Pink Floyd
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Schroeder on the film La Vallée, for which a soundtrack album was released, called Obscured by Clouds. The material was composed in about a week, at the Château d'Hérouville near Paris, and upon its release was their first to break into the top 50 on the US Billboard chart. At about the same time the band also produced the compilation album Relics. The band's next album, provisionally titled The Dark Side of the Moon (an allusion to lunacy, rather than astronomy), was recorded at Abbey Road between May 1972 and January 1973, with staff engineer Alan Parsons. Much of 1972 was spent touring the new material, while recording was completed in January 1973. The band also filmed studio footage for Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, and once sessions were complete they began a tour of Europe.
Late in the album's production, producer Chris Thomas was hired to provide "a fresh pair of ears". Thomas was responsible for significant changes to the album, including the perfect timing of the echo used on "Us and Them". He was also present for the recording of "The Great Gig in the Sky". Packaging was designed by Hipgnosis, and bore George Hardie's iconic refracting prism on the cover. Since Barrett's departure the burden of lyrical composition had fallen mostly on Waters' shoulders. He is therefore credited as the author of the album's lyrics. Generally, the press were enthusiastic; Melody Maker's Roy Hollingworth described side one as: "… so utterly confused with itself it was difficult to follow", but went on to praise side two, writing "The songs, the sounds, the rhythms were solid and sound, Saxophone hit the air, the band rocked and rolled, and then gushed and tripped away into the night." In his 1973 album review for Rolling Stone magazine, Lloyd Grossman wrote: "a fine album with a textural and conceptual richness that not only invites, but demands involvement". The Dark Side of the Moon was released in March 1973, and became an instant chart success in Britain and throughout Western Europe. Throughout March 1973 it featured as part of their US tour, including a midnight performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on 17 March. The success of the album brought previously unknown wealth to all four members of the band; Richard Wright and Roger Waters bought large country houses, and Nick Mason became a collector of upmarket cars. Much of the album's early stateside success has been attributed to the