The Dark Side of the Moon Redux

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The Dark Side of the Moon Redux
A dog's eye showing a reflection of the Dark Side of the Moon artwork, a prism refracting white light into a rainbow on a black background
Studio album by
Roger Waters
Released6 October 2023
StudioSargent Recorders, Mantis Studios, EastWest Studios, Strongroom, Fivestarstudios
Genre
Length47:51
Label
Producer
Roger Waters chronology
The Lockdown Sessions
(2022) 		The Dark Side of the Moon Redux
(2023)
Singles from The Dark Side of the Moon Redux
  1. "Money"
    Released: 21 July 2023
  2. "Time"
    Released: 24 August 2023
  3. "Speak to Me" / "Breathe"
    Released: 21 September 2023

The Dark Side of the Moon Redux is the sixth studio album by the English musician Roger Waters, released on 6 October 2023. Produced by Waters Gus Seyffert, Redux is a new version of The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) by Waters' former band, Pink Floyd, released for its 50th anniversary. It received mixed reviews; some critics praised the artistic exercise and renewed focus on lyrics, while others criticised its slow pace or saw it as indulgent.

Background[edit]

Waters co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon, with lyrics by Waters, spent 736 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.[2] In 1985, Waters left Pink Floyd and began a solo career.[3]

In 2022, Waters released The Lockdown Sessions (2022), comprising stripped-back rerecordings of several of his solo tracks and tracks with Pink Floyd. During the recording, it occurred to him that he could make a similar rerecording of The Dark Side of the Moon for its 50th anniversary.[4] In a press release, Waters wrote: "[We] were so young when we made [the original], and when you look at the world around us, clearly the message hasn't stuck. That's why I started to consider what the wisdom of an 80 year old could bring to a reimagined version."[5]

Content[edit]

The Dark Side of the Moon Redux features no other members of Pink Floyd, and was recorded with musicians including Gus Seyffert, Joey Waronker, Jonathan Wilson, Jon Carin, Johnny Shepherd, Azniv Korkejian (Bedouine), Via Mardot, Gabe Noel, and Robert Walter.[6][7] It features spoken-word sections and no guitar solos, to "bring out the heart and soul of the album musically and spiritually".[8][9] The new version of "Speak to Me" includes Waters' recitation of his lyrics from the 1972 Pink Floyd track "Free Four".[10]

Waters did not intend Redux to replace The Dark Side of the Moon, and instead intended it as a tribute and a way to readdress its political statements.[11] He said: "The new recording is more reflective I think, and it's more indicative of what the concept of the record was."[12] The Pink Floyd drummer, Nick Mason, said Redux was "absolutely brilliant ... It's not anything that would be a spoiler for the original at all, it's an interesting add-on to the thing."[13] He supported the concept of revisiting and developing existing work.[13]

Release[edit]

Waters announced The Dark Side of the Moon Redux on 21 July 2023, alongside a digital single, "Money".[7] On 24 August, he released the second single, "Time", followed by the double A-side single "Speak to Me" / "Breathe" on 21 September.[14][15] In October, Waters held two concerts at the London Palladium, where he performed The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, spoke on topics such as Julian Assange and read from his unpublished memoir.[16]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic59/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
Classic Rock[19]
Mojo[20]
Paste4.6/10[21]
Sputnikmusic0.5/5[22]
The Telegraph[23]
Uncut6/10[24]

On the review aggregator Metacritic, The Dark Side of the Moon Redux has a score of 59 out of 100, indicating a "mixed or average" reception based on nine reviews.[17]

In a positive review, David Quantick of Classic Rock called Redux "neither a massive gutting of the original nor a slavish copy". He wrote that "Time" sounded like a "boulder rolled up a hill, weary and aged", and described it and "Brain Damage" as "half-crooned" and effective.[19] Uncut called Redux "interesting enough" for "an artistic exercise",[24] while Mojo felt that "the new focus on these songs' lyrics proves deeply powerful, a different and profound kind of high", which makes the album "wholly valid, the unnerving, stirring adjunct Waters was aiming for".[20]

In Ultimate Classic Rock, Nick DeRiso gave Redux a negative review, criticising the replacement of the other Pink Floyd members with "more words". He found much of the emotion of the original record was missing, and described Waters' additional lyrics as "Waters talking again, yet somehow not saying much".[25] Jonah Krueger of Consequence argued that Redux existed only so Waters could "take the opportunity to re-write history, framing himself as the sole creative force behind The Dark Side of the Moon and using the Redux as some form of indulgent fodder to do so". He felt that many of Waters' changes make the album worse, though he complimented the overall production quality.[26] Christian Kriticos of Paste had similar views, criticising its slow pace and spoken-word passages.[21]

Track listing[edit]

All lyrics are written by Roger Waters.

The Dark Side of the Moon Redux track listing
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Speak to Me"Nick Mason1:54
2."Breathe"
3:22
3."On the Run"
  • Waters
  • Gilmour
3:47
4."Time"
  • Waters
  • Gilmour
  • Wright
  • Mason
7:19
5."The Great Gig in the Sky"
5:47
6."Money"Waters7:33
7."Us and Them"
  • Waters
  • Wright
7:36
8."Any Colour You Like"
  • Gilmour
  • Mason
  • Wright
3:18
9."Brain Damage"Waters4:55
10."Eclipse"Waters2:20
Total length:47:51

Note

  • On the 2LP Vinyl releases, Side One spans "Speak to Me" through "Time", Side Two spans "The Great Gig in the Sky" and "Money", and Side Three spans "Us and Them" through "Eclipse". Side Four contains an untitled original composition.
  • The cassette release splits the album the traditional way, between "The Great Gig in the Sky" and "Money".

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for The Dark Side of the Moon Redux
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] 55
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[28] 6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30] 1
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[31] 4
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[32] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[33] 3
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[34] 32
French Albums (SNEP)[35] 11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[36] 3
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[37] 30
Irish Albums (IRMA)[38] 98
Italian Albums (FIMI)[39] 5
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[40] 32
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[41] 41
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[42] 24
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[43] 6
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[44] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[45] 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[46] 20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[47] 39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[48] 5
UK Albums (OCC)[49] 4
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[50] 1
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[51] 1
US Billboard 200[52] 142
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[53] 27

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Review: Roger Waters reimagines a classic on 'Dark Side of the Moon Redux'". Riff Magazine. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  2. ^ Titus, Christa; Waddell, Ray (2005). "Floyd's Dark Side Celebrates Chart Milestone". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Roger Waters – The Solo Years". dereksmusicblog. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  4. ^ "The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Roger Waters. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  5. ^ Duran, Anagricel (21 July 2023). "Roger Waters announces release of 'The Dark Side of the Moon Redux' as solo album". NME. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Roger Waters to Release 'The Dark Side of the Moon Redux'". 23 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b Zemler, Emily (21 July 2023). "Roger Waters to Release 'The Dark Side of the Moon Redux' as a Solo LP in October". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 July 2023. ROGER WATERS HAS re-recorded Pink Floyd's seminal album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and will release it as a solo LP, The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, on Oct. 6 via SGB Music.
  8. ^ "Roger Waters Questioned in Depth About Ukraine, Russia, Israel, U.S." Pressenza. 4 February 2023. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  9. ^ Saunders, Tristram Fane (8 February 2023). "Roger Waters: I wrote The Dark Side of the Moon – let's get rid of all this 'we' crap". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  10. ^ "THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON REDUX". Roger Waters. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Roger Waters / The Dark Side of the Moon Redux – SuperDeluxeEdition". 21 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  12. ^ Rob Laing (28 July 2023). "Roger Waters on his dramatic Dark Side Of The Moon Redux: "It's been part of our lives for 50 years and yet we are still not yet breathing in the air"". MusicRadar. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  13. ^ a b Dunworth, Liberty (27 March 2023). "Pink Floyd's Nick Mason shares opinion on Roger Waters' 'Dark Side Of The Moon' re-recording". NME. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Roger Waters Unveils New Version of Pink Floyd's "Time"". Consequence. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  15. ^ Mendelsohn, Jon (21 September 2023). "Roger Waters Updates "Speak to Me/Breathe" With Chilling Spoken Word Intro". American Songwriter. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Music critics call out 'awkward' Roger Waters show at London Palladium". The Independent. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  17. ^ a b "The Dark Side of the Moon Redux by Roger Waters". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  18. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Roger Waters - The Dark Side of the Moon Redux Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  19. ^ a b Quantick, David (5 October 2023). "News just in: Roger Waters' reworking of The Dark Side of the Moon actually works". Classic Rock. Retrieved 6 October 2023 – via Loudersound.
  20. ^ a b "Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Mojo. November 2023. p. 87.
  21. ^ a b "Roger Waters Fronts a Colorless Remake of a Classic Album With The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Roger Waters Fronts a Colorless Remake of a Classic Album With The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  23. ^ McCormick, Neil (5 October 2023). "Roger Waters, Dark Side of the Moon, review: this re-recording is extraordinary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Uncut. November 2023. p. 33.
  25. ^ DeRiso, Nick (3 October 2023). "Roger Waters, 'The Dark Side of the Moon Redux': Album Review". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Roger Waters' Dark Side of the Moon (Redux): Review". 6 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  27. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 16 October 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1754. Australian Recording Industry Association. 16 October 2023. p. 6.
  28. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  31. ^ "Lista prodaje 44. tjedan 2023. (23.10.2023. - 29.10.2023.)" (in Croatian). HDU. November 2023. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  32. ^ "Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 41, 2023". Hitlisten. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  33. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  34. ^ "Roger Waters: The Dark Side of the Moon Redux" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  35. ^ "Top Albums (Week 41, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  36. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  37. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 41. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  38. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Roger Waters". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  39. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  40. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-10-16/p/4" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  41. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of October 11, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  42. ^ "Charts.nz – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  43. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 06.10.2023–12.10.2023 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  44. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  45. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  46. ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  47. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  48. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Roger Waters – The Dark Side of the Moon Redux". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  49. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  50. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  51. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  52. ^ "Roger Waters Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  53. ^ "Roger Waters Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
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