Review: Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side Of The Moon 50th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set’

Pink Floyd, Hipgnosis, Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side Of The Moon 50th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set’

By Mike O’Cull

Actual rock legends Pink Floyd celebrate a half century’s passage since they dropped one of the most important albums in history with the release of the Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set.

It comes out March 24th, 2023 via Sony Music Entertainment and gives Floyd fans a veritable boatload of new, ultra-cool insider material in a way that shows ultimate respect for the now-classic original release. The box set includes a CD and gatefold vinyl of the new 2023 remastered studio album and Blu-Ray + DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions.

The set also includes an additional Blu-ray disc of the Atmos mix plus a CD and LP of The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974, which has never been available as a stand-alone record before now. It will be issued independently, as well. Also included is the 160-page book Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon: 50th Anniversary, a stunning volume of rare photos taken on Dark Side tours between 1972 and 1975. The book was curated by photographer Jill Furmanovsky and art directed by Hipgnosis co-founder Aubrey Powell. It will be published separately by Thames & Hudson on March 24, 2023 to coincide with the box set release. Fans also get a music book of the album, replica singles, and a replica of the EMI invite to the record’s 1974 preview at the London Planetarium.

The Dark Side Of The Moon was the eighth studio album by Pink Floyd, originally released in the US on March 1st and in the UK on March 16, 1973. The new material was recorded in 1972 and 1973 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London. The iconic sleeve, which depicts a prism spectrum, was designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis and drawn by George Hardie. The record has sold over 50 million copies worldwide and become one of the most influential titles ever created.

The remastered version of the original recording is a thing of beauty and will help this landmark effort live forever. The Dolby Atmos mix brings these eternal tracks to your head in virtual surround sound and puts you right in the middle of things. Audio aficionados will have great fun comparing and contrasting the different mixes contained in this set and will also be reminded of the conceptual greatness of this music while doing so. Most of us can’t imagine a world without Dark Side in it and iconic cuts like “Money,” “Time,” and “The Great Gig In The Sky” have become permanent parts of millions of lives.

The Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974 performance is an amazing passport back to when rock was first connecting to electronic music to see if an alliance could be made. From the first sounds of the intro piece “Speak To Me,” the assembled crowd is alive and cheering what they know is coming. This despite the fact that this isn’t the loud, blasting rock of Floyd contemporaries Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin but rather a more cerebral and hypnotic soundtrack to an inner journey.

The live environment captured at Wembley displays the true magic Waters, Gilmour, Mason, and Wright could conjure on command. Listening to these songs go down as living, breathing beings instead of the static, studio versions that will always be spinning on classic rock radio is enlightening and inspiring for those of us who couldn’t be there. We all know these songs by heart but here they’re brand-new all over again.

The Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set is an ultimate score for hardcore Pink Floyd lovers and all those still obsessed with this album. Dark Side was a massive leap forward for the band and its ripples are still being felt today. It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years but even 500 years couldn’t diminish its impact and magnificence.

Deluxe Box Set pre-order here 

Unboxing Video for Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon 50th Anniversary