The John Lennon album that Roger Waters wanted to emulate for ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’
By the early 1970s, The Beatles had already expanded the possibilities of music, showcasing the transformative power of studio technology and innovation. Even after they disbanded, the solo members pursued unique ventures into various realms of forward-thinking experimentalism. This demonstrated that, although The Beatles were no more, their commitment to the musical revolution continued. Bands like Pink Floyd drew inspiration from this ethos, creating defining projects of the era and pushing the boundaries of music even further.
As a quintessential concept album, The Dark Side of the Moon was perhaps most impressive for its dynamic use of studio techniques, including multi-track recording, tape loops, and synthesisers. The Beatles knew this all too well, not just in terms of multi-track recordings but also in the way they utilised tape loops with seemingly unconventional sounds and melodies.
While it’s easy to associate The Beatles and their impact on the music industry as a significant factor in how Pink Floyd approached The Dark Side of the Moon, there were several additional ways that their music—and the music they released after the band disbanded—infiltrated the album as a whole. For instance, John Lennon went on to adopt a significantly different approach to The Beatles with John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, but even this album became a blueprint for what Roger Waters envisioned for The Dark Side.
This wasn’t necessarily something the entire group shared the same passion for, however. In fact, David Gilmour was keen to ensure the album sounded contemporary, complete with innovative mixing and modern-sounding synthesisers. This directly clashed with Waters’ desire, which was to create something that sounded relatively straightforward, stripped-back, and nostalgic, all while remaining a more understated contemporary appeal.
“Chris Thomas came in for the mixes, and his role was essentially to stop the arguments between me and Roger about how it should be mixed,” Gilmour recalled to Guitar World in 1993. “I wanted Dark Side to be big and swampy and wet, with reverbs and things like that. And Roger was very keen on it being a very dry album. I think he was influenced a lot by John Lennon’s first solo album, which was very dry,” he added.
In finding a middle ground, the pair took a back seat and decided to allow Thomas to mix the recordings on his own, with Alan Parsons engineering and for a second set of eyes. “Of course, on the first day, I found out that Roger sneaked in there,” Gilmour said, admitting, “so the second day I sneaked in there. From then on, we both sat right at Chris’ shoulder, interfering. But luckily, Chris was more sympathetic to my point of view than he was to Roger’s.”
The entire album did end up sounding and feeling exactly how you would imagine Gilmour to have wanted it, but Waters’ preference did infiltrate at various points if you listen closely enough. Moreover, the impact of The Beatles’ earlier material and Lennon’s solo music with Yoko Ono is a clearcut influence, both in the way the Pink Floyd album blends progressive rock with elements of psychedelia, alongside the way it all comes together powerfully with such flawless thematic cohesion.
