This is not only Pink Floyd’s most famous album, but close to the best known and best selling (album) record of all time. Also, it is a concept album about the pressures of modern life, and it sounds surprisingly modern. It also carries the famous design by Hipgnosis, a design that is closely connected to the musical concept of the album itself.
An example of this integrated vision is in the beams that come from the prism. The album is a gatefold, and on the inside the coloured beams go on. The green part follows the shape of a heartbeat though. The heartbeat can be found throughout the album. It starts with it, is heard several times during the intermissions and fades out with it. It is referring to how all the themes take place surrounding a human life.
It is generally accepted that this is also the band’s reaction to the mental collapse of former band leader Syd Barrett. Already an unstable mind, his substance use didn’t do him good in the 60s, leading to him having to leave the band in 1968. Many of the band’s songs have dealt with the matter. The sight of someone so close to you deteriorating, breaking down, while it should be the time of beginning in life.
There is a theory that if you listen to the album while watching The wizard of Oz, you’ll see remarkable synchronicity. Singer David Gilmour denied the connection, but can anybody take the test?