Tom Maurstad

There's no disputing the popularity of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. It's sold between 15 and 40 million copies (depending on which source you believe) and it stayed on the Billboard chart for a record-breaking 14 years straight.

But few people agree on how good the 1973 album really is. Some argue it's a landmark marriage of psychedelia and philosophy. Others dismiss it as music for stoners.

Friday night, Floyd mastermind Roger Waters played Dark Side in its entirety for a near-capacity crowd at Superpages.com Center. And even if you weren't hallucinating, you had to admit it sounded timeless.

Mr. Waters, Floyd's lyricist, bassist and sometimes singer, surrounded himself with an airtight nine-piece band and a killer quadraphonic sound system: During the alarm clock symphony in "Time," you were forgiven if you thought your brain was melting.

Ditto for "Money," with its delirious fusion of cash registers and stride bass guitar. And "The Great Gig in the Sky" – with its orgasmic female scat singing – reminded you how far Floyd pushed the definition of "psychedelic."

The only iffy part was the vocals. David Gilmour sang lead on most of the Dark Side album, and in his absence, the songs were sung by the various bandmates – who did a decent job – and Mr. Waters, whose knotted voice reminded you how much better Mr. Gilmour is in the vocal department.

Before playing Dark Side, Mr. Waters led the band through a grab bag of Floyd classics and songs from his solo albums. The LSD-drenched "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (1968) felt dated, but tunes from The Wall and Wish You Were Here hadn't aged a bit.

Two unexpected high points were the anti-war songs "The Fletcher Memorial Home" and "Southampton Dock," from The Final Cut (1982), an album a lot of Floyd fans never bothered to buy. And then there was "Sheep," Mr. Waters' 1977 gem about sleepwalking through life.

Halfway through the tune, a giant inflatable pig appeared from the wings and floated around the amphitheater, much to the delight of fans who'd heard the prop went missing last weekend at the Coachella Music Festival.

Was it the original pig? Or a replacement swine?

Either way, it was a decidedly political porker, with the phrase "Impeach Bush Now!" on its hide and word "Cheney" placed directly on the naughty bits.

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