The Dark Side of The Bloop - an Album Review of Pink Floyd Rendered in Chiptunes
Here's a bit of fun. We talked earlier about those who have never heard Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of The Moon album. Now here is something for those of you who have heard it countless times, and are adventurous enough to listen to it again, but played in a different style. Before calling this blasphemy, come in and take a listen. You might just be surprised at how good the album sounds when rendered as Chiptunes.
Ed. Note: This review originally appeared on G4TV.com on April 3, 2010. It has been modified, added to and partially reprinted, here.
Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the most important albums in popular music. With over 45 million copies sold, an unbeatable record 741 weeks on the Billboard Album Chart and the standard by which audiophiles show off their sound systems, it is one of a rare group of albums that truly are required listening. So what happens when you take one of the most legendary recordings of all time and recreate it in the chiptunes style?
If you've frequented this blog then you know I am a huge fan of the chiptunes genre, but when it comes to these kinds of cover recordings, they really have to be done right to be listenable beyond mere curiosity. Not only does MOON8 sound good, it transcends sounding like music done for a video game. Sure, the tones are undeniably old-school, but nothing has been done to tweak the music to sound like it actually came from a game or in the style of classic games. This is a chiptunes recreation in its purest sense. Hit play on the first part of the album and hear for yourself the attention to detail which went into chiptuning "Speak to Me", "Breathe" and "On the Run".
What is truly stunning about MOON8 is just how much effort has gone into the recreation of most of Pink Floyd’s instrumentation on the album. This is obviously not something that was cranked out in a weekend to say “hey, look what I can do.” The music is a labor of love, for both the source material and style in which it has been recreated. I was skeptical before listening to it the first time, and while the videogame throb of "On The Run" was already enough to convince me, the explosion of clock chimes at the beginning of “Time” and the cash register opening of “Money ” confirmed that both pieces (indeed the album as a whole) precisely capture the spirit of the originals in the chiptune style.
Frankly, it’s pretty mind blowing how good the whole album sounds. The pulsing analog synths of “On the Run” sound frighteningly close to the original and the bleep-creations of Clare Torry’s vocalizations in “The Great Gig in the Sky” are as spot on as possible, considering the artist is using a limited sound palette to recreate them. It makes me wish LA’s Laserium would consider adding this to any future TDSoTM laser-shows, because hearing this interpretation with their visual art would be beyond cool to see.
Brad Smith is the man behind MOON8, and his dedication to the crafting of these chiptunes covers in as close to the original sounds as possible is without question. As the FAQ section of Brad's website describes, he spent over 100 hours putting the album together.
If you are among the Pink Floyd faithful or someone who has never listened to chiptunes before, you made it this far. Clearly there was something about this that grabbed your attention, right? It's interesting and different. Clearly not the sonic perfection of the original, but certainly not a slap dashed set of covers cranked out by a kid on his lap top either.
The only thing truly missing from this cover are the snippets of voices contained on the original album. Which makes sense of course, as there were no real voices in games of the era from which these tones originate.
Brad Smith does make the entire MOON8 album available to listen to for free (as you've probably guessed from reading this far. If however, you are so enthralled by his re-composition of TDSoTM, his website will link you to purchasable downloads and what could be one of the greatest physical versions of a chiptunes album I've come across, a playable NES cartridge edition. Stop me. No, really. Don't let me get one. (Ed. Note: eyes glaze over at the sight of something so brilliantly put together).
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| This. This right here. (applause sound goes here) |
Now, if you are among those who have never heard The Dark Side of The Moon in its entirety, but have chosen to experience this incredible reinvention, congratulations! You beat the level, but that just means you unlocked Hard Mode. Now, go out and get a copy of the actual album, listen to it as it was intended to be, and report back your findings. Seriously, go! I'm watching you. (Not really).
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