The Dark Side of the Moon - Quiz
The Dark Side of the Moon
  • 1. What critic described Pink Floyd's earlier extended instrumental excursions as 'that psychedelic noodling stuff'?
A) Adrian Maben
B) David Fricke
C) Alan Parsons
D) Chris Thomas
  • 2. Which founding member's departure in 1968 led to a change in Pink Floyd's musical style?
A) Roger Waters
B) Syd Barrett
C) Richard Wright
D) David Gilmour
  • 3. Which 1971 album did Gilmour and Waters cite as a turning point towards the sound realized on The Dark Side of the Moon?
A) Meddle
B) Abbey Road
C) Atom Heart Mother
D) Let It Be
  • 4. What mental state of Syd Barrett partly inspired the lyrical theme of insanity on the album?
A) Complete amnesia
B) Sudden euphoria
C) Deteriorating mental state
D) Extreme paranoia
  • 5. What feature begins and ends each side of the vinyl album?
A) A guitar solo
B) A clock ticking
C) A cash register
D) A heartbeat
  • 6. According to Waters, what concept is explored across the various stages of human life on the album?
A) Empathy
B) Ambition
C) Revenge
D) Nostalgia
  • 7. Which two tracks together highlight the mundane and futile elements of life alongside the threat of madness?
A) Speak to Me and Breathe
B) Money and Us and Them
C) Brain Damage and Eclipse
D) Time and The Great Gig in the Sky
  • 8. What specific mode of travel does the instrumental 'On the Run' evoke to highlight stress and anxiety?
A) Modern travel by airplane
B) Train travel across Europe
C) Sailing on a ship
D) Driving on a highway
  • 9. Whose specific fear of flying inspired the stress and anxiety depicted in 'On the Run'?
A) Waters's
B) Wright's
C) Gilmour's
D) Parry's
  • 10. Which song concludes with a retreat into solitude and withdrawal in a reprise of 'Breathe'?
A) Brain Damage
B) Time
C) Eclipse
D) Money
  • 11. Who provided the soulful metaphor for death alongside Wright on 'The Great Gig in the Sky'?
A) Alan Parsons
B) David Fricke
C) Adrian Maben
D) Clare Torry
  • 12. What sound effects open the track 'Money'?
A) Cash registers and rhythmically jingling coins
B) Clocks ticking and alarms ringing
C) Heartbeats and footsteps
D) Airplanes flying and engines roaring
  • 13. What does the song 'Money' mock?
A) Modern art and culture
B) Religious institutions
C) Political corruption
D) Greed and consumerism
  • 14. Which track addresses the senseless nature of war and the isolation of the depressed?
A) Brain Damage
B) Us and Them
C) Eclipse
D) Any Colour You Like
  • 15. What does the track 'Any Colour You Like' tackle?
A) The illusion of choice one has in society
B) The fear of aging and death
C) The emptiness of material wealth
D) The pressure of maintaining fame
  • 16. Which track looks at mental illness resulting from the elevation of fame and success?
A) Speak to Me
B) The Great Gig in the Sky
C) Brain Damage
D) On the Run
  • 17. What line in 'Brain Damage' reflects the mental breakdown of Syd Barrett?
A) Us and them, and after all we're only ordinary men
B) Money, it's a gas
C) Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
D) And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
  • 18. What concepts are espoused by the final track, 'Eclipse'?
A) Greed and consumerism
B) Anxiety and stress
C) Solitude and withdrawal
D) Otherness and unity
  • 19. Where was The Dark Side of the Moon primarily recorded?
A) EMI Studios
B) Trident Studios
C) Apple Studios
D) Olympic Studios
  • 20. Approximately how many days did the recording of the album take?
A) 60 days
B) 120 days
C) 30 days
D) 90 days
  • 21. Between which two dates was the album recorded?
A) 31 January 1972 and 9 December 1972
B) 31 August 1972 and 9 May 1973
C) 31 May 1971 and 9 February 1972
D) 31 May 1972 and 9 February 1973
  • 22. Who was assigned as the staff engineer for the recording sessions?
A) Adrian Maben
B) Chris Thomas
C) Alan Parsons
D) David Fricke
  • 23. On which Beatles albums did Alan Parsons previously gain experience as a recording engineer?
A) Sgt. Pepper's and The White Album
B) Help! and Please Please Me
C) Abbey Road and Let It Be
D) Revolver and Rubber Soul
  • 24. What advanced multi-track recorders were used during the sessions?
A) Telefunken 24-track recorders
B) Studer A80 16-track recorders
C) Studer 4-track recorders
D) Ampex 8-track recorders
  • 25. What type of copies were still needed to make more space available on the tape despite having 16 tracks?
A) Second-generation copies
B) Vinyl test pressings
C) Digital backup files
D) Third-generation master tapes
  • 26. Who recalled that the band had been very efficient, leaving only two or three tracks of drums during mixing?
A) Alan Parsons
B) Roger Waters
C) Chris Thomas
D) David Gilmour
  • 27. On what date was 'Us and Them' recorded?
A) 9 February
B) 7 June
C) 31 May
D) 15 January
  • 28. How many days after 'Us and Them' was 'Money' recorded?
A) A month later
B) Seven days later
C) Three days later
D) Two weeks later
  • 29. In what unusual time signature did Waters create effects loops for 'Money'?
A) 7/4 time signature
B) 4/4 time signature
C) 3/4 time signature
D) 6/8 time signature
  • 30. Where were the coins thrown to create the sound effects for 'Money'?
A) Into a cash register at EMI Studios
B) Into a mixing bowl in his wife's pottery studio
C) Onto a wooden table at Abbey Road
D) Into an iron bucket in the studio hallway
  • 31. What kind of mix did the band decide to create that required re-recording the money effects loops?
A) Stereo mix
B) Dolby Atmos mix
C) Quadraphonic mix
D) Monaural mix
  • 32. To what did Alan Parsons attribute his dissatisfaction with the quadraphonic mix of 'Money'?
A) Lack of time and a shortage of multitrack tape recorders
B) Damaged master tapes
C) Disagreements with Roger Waters
D) Poor equipment provided by EMI Studios
  • 33. Which two tracks were recorded right after 'Money'?
A) Speak to Me and Breathe
B) Any Colour You Like and On the Run
C) Brain Damage and Eclipse
D) Time and The Great Gig in the Sky
  • 34. How long was the break the band took after recording 'Time' and 'The Great Gig in the Sky'?
A) One-year break
B) Six-month break
C) Two-month break
D) Two-week break
  • 35. What sports team did Roger Waters support, occasionally breaking recording sessions to watch them compete?
A) Arsenal F.C.
B) Chelsea F.C.
C) Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
D) West Ham United F.C.
  • 36. What television show would the band occasionally stop to watch while Parsons worked on the tracks?
A) Monty Python's Flying Circus
B) Doctor Who
C) Fawlty Towers
D) The Benny Hill Show
  • 37. When did the band return from their US tour to finish recording?
A) February 1973
B) January 1973
C) December 1972
D) November 1972
  • 38. How many female vocalists were assembled to sing on 'Brain Damage', 'Eclipse', and 'Time'?
A) Two
B) Four
C) Five
D) Three
  • 39. Who was booked to play saxophone on 'Us and Them' and 'Money'?
A) David Fricke
B) Chris Thomas
C) Alan Parsons
D) Dick Parry
  • 40. With which director did the band film studio footage for Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii during the sessions?
A) Alan Parsons
B) Adrian Maben
C) David Fricke
D) Chris Thomas
  • 41. On what exact date was the album completed and signed off at Abbey Road?
A) 9 February 1973
B) 31 December 1972
C) 9 January 1973
D) 31 May 1972
  • 42. How did David Gilmour describe listening to the finished album for the first time?
A) A confusing and chaotic mess
B) A moment of great joy and of satisfaction
C) A stressful and exhausting experience
D) A disappointing and underwhelming result
  • 43. What is the studio album number of The Dark Side of the Moon for Pink Floyd?
A) Ninth
B) Eighth
C) Seventh
D) Fifth
  • 44. Which record label released The Dark Side of the Moon in the United Kingdom?
A) EMI Studios
B) Harvest Records
C) Capitol Records
D) Rolling Stones Records
  • 45. Who designed the album sleeve featuring a prismatic spectrum?
A) Roger Waters
B) Storm Thorgerson
C) Nick Mason
D) Alan Parsons
  • 46. Which band member requested a 'simple and bold' design for the album sleeve?
A) David Gilmour
B) Roger Waters
C) Nick Mason
D) Richard Wright
  • 47. How many times platinum is The Dark Side of the Moon certified in the United Kingdom?
A) 5× platinum
B) 20× platinum
C) 14× platinum
D) 10× platinum
  • 48. How many weeks did The Dark Side of the Moon chart on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart?
A) 1000 weeks
B) 500 weeks
C) 750 weeks
D) 996 weeks
  • 49. By 2013, approximately how many copies of The Dark Side of the Moon had been sold worldwide?
A) Over 10 million
B) Over 100 million
C) Over 25 million
D) Over 45 million
  • 50. In what year was the album inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame?
A) 2013
B) 1999
C) 2012
D) 1973
  • 51. Whose home was the location of the band meeting where Roger Waters proposed the new album?
A) Syd Barrett
B) Nick Mason
C) Richard Wright
D) David Gilmour
  • 52. Which band used the title 'Dark Side of the Moon' before Pink Floyd briefly changed their album title?
A) Harvest Records
B) Capitol Records
C) Medicine Head
D) Rolling Stones
  • 53. Who co-wrote the opening line of 'Breathe' from an earlier work for the soundtrack of The Body?
A) Clare Torry
B) Alan Parsons
C) Ron Geesin
D) Storm Thorgerson
  • 54. What film did Pink Floyd record music for in France in late February?
A) La Vallée
B) Dark Side of the Moon
C) The Body
D) Zabriskie Point
  • 55. How many beats was the effects loop created for "Money"?
A) 5-beat
B) 8-beat
C) 4-beat
D) 7-beat
  • 56. Which song's multitrack recordings required all four band members and studio engineers to operate the mixing console's faders simultaneously?
A) Money
B) Brain Damage
C) On the Run
D) Time
  • 57. Which synthesizer did Pink Floyd use on "Brain Damage" and "Any Colour You Like"?
A) Leslie speaker
B) Synthi A
C) EMS VCS 3
D) Hammond B3
  • 58. Which synthesizer was used on "Time" and "On the Run"?
A) EMS VCS 3
B) Leslie
C) Rototom
D) Hammond B3
E) Synthi A
  • 59. Who ran around the studio's echo chamber during "On the Run" to create unconventional sounds?
A) Gerry O'Driscoll
B) Peter James
C) Peter Watts
D) Roger "The Hat" Manifold
  • 60. What was specially treated to simulate a human heartbeat on several tracks?
A) A bass drum
B) A snare drum
C) A piano
D) A cash register
  • 61. Which instrument family accompanies the ticking and chiming clocks at the start of "Time"?
A) Rototoms
B) Synthesizers
C) Bass guitars
D) Hammond organs
  • 62. In the quadraphonic mix of "On the Run", through which speaker does the Hammond B3 organ swirl around the listener?
A) Synthi A speaker
B) VCS 3 speaker
C) Rototom speaker
D) Leslie speaker
  • 63. Who was in charge of the recording session for "The Great Gig in the Sky"?
A) Gilmour
B) Parsons
C) Waters
D) Mason
  • 64. What did Gilmour ask Clare Torry to try to do rather than sing words?
A) Hum a baseline
B) Imitate a clock ticking
C) Sing backwards
D) Express emotions
  • 65. What was Clare Torry paid initially for her contribution as a session fee?
A) £30
B) £100
C) £50
D) £360
  • 66. In what year did Clare Torry sue EMI and Pink Floyd for songwriting royalties?
A) 2004
B) 1973
C) 1999
D) 2005
  • 67. Which roadie was recorded in a conventional sit-down interview talking about a violent encounter with a motorist?
A) Roger "The Hat" Manifold
B) Gerry O'Driscoll
C) Chris Adamson
D) Peter Watts
  • 68. Who contributed the repeated laughter heard during "Brain Damage" and "Speak to Me"?
A) Roger "The Hat" Manifold
B) Gerry O'Driscoll
C) Peter Watts
D) Chris Adamson
  • 69. Who provided the line about the "geezer" who was "cruisin' for a bruisin'"?
A) Clare Torry
B) Naomi Watts
C) Linda McCartney
D) Patricia "Puddie" Watts
  • 70. Who was the Irish doorman at the studios whose spoken responses were featured on the album?
A) Roger "The Hat" Manifold
B) Chris Adamson
C) Peter James
D) Gerry O'Driscoll
  • 71. Which bandmate of the McCartneys contributed the line, "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time"?
A) Chris Adamson
B) Peter Watts
C) Roger Manifold
D) Henry McCullough
  • 72. What was Chris Thomas's background primarily in?
A) Film production
B) Management
C) Music
D) Engineering
  • 73. Whom had Chris Thomas previously worked with?
A) David Gilmour
B) Nick Mason
C) George Martin
D) Roger Waters
  • 74. Who was an acquaintance of Chris Thomas, linking him to Pink Floyd?
A) Nick Mason
B) Richard Wright
C) George Martin
D) Steve O'Rourke
  • 75. What did Chris Thomas say about Roger Waters regarding the echo?
A) He never said he wanted less echo
B) He hated all forms of echo
C) He asked for echo to be removed completely
D) He demanded maximum echo on every track
  • 76. In what year did Roger Waters give an interview discussing whether his goals were accomplished?
A) 1995
B) 2006
C) 1973
D) 2012
  • 77. What format was the copy of the finished record that Waters took home?
A) CD
B) Vinyl LP
C) Reel-to-reel
D) Cassette tape
  • 78. How did Waters feel when his wife reacted emotionally to the music?
A) Kinda pleased
B) Angry and defensive
C) Indifferent
D) Deeply concerned
  • 79. What was Waters' level of confidence regarding how people would respond to the work?
A) He expected total rejection
B) He had every confidence
C) He was filled with doubt
D) He was entirely neutral
  • 80. How did EMI react to the cover designs for Atom Heart Mother and Obscured by Clouds?
A) By designing their own covers
B) With confusion
C) With great enthusiasm
D) By rejecting the contracts
  • 81. To what did Wright compare his ideal design for the album cover?
A) A 1963 physics textbook
B) A Black Magic chocolate box
C) A glass prism
D) An Emperor Concerto
  • 82. Whose illustration for a Beethoven performance also inspired the album cover?
A) Storm Thorgerson
B) Alex Steinweiss
C) George Hardie
D) Aubrey Powell
  • 83. For which orchestra did Alex Steinweiss create the 1942 Emperor Concerto illustration?
A) Boston Symphony Orchestra
B) Berlin Philharmonic
C) New York Philharmonic
D) London Symphony Orchestra
  • 84. At whose suggestion did the spectrum of light continue through to the gatefold?
A) Powell
B) Thorgerson
C) Wright
D) Waters
  • 85. How many colours are in the light band emanating from the front cover prism?
A) Six
B) Five
C) Seven
D) Eight
  • 86. Which colour is missing from the spectrum on the album cover?
A) Indigo
B) Green
C) Violet
D) Orange
  • 87. Who described Side One as 'so utterly confused with itself it was difficult to follow'?
A) Loyd Grossman
B) Robert Christgau
C) Steve Peacock
D) Roy Hollingworth
  • 88. Which publication did Roy Hollingworth write for?
A) Sounds
B) Christgau's Record Guide
C) Melody Maker
D) Rolling Stone
  • 89. Which magazine published Loyd Grossman's 1973 review of the album?
A) Billboard
B) Sounds
C) Rolling Stone
D) Melody Maker
  • 90. Who called the album a 'kitsch masterpiece'?
A) Roy Hollingworth
B) Robert Christgau
C) Steve Peacock
D) Loyd Grossman
  • 91. What did Robert Christgau find clichéd about the album?
A) Its saxophone melodies
B) Its lyrical ideas
C) Its album artwork
D) Its guitar solos
  • 92. Whose guitar solos were enhanced by studio effects, according to Christgau?
A) Gilmour's
B) Waters's
C) Wright's
D) Mason's
  • 93. Who was the newly appointed chairman of Capitol Records at the time?
A) O'Rourke
B) Pink Floyd
C) Bhaskar Menon
D) Clive Davis
  • 94. Who was the president of CBS that Pink Floyd and their manager negotiated a new contract with?
A) Harvest
B) Capitol
C) Bhaskar Menon
D) Clive Davis
  • 95. In what year was 'Point Me at the Sky' released as a single in the UK?
A) 1974
B) 1971
C) 1968
D) 1973
  • 96. What song was featured on the B-side of the single release of 'Money'?
A) Time
B) Point Me at the Sky
C) Any Colour You Like
D) Us and Them
  • 97. What chart position did 'Money' reach on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973?
A) Number 13
B) Number 50
C) Number 100
D) Number 1
  • 98. What word was removed from the mono side of the promotional single for 'Money'?
A) colour
B) time
C) bullshit
D) money
  • 99. What word replaced the censored word on the mono side of the 'Money' promotional single?
A) bull
B) cow
C) none
D) sheesh
  • 100. What was the reported advance fee when the band signed for Columbia at the beginning of 1974?
A) $100,000
B) $10M
C) $1M
D) $5M
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