One particular part of the legendary rock album The Dark Side of the Moon impresses its writer, Roger Waters, decades later.
The bassist is rightly proud of his work with David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright, though one part of the album stands out above all. Waters would take the album back on stage over thirty years on from its initial release, and was joined by Mason for some of the shows. One thing that stood out to him was not just the quality of the work, but how the album had connected with younger audiences. Us and Them was picked out by Waters as an example of the album’s ongoing influence, and what he described as a sentiment which had never gone away. Their “attachment” to the song has crossed over generations, and Waters seemed relatively proud of his work on The Dark Side of the Moon.
Speaking to Rocky Mountain News back in 2008, Waters said: “It’s a strange thing doing The Dark Side of the Moon now, thirty-five years later or however long it is. But I don’t think it’s necessary to find anything new to like about it. It’s how strange the politics of the thing seem to be right up to date now. What impresses me most about it is the attachment of an increasingly young audience to the ideas in it and songs like Us and Them, which develop the ideas that you and I have been speaking about here.
“None of this stuff has gone away ever. The idea that we get to make choices about these things and that we can somehow join together to provide a somewhat united front against a military-industrial complex that Eisenhower was so worried about when he was president … is still fundamentally important to all of our lives.
“It’s a voice that since the ’60s has become stronger and stronger. It’s a voice that becomes subverted to our attachments to video games and cell phones and all that technological (expletive), but it’s never the less a voice that has never faltered. And I think it’s increasing in power.”
In a separate interview, Waters would highlight The Great Gig in the Sky as a song of worthy acclaim. He said: “Certain tracks started to turn out really well, like when [vocalist] Clare Torry came in and we worked on The Great Gig In The Sky. Alan Parsons had invited her in for the session. We were amazed at what she did. I didn’t know her then.
“But we became friends afterwards when I moved to East Sheen in 1980, and we lived a few doors away from each other. I used to see her walking her bull terrier on Sheen Common. I’d have the cocker spaniel with me.
“When we finished the record, I had a very strong feeling (a) that the work was really good and (b) that it was going to be successful. It was exciting to work on.” The Dark Side of the Moon is, as of today, a sixteen-time platinum-selling album in the UK.
