On March 24, Warner Music/Sony Music will release Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side Of The Moon” as a deluxe box set to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The boxset will include a CD and gatefold vinyl edition of a new 2023 remastered studio album; and Blu-Ray and DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions. The set will also include an additional new Blu-ray disc of an “Atmos” mix, plus a CD and LP of “The Dark Side of the Moon — Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974.”
They will also issue the live Wembley performance as a stand-alone CD and vinyl release. That performance was recorded in November 1974 as part of the band’s winter tour. This is the first time it will be available as a stand-alone album, with artwork featuring an original 1973 line-drawn cover by original sleeve artist George Hardie.
The album was partly developed during live performances. The band premiered an early version of the suite at London’s Rainbow Theatre several months before recording began. “Dark Side” is the eighth studio album by Floyd, originally released in the U.S. on March 1, 1973, and then in the UK on March 16. The material was recorded in 1972 and 1973 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London.
Animation competition
The 50th anniversary will also be celebrated as Floyd invite animators to enter a competition to create music videos for any of the 10 songs from the album. Animators can enter up to 10 videos, one per song on the album. A winner will be selected from a panel of experts that includes drummer Nick Mason, Floyd creative director Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell, and the British Film Institute. Deadline for submissions is Nov. 30, 2023. To enter and for more information go to https://www.pinkfloyd.com/competition/.
Planetarium shows
On Feb. 27, 1973, EMI Records held a press conference for the debut of “Dark Side” at the London Planetarium. Now an official full-dome experience with visuals of the solar system and beyond displayed during 42 minutes of “Dark Side” will be released in planetariums around the world in March.
The show will be divided among the 10 tracks of the album, in chronological order, each with a different theme: some looking forward and some a retro acknowledgment of Floyd’s visual history, all relating to time and space.
Companion book
Thames & Hudson will publish the book “Pink Floyd — The Dark Side of the Moon: 50th Anniversary” to coincide with the boxset release. Curated by photographer Jill Furmanovsky and art directed by Powell, the LP-sized volume will showcase rare and previously-unseen photographs taken during the “Dark Side” tours of 1972-1975. It has been created with the involvement of the band members.
Boxset contents
CD1 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
Remastered 2023 by James Guthrie in gatefold sleeve with 12-page booklet
CD2 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON LIVE AT WEMBLEY EMPIRE POOL, LONDON, 1974
Mixed by Andy Jackson in gatefold sleeve with 12-page booklet
LP1 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
Remastered original studio album in gatefold, with original posters and stickers
LP2 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON LIVE AT WEMBLEY EMPIRE POOL, LONDON, 1974
in gatefold, with 2 posters
BLU-RAY 1 (AUDIO)
Original album 5.1 and high-resolution remastered stereo mixes, in dedicated wallet:
- 5.1 Surround Mix – 24bit/96kHz Uncompressed
- Stereo Mix – 24bit/192kHz Uncompressed
- 5.1 Surround Mix – dts-HD MA
- Stereo Mix – dts-HD MA
BLU-RAY 2 (AUDIO)
Original album Atmos and high-resolution remastered stereo mixes, in dedicated wallet.
- Dolby Atmos Mix
- Stereo Mix – 24-bit/192kHz Uncompressed
- Stereo Mix – dts-HD MA
DVD (AUDIO)
Original album 5.1 and remastered stereo mixes, in dedicated wallet:
- 5.1 Surround Mix – Dolby Digital @448 kbps
- 5.1 Surround Mix – Dolby Digital @640 kbps
- Stereo Mix (LPCM) – 24-bit/48 kHz Uncompressed
160-PAGE THAMES & HUDSON HARDBACK BOOK
with rare black and white photographs from the 1972-1975 tours of the U.K. and the U.S. taken by Furmanovsky, Peter Christopherson, Aubrey Powell, and Storm Thorgerson
76-PAGE MUSIC BOOK
of original album
MEMORABILIA:
REPLICAS OF 2×7” SINGLES
in Harvest bags:
7″ Single 1 Money/Any Colour You Like
7″ Single 2 Us And Them/Time
REPLICA OF EMI PAMPHLET AND INVITE TO THE PREVIEW OF THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON AT THE LONDON PLANETARIUM ON FEBRUARY, 27 1973
