Even when he was still an active member of Pink Floyd, Roger Waters was a magnet for controversy and conflict, especially towards the end of the ’70s as he vied for control of the group. Stories of the bassist spitting on audience members, habitually firing core members, and reducing any and all outside input have become integral aspects of the Pink Floyd lore. In his latest effort of seeing just how far he can push his fans before his elaborate stage show downgrades from arenas to clubs, he’s rerecorded the seminal Dark Side of the Moon in full. Appropriately titled Dark Side of the Moon (Redux), the new version does exactly what it sets out to: shining the spotlight on nothing and nobody else but Waters. Funny thing about the spotlight, though, is it can expose flaws just as easily as it demands attention.
The obvious question classic rock fans and college freshmen are asking themselves as they press play on Waters’ latest passion project is, “Why?” To take Waters at his word, it’s to give the 10 iconic songs the perspective they were always meant to have. “The original Dark Side of the Moon feels in some ways like the lament of an elder being on the human condition,” Waters said in a statement. “But Dave, Rick, Nick, and I were so young when we made it, and when you look at the world around us, clearly the message hasn’t stuck. That’s why I started to consider what the wisdom of an 80 year old could bring to a reimagined version.”
On the surface, it’s a compelling enough argument. The subject matter of Dark Side is existential and often comes across like a warning, as if a regretful man at the end of his life is cautioning the next generation not to repeat the same mistakes. Dark Side of the Moon (Redux), in many respects, aims to double-down on this aspect of the album, with Waters willingly showing his age in both his newly-added lyrics and vocal performance. For better or worse (unfortunately, mostly worse), the sonics are then tempered down and stripped back, aiding in giving the redux a more weary and aged feel.
Tonally, the new versions of the tracks bear little resemblance to their 1973 counterparts. Gone is the blues-tinged progressive rock bite. Instead, they’re now slow and sparse, often feeling more like a score for a nondescript apocalyptic film than a batch of compelling rock tunes.
Sometimes, the new ambient, dramatic vibe does result in interesting textures, like in the intro of “Time,” which almost echos Animals with its organ-like ambiance and acoustic guitar, or “Eclipse,” which reframes the original’s climatic explosion into a swaying and bittersweet epilogue. Elsewhere, though, it can feel as if the tunes are barren landscapes with a little too much empty space. This, in no small part, is thanks to Waters’ complete removal of Gilmour’s guitar work.
Which, dear Pink Floyd fans, might help point to the true motivation for Dark Side of the Moon (Redux). Dig up more and more quotes from Waters, and the idea that he’s doing this purely as an artistic exercise sounds increasingly like well-crafted PR speech rather than an honest reflection of the project. Considering the original stands as one of the most iconic works of rock and pop music half a century after its initial release, the sentiment of “the message hasn’t stuck” seems a little silly, and Waters, for his part, is less “regretful, wise, empathetic elder” and more “old man yells at cloud.”
