''The Dark Side of the Moo'' is an unofficial compilation of early recordings by the English rock group

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

, featuring recordings not available on albums released in the US. Unlike other bootlegs containing previously unheard material (

bootleg recordings A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. Making and distributing such recordings is known as ''bootlegging''. Recordings may be copied and traded ...

), the album is made up of recordings that had at least one commercial release. The name parodies ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...

'', the band's most commercially successful album, and the front cover of ''

Atom Heart Mother ''Atom Heart Mother'' is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released by Harvest on 2 October 1970 in the UK, and by Capitol on 10 October 1970 in the US. It was recorded at EMI Studios (now Abbey Ro ...

'', which featured a cow.

Background

The album was created by an anonymous label known as "Trixie Records" by a bootlegger known as "Richard", and to avoid detection by authorities, used an early name for the group, "The Screaming Abdabs" on the record label. "Richard" created the bootleg because he was frustrated at the amount of material that had been released by the band but had not found its way onto any widely available album, even compilations such as ''

Relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

'', or even seen a US release. He said that a key motivation for creating it was for the cover, for which he created his own photograph of a cow in a field.

Reception

Reviewing the bootleg,

Ritchie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

recommended it for fans trying to complete a collection of Floyd recordings, saying "If you're not inclined to spend an additional 50 dollars or so tracking these down, it certainly makes sense to spring for this, if you can find it." The record was alleged to have sold 15,000 copies, and was praised for its high fidelity. "Richard" claimed it was the best selling bootleg out of several he produced, and was still selling it in the mid-1990s, years after its release. Although some of the tracks are now more widely available than when the bootleg was first issued, some, such as "

Point Me at the Sky "Point Me at the Sky" is the fifth United Kingdom single by the British band Pink Floyd, released on 6 December 1968. It was their last single in the UK for nearly a decade. The song was an early collaboration by bassist Roger Waters and guitar ...

", have still not been released on a regular album ("Point Me at the Sky" was, however, issued as part of the bonus "Early Singles" disc on the '' Shine On'' box set in 1992).

Track listing

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dark Side Of The Moo, The Pink Floyd compilation albums Albums produced by Norman Smith (record producer) Bootleg recordings