Roger's Version? Re-imagining Dark Side of the Moon
By Tom Wilson
Last month, Taylor Swift was once again on top of the charts with the release of her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version). This wasn’t a new album — the original version, 1989, was released just under ten years ago to much acclaim. Since 2021, Swift has been progressively re-recording and releasing her albums under the tagline ‘Taylor’s Version’ due to dispute over the ownership of her master recordings. While millions of ‘Swifties’ have become accustomed to these reworked albums, re-recording an album is quite a foreign concept to the majority of listeners.
October also saw the re-release — and re-imagining — of another legendary album: Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. Fifty years after the initial release, Roger Waters, the band’s vocalist and bassist, has decided to put his own spin on the band’s most popular record with The Dark Side of the Moon Redux. The album is Waters’ own work, with no other former Pink Floyd member contributing to the production.
Pink Floyd was always mired with conflict and struggle. The band was composed of five members: Roger Waters on bass and vocals, David Gilmour on guitar and vocals, Nick Mason on drums, Richard Wright on keys, and Syd Barrett also on guitar and vocals. The latter, though influential, was part of the group’s first troubles, having left the band before their golden era due to severe struggles with his mental health.
After Barrett’s departure in 1968, the band went on to record their most iconic albums with previously mentioned The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), as well as Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979). In the background, however, the constant fallouts between Waters and Gilmour led Wright to leave the band after The Wall’s release, returning only after Waters himself was ousted in 1985. Barring a reunion in 2005 (without Barrett), Waters and Gilmour have continued their public feud, even after the deaths of Barrett in 2006 and Wright in 2008. These conflicts, while seemingly trivial, are necessary to understand the reasons behind Redux’s release today.
So why re-imagine such an iconic album through The Dark Side of the Moon Redux? The answer lies both in Waters himself and his relationship with the band. Since Barrett's departure, Waters has claimed to be the leader of Pink Floyd, referencing both his songwriting, lyricism, and status as co-founder of the band (Gilmour joined a few years later). Gilmour’s guitar and Wright’s keys are completely gone from the album, with Waters filling the gaps created with new lyrics.
A divisive figure, it is understandable to see why Pink Floyd fans would see Redux as yet another jab from Waters to the rest of the band. He does not shy from stating his mind, often politically, which has countlessly landed him in hot waters. For the most part however, Redux is anything but. Rather than attack other members of the group or make a moral statement, Redux, at least in the first half, sees Waters rewrite the album’s songs while reflecting on time passed.
This is first seen in the reworked version of ‘Speak to Me’, the opening track of the album. While the original does not feature any lyrics (except for the voices of some interviewed passersby), Waters opens Redux with a spoken word piece. Reciting the lyrics from another Pink Floyd song, ‘Free Four’ (off the album Obscured by Clouds), the theme centres around a man ageing, approaching death. The reuse of these lyrics after so much time works masterfully well. ‘Free Four’, while thematically reflecting on one’s life, is sung in an upbeat tone by a twenty-nine year old Waters. These lyrics are unchanged in Redux’s ‘Speak to Me’, but take on a new meaning with time passed. Waters’ voice is now hoarse and gruff. To an unaccustomed onlooker, the eighty year old is seemingly reflecting on almost a century of life. It is a strong and eerie opening to the reimagining of such a legendary album.
The Floyd classic ‘Time’ remains almost unchanged lyrically. Due to the song’s theme on ageing and seeing life pass by, it fits with the theme of Redux. The track is now slower, losing both the opening cacophony of bells and rocky punch of the original. In the 1973 version, the group sings the lyrics anxious of not having enough time. They have so much life left to live, but have they “missed the starting gun”? The slow pace of Redux’s ‘Time’ flows like a lament from Waters, almost like a warning to the younger generations. Or perhaps, a warning to his younger self.
‘The Great Gig in the Sky’ is almost unrecognisable. Gone are the acclaimed wailing vocals. Instead, Waters reads an exchange of letters between himself and the personal assistant of his late friend, the poet Donald Hall. My first listen had left me disappointed at the magnitude of the change, as the original thrives in its simplicity and lack of lyrics. My feelings changed as I felt the reflection and affection for Hall in Waters’ writing. While his lyrics have long been rife with sadness and anger (the deterioration of Syd Barret, his childhood without a father), Redux’s ‘The Great Gig in the Sky is instead accepting of death and bittersweet. Reminiscing on his friendship, he ends the song with an acceptance that only a person who has lived long enough to outlive their peers can have.
The album’s second half is a disappointment, however. ‘Money’ sees Gilmour’s thunderous guitar playing with a jumble of confusing lyrics that only make sense to Waters. The change from Gilmour’s energetic vocals to Waters’ speech makes the song long and frankly, boring. The final stretch from ‘Us and Them’ sorely lacks Richard Wright’s eerie keys, without which the songs sound simply incomplete. Moreover, Waters does not continue with the theme of ageing that was seen in the beginning. While such a theme may not have been Waters’ goal when re-imagining the album, the lack of continuation leads the rest of the record to feel flat.
Redux was never going to outdo its original older brother. While Waters was the lyrical mastermind of The Dark Side of the Moon, the Redux does the opposite of what Waters wanted,reinforcing that Pink Floyd was the sum of its four key members, and was not just the Roger Waters band. The album certainly isn’t bad though. For a man so often associated with controversy and conflict, it is refreshing hearing Waters reflect on his life and ageing. He does so beautifully, with the grace that only someone who has lived eighty years can have. It is a shame that this does not carry on throughout the project. While certainly not perfect, the first half of Redux was a pleasant surprise from a man who has alienated himself from many Floyd fans due to his antics. Perhaps, as with all of us, Waters is feeling time catch up to him.