I listened 2 the whole Dark Side Of The Moon SACD today and when I got 2 track 5 of the album, it scared the mess out of me. Clare Torry isn't the singing type. Her wailing voice is beautiful and all, but the singing is scary. It sounds like someone was crying. Despite the singing, the instrumentation was striking and powerful. It's definitely a song that will stay in your head forever. Back in 1991, I listened to that whole album from start to finish and I thought I just came back from an LSD trip. It's a journey that will live a lifetime. I think it's better than The Wall because it's not that personal and dark. It's brilliant!!! Ok, back to the point, what do you think of that Pink Floyd song, The Great Gig In The Sky?
[This message was edited Fri Aug 13 0:34:50 2004 by silverchild]
[This message was edited Fri Aug 13 0:35:07 2004 by silverchild]

The wailing in that song is my favorite part. Beautiful.

There were rumours going around that it was supposed to represent a God having an orgasm (at least that's what I heard years ago), but according to Rick Wright (who actually wrote it) it's about death, and Clare Torry was just asked to sing as if she was having an orgasm.


And for those of you interested in the DSOTM / Wizard of Oz synchronization, The Great Gig matches up to the tornado scene.

AsylumUtopia said:

Yeah, u know it did sound like she was faking an orgasm, a little bit. I tried the Wizard Of Oz experiment and it definitely fits with the music of DSOTM. I'm gonna do that again, one day.

silverchild said:

I haven't tried that myself yet, but from what I've heard and read, it's pretty cool. I might actually try it this weekend (if I can find a copy of the Wizard of Oz).

AsylumUtopia said:

If you're going to get Wizard Of Oz, make sure you get DVD. Trust me, it always works. Though, DSOTM is shorter than the movie, you're going to find a big comparison between the two. It's a big, big, big myth....
[This message was edited Fri Aug 13 2:24:34 2004 by silverchild]

silverchild said:

Yeah, will do, in fact I have to - my vcr blew up a few months ago so video isn't an option.

It is huge myth - which is one of the reasons I have yet to try it, after hearing all the conspiracy theory and 'it'll blow your mind' bullshit I sort of dismissed it as a practical joke. But then more recently I've heard other things along the lines of 'no it won't blow your mind, but the two do fit together very nicely'. So I'm still interested to try it. Having said that, if it is just a case of the two appearing to meld together very well, that's no great surprise. You could listen to practically any music, then switch on any tv music channel with the sound off, and you'll be amazed at how well and how often the music you're playing fits in with the video's playing on the tv.

Claire Torry was a session singer who they had heard on a budget tribute album doing a cover of The Doors' "Light My Fire". They got her into the studio and offered her fifty quid to go behind the mic and sing whatever she wanted. The result is in the grooves. One take.

AsylumUtopia said:

You are right about that. What about that trippy song, The Great Gig In The Sky from DSOTM? I'm not getting the title of the song~ what Great Gig In The Sky?
[This message was edited Fri Aug 13 3:04:37 2004 by silverchild]

MrSquiggle said:

"You mean to tell me they just let her sing like that on this song, The Great Gig In The Sky?"


THAT'S VERY, VERY, VERY OVERKILLED!!!!!
[This message was edited Fri Aug 13 3:03:49 2004 by silverchild]

silverchild said:

Well, that's where the God's orgasm theory I mentioned earlier comes in, I suppose you could describe a God's orgasm as a great gig, and it would tradtionally take place in the sky I guess (sort of makes me think they had the same idea in mind as Hendrix with And The Gods Made Love).
But as I said, it was just a rumour, so who knows? The name could have just been thought up on the spur of the moment, and it ended up being called that because it sounds cool. I know that it had different names at various stages of the development of the DSOTM album, I believe at certain times it was called 'Religious piece' and 'The Religion Song', and I think it had another name when it was first played live, long before it became part of the DSOTM album.

silverchild said:

My guess is that it's about heaven. Pink Floyd are musicians, so they would refer to it as a gig, like how doggies go to that big fire hydrant in the sky, or Michael Jackson will go to that big day care in the sky (or perhaps deep underground).

This song should have been on my list for "The Scary Songs/Sounds Thread" ...
I like it, but it's eerie as hell to me too.

psykosoul said:

Yep.