Meddle Review

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Meddle ReviewDavid Gilmour himself once remarked that Meddle was Pink Floyd's first true album. Though this is their fifth post-Barrett effort, it is musically light-years ahead of any of its predecessors. Of course there are many wonderful, brilliant moments on those early records, but it is clear in those recordings that the band was anxiously searching. Meddle is Pink Floyd finding itself. It is far more focused, far more melodic, and far more cohesive then anything before it. No longer searching, Pink Floyd had finally arrived.
The album kicks into gear with the savage instrumental One Of These Days. Howling wind sets the tone as a pulsing doubled bass line (complete with tape echo) pumps along. Intensity grows with organ stabs, reversed cymbal rolls, and fierce slide guitar. After a creepy bass interlude, Nick Mason makes his (distorted) vocal debut with "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces!!" and slams the song into overdrive. Pounding drums and stinging slide guitar dominate for the next two minutes until nothing but wind remains. It is here that (appropriately enough) the gorgeous ballad, A Pillow Of Winds picks up. Made up of acoustic guitars and sparse bass, this is a beautiful floating piece that takes advantage of Gilmour's tranquil vocals. This gentle mood is held through Fearless, a relaxed mid-tempo summer breeze of a song, again driven by Dave's voice. San Tropez and Seamus show off the Floyd's eclecticism as well as humor. The former invokes a bouncy cocktail lounge jazz feel, while the latter stars Steve Marriot's dog Seamus who "sings" along with Gilmour on some acoustic blues.
And then there's Echoes. 31 years later, this epic sound journey stands as one of the band's greatest achievements. Every element that would become synonymous with Pink Floyd was crystallized in this one phenomenal song. Swirling, bubbling keyboards and liquid guitar lines mix with floating vocal harmonies and a dynamic rhythm section to move the music through several dramatic and powerful moods. Truly the band's musicianship had taken a monstrous quantum leap forward from Atom Heart Mother. Of exceptional note is David Gilmour who, after years of struggling, managed to firmly define his role in Pink Floyd with complete confidence. That he asserts his unmatched talents on this track is an understatement. Fluid guitar lines; silky bends; gorgeous vibrato; subtle slide; tremolo bar antics; funky rhythms; and soaring leads abound. A significant part of his style - playing sounds and textures as well as notes - is also well represented. In the intro, he carresses the strings with a steel slide (much like an E-bow) to produce a shimmering string section-like feel. During the middle section, when darkness falls, his echo-laden feedback cries can be heard over ominous keyboards, swirling wind, and the distant screech of crows. Then, as daybreak comes in the form of a musical buildup to the final verses, the track ends with a multi-layered guitar part that sounds almost like a ghostly choir rising higher and higher. All this over the single echoing piano note that started the piece off. Fantastic.
Meddle is often dismissed as a "transitional" album due to the massive success of it's follow-up, Dark Side Of The Moon. Though it's not quite as perfectly structured as Dark Side, it can easily stand shoulder-to-shoulder with it (and any of the golden era Floyd albums). I would say that if you've digested Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall, move on to Meddle next. This is an incredible album and should not at all be overlooked.Meddle OverviewJapanese remastered reissue of 1971 album packaged in alimited edition miniature gatefold LP sleeve.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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On an Island Review

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On an Island ReviewDavid Gilmour really deserves credit for his "On An Island" album, released today. The man clearly doesn't give a damn about following any trends, and I say more power to him. The album does indeed sound very Floyd-ish, which Gilmour himself admits, but it's not merely some toothless rehash of past glories, and the production values here are really excellent (the album was produced by Gilmour, Phil Manzanera, and Chris Thomas). And Gilmour's in excellent voice too, sounding as though he's barely aged a day in the past 20 years. You needn't have any worries about this being a "modernized", high-tech disaster--the album sounds more like something that was recorded in 1980 than in the 2000s, and I really mean that as a compliment.
I think it's off the mark and misleading to bluntly say that Gilmour has "gone adult contemporary" with this album--that might get certain people thinking he's chosen a bland synthesizer-heavy approach. Quite the contrary, synthesizer is only used for a light sprinkling of effects on the title track, and synths are nowhere to be heard on songs such as "The Blue" and "Where We Start"--instead, David favors real piano, real electric piano, and especially real Hammond organ (which all three of these have), and that plays a huge role in them sounding so wonderfully organic.
Yes, this is a VERY low volume album, but for the most part, it's very appealing, not just thanks to the production, but also because the songwriting is generally at a really high level. Frankly, I think you could throw the same kind of praise at much of the Floyd's work--"Wish You Were Here", great album as it is, never rocks very hard at all.
Most of the lyrics here were written by Gilmour's wife Polly Samson, and although they occasionally lean towards the sickly-sweet end of things, as on "Smile", they're hardly as embarassing as some of the reviewers make them out to be. And ultimately, Gilmour makes up for it with the music. The title track is sumptuous--it sounds kind of like an acoustic modification of Floyd's "Breathe", featuring superb guitar work, live orchestration, and vocal harmonies from Crosby & Nash that really take the song to the next level (Richard Wright plays the Hammond on this track as well). The super-mellow "The Blue" has a wonderfully serene, blissful feel to it, with gentle harmonica and a remarkably effective back-and-forth piano line, and Gilmour's extended soloing, even if he overdoes those swooping sounds a bit, is still really really nice, with extremely impressive tone. The relatively short instrumental "Red Sky At Night" is an intriguing change of pace, with Gilmour switching over to saxophone, and to excellent effect--he brings the same kind of unique feeling to his sax soloing as he does to his emotional guitar leads. "A Pocketful Of Stones" is also a really fine ballad, with Gilmour's vocal making the most of the wonderful lilting melodicism on the verses. "This Heaven" adds a welcome diversity to the proceedings, shuffling along nicely and containing a nice bluesy acoustic riff. "Smile", like I said, is kind of on the sugary side, but the acoustic slide guitar work, Gilmour's somewhat jazz-tinged lead vocal, and the sheer tunefulness give it much appeal.
Gilmour's previous solo album, 1984's "About Face", ends with the song "Near The End", and he ends "On An Island" with "Where We Start" which seems like a sequel to the former song. "Where We Start" is the one non-instrumental track on the album that Gilmour wrote entirely himself. Yes, the lyrics leave a little to be desired, but the song has an undeniably soothing and reflective feel, somewhat melancholy and yet with hope for what's still to come, a trademark Gilmour touch. It makes for a highly fitting finale to the album.
As for the few remaining tracks... "Castellorizon", the obligatory album-opening instrumental, starts off as a sound collage before Gilmour starts wailing away backed by a full orchestra--it's certainly more enjoyable than the somewhat similar "Let's Get Metaphysical" from his "About Face" album, but it's still pretty forgettable. Likewise, the instrumental "Then I Close My Eyes" is okayish, but pretty dull. The one track that particularly sticks out like a sore thumb and that you're better off skipping happens to be the album's hardest-rocking song--"Take A Breath" has annoying, repetitive spoken chanting, plus it's sorely lacking in terms of melody and catchiness; it considerably hurts the overall flow of the album, and it suggests that Gilmour isn't sure how to rock out effectively anymore, making it easy to see why the album is so ballad-heavy.
All in all, I can't see anyone who loves '72-'75-era Floyd or Gilmour's previous solo work not taking a strong liking to "On An Island". I'm well aware that this album is taking quite a beating from a lot of so-called professional critics, and I can't help but suspect it's partly because of the album's mellow tone and a lack of patience on their part to really *listen*. Maybe some folks were hoping Gilmour would push the envelope more, and I'll admit I do understand the feeling that if an artist just cranks out an album that sounds like a copy of earlier work, there's no point to it. That said, this is an album for diehard David Gilmour/ mid-'70s Floyd fans who have listened to those records religiously and want something familiar, yet new, and for an artist of Gilmour's age and stature, it's understandable that he'd put out a record to fit that bill, and the fact that the result sounds this fresh and effective, it not only justifies the exercise, it actually provides an additional demonstration of just how deep Gilmour's talent is. It also underlines that this is clearly the album he wanted to make, and I give him a lot of credit for following his instincts.
(P.S. My copy of "On An Island" includes a bonus disc featuring the laidback bluesy instrumental "Island Jam"--it's a nice little bonus. On the downside, the book-style packaging of the album is marred by the vulnerable foam rubber piece that's meant to hold the CD--you may very well end up needing a separate case to hold the disc itself.)On an Island OverviewJapanese Digipak pressing. On An Island is the third David Gilmour solo album and his first studio recording since Pink Floyd's 1994 multi-platinum 'The Division Bell'. From the first moments of the sound collage that begins 'On An Island', you know it's a special experience that not only bears comparison with the best of Pink Floyd, but also confirms their lead guitarist and singer as an outstanding solo artist. Here he reveals a personal vision and a breadth of styles - folk, jazz, orchestral and rock - brought together as a unified piece by his lyrical guitar playing and instantly recognisable voice. On An Island is a collection of songs and instrumentals that had its genus in the critically acclaimed 2002 London Festival Hall concerts. Gilmour has stepped out of his super-group to discover he's still at his peak - and he's rightly pleased. 'It's my best and most personal work,' he says. 'Making it with my musician friends has been a positive experience on so many levels.' EMI. 2006.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Fear of a Blank Planet Review

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Fear of a Blank Planet ReviewFor many, this is one of the big albums to watch in 2007. In certain circles, at any rate, there has been a lot of rather assuming talk, with phrases like potential `album of the year' thrown around. Ancillary to this, some of us were privileged enough to hear the entire thing in rough, prototype form live last year, and the textures and dynamics evident in some of the entrancing music we heard that evening certainly suggested something special waiting in the wings. Finally, a lot has been made of the fact that (supposedly) this album functions as one continuous 50-minute cycle of music, and that the lyrics deal pretty much exclusively with Wilson's fears that the younger generation is risking descent into intellectual torpor owing to their addiction to an oh-so lethal cocktail of prescription drugs, MTV, internet addiction and banal culture of necessary instant gratification.
For me, however, none of the above really has much bearing on the album itself. Sonically, the six pieces here (which are distinct enough not to flow together the way, say Light of Day, Day of Darkness does) present an interesting proposition. Crucially, the narcotic core of their sound has been left largely intact, with outrageously catchy melodies, dense, layered and painstakingly executed production, careful, wandering bass-lines and lush, intricate harmonies all present in abundance. There is a slightly more heavy approach evident, but overall the album is remarkably spacey and dreamy, with a lot of attention given to synth washes, soundscapes and somnambulistic melodies, all rather reminiscent of their The Sky Moves Sideways era. But this is juxtaposed with the tight songwriting and straightforward riffing of later releases. If their are any new elements, and I'm inclined to say there are, they emerge in subtle ways: Wilson's vocals, which have changed little over recent years, seem more brazen and stretched, while some of the melodies seem more intricate, more assured and composed, and take time for the listener to fully appreciate.
The title track turns on a riff that is highly reminiscent of `Deadwing', while the chorus has a kind of gentle brutality that is somewhat jarring. The rhythmic vocals over the verse have an interesting, pseudo-rap like quality. The outro is dreamy and unexpected. `My Ashes' is stunning, with that perfect verse/chorus interplay Wilson excels at, lush orchestration and nebulous, highly evocative lyrics. The wordless vocal which rounds off the song engenders a kind of urbane emotional atmosphere, a beautiful dignity.
And then to `Anesthetize', which stands well out of the crowd simply by virtue of being 17 minutes long! Live, this track was instantly memorable and impressive, and here it does not disappoint. Wilson seems to have shoehorned just about every facet of his remarkable music making skills inside. The four minute introduction is sinister, haunting and deceptively melodic. The four to around 11 minute mark is utterly replete with intricacies, yet never overblown: indeed, it displays an uncanny use of shifting dynamics and sustained tension, of the kind Tool have often used so effectively. A slow build is embellished by an ornate Alex Lifeson solo with a welcome exotic tinge, before the heavy riffing slides into view, along with a great, eerie verse and one of their most breathtaking choruses. Then we are hit with something pretty surprising at 11 minutes - suffice to say the song implodes in spectacular fashion, and the excellent outro is ushered in, all sepia tinged sunsets and darkened skies.
To follow that, the gorgeous `Sentimental' harks back to earlier albums slightly, with an intro reminiscent of `Collapse the Light Into Earth', and a breakdown towards the end which re-introduces the riff from `Trains' in slightly moderated form, a happening I've not entirely figured out. Despite this, the gentle lilt of the chorus is possibly Wilson's most effective evocation of sheer melancholy (no mean feat!). `Way Out of Here' is perhaps the most interesting song, a kind of psychedelic metal experiment, although `Sleep Together' pushes it close, a kind of apocalyptic industrial tinged nightmare, with lyrics seeming to equate suicide with sexual release.
Maybe not as much a massive leap forward then, as a consolidation, and certainly a near flawless, very tightly constructed album with a lot of depth, as the whole picture will take quite a lot of listens to emerge. Including only six songs does ensure welcome brevity and consistency. In many ways, which perhaps I've not entirely made apparent, this is their most complex record; at any rate, it is certainly extremely dense. Whether it is their best record, or album of the year is, however, open to debate. Nevertheless, it comes highly recommended.
Fear of a Blank Planet OverviewThis starkly beautiful elegy on the numbness, apathy, and isolation brought about by the constant barrage of television, video games, advertising, prescription drugs, sex, and violence of everyday life is emphasized by the symphonic arrangement of metal guitars, synthesizers, fat basslines, and virtuosic drumming.

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David Gilmour Review

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David Gilmour ReviewI've owned the original CD since it's initial release in the '80s, and I've always felt that it sounded flat and lifeless, so I ordered this remaster with hope of at least modest improvement. After fetching it from the mailbox, I popped it in my player, hit play, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This disc has depth, dynamics, warmth, and perfect tonal balance - all way beyond anything I had hoped for. Who remastered it? Doug Sax. He and his company, The Mastering Lab, do a lot of work for audiophile labels, and he is considered by many to be the best in the business. Apparently he was given a lot of freedom on this project, because even the volume level isn't jacked up to todays record company norms. He gave it plenty of headroom and no noticeable compression, and it sounds sweet! This is an audiophile quality disc for the price of standard admission. I wish they'd clone this guy.David Gilmour Overview

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David Gilmour in Concert - Live at Robert Wyatt's Meltdown (2002) Review

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David Gilmour in Concert - Live at Robert Wyatt's Meltdown (2002) ReviewFreed from the shackles of what Pink Floyd has become, David Gilmour sounds positively liberated on his new live DVD, David Gilmour in Concert. The years have snuck up on him, as it inevitably does to all of our heroes, but his voice is even more expressive now than it has ever been. He's actually becoming more like his long-estranged counterpart Roger Waters, and that's a good thing, a great thing in fact.
They are both world-weary veterans having finally arrived at similar crossroads in their lives after drifting apart in their not-so-distant youth. Both men's voices are thinning, sometimes straining to reach notes. While Waters is still the bleeding-heart poet, and Gilmour still the guitar virtuoso, both seem tired of the bloated excesses of the rock n' roll machine that had welcomed them with open arms all those years ago, instead opting to embrace a more deconstructed approach to performing.
Even moreso than Waters' latest hits tour, Gilmour has unearthed rarely performed gems and obscure covers, and has re-invented overplayed classics. The result is breathtaking. His take on Syd Barrett's seminal Terrapin is pure magic, and Dick Parry's sax solo on Shine On is a freeform revelation. It's this sense of experimentation that has been missing from Gilmour's repetoire since he and the Floyd recorded Dark Side. He's even managed to take his latter-day Floyd tunes into exciting new directions. Take High Hopes for example, what once sounded somewhat inflated and bombastic confined to its awkward Floyd-by-numbers construct, has now taken on a more stripped and organic flavor. Even his lyrics play better without the baggage of the brand name. It's also wonderful to see Richard Wright, playing Breakthrough from his own Broken China album, sounding relaxed and beautiful.
Much of the beauty of the performances is in the rawness of the sound; often times you can hear each finger slide down the fret, each bend of the string. It's a clear and pristine recording to be sure, but it's not sterile and perfect, it's live, alive. Listening to the 5.1 surround, you could swear Gilmour is just feet away, acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder, entertaining guests at an intimate gathering.
The bonus features are equally rewarding. Gilmour's cover of "Don't", the Leiber and Stoller song made classic by Elvis Presley, is heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and his rendering of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, with Michael Kamen, is sublime.
I was quite frankly shocked at how much I enjoyed this DVD. I've already played it more times than I've played Waters' excellent In The Flesh Live. I'd nearly forgotten how definitive Gilmour's guitar sound is, and how much I missed his voice. It's truly the sound of a wisened man with nothing to prove, a man no longer haunted by the ghost of Roger Waters. If this release is any indication of things to come, I will be waiting with just as much anticipation for Gilmour's next solo album as I am for Roger's, and praying for old friends to make amends.David Gilmour in Concert - Live at Robert Wyatt's Meltdown (2002) Overview

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Learn to Play...Pink Floyd Guitar Techniques Review

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Learn to Play...Pink Floyd Guitar Techniques ReviewI'm an intermediate guitarist and I wanted to actually LEARN how to play David Gilmore's solos. The guitarist in this video has tremendous skill and plays beautifully, unfortunately he understands nothing of teaching someone how to play guitar.
Jamie whizzes through the lesson, rolling through it as if you already know the material and fingering. There is little attempt made to stop, take a moment, and really show you what he's doing, rather he rolls through it and you are unable to keep up because you can't watch what he's doing and find your fingering at the same time.
Totally frustrating in my opinion, but most guitar instructional videos are the same way.
If you want to learn how to play Pink Floyd you're going to need the tableature. If you already know it and want to refine your technique then this is perfect for you. I have to teach myself everything once again, and THEN go back and improve my technique with this video.
So if you're new to guitar, don't bother, its just too fast.Learn to Play...Pink Floyd Guitar Techniques Overview

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