Dark Side of the Moon turns 30

Re-mastered, hybrid multi-channel, Super Audio CD celebrates a birthday.

The new hybrid SACD version of Dark Side of the Moon has new artwork and a new booklet to go with the high-definition sound.
Hybrid means you can play it on any regular CD player or you can hear high definition two-channel and 5.1 channel mixes on the Super Audio Compact Disc layer.

March 25, 2003

For the 30th anniversary of one of the best selling recordings of all time, a recording that spent 741 weeks, or a total of 14 years, on Billboard’s Album Charts. EMI Capitol has produced a gift for it’s fans, Pink Floyd’s, Dark Side of the Moon. It is being released today for the first time in full 5.1 channel surround sound.

Since it’s release in 1973, Dark Side of the Moon has sold more than 30 million copies. 30 million, plus 30 years, I’m beginning to see a pattern.

Piggybacking onto the success of last year’s re release of early Rolling Stones albums on hybrid SACD, EMI decided to create a multi-channel mix in time for the album’s three decade mark.
EMI and Sony, manufacturer of SACD players, threw a big bash Monday night at New York’s Hayden Planetarium to give the audio press a sneak peek of what the new mix sounds like. Back in 1973, Pink Floyd introduced the album at a big bash at the London Planetarium.

Gary Krakow is an MSNBC technology columnist

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