On December 22nd, The Flaming Lips revealed to the world yet another bubbly experimental concept album. This time, though, the band paid homage to one of rock music’s most timeless albums: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. The album came at the spur of the moment after a gracious reception of the Band’s latest LP, Embryonic. Stardeath and the White Dwarves, Henry Rollins, and Peaches all make appearances throughout the album.
The Lips signature sound has always revolved around infusing poppy vocals and effects with trance-like layering and depth. This being said, Dark Side, on paper, makes for the perfect album for the band to cover. I anxiously awaited the album to finish downloading so I could delve into a rendition of one of my favorite all-time albums by one of my favorite contemporary bands.
Unfortunately, my anticipation was unmerited. I was left underwhelmed by the poor development that went into the modification of some of Dark Side’s most powerful tracks.
Namely, the classic blues-rock track and most successful single from The Floyd’s album, “Money,” left a lot to be desired.
Classically, the song’s unique 7/4 time signature makes for one of the most recognizable bass grooves of the classic rock era. A saxophone solo develops, and eventually blends this groove into a pulsating 4/4 sequence that, upon first listen, catches one completely off guard and infectiously makes heads nod at double the previous tempo. The Lips omitted this entire sequence, and the vocals seemed as if they were trying to fill an impossible void.
“Us and Them” as well as “Time” were reminiscent of Pink Floyd versions, but ultimately lacked the layering and spacing aspects that made the songs so great.
“Breathe/Speak to Me,” and “The Great Gig in the Sky” came out complimenting The Lip’s style, and kept me interested for some time, but when I finished the album I found myself nearly angry with a band I have admired for innovations for what sounded like a sincere lack of effort. The album seems as if it was slapped together as a publicity stunt more than assembled as a tribute to one of the music world’s greatest all-time contributions.
The band has organized a tour of the album with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs, including a headlining spot at this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Watching the videos that have come from the tour thus far, the performance seems to be one of the few potential bright spots, and potentially the only saving grace of a tribute that is easily forgettable.
-Eric Gedenk
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