Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

If the internet is to be believed, there is a division of attitude and opinion circulating what people and fans perceive to be a challenge to art history, specifically that in which is revered as a magical experience that equates to the human condition at its most vulnerable; and that separation is arguably unwarranted.

Nobody is asking the fans of Pink Floyd to see the reimagining of The Dark Side Of The Moon by Roger Waters as a replacement for one of the finest examples of Progressive Rock ever captured and framed for posterity, what it is asking as the mix of personal feeling and memory flows freely within the structure of the past endeavour. It is to understand that we all have the ability to alter the narrative of what we have created; by growing older and not remaining the young adult in the room, we have the opportunity and the will to focus on how we might have changed the narrative of our existence, and delved further into how we could have changed our lives.

Such is the thought that some might see this as regret, an older person’s disillusionment, a remorse, a guilt that they didn’t achieve all they wanted to in such a short lifespan, and by wallowing in their sorrow they grow weary of the young that have replaced their spirit and their drive. However, what it could be is a witness to the belief that we never lose our anger at the injustices we sought to address when we were of an age when the body and the flesh could cope with the ideas of physical retribution, and our minds could cope with the aftermath of dissent…and by reaching an age of 80 we have the right to expand the thought of our original angst and decree that it requires to be magnified with a sense of absolute.

We reach an age where we become comfortable and cannot understand why others cannot see the utopia that we convince ourselves we have created, we lose the anger, we lose the ability to be melancholic whilst still gritting our teeth and snarling at the air…if we cannot “Rage, rage at the dying of the light” as the Welsh bard wrote with conviction, then we lose the right to question those who, like Roger Waters, for good or for ill, have the ability to add to the narrative that they brought to life.

The Dark Side Of The Moon – Redux is not a replacement, it is not an appropriation, it is a furthering, an age of addition, like Stephen King pushed forward the uncut version of The Stand long after the published novel was released, so Roger Waters sees the past as one to be built on and with the benefit of wisdom and experience learned over the last fifty years.

In short, as tracks that are familiar are altered by arrangement, as some are discarded by the omission of favoured lyrics, what was important once is as always bound to happen it is compelled to change, and whilst the title in our mind refuses to be given a new moniker it does not mean we cannot alter our viewpoint.

The album is one of poetry and discontent for a multitude of subjects that are close to Mr. Water’s heart, and whether we agree with him or not, whether we cheer him on as he rants and demands a new belief, the poetry of the Redux overflows with drama and unrelenting mourning.

The Dark Side Of The Moon – Redux is not a replacement, but it is a force of its own compulsion and completion, and it sounds intense, and  it be uttered beautifully.

Ian D. Hall