Dark Side of the Moon liner notes

I suppose it was inevitable that DT would tackle an entire Pink Floyd album one day.

We’ve been covering individual Floyd tracks for years (in addition to the 7 tracks included on the bonus disc of this package, we’ve also done excerpts of “Wish You Were Here” and “Have A Cigar” and I’ve covered “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” with TransAtlantic and “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” with OSI)

As much as all 5 of us have been influenced by Floyd (they are certainly one of the band’s biggest collective influences), stylistically, Pink Floyd may very well be the polar opposite of what Dream Theater has become known for. We are generally known for over-the-top shredding, speed, dexterity and general musical acrobatics. Whereas Pink Floyd was always about the complete opposite side of the spectrum: mood, dynamics, slow a patient playing and music that breathes... It was never about the individual musicians, but more about the collective atmosphere.

So perhaps on the surface, it seemed strange for DT fans to witness us performing Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety (especially after the previous onslaughts of Master Of Puppets and The Number Of The Beast). But for us, it was an absolute natural and it fit like a glove. The Pink Floyd style and influence has always been one of the “other sides” of DT. (Listen to “Peruvian Skies”, “Trial Of Tears”, “Octavarium”, “Regression/The Spirit Carries On”, “Goodnight Kiss” and so on...)

It is often forgotten that one of Pink Floyd’s “other sides” was as one of the forefathers and leaders of what would become “progressive rock”. Although they began as more of a psychedelic/pop act in the early Syd Barrett days, they soon evolved into the pioneers of a more adventurous, progressive sound. With very long, experimental (and often very instrumentally based) pieces such as “A Saucerful Of Secrets”, “Atom Heart Mother” and “Echoes”, they paved the way for bands such as King Crimson, Yes and Genesis to follow soon after. This lineage is where their impact and similarities to Dream Theater can be traced.

In 1973, Pink Floyd released Dark Side Of The Moon and album-oriented rock music was changed forever. It’s influential impact can only be compared to The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper. It broke so much new ground and re-wrote all of the rules of how an album could be produced. Not only was it a musical and lyrical masterpiece, but was also a sonic tour-de-force that all others albums to follow would be compared to. it was the ultimate “headphone album”.

Recreating such a masterpiece was a major challenge for us to tackle as it required that all of the sound effects and production techniques be intact for a proper presentation. (It was not as simple as just “playing the songs” as we did for the Metallica and Maiden albums) We also were very fortunate to be joined by such talented special guests as Theresa Thomason (who had previously worked with us on Scenes From A Memory and Live Scenes From New York) as well as Norbert Stachel from Roger Waters’ recent live band.

We performed Dark Side Of The Moon twice in 2005. The first night was on October 11th in Amsterdam and the second was the performance captured on this disc which was October 25th in London at the Hammersmith Apollo.

We hope you enjoy our version of this classic album. It was done with utmost respect, admiration and love for the original and the geniuses that created it.