Damage” and “Eclipse.”
 

Many of you will recognize some of these songs, especially “Money” and “Time.” The other songs on the album are not as well known, and I actually followed along to all of the songs with lyrics that I looked up on the internet. I think I got more out of the experience by doing it this way, following along with the words as the album played out.

As mentioned, this album has collected a long list of honors over the years. In 1987, Rolling Stone published a best-of list called the “Top 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years” and ranked “The Dark Side of the Moon” No. 35 on that list. Later, in 1997, The Guardian ranked the album No. 37 on its list of “100 Best Albums Ever,” and in 2006, The Observer ranked it No. 29 on its list of “The 50 Albums That Changed Music.” Last year, the Library of Congress even selected the album for preservation in the U.S. National Recording Registry because of the album’s cultural and historical significance.

“The Dark Side of the Moon” was one of 14 studio albums recorded by Pink Floyd, a British rock band that formed in 1965. Their other albums included “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” (1967), “A Saucerful of Secrets” (1968), “Soundtrack from the Film More” (1969), “Ummagumma” (1969), “Atom Heart Mother” (1970), “Meddle” (1971), “Obscured by Clouds” (1972), “Wish You Were Here” (1975), “Animals” (1977), “The Wall” (1979), “The Final Cut” (1983), “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (1987) and “The Division Bell” (1994).

In the end, I enjoyed scratching “The Dark Side of the Moon” off my “bucket list.” How many of you out there have ever listened to “The Dark Side of the Moon” from start to finish? What did you think about it? Which of the songs on the album is your favorite? Which other albums would you recommend listening to from start to finish? Let us know in the comments section below.