The Real Congregation

Our last episode on WPRK (for now) will be on the morning of Tuesday, October 25th. We want this episode to be special… so what songs do you remember most from the show? Songs that The Real Congregation turned you on to? Anyways that the show affected your life, we want to know ASAP, so that we can highlight these events and songs on our final transmission on this station. Tell us what you want us to know?

On this week’s edition of the show, Marc answers some questions about the future of The Real Congregation, geeks out about the new Pink Floyd reissues even harder than before, chats about some reissues that he’d really like to see, and how certain reissue projects could have been improved. All this, plus new stuff from The Money Boys, StarF, Tom Waits, Wild Flag, Kid Dakota, a world premiere track from Sci-Fried, and Marc griping about needing new glasses. Get your rock and/or roll on!

Download & listen at this link!

Without question, Dark Side Of The Moon is one of the most perfect albums ever created. In terms of production, musicianship, lyrical craft and circumstances, pretty much nothing touches the stamp that this album has left on the history of music, let alone the world. Many a joint has been rolled on the original gatefold sleeve, many a mind has been expanded playing it for the first time, and in these days of downloading and such, it’s still one of the rare albums that is a true rite of passage. I mean, have you honestly been to a party that hasn’t eventually dissolved at the end of the night by a couple of kids playing this album, freaking out and having a talk about the themes represented here? Are you someone that doesn’t know a guy that freaked out while playing Dark Side on acid? Of course you’re not. If you’re experiencing this review right now, your life has been touched in some way by a seemingly simple and stark album made by four guys that wouldn’t like each other very much just a few months after its completion.

Considering that Dark Side Of The Moon was bookended by the astounding Obscured By Clouds and Wish You Were Here albums, it’s the definition of a “right place, right time” record.

Also, considering that it stayed on the Billboard charts for a record 741 weeks, it’s the epitome of all one could ever hope to achieve.

In short, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon is a highly considerable candidate for nomination as “greatest album in the history of pretty much anything you can think of,” and considering how effortlessly it breaks down the human condition, it almost begs the question, “Do we simply exist as muses for Pink Floyd’s art?”

My friends, I don’t have an answer for that question. But I can tell you that thanks to a reissue program that renders almost all others obsolete, you can now get as close to the essence of Dark Side Of The Moon as any sane human being could ever hope for: a six-disc set that includes the album in full, plus a gracious live version of the album performed in 1974, no less than three alternate mixes of the entire record (Alan Parson’s work-in-progress mix, as well as quadraphonic and 5.1 mixes), every extra track that exists from the various permutations of the song cycle, as well as a few super desirable tunes from the original sessions that didn’t make it to the finished product. Oh, and you get DVD and Blu-Ray versions of clips from a live show from 1972, plus all of the super-trippy projections that they used to show behind them on the trusty ol’ “Mr. Screen” during their shows.

Before we get to the album proper, let’s take a second to talk about the two truly unreleased tracks included in the set: one is called “The Travel Sequence”, and it was a sort-of precursor to what we all now know as “On The Run”, the musical bridge between “Breathe” and “Time”. Instead of the mounds of electronic wizardry and sound effects we’re all used to, this early piece was a funky excursion still based on the same two chord structure that appears in “Any Colour You Like”, “Breathe” and the “Breathe” reprise, albeit with a bit more tempo changes than you’d find in any of those tunes. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the developmental process of the album, and while it’s not totally essential, it’s just a really cool track with a great groove.

The other unreleased tune is a bit of a holy grail for Floyd fanatics: “The Hard Way” from the never-completed Household Objects project. The album was to be, as the title implies, songs played literally on household appliances. On this particular track, you get a seemingly nice bass groove but a rather unremarkable melody, sounding not unlike a porn soundtrack, but when compared to the other epic things that Pink Floyd created in the ’70s, it is probably best left as what it is: a bonus track on an exhaustive box set. While it’s not the greatest tune in their canon, it’s a worthy listen for sure.

But what about the real meat here? All of the actual incarnations of Dark Side? Well, some of the coolest things on the box are as follows:

- in the 5.1 mix, you’re going to hear a somewhat faithful reproduction of the stereo mix of the album, but this time around, the sound absolutely envelopes you. Highlights are the rototoms from the intro of “Time” seeming to be played over your head, as well as the heavily chorused guitar from “Any Colour You Like” becoming even thicker until it’s one of the most thrilling EQ tricks you’ll have ever heard.
- Alan Parson’s early mix of the album finds the songs missing all of the psychotic mumblings that you now know and love, replaced by NASA radio transmissions, and in the case of “Brain Damage”, an unnecessary hyena-esque laugh that was thankfully removed from the final mix. Also, the instruments all sit in slightly different places on the soundstage, and it’s great to hear ideas of how much different and dry the album really could have been, further emphasizing just how much the planets seemed to align for all things-Dark Side related.
- Like Rick Wright’s effortlessly beautiful “The Great Gig In The Sky”? You’re in luck. Not only do you get to hear it without Clare Torry’s vocal parts in the aforementioned early mix, but you’ll also hear how stark it sounded on a church organ back when it was still known as “The Mortality Sequence”. Plus, the eagle-eyed will notice that the projections used on the French Tour for this song were simply four minutes of a burning cross – which is a bit of film that Pink Floyd wisely chose to later drop in favor of rolling ocean waves.
- And while we’re talking visuals here, that footage from Brighton 1972 is practically a godsend for those of us who really love the more expansive and moody Floyd seen in the Live At Pompeii film. You get possibly the most thrilling version of “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” ever captured on film, as well as a live take on “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” that renders nearly all others obsolete, complete with a flaming gong!
- Of course, there’s no shortage of things to look at here. Two beautiful books come complete with photos from the recording sessions and ensuing tours, plus some trading cards, coasters, a scarf, a backstage pass, a ticket stub, and even some marbles.

Pink Floyd didn’t skimp on anything here. If it existed and could be used, it’s included in this Immersion box. And that’s no mean feat for a band so famously protective of their own vault material, but if your finished products were half as great as DSOTM, you’d probably want to keep your legacy looking phenomenal, too. This box makes it clear: Dark Side Of The Moon was that rare moment in time where confidence and talent intersected at precisely the right moment, culminating in one of the the most important musical documents of all time, and even the worst outtake is pretty good.

Thank you, Pink Floyd. Not just for making one of the great albums in history, but for presenting it in this fashion, giving the fans all of the things that they’ve clamored for over the years, and also making the new gold standard by which all reissue programs should be judged from now on. Just … thank you.