Embryonic is my favorite album with their cover of DSotM creeping up there...the previous three albums I have some issues with, but like them none-the-less...
Here is a hilarious review for DSotM from this website:
http://www.markprindle.com/flaminga.htm
The reviews are kind of funny whether you agree with the final analysis or not.
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Hi, I'm Roger Waters! You know, when I found out that The Flaming Lips of "She Don't Use Jelly" fame were planning to release a cover of The Dark Side Of The Moon, three thoughts ran through my head in quick succession:
THE THREE THOUGHTS (12:51)
a) Call attorney; find out how I can get some money out of this.
b) Why The Dark Side Of The Moon!? Did they somehow miss the cover versions by Dream Theater, Out Of Phase, E.S.P., the String Quartet, that a capella group, and Billy Sherwood's band of assholes? Come on, that album's been covered to death and back. Besides, Radio K.A.O.S. is a much more powerful statement.
c) Ask Mark Prindle if I can review it for his site.
Well, look at that! Here we are at #3. I'd like to first make a few general comments about the record, then do a quick track-by-track synopsis to save you the time and trouble of downloading the tired retread of my past glories.
THE GENERAL COMMENTS (9:32)
a) Not enough sound effects. When I think of all the great noises they could've added with today's digital technology (ex. an iron lung in the middle of "Breathe," an actual brain surgery in "Brain Damage," Jimi Hendrix playing in a hot air balloon for "The Great Gig In The Sky"), it literally sickens me, making me violently ill.
b) The idea to cast famous thespian Henry Rollins (Johnny Mnemonic, Heat, Bad Boys II) in the role of "Every Spoken Word On The Record" was an inspired one. Not only is his voice instantly recognizable to moviegoers the world round, but finally my less intelligent listeners (i.e. Americans) will be able to understand such key pieces of dialogue as "I mean, they're not gonna kill you. So if you give 'em a quick short sharp shock, they won't do it again, dig it?"
c) Who is Stardeath And White Dwarves, and why did The Flaming Lips feel incapable of performing the album without the assistance of a second band? You didn't see Pink Floyd teaming up with The Captain And Tennille for Wish You Were Here, did you? And even if we had, I wouldn't have mentioned them in the credits so you wouldn't have known.
d) The keyboardist isn't providing enough creative input. Put him on salary.
e) Although the screaming guitar feedback, distorted bass, vintage keyboards and overmodulated mix all recall Embryonic, this disc lacks the Miles Davis fusion influence that so defined that work. (I wouldn't normally have listened to their previous record, but I figured I could sue them if it sounded too much like my old song "Embryo." Especially since our drummer was named Nick.)
f) Seriously, what's wrong with Radio K.A.O.S.? Henry Rollins would've sounded great through that little robot microphone.
g) The artists take care to approach each track in a different manner, ranging from near-copy to complete rewrite and striking mood alteration to straight parody. Best of all, they don't appear to have learned any of David Gilmour's parts at all. Ha ha ha! Up your ass, Fatty!
THE TRACK-BY-TRACK SYNOPSIS (20:51)
a) "Speak To Me" - Fantastic 'heartbeat' sound effect!
b) "Breathe" - Christ, did anybody bother listening to the song before recording it? Hey monkey band, there's a second chord in there! Pricks. Maybe the second chord is implied, but only if the listener is willing to infer it. And what's with all the energy!? Poor Nick would've had a stroke trying to keep up with this frantic medium pace.
c) "On The Run" - I slave for fifteen hours over an electrical suitcase to create the coolest doodly-doodly noise possible, and you replace it with a funk jam!? Don't make me spit in your face and then write an album about it. I'm told that your version sounds like the Butthole Surfers' "Creep In The Cellar" mixed with The Fall's "Two-Face," but punk rock is rubbish so I wouldn't know.
d) "Time" - Fantastic sound effects! The nuclear meltdown beeping! The buzzing! The syncopated stereo breathing! The bonus track on Hit To Death In The Future Head! (Normally I wouldn't have listened to an earlier Flaming Lips record, but I was hoping to score some courtroom cash if it sounded too much like Amused To Death, especially since I recorded that album "in the future" with my "head.") Honestly, I'm pretty fond of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon, but this is the one case where I think the Flaming Lips might've actually outdone us -- mainly by replacing David Gilmour's bitter vocals and pissy guitarwork with gentle tremeloed strumming and sad little boy vocals. Where did Gilmour get all his bitterness and anger anyway? I tried to keep Pink Floyd a happy lot filled with fun and good times -- heck, I'm sure you've heard "San Tropez" -- but every time that sad sack came around, the whole band turned into a blumberbuss. Thank God I'm on my own now, where I can record hilarious comedy records like Ca Ira.
e) "The Great Gig In The Sky" - Jeepers, this 'Peaches' woman is every bit as ear-stabbingly awful as Clare Torry! I was always irritated by the record company typo here; obviously the song was supposed to be called "The Great Pig In The Sky"; haven't you people seen the Animals album cover? Obviously Capitol Records hadn't, four years earlier, because that typo is ridiculous.
f) "Money" - Pretty lazy sound effects, guys. However, thank you for understanding that this song was always intended to be humorous -- your stiff novelty robot rendition had me laughing up a gentle storm! It's been so difficult to laugh since my father died in the War.
g) "Us And Them" - Such a beautiful organ tone -- a perfect tribute to my dear friend Richard Wright, with whom I shared so many good times (before I fired his cokehead ass). However, by not singing into a delay/repeat pedal, you've ruined the song. Did you intentionally set out to piss biscuits all over my masterpiece when you woke up that morning? Hell, even Dave The Lardass's arpeggios would be a sight for sore ears at this point.
h) "Any Colour You Like" - Funky! You sure that's not me playing bass? I'm a funky man! But you know that; you've heard "Grantchester Meadows."
i) "Brain Damage" - I've never heard Radiohead because punk rock is rubbish, but I'm told that your version of this song is beautifully Radiohead-esque in its fuzzy electronic solitude. Say! Who's that on vocals? It's certainly not Wayne Coyne. Wait! Is it Nick Mason??? If so, I get a cut from that.
j) "Eclipse" - And a fine ending to a passable cover album. I love the way you keep switching the placement of the five-beat emphasis at the start of each verse! First it's at the front, then it's at the back, then it's at the front, then it's (and so forth). One thing though: Henry Rollins may be one of the greatest actors of our time, but he totally flubbed his last line. The actual final phrase on the album is "There is no Dark Side Of The Moon really; as a matter of fact, it's just Meddle with a different album cover."
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