Friday, March 24, 2006

David Gilmour - On An Island [EMI-2006]

You can ask any Pink Floyd fan you meet, David Gilmour is God almighty and his way of playing his guitar and singing with his delicate voice is a physical version of heaven.

Since Pink Floyd’s weird, complex and hysterically beautiful work of art have been living by my side as a soundtrack of my life for so many years now, its with nervous fingers I put David Gilmours new album “On An Island” in the record player.

It’s been twelve years since the last Pink Floyd album and twenty two years since David Gilmour’s recent solo record, which wasn’t that much of a good investment. But much have happened since then. Maybe not song wise, everything that makes this guy who he is, is still there. But thanks to some divine power the horrors of the massive 80s production is gone and hopefully locked away in a safe place no one will ever find the way to.

During some, both long and short, moments “On An Island” sounds so much Pink Floyd that you have a hard time to separate David’s music from what Pink Floyd did in the 70s. And as if it’s not confusing enough Richard Wright, also from Pink Floyd, steps in and even strengthens the illusion of the Floyd’s golden days with his dramatic keyboard licks and vocal harmonies. He plays and sings as if it was yesterday these two played together. David still plays his guitar solos too long and too much, but hey it’s David, that’s it.

”On An Island” is simply very often 52minutes of delicate sweeping melodies with songs like the title track, "Smile" & "The Blue". And its way better than most of the meditative relaxation records that has been released during the last years.

Tonight I once again understand why I fell so damn hard for “The Dark Side of the Moon” that late night for several years ago.


Listen to some clips from "On An Island".

1 comment:

freethoughtguy said...

I like On An Island ... a lot!