March 1st marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Pink Floyd's most successful album, 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon.
Roger Waters came up with the album's concept, which was about things that drive people "mad," and he wrote all the lyrics -- the first time he did so on a Floyd album.
They road-tested the songs 13 months before the album's release, which was recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios and engineered by Alan Parsons.
Featuring such classics as "Breathe (In the Air)," "Time," "The Great Gig in the Sky," "Money," "Us and Them," "Brain Damage," and "Eclipse," it debuted on the Billboard 200 on March 17th, hit number-one -- for one week only -- on April 28th, and spent a record 741 weeks on the chart. It has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.
And, despite legend, they did not write it to sync up to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
To celebrate the milestone of their eighth album, The Dark Side of the Moon 50th anniversary box set will be released on March 24th.
It features a newly remastered version of the album on CD and LP, the live album The Dark Side of the Moon: Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974 on CD and LP, replica seven-inch singles of "Money" and "Us and Them," a Blu-Ray with the original album in 5.1 and high-resolution remastered stereo mixes, another Blu-Ray with a Dolby Atmos Mix and a DVD with two different 5.1 mixes.
The set also comes with the Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon: 50th Anniversary book that features rare black and white photographs from their tours of the U.S. and U.K. from 1972 to 1975. (This book will also be published separately on March 24th.) The list price for the box set is $300.
The Dark Side of the Moon: Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974 will also be released as a stand-alone CD and LP on March 24th. And from that disc they've released “Breathe (In the Air).”
Photo: Getty Images
Roger Waters has re-recorded the album and will release it in May.
And to further commemorate the release, Abbey Road Studios and the band have partnered on a line of merchandise -- short and long sleeve t-shirts, bucket hats, hoodies, a tote bag, mugs, key rings, magnets, coasters, shot glasses, guitar picks and straps, as well as a one of a kind session sheet. Details at Shop.AbbeyRoad.com.