S MAC

After seeing all the hubbub about this redux, I decided to put the headphones on and listen. First, let me state that when the original album came out, I wasn't a huge PF fan. I'm sure I was ok with the popular songs that played on the radio, but it wasn't an album I was much aware of, other than all the posters I saw from it. I didn't get into Floyd even when The Wall came out when I was in high school. I was more into the "hair" bands and radio rock like Rush, Van Halen, Scorpions, and the like. It wasn't until I married a Pink Floyd fan that I began to listen more intently and appreciate the music for its original sound. The original DSOTM is a great listen. I'll admit, I've always preferred Gilmore's vocals over Roger's, but that said, the two of them together work well for me on their albums. I've kept up with the Waters' controversy and his narcissism, but I've also seen him in interviews where he sounds intelligent, well-read, passionate and not that bad of a guy. I actually found that he seemed somewhat genuine, much to my own surprise. So when I heard he was doing a Redux of Dark Side of the Moon, I wasn't surprised. It's so "Roger" of him. I don't mean that in a bad or good way, just that he seems to always want to push forward and do new things. Listening to it as someone who doesn't necessarily have a strong viewpoint on Waters or PF may have given me a bit more of a neutral ear, or, maybe it makes me less inclined to have an intelligent viewpoint. Either way, my thoughts on the redux are this: It's not awful. It's different. It's not something I'd put on for a casual music listening experience. It's something I listened to once and probably won't listen to again. The narration is very "Rogeresque". He likes to tell stories and there's nothing wrong with that. I enjoyed the music and production of his version of Time, but overall, I missed the total musicality of the original version. The redux has its place, but had this been the version released back in the day, I think it's obvious it wouldn't have gone anywhere near the height of its original's success, if at all. And I'm sure Waters knows that. It was a safe album for him to redo decades later. Still, I don't begrudge him the experience and I don't feel offended that he decided to make it what he wanted to hear with his seemingly original intent with the album. I'm just glad he decided to do this version now, instead of 1973.