Band plays Pink Floyd Classic at Tilles

The first thing Craig Martin, the founder of Classic Albums Live, wants you to know is that "we're not a tribute band."

In this case, not a Pink Floyd tribute band. Classic Albums Live re-creates "Dark Side of the Moon" in a concert Saturday night at Tilles Center.

Since 2003, Martin's various ensembles have performed about 150 classic rock albums -- "all the no-brainers," he says, including several each by The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and, not to overlook American bands, the Eagles.

"We play them note for note, just as they were performed on the album," says Martin, who does vocals for Classic Albums Live when they turn to the Stones. "I do Mick Jagger without all the antics," he says. "Our goal is to re-create the record. It's our document. We go to incredible degrees to get it exactly right. No cheesy costumes, no banter, just the music as you remember it in all its vinyl glory."

TWO SHADES OF PINK For Floyd's "Dark Side," the band includes a pair of singers, guitarists and keyboard players each, plus a saxophonist, a drummer and a percussionist. Everyone plays bells for this album and some hold ticking clocks to the microphone. "We do the cash register in a very creative way," says Martin, referring to one of the distinct "Dark Side" sound effects. "We found a real cash register, but it was so heavy it would've required its own road crew."

The first half of the concert is the album, played in the order each song appeared on the record. After intermission, "We do a retrospective that goes deep into the Pink Floyd catalog -- not just the greatest hits," says Martin, who will be at the mixing board.

REVERENCE FOR ROCK There's no fanfare when Classic Albums Live musicians take their places onstage. "We just walk out and start tuning," says Martin. They don't even introduce the songs in the album half of the show. "There's no flash," he says. "This is not a laser light show. Just to pull off these great albums perfectly is euphoria enough."

What inspired Martin, a Toronto native, to launch Classic Albums Live? "This is sacred music to people like me," he says of fellow baby boomers. (Martin is 55.) "It's the new classical music. Roll over Beethoven and Bach. We were raised on and inspired by The Beatles and Stones and . . . "

WHAT Classic Albums Live plays Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"

WHEN | WHERE 8 p.m. Saturday, Tilles Center, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island

University

INFO $27-$47;

tillescenter.org, 516-299-3100