Significance of Stained Glass Window on DSotM 30th Ed

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Keith Jordan
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Significance of Stained Glass Window on DSotM 30th Ed

Post by Keith Jordan »

I was just listening to Darkside of the Moon 30th Anniversary Edition and was thinking about the lyrics and immagery etc. I noticed the album cover features a stained glass window which brings to mind Christian Churches.

Do you think there is any significance to there being a stained glass window and what could that significance be?
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Post by J Ed »

I believe storm said it was yet another reference to light
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Post by Stephen »

Storm Thorgerson has this to say about the stained glass window motif.

"When the super audio CD (SACD) of Dark Side of the Moon was made, we felt it was appropriate to redo the original cover in a sympathetic fashion in as much as the sound was remixed in 5.1 surround sound in exquisite quality and definition. As pure a rendition as you could get so we wished to re-express the design its purist fashion. What better than the medium of glass to express an idea about glass and light via a prism. So we made a stain glass window specifically constructed to the proportions of the original design in 1973 and photographed it, backlit by the autumn sun. The imperfections inherent in stain glass were brought out as well as the suspended colours that stain glass provides. A thing of beauty ... or so I thought." - Storm Thorgerson, private interview, 2004.


I suppose they had to recreate the cover to distinguish it from the 73 version but the original is still unmatched in my opinion.
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Post by ponkine »

Totally agree :wink:

I've never really liked the re issues with different covers. How come they change the original artwork ? :evil: The original artwork was intended for some art concept, so changing it is a lack of respect to the original spirit of the album.

Also I still don't understand why on earth every release contains 9 tracks instead of 10, that's really annoying :x
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Post by Freddie Mercury »

At least it's the same person messing around with it who did the original (in PF's case), but yeah I don't like when they do that either...usually they turn out looking great, but I'd rather have the original album packaging, preferably with the original LP labels on the CD so you get more of a sense of what it was like to have the record. I think that's what other people want too, and it would require the least amount of graphic design work, so I never understand why they don't just do that....
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Post by db_intheflesh »

I don't think anything can really compare to holding the real 12" vinyl and sliding the disc out. I bought six of the Led Zeppelin vinyl replica CD's last month, and they are very faithful to the original designs. Zep 3 has the spinning wheel, and all the gatefolds and inserts are the same as they were for the vinyl releases (as far as I remember). But it's still not quite the same.

Although in this case, I agree with the updated artwork. The release is different from the original, so why not have a different cover. It would be a nice touch if the back page of the booklet was the original cover, so that one could flip it as desired.
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Post by jambo »

It's interesting to note that the 1973 cover features no light refraction, weher as the 20th edition does!
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Post by mosespa »

That would be because the original cover is a drawing of a beam of light being shot through a prism...whereas on the 20th anniversary edition, it's an actual PHOTO of a beam of light being shot through a prism.
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Post by AsydWaters »

Well,i tend to agree with the view as mentioned byStorm in the interview.
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Post by jambo »

mosespa wrote:That would be because the original cover is a drawing of a beam of light being shot through a prism...whereas on the 20th anniversary edition, it's an actual PHOTO of a beam of light being shot through a prism.
I know it was drawn, it's just interesting that Storm chose not the draw in the extra line of refraction!
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Post by ObscuredEchoes »

I really like the 30th anniversary cover art... I always thought that the original was a bit boring- although it DID make a helluva statement, and was perfect for it's time.
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Post by Xo4. »

I only like the original for some reason
The Stained glass looks kinda out of place and the Green-ish prism looks really ugly I think
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Post by Keith Jordan »

I like the new one. The other one is boring and very cold! How apt though! The new 30th anniversary edition seems more alive!!
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Post by AsydWaters »

I liked the idea of "Pink Floyd Is everywhere" with those triangular objects.
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Post by Keith Jordan »

AsydWaters wrote:I liked the idea of "Pink Floyd Is everywhere" with those triangular objects.
How do you mean?