For those Pink Floyd fans out there, here's something you should check out: "The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon" DVD.
It's a documentary on the making of the historic album, which spent 14 years on the charts, and is IMO, the best record of all time -- not only for the music, but also for the enduring quality of the recording. In the early 70s, the mainstays of modern recording didn't exist (digital echo/delay effects, Pro Tools, etc.), so it's really amazing to see how they accomplished some of the amazing sounds and effects.
The cool thing about the DVD is that the story is told by the band and other insiders, including engineer Alan Parsons, mixing supervisor Chris Thomas, sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson (the guy that came up with the prism cover image), and others. Some of the highlights range from a behind-the-scenes look at some of David Gilmour's amazing guitar riffs and how the band produced "On the Run" using a very rudimentary (and probably the first) sequencer, to how the singer who produced the screaming vocals in "The Great Gig in the Sky" was embarrassed at first by a performance that is now legendary.
I also liked the discussion about how the late Richard Wright infused jazz chords from a Miles Davis record into his keyboard track on "Breathe."
If you love the Floyd and Dark Side -- or even if you're only interested in the recording techniques -- I highly recommend this DVD.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Geo2
