Back in January 2020, we advised that later that month the long-awaited reissue of the hybrid multichannel SACD (Super Audio CD) of Pink Floyd's iconic 1973 album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, was due. Unfortunately, due to unspecified reasons (which were possibly related to the first appearance and spread of Covid-19) the reissue was delayed.

Great news for all of you who have been patiently waiting on confirmed information of when you could get your hands on this - it is now seemingly starting to ship out to those who have ordered it!

Originally released in the SACD format (having a separate stereo layer playable on all normal CD players) in 2003 as part of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the album, the SACD proved very popular. However, it has been out of print for some years, so the reissue will be welcomed by many. The release comes on the Pink Floyd Records label (catalogue number PFR24) via Analogue Productions, and they are selling it fairly much exclusively through their US-based AcousticSounds.com store, although for those in the UK and other places might prefer to use the UK's Rough Trade as despite the total cost being similar to buying from Acoustic Sounds, it might negate the chance of having to pay customs charges or import duties.

The mix on the SACD/CD layer is the same as the 2003 release, but as you'll see from the unboxing video below, the packaging has been updated with a slipcover, with the disc held in a well-illustrated book housing.

For those unfamiliar with the format, SACDs provide high audio quality, and in certain cases (such as this, and the other Floyd SACD, Wish You Were Here) multi-channel, surround mixes too. The TDSOTM and WYWH SACDs both sound superb, and it is worth checking to see if you have suitable equipment to play multichannel SACDs. A number of Sony CD players are compatible with SACDs, and indeed some Playstation consoles play SACDs with no problem. Other makes of CD/DVD/Blu-ray players do support the format, but this varies from model to model. There are a number of "universal" players out there which include SACD in their capabilities. It is worth checking the specifications of players, particularly if you are looking to pick up a cheap, second-hand machine on eBay and suchlike.

The lockdown period seems to have been beneficial, not just for reducing the spread of infection, but encouraging writers to pull books together, and we are now starting to see the fruits of these labours, with a number of publications being announced... and here's another. Arriving in bookshops, both online and along the high street, on (updated) February 10th, 2022, is a new, 320-page book from Aubrey 'Po' Powell - Through the Prism: Untold rock stories from the Hipgnosis archive.

Founded in 1968 by Po, Storm Thorgerson and Peter Christopherson, graphic design firm Hipgnosis gained a legendary status by transforming the look of album art through their designs for artists such as AC/DC, 10cc, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Syd Barrett, and Black Sabbath. The publishers promise that in the book, "Powell presents brutally honest, entertaining and revealing insider stories from the world of rock, featuring an eclectic cast of pop stars, comedians, actors, managers, gangsters, and inspirational world figures from 1966 on. His narrative is packed with anecdotes - from the founding of Hipgnosis to surviving drugs busts, and from the creative process behind the most iconic album artworks of all time to mounting the Pink Floyd exhibition, Their Mortal Remains - and is richly illustrated with Hipgnosis artwork and Powell's own photographs.

"Drama and creativity are the common threads throughout these amazing stories. With candor and insightful reflection, Powell reveals how he and Storm became an effective creative partnership despite their volatile relationship; how the final colour artwork for Led Zeppelin’s Houses Of The Holy was created; how the most iconic album cover of all time – The Dark Side Of The Moon – came about; and how the 2017 Pink Floyd retrospective became the largest and most successful music exhibition ever mounted by the Victoria and Albert Museum – despite the deeply antagonistic and dysfunctional relationship between Roger Waters and David Gilmour. Throughout, Powell exposes how the trappings of fame and glory upset the balance of everyday life, bringing creativity and destruction in equal measure.

"Packed with exciting insider stories and anecdotes featuring famous musicians, managers, and actors, Through the Prism is a must-have for music and pop-culture fans." Certainly sounds a cracking read, which we can't wait to get our hands on.

You can order this book through the following links, taking advantage of Amazon's free pre-order price guarantee - should their asking price drop at any point between you ordering it, and release, they will automatically charge you the lowest price during that period! Ordering through our links also helps with BD's ongoing running costs, and we really appreciate it: Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Spain and Amazon Italy.

Today we have some more new music from respected guitarist Chester Kamen. We know that a good number of you have been enjoying these songs. Amongst many other artists, Chester has toured with Roger Waters, joining his band in 2002 and playing on subsequent tours, and with David Gilmour on his 2016 Rattle That Lock tour. He first played with David back in 1985 during the Live Aid show - David and Chester were both part of Bryan Ferry's band for that show (as was Jon Carin).

Chester has, like many musicians, kept himself busy whilst lockdowns and restrictions due to Covid-19 have called a halt to many things - in particular, live performance. In October, he shared his new piece of music called Take This, that runs for over 23 minutes. Chester told us that Take This is the first side of an album he is currently working on - following, or inspired by, the old Floyd blueprint of one long piece and several songs on the flip side. Since then we've seen the first songs on the second side of the album: Brand New Day, Swimming, I'd Love To Turn You, Lover's Lane, Come The Revolution, Child Of The Damned, and Stories.

The new song from Chester is called The Wife of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold - quite a title! Chester told us: "I set myself a challenge to write a straight twelve bar blues without reference to blues tradition, in much the same way as Bob Dylan does. For me it was very interesting, I hope for others too. Lots of guitar on this one with great drums by Saleem Raman and breakneck bass by Jovan Radujko."

We'll update you as he progresses with the rest of the album, as we know from feedback we've had that the songs are proving very popular.

In a return to what was an annual event pre-2020, on 26th and 27th June Nick Mason and his wife Annette opened up their gardens at Middlewick House in Corsham, Wiltshire, to support the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, of which Annette is a vice-patron, and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

Over the two days, they had over 5000 visitors and raised over £50,000 for the two charities.

Nick told the Wiltshire Times that he was delighted to be able to go ahead with this year's event, after last year's was cancelled due to Covid-19: "People are delighted to take a look at the gardens; they look so much better after one of these events than they did before.

"Many people have been bottled up for so long during the pandemic they are just pleased to come out."

Brain Damage regular Ian McKenzie made it along to the Sunday opening (27th), and was grateful that the rain (only just) kept off.

He told us that "there were a lot more of Nick's cars there compared to 2017 when I last attended, including two very special cars. I managed to have a chat with him on a couple of occasions, and asked him which task requires the most co-ordination and concentration; driving a Ferrari or playing the drums. For the record, he said the former is the hardest!"

Ian kindly sent a selection of his pictures from the day, which can be seen in full over at the Brain Damage Facebook page, but the thumbnails here give a flavour of the shots - Nick's cars, his helicopter, and Nick himself. For more information about the event itself, and for tickets to attend in future years, visit middlewickhouseopengarden.com.