Roger Waters has been under fire and criticism for his moves of late. He is currently under investigation by the German police after wearing an interesting stage based uniform in a show for The Wall in Berlin. Also, his former Pink Floyd bandmates, particularly David Gilmour, have publicly criticised some of his words and actions openly. In addition, there are many allegations that Roger Waters has been very anti-Semitic in his orientation. Then there is this album release, which has received mixed reviews already. Understandably, Roger Waters did wish to improve elements of the classic original 1973 Dark Side Of The Moon album that Pink Floyd made together, but really, this is largely disrespectful to David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. Even the founding member of Pink Floyd Syd Barrett in his right mind (pre-LSD Syd Barrett we are talking about here) would have not approved of this album. Still, let’s take a listen to this album and hear exactly what it sounds like and if it is worth at all hearing.

Speak To Me begins with silence, and some bird sounds follow, along with some atmospheric keyboard sounds, along with the familiar heartbeat. It is completely different to the original. Roger Waters provides some brief, spoken word parts which are excellent. It’s bad and covers a much darker territory than the original DSOTM ever did. Roger Waters reflects on the existence of life and sounds like a weary old man here. Still, it is a different listen. He continues rambling on throughout, right to the end. It segues into the next track. Not a good start here, really.

Breathe begins with some strummed acoustic guitars and the textural sounds from the previous track. Bear in mind that this is nothing at all like the original recording. Eventually, smooth drum rolls enter and this tune gets moving nicely into a 21st century take on the original DSOTM tune. It’s surprisingly good, that is until Roger Waters murmurs over the top, rather than singing here. He eventually gets singing the main song section, but his voice has definitely seen better days. This is like a half-stale offering that doesn’t have any musical merit or value. Sure, the instrumentation is a bit different here, but it still strays too far from the original tune. Roger Waters himself has lost his musical mojo, and this is clearly lacking as music. It finishes up with an organ swell that dies fairly quickly, followed by the bleeping sound of heavy machinery reversing.

On The Run begins with Roger Waters doing a spoken word part instead of letting the instrumental musical section run. Seriously, why? It makes absolutely zero sense and is totally self-indulgent and awful. Soon enough, the electronic loop riff enters and one feels like turning off the album already. This is purely pathetic and does no justice to the great band that Pink Floyd was. Eventually, the sound of a car crashing enters whilst Roger Waters continues to ramble on about his “philosophical” ideals. A joke, to be honest. This makes no sense to the listener and destroys the original intent of the great 1973 release The Dark Side Of The Moon was. In the second half are more rambling spoken words and ethereal keyboard sounds to hear. If you are still following us, seek out some older Pink Floyd or Jean Michel Jarre right now instead of this puerile rubbish. Roger Waters does not need your money or attention, his day in the sun has gone. The music flows in and out behind his stupid rambling, and this gradually reaches a conclusion with no aeroplane crash and Roger Waters still mumbling on. Pathetic.

Time begins with dreary keyboards and more spoken words over the top of it all. Still, this sounds very terrible. No clicking clock intro, no effort whatsoever, just the audio equivalent of projectile vomiting. An awful and trashy take on the original Pink Floyd masterpiece, this does not need you to listen on. Sure, the stripped back and acoustic guitar based sections may warm to some, but to be fair, this is not a release you should hear. At all. Eventually, the drum roll enters and we enter into the main section of the song section. Roger Waters cannot sing properly at all here, and although the bass guitar playing is smooth and good, this is surely a joke of a recording. At least this tune is a little more similar to the original tune. A real musical drag to listen to, this is not something any self-consciously proud Pink Floyd fan should hear. There is an organ solo section soon afterwards, which is interesting. This is followed by a disastrous slide guitar section. Traditional Pink Floyd fans in particular will loathe this music, it is nothing but a poor imitation of classic DSOTM territory. No guitar solo is here, and Roger Waters murmurs the original lyrics over the top and disappoints you all the way along. Let’s hope that Roger Waters does not do any more of these needless imitations of classic Pink Floyd music. After this, turn it all off, grab a shot of whiskey and a Marlboro cigarette, and tell everyone you know not to hear this album. It goes back into the Breathe (Reprise) section, which is poorly done. There are some string sections here as well, which are a little different. Still, this is really a joke musically. A drag of a seven minute listening experience, it ends with organ swells and birds chirping. Church bells ring out in conclusion.

Great Gig In The Sky begins with Roger Waters murmuring onwards over a rendition of the Pink Floyd piece about a letter that received, and what he wrote back. This sounds really pathetic. It is a really poor listening experience and he talks about this experience he has had about old age. The music eventually launches into the most dreary and pathetic musical section imaginable, without at least a female singer doing the wordless vocal rendition. This is beyond awful, it does not have a stroke of quality about it. Roger Waters hums into a vocoder and this really stinks musically, to be frank. There have been some cases of insanity throughout Rock music, Syd Barrett being one of them. If DSOTM was supposed to reach out to Syd in some way, then this album is a real insult to his memory and Pink Floyd’s original effort back in 1973. Roger Waters continues to murmur over a poor musical backing about death. Death is not to be feared, but this sounds much more needless and dreary than anything else Pink Floyd ever made. This is not music. Although it details the loss of a friend, this is missing the point entirely. Some things are best kept to one’s self in life, and Roger Waters, now in his later years, should realise this. A musical equivalent of a bad joke. If you are still with us, stop this album now. It ends with more murmuring from Roger Waters and the sound of aircraft flying over.

Money launches into a slow and bass guitar driven groove that is very much completely different from the original. Roger Waters murmurs over the top again, sounding really awful and ordinary. This is not a musical moment in history that one should cherish. Instead, this is a poor imitation of what made Pink Floyd great, 50 years on. With a deep sigh to oneself, one continues to listen on, hoping that this will improve, even though it doesn’t. The pianos, acoustic guitars and organs do not sound anything at all like the original. Some string sections are here and Roger Waters says, “Welcome to hell”. That sounds about right. This is definitely disappointing, and Roger Waters mutters more nonsensical and needless spoken word parts here. A really awful listen, the string parts ruin the prospect of any great music done here, without even trying. A really bad imitation of the original Pink Floyd song, this album largely confirms that Roger Waters has a bigger ego than you could ever imagine. This is definitely not a fine or fantastic listening experience. In any case, this continues to drag on. This isn’t even up to the ways of the Dub Side Of The Moon album, it is just a really sad and poor listening experience that needs to be sidelined historically. A musical shame. This definitely could have been shortened, even in this form. Unfortunately, it is not. A very long drag for a piece of music. Eventually, it ends with the last verses being muttered by Roger Waters. This is one of the worst albums released in musical history and is totally poisonous and disrespectful to the listener. It ends with the instrumental musical section plodding along with the string section prominent. It fades out with someone asking in relation to money, “How much are you giving away?” and Roger Waters laughing and saying, “None”. Money isn’t even that important if you have made enough dollars from the back catalogue of Pink Floyd, mate. Terrible song.

Us And Them launches into an underwhelming rendition of the original song. It certainly sounds like garbage from the beginning, and is another big drag musically. It has some interesting acoustic guitar playing, but quite clearly, this is missing the point yet again. This is actually nice for a brief moment until Roger Waters begins murmuring the song’s lyrics into the microphone. This is a very sad moment in musical history, and it falls apart very quickly. If Roger Waters actually wanted to make a good adaption of DSOTM, he could have made an acoustic version of the album with proper singing. Unfortunately, we have this garbage instead. Even with the string section and some of the singing, this is a really disappointing and terrible idea for a song reconstruction. This is also so stripped back and minimal that it is a bore. In any case, there are some slightly intricate sections in the musical production, but aside from that, this does not have any value or musical necessity in your own ears. The climax is half-hearted and poor. Roger Waters ensures that his ego is big and destructive in these songs. The acoustic guitar playing is interesting here, but that is about it. If you are still with us, kudos to you. There is no great musical climax here, just stale organs, wannabe eastern sounding strings and monotony musically. Please save your ears and listen to something else. The song drags on with very little excitement or interesting sections present. The song gradually reaches its slow conclusion and lacks interesting music and sections to match it. A very terrible musical moment in human history. It segues into the next song.

Any Colour You Like is underwhelming from the start. It sounds like a poor rendition of the original, minus excitement and musicality to listen to. Also, Roger Waters continues with his muttering nonsense over the top of the music. This is not on, to be fair. The original did not include lyrics and was a fairly decent instrumental tune to listen to. This, on the other hand, lacks interest musically and Roger Waters sounds really like an old guy with a lot of problems, rather than musical solutions. Enough to send one to sleep, this is very underwhelming. Thankfully, this is a Roger Waters release, not a Pink Floyd release. This is proof that in the 21st century, technology and a grumpy old man do not improve the music on a classic album. It wraps up with Roger Waters talking about colours (stating the obvious) and the song leading into the next section.

Brain Damage begins with some instrumental music and, get this, Roger Waters laughing about the idea of re-recording. Eventually, the song gets going into a slightly better song (although yes, this is still appalling) following the original song a bit better. A terrible listening experience with lazy sounding instrumentation and Roger Waters exerting his ego, this sounds just as bad as the rest of the album musically. It’s still not even passable, the music present is incredibly lacking. Most listeners will prefer the original album and song. One wishes that this album was never made. In any case, the fact that this adheres to a closer formula to the original is good but still is nonsensical rubbish to listen to overall. This is perfect to roll one’s eyes to. Let’s take the 1973 DSOTM trip rather than this nightmare instead. The ending has swirling keyboards and other predictable sounds to conclude the song. Terrible music, no other way to put this.

Eclipse is the concluding piece to end this dreadful album. It’s okay at the start, but once the singing enters, one is immediately reminded of the poor nature of this album. Fortunately, this is the end of this absurd idea of an album. This is a bad ending to a very bad idea on paper and the ramblings of a man who does not simply get it. The song ends with silence, and the heartbeat concludes this album in the distance. Nothing special here, and the album finishes up.

A bad idea on paper that was green-lighted results in one of the worst albums ever made. You guessed it, this version of Dark Side Of The Moon is beyond awful. It is so bad that it points clearly to the demise of not just Rock music in general as commercial material, but Western society as well. Neither in a good way. If you need a good excuse to hate Pink Floyd in any way possible, this is it. No real music worth comprehending is here, and all the songs sound just the same: awful. Don’t listen to this, it is highly offensive to the average listener and not worth your time.

David Gilmour was right about Roger Water’s ego.

2/10