Battle of the Sounds: Dark Side of the Moon vs. The Wall

From the first note played by the late Syd Barrett to the present, the band Pink Floyd is well known around the world. The band has been playing since 1965. They have created and sold many immortal albums over the years. Their music is still a classic to this day. Two of the bands best-known works are The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon. Both are great gems. But due to sound, cover art, and the best songs on opinion, Dark Side of the Moon is Pink Floyd’s better work than The Wall.

The first test is the quality of sound. When fans listen to Dark Side of the Moon, they receive more of a smoky and adventurous sound to the album. The sound “Time” is a perfect example of this experimental sound. Back in the sixties, computers and other pieces of technology were not around to record albums. So artists did the best they could. What Pink Floyd did for the song, “Time”, was wind up many clocks and set them off to chime and ring at the same time to produce the powerful effect they had in mind for the song. The rest of the song mimics the sound of time and clocks slowly passing. Finally, the song disappears into an earthly-heavenly sound mixed with rock. Another good example of Dark Side of the Moon’s experimental sound is the song “Money”. The song, as the band says, is bizarre. It opens with the sounds that people associate money with such as a cash register. Then the song descends into a club and blues tune along with the cash register. It does not stop there. The song changes timings in the middle of it and speeds up into a fast rock song. Finally towards the end, “Money” goes back to its four: four timing. Dark Side of the Moon also holds a soothing and enigmatic sound to it with the songs “Us and Them” and “The Great Gig in the Sky”. These songs can even be used for yoga or soul-searching since they are so peaceful and dreamy. Pink Floyd even uses voice recordings for the songs, “Brain Damage”, “The Great Gig in the Sky”, and “Us and Them”, to enhance the excitement of the album’s charm. The Wall on the other hand, sounds like every other album. On this record, Pink Floyd combined a hard-core flavor with a soft and soothing sound. From the first song, “In the Flesh,” to the last, “Outside the Wall,” it is a roaring ride of hard rock. The sound just swings from loud rock, to soft and peaceful, and back to hard rock again. Maybe one reason is because the album’s first focus was to be a rock opera. Pink Floyd may have been able to add their quality to the album, but if the band’s charm were taken out of the album, The Wall would just be another bland record.

The next challenge is the cover art of the albums. Some artists enjoy having eye-catching covers on their albums. It helps to attract more attention to buy the work from the fans. Dark Side of the Moon does not fail to do so. The cover is a pure black background with a clear pyramid on it. A light goes through one side of the pyramid and rainbow coming out of the other of it. There is a sense of mystery and wonder in the cover. The theme of the cover matches the theme of the album itself. This piece of art is so recognizable that if the title were taken off of it, the fans would still associate it with Pink Floyd and Dark Side of the Moon. But The Wall’s album cover on the other hand, is simpler. It is only a white brick wall with title in red on it. To the fans the cover is bland. When The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon are put side-by-side, people are most likely to see Dark Side of the Moon first then The Wall. The cover is just that eye-catching.

The final test is the best songs to public opinion. Dark Side of the Moon has six great songs on it. They are “Money”, “Time”, “The Great Gig in the Sky”, “Brain Damage”, “Us and Them”, and “Eclipse”. That might not be a huge number but the quality says otherwise. The songs all lock the imagination into them and refuse to let go until the last note. They could be played repeatedly and not get exhausted by the listener. Another factor to the songs’ charm is that they were ahead of their time and unique in the way they were recorded. “Money” and “Time” both use sound effects that associate with the theme of the song. “The Great Gig in the Sky” and “Brain Damage” use human voices in them. The Wall has a nice section of songs as well. The best ones from that album are “Young Lust”, “The Trial”, “Another Brick in the Wall (Pt. 1, 2, and 3)”, “Is There Anybody Out There”, “Run Like Hell”, “Don’t Leave Me Now”, “Goodbye Blue Sky”, “The Thin Ice”, “Hey You”, and “Comfortably Numb”. Since they are all part of a rock opera, they each tell a piece of the story. The songs stay true to the theme of a burned-out rock star losing his mind as he builds his “wall”. All three parts of “Another Brick in the Wall” are the same song except with different tones and lyrics to them. Even through The Wall has a heavy quantity of great songs on it; Dark Side of the Moon’s songs have a better quality.

Pink Floyd’s music still has the same effect it did back in 1965 as it does in present day. The band has made many great albums in their time, however Dark Side of the Moon stands to be the greatest classic album in the band’s career. The mystical sound quality, eye-catching cover art, and hypnotic songs support the proof that is needed. It is more superior than The Wall. Dark Side of the Moon stands to be one of the greatest albums in rock history.