12 Pink Floyd songs that capture the band perfectly

“Time” from Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

There’s a very legitimate case to made for Dark Side of the Moon being the most significant album released in the rock & roll era. I don’t consider it the best or the most influential, but “significant” is a different matter. Dark Side of the Moon merged what had been experimental with what was rapidly becoming mainstream.

It's run on the Billboard charts – I think Billboard eventually simply set aside a permanent spot for it because it never seemed to leave the top 200 – is a testament to the fact that even if you don’t like this kind of music, almost no one doesn’t like Dark Side of the Moon. The musicianship is first-rate. Gilmour is sensational throughout. The songs, again an entirely collaborative effort, are both tight and expansive.

That all applies to the brilliant song “Time.” It was not released as a single, but it summed up the band at this moment. The alarm clocks that open the song are just one more example of the musicians searching for sounds that create mood.  By this point, they knew how to incorporate these sounds more seamlessly than in “Astronomy Domine.” Waters’ lyrics are among the best he has written to this point. It is poignant and it rocks. It is something that only Pink Floyd was doing so effectively at the time.

“Money” from Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

Yep, you caught me. Two songs from DSOTM. I think the album can justify an extra pick. Unlike “Time,” this one was a single, and from the moment a rhythmic series of cash registers came across the airwaves, we knew we were hearing something different. When Waters’ iconic bass line creeps in underneath, we realize that those cash registers aren’t a sound effect. They are another instrument.

Unlike “Time,” this one wasn’t poignant. This was the Roger Waters we would come to know throughout the 1970s and beyond. He was angry and pointed. “Money – Get back – I’m all right Jack keep your hands off my stack – Money – It’s a hit – Don’t give me that do-goody-good bulls**t" was another clear announcement. Gilmour, who sings lead, also serves up a fabulous guitar solo, but this time he is rivaled by session player Dick Parry’s amazing sax solo as well.  

This was Floyd’s first international hit, charting in the US, Australia, France and Germany. Personally, neither “Time” nor “Money” is my favorite song from DSOTM. That would be the blended closing tracks – “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” – which are essentially two sections of one song. But “Time” and “Money” are monster efforts that would begin cementing Pink Floyd’s legacy. There was no longer a trippy psychedelic band. They were one the best rock bands in the world.