The Flaming Lips - Dark Side of The Moon (2009)

I bet this had Floyd fans frothing at the mouth.

For over 35 years, this album has ingrained itself

into everyday life and I'm sure as some sort of

benchmark for how a "proper album" should sound.

Hey, don't get me wrong, the original is a fucking

classic and anyone who thinks otherwise is a dick

but here, The Flaming Lips have torn it apart and

given it a reconstructed kicking!

This was part of the Record Day event held in the

States in 2009.

Teaming up with Stardeath and the White Dwarf,

they also got Henry Rollins to provide vocals for

all the speaking parts.

"Breathe " starts off with a heavy distorted bass line

and a sparse wailing guitar - straight away you are

made aware that this is not a slavish copy but their

own take on the masterpiece.

Where you would expect alarm bells for the beginning

of "Time", you get electronic klaxons and warning sounds

before the reflective, quiet vocals start.

"The Great Gig in The Sky" with the famous Clare Terry

vocals, has Peaches reining in her trademark banshee wailings

and giving a restrained - and very good - performance.

"Money" is brought down to its bare bones and the vocals

are heavily processed - very much like Gilmours on "Sheep"

from the "Animals" album.

Reaching the end, "Us and Them" is sung with a wistful vocal and

backed with keyboards that would not sound out of place in a

small church, having a sunday service!

This can stand alongside your copy of the "Easy Star All Stars" version

and should be of interest to most people who read this blog.

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