The amp needs to be right on the edge of feedback in order to react with the Fuzz Face and Colorsound correctly. The key to these tones is to let the pedal's sound do the work, and the amp to be the vehicle to deliver the sound with only minimal amp breakup adding to the distortion. A very simple setup, but not very easy tones to capture unless you have a tube amplifier capable of very loud volume without breakup or amp generated distortion. Both the Fuzz Face and Power Boost were used on the previous Obscured By Clouds album, and the pre and post DSOTM tours as well.
Those were both in his pedal board at the time. For most of the distortion/fuzz tones and overdrive tones on the album David used the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, with BC108 Silicon transistors rather than NKT275 Germaniums used on earlier Fuzz Faces, and a Colorsound Power Boost. The unique tones really stood out above other guitarists at the time, and still stand out today. His mix of modulated clean tones, echo drenched slide guitar, and screaming fuzz leads seemed to fit every song like a glove. That first time listening to Dark Side from beginning to end was a very moving experience, and listening to it today I still have the same feeling I had that first time through.ĭavid Gilmour's guitar playing and tones reached a new level with this record. A short time later I realized it was the same band! Almost every other track on the record received airplay on the various radio stations I listened to as a kid, but it was not until I got my first job as a teenager and started buying albums that I was able to listen to the piece as a whole. I thought that guy on Money was good, but not quite as good as the guy who played the solo on Time. Money was also another track played heavily on the radio. It was my favorite guitar solo - at least until a little song called Comfortably Numb came along a few years later.
At the time, this was the most incredible solo I had ever heard, and it caught my attention every time it came on the radio. I absolutely loved this song, from it's enigmatic rototom intro to David's searing guitar solo. My first exposure to Pink Floyd was hearing the song Time on the radio when I was a child. As a testament to how popular this album was, and remains to this day, it stayed in the charts for 591 consecutive weeks (over 11 years) on the Billboard top 200 charts, and stayed in the Billboard charts for around 14 years until Billboard changed the way it calculated chart positions. DSOTM effectively creates a mood, and as you get sucked in from the very first track, it carries you on a musical journey centered around life and the short time each one of us has to live it. Together the Floyd produced one of the finest rock albums in history and it encompassed a very broad range of blues based musical styles, soundscapes, and effects. Nick Mason's drum work expertly kept it all together, and he and Roger's bass rhythms formed the central back bone of just about every song. Richard Wright's keys were both beautiful and haunting, and his voice perfectly harmonized with Davids. The mix of David and Rogers' individual voices singing lead on different tracks made for an interesting contrast of vocal styles, with each fitting the respective songs. David's guitar work and tones were incredible, and Roger wrote some of the best songs and lyrics of his career.
It combined the best elements of Floyd's previous works into one cohesive piece that showcased each member's talents equally. In some ways, Dark Side is the definitive Pink Floyd album. Each was in top form and each wrote and contributed to the writing of what is arguably their greatest work. The four individual band members were relatively unknown and faceless at the time. It also showed that the music, not the personalities behind it, could sell records. It basically put them on the map, and showed the public and the music industry that a "concept" album could be both popular and profitable. It was recorded in the famous Abbey Road Studios in 1973, and its release in 1973 increased the Floyd's popularity enormously worldwide. THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON GUITAR TONES - One of my all time favorite albums is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Left to Right - Original 1973 album sleeve art by Hipgnosis/George Hardie, 20th anniversary CD art, 30th anniversay SACD art, and 2011 Experience Edition, and Immersion Edition remaster