Getting from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn to The Dark Side of the Moon required several years and several albums, none of which sounded especially alike - a fact that seems more remarkable with the benefit of hindsight. As a result of Barrett’s departure two crucial changes occurred: Waters gradually assumed chief lyrical responsibilities and Gilmour became the primary vocalist. Suffice it to say, no one could - or would - have predicted Pink Floyd’s eventual breakthrough based on their early struggles. His mate David Gilmour was hastily recruited and, at least at first, did his best Barrett impression. The initial high from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn proved short-lived as the band’s principal songwriter, troubled genius Syd Barrett, suffered a drug-induced breakdown. Pepper for the underground, and it remains the most fully realized expression of lysergic-laced pop whimsy: deeply surreal songs you can sing along with. Pink Floyd’s debut, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) was, in its way, a Sgt. Of course, before there was prog rock, there was psychedelic rock.
Even more casual fans may be unaware that Pink Floyd made any albums before The Dark Side of the Moon. Casual fans may be unaware that Pink Floyd made as many albums before The Dark Side of the Moon as they did after. Needless to say, The Dark Side of the Moon did not arrive as an abrupt burst of brilliance (great art seldom does) so much as the end result of a long and at times excruciating process, a sort of prog rock apprenticeship. (My album-by-album analysis of the band’s output can be found at “All Things Reconsidered: Why Not Pink Floyd?”, PopMatters, 11 November 2011.) In short, Pink Floyd made it not only possible, but inevitable that other bands would attract more - and more serious - scrutiny, however much many of them suffered by comparison. It simply cannot be overstated how meaningful it was, and remains, that one of the best-selling and influential albums in history happens to be the apotheosis of prog rock’s canon.
Pepper did for rock ‘n’ roll: elevating it from pop to art, and through one indelible and irrevocable triumph, granted authenticity - for all time– to an entire genre. The Dark Side of the Moon did for progressive music what Sgt. This, along with the unparalleled streak of top tier albums they created, elevates them above all others as the prototypical and most significant prog band.Īs much praise as the group rightly receives, they may not be fully appreciated for the ways they changed the future of music. It isn’t that Pink Floyd made some of the best albums of the ‘70s (they did), or that Pink Floyd moved the art form forward (they did) it’s that Pink Floyd did the impossible: they made music that is unlikely to marginalize, and more than any other band, brought progressive rock into the mainstream.