Scan barcode
obscuredbyclouds's review
3.0
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.
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.
tobysutton_long's review
3.0
Although advertised as a narrative of the history of one of the finest albums in British musical history, admittedly it does take a fair bit of time in the book to get to that point, mainly recounting the story of the band up until that point. That's not a bad thing though, as the information about the band and album is quite interesting.
nathanog123's review
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Decent book that offers a crash course on Floyd's history leading up to the creation of DSOTM. The book spends almost two chapters preoccupied with Syd Barrett, Floyd's founding member that succumbed to mental illness and left the band. After that it very briefly touches upon their other works such as Atom Heart Mother and Meddle, before focusing on DSOTM and explaining what the band was doing during it's creation. I would have liked more focus on individual songs and more of a technical analysis of the songs themselves, considering the book has in its title "The Making Of". Instead it provides brief context around the album's conception and very quickly summarises how successful the album was when it came out. It's filled with various quotes from Gilmour and Waters and other people who were close to the band and helped out on the record. A decent read for any Floyd fan.
More...