Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has backed his former bandmate Roger Waters’ decision to re-record their seminal album ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ without the other band members.
Earlier this year, bassist-and-singer Roger revealed that he was creating his own new version of the iconic 1973 LP – lauded as one of the greatest records of all-time – to mark its 50th anniversary this March.
Roger also took aim at guitarist David Gilmour and late keyboard player Richard Wright in an interview, rubbishing their contributions to the psychedelic rockers’ success.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, Roger said: “They can’t write songs, they’ve nothing to say. They are not artists! They have no ideas, not a single one between them. They never have had, and that drives them crazy.”
Drummer Nick has revealed that he knew about Roger’s 50th anniversary project and was even sent a copy to listen to.
Rather than be angry that he is seemingly turning his back on their masterpiece, Nick thinks Roger’s re-imaginings are “brilliant” and is happy he is doing it.
Speaking at a playback of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ in Dolby Atmos Immersive Audio at the Odeon Luxe in London, Nick said: “I heard the rumour that Roger was working on his own version of it. There was this suggestion that this was going to be a spoiler and Roger was going to go head-to-head with the original version and so on.
“He actually sent me a copy of what he was working on and I write to him and said, ‘Annoyingly, it’s absolutely brilliant!’ It was and is. It’s not anything that would be a spoiler for the original at all, it’s an interesting add-on to the thing.”
Nick doesn’t think music should be untouchable and thinks it is great when songs are reinterpreted or changed because it means they are still evolving and new things are being found in them.
The 79-year-old musician – who performs early Pink Floyd tracks with his band Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, which features Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp – said: “One of the things I like about any sort of existing piece of music is to develop it or find some extra quality in it.
“I just like this idea of developing music rather than trying to retain it exactly as it was.”
The remastered deluxe box set of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ is out now with fans able to get their hands on the CD and first-ever vinyl issue of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974’, and the book ‘Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon: 50th Anniversary’.
When we recorded the stripped down songs for the Lockdown Sessions, the 50th anniversary of the release of Dark Side of The Moon was looming on the horizon. It occurred to to me that Dark Side of the Moon could well be a suitable candidate for a similar re-working, partly as a tribute to the original work, but also to re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album. I discussed it with Gus and Sean, and when we’d stopped giggling and shouting ‘You must be fucking mad’ at one another we decided to take it on. We are now in the process of finishing the final mix. It’s turned out really great and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable. But it is a way for the seventy nine year old man to look back across the intervening fifty years into the eyes of the twenty nine year old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of.
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