Customer Reviews

David Gilmour

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's now been an entire decade since Pink Floyd released a new studio album, and the likelihood of a forthcoming album or tour is getting drearier. So, once new fans have collected all of the albums of those legendary titans, and are perplexed as to where the "next Floyd album" is, they can find a silver lining in collecting the solo albums of the five past and present members. Aside from being a great place to start, David Gilmour's eponymous solo debut (along with fellow PF member Richard Wright's "Wet Dream") is significant for students of Floyd history; it captures the missing period of time between the 1977 "Animals" album and the long, tension-racked sessions for 1979's epic "The Wall." Released in 1978, Gilmour's first album is both as atmospheric and varied as "The Wall" due to his signature guitar work, and often as rough as "Animals." The opening instrumental 'Mihalis' and another interesting instrumental 'Raise My Rent' are like the instrumental demos Gilmour recorded during these sessions which would eventually become 'Comfortably Numb' and 'Run Like Hell.' But the top songs on the album present Gilmour as a strong songwriter, or in the case of the melodic 'There's No Way Out Of Here,' an interpreter. 'So Far Away' and 'I Can't Breathe Anymore' prove the guitarist is an excellent crafter of songs, and it's been speculated that 'No Way' could be Gilmour's description of Floyd's dominant presence Roger Waters, while 'Short and Sweet' (co-written with Roy Harper) is the kind of radio-friendly song that makes this album such a joy for even non-Floyd fans to listen to.

This album proves David Gilmour's mastery of the guitar and vocals. It is a far cry from Waters's solo work, which sacrifices musical quality for lyrical complexity and flashy effects. Gilmour's solo album, however, has just the right amount of subtlety and charm to be considered a serious musical album. Even though it dosn't revolve around a specific concept like 'The Wall' or 'Animals', 'David Gilmour' shows remarkable cohesiveness. This album is strongly reminiscient of 'Wish You Were Here' in the way it is put together. Every track has importance, and they're all very good. The soothing but magnetic 'Mihalis' opens the album, and 'I can't Breathe Anymore' closes the piece with a guitar power trip. The instrumentals are great, and every song shows it could stand on its own. 'David Gilmour' shows immense replay value and wonderful texture. If you think Roger Waters was the only genius of Pink Floyd, think again.

The relaxed, easy-going sound to album opener "Mihalis" sets the tone for the rest of David Gilmour's first solo album. Despite being away from Pink Floyd -- or perhaps because of his work with Pink Floyd -- there's a familiarity to these nine songs that prove Gilmour's immense worth to that band. From the grainy, almost boring cover shot of the album to the overall mellow sound, Gilmour seemed to be looking to counter his main band's bloatedness. The lack of hype makes this album all the more attractive. There's no spiraling, out-of-control madness or references to World War II; it's just straightforward, cozy guitar instrumentals and good songs. On "No Way" -- the album's best song -- Gilmour's lyrics demonstrate his headstrong manner of never giving up, both within and outside of Pink Floyd. Other great riffers include "Cry from the Streets" and "It's Deafinitely," a more up-tempo instrumental with lightly warped guitars at the beginning. "I Can't Breathe Anymore" reveals a trapped and claustrophobic musician, a guy who had to do his own thing for at least one album. There's no doubt this is a highly personal album, both musically and lyrically. Gilmour's voice is as smooth as ever and his signature style on guitar carries the album much further than any of Roger Water's solo efforts have ever done for him. All in all, a solid effort from a legendary musician.

So, you're a Pink Floyd fan. You love Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall. On the other hand, you find Atom Heart Mother to be absolute dreck. Others disks range from tolerable to enjoyable.

But where to get more of that "classic" Floyd sound? Right here, folks.

Released in 1978, between Animals and The Wall, David Gilmour's first solo album is the only Floyd solo effort I've heard that captures the magic of their glory years.

Standout tracks include There's No Way Out of Here, Cry From the Street, Raise My Rent, and No Way. There's not really a bad track on the disc, though.

It's what you might think a Gilmour album would sound like: lyrics aren't as deep as PF, keyboards are shoved aside for heavy guitar soloing, and impeccably recorded and mixed.

Well worth picking up.

Released in 1978, David Gilmour's debut solo album is a generally low-key effort. It's pretty easy to see why some listeners would tag it as "Pink Floyd lite", but I think that gets to the core of the album's appeal--this is a really good album to put on for just plain chilling out.

Gilmour's blues influence really bubbles to the surface on many of the tracks here. Check out the simple-but-irresistible bluesy riffs on "Cry From The Street" and "No Way", or his extended soloing on "Raise My Rent" for proof. Even the radio hit "There's No Way Out Of Here" has a swampy opening hook that sounds like its being played in unison by an electric guitar and a blues harmonica.

The moody, slide guitar-fortified "No Way" grooves along irresistibly, as does "Cry From The Street" with its crunchy rhythm guitar (the latter does have a ho-hum speeded-up fade, but it's quite brief). The instrumental "Raise My Rent" features a lush-sounding, arpegiatted electric guitar riff--again, simple but irresistible--and it serves as a canvas for Gilmour's superb soloing, plus the subtle electric piano and organ flesh out the sound to excellent effect. The harmony-fest "Short And Sweet" is another splendid track, with its catchy, droning guitar riffery.

The rest is generally enjoyable too even if it's underwhelming. The tender "So Far Away" is a pretty piano-based ballad, but somewhat lacking in focus. The album-opening instrumental "Mihalis" is nice enough, although it leans too far toward listless, generic Muzak for its own good. "There's No Way Out Of Here" is a good song, with Floyd-style female backing vocals, although it feels kind of routine and passionless. "Deafinitely", another instrumental, with a skittering "Sheep"-style rhythm, unfortunately overdoes its repetitive and gimmicky sound effects and ends up falling quite flat. The album-closer "I Can't Breathe Anymore" starts off nice, but it's ultimately underdeveloped and feels rushed through.

So, the album is disappointing on some level. Gilmour does seem to be coasting a bit here, and if he would have brought some more passion and focus to the proceedings (like he would do on his subsequent "About Face"), this maybe could have been a great album. Still though, it's a really good listen even as it is, and it's interesting to see how it contrasts to the Floyd albums that it's sandwiched in between ("Animals" and "The Wall").

It was always Dave Gilmour's smoother than smooth voice and bluesy guitar playing that attracted me to Floyd and both get a damn good thrashing on this, his first solo album.

It's clear from the start just what an impact Gilmour had on Floyd after the departure of Syd Barrett; most have the Floyd as Water's baby after Barrett's departure, butthe songs presented here could have been on any Floyd album from "Meddle" to "Animals" and not be seen as the weaker siblings.

"There's No Way Out Of Here" is a laid back classic delivered with the minimum of fuss and overdubbing; Gilmour's voice rarely rising above a breath. All the tracks here appear very personal and seem to be the songs Gilmour had been wanting to right but had been frustrated by the claustrophobia of the band environment.

It would be interesting to compare this album with post Waters Floyd; aside from multi-tracked production and million dollar mastering, the songwriting is basically the same... just add Bob Ezrin and mix...

"Short And Sweet" reminds me of "Sorrow" fromn "Momentary Lapse..." ands leads to the wonderful instrumental "Raise My Rent"a track that could easily have been on "Division Bell".

The album is brought to a melancholic climax with "I Can't Breathe Anymore"; a cry from Gilmour over the change of direction the Floyd were about to undergo, possibly?

Surely the strongest of all The Floyd members solo efforts, if you like "Meddle", "Obscured By Clouds" and that era Floyd, you'll love this...

This album is surprisingly good. I mean it shouldn't be all that surprising - as Roger Waters once cleverly punned, David Gilmour is a "musician of note," but what I mean is this album is excellent. Every song is great - this is an enjoyable listen from start to finish. There are a few surprising moments that are truly great. Though there are a few similarities to the overall approach that Pink Floyd took musically, I would not bother to compare this to a Pink Floyd album. There is no concept being explored here that unifies the album in the style of Pink Floyd. It does not in any way, shape, or form resemble a soundtrack to a science fiction movie. It is not a psychedelic album, but you can tell from listening that David has had plenty of psychedelic experiences and knows what that's all about. This is an intelligent album that rocks out very tastefully. This is David taking a much-needed break from Pink Floyd, though he is turning out music here that contains a few Floyd trademarks - soulful female backup singers and organ, as well as solid bass lines... and of course the unique sound of Gilmour's voice and guitar. David's songwriting on this album is really quite good. "There's No Way Out of Here," "No Way," and "I Can't Breathe Anymore" are my favorites, but really every song on this record is great. If you like David Gilmour's work with Pink Floyd, and you have never heard this album - trust me, buy it. It really is worth it. You will not be disappointed.

David Gilmour's personal single-song masterpiece is without doubt The Wall's "Comfortably Numb," but his talent as a musician, singer, and lyricist in Pink Floyd was too often cancelled by Roger Water's apparent insistence upon using Floyd's bully pulpit to tweak various political and cultural noses. Not that that doesn't have a place, but it was too often to the detriment--maybe Water's self-centered intent all along?--of Gilmour's musicianship.

With this album, Gilmour was able to escape Pink Floyd's shackles and demonstrate that he had talent to burn relative to what Floyd had enabled him to display. I also get the feeling that these were compositions he had kept in his back pocket and would not have let Waters anywhere near for fear that Pink Floyd might have bent them out of recognition.

"Mihalis" and "Cry from the Street" are wonderful, but vastly different, instrumental pieces, while "There's No Way Out of Here" and "Short and Sweet" are also highlights--the latter features some great wall of sound effect.

This is also a reunification of an earlier band, Bullitt, which featured Gilmour, Rick Wills on bass, and Willie Wilson on drums. (Bullitt disbanded when Gilmour moved on to Pink Floyd to replace the not quite dependable Syd Barrett.) Wills (who went on to stints with Peter Frampton, Roxy Music, and Foreigner) and Wilson provide steady, understated support on this album, letting Gilmour shine through.

This album is David Gilmour at his best. The subsequent "About Face" had some good points but was not as strong overall, and Bob Ezrin's production really got in the way. The sad thing is that the album is now about 25 years old, and he hasn't done anything even close to it since then.

If you want to hear what David Gilmour might have sounded like had there never ever been a Pink Floyd, this would be it.

A collection of nine songs written and performed by Dave Gilmour away from the pressure of a disintegrating Pink Floyd. It is very interesting to note that the guitar and vocals sound rather more like Gilmour on the later post-Waters Floyd than on the contemporary Floyd albums. Indeed, some of the melodies and riffs appear in a very similar form on "The Division Bell". There are also one or two parts that are a little reminiscent of "The Wall".

Having said that, if you buy this album hoping to hear more music just like Pink Floyd, you will be disappointed. The album is just simple, relaxed rock. There is nothing ambitious or adventurous here and for me, that is the main weakness of the album.

Perhaps Gilmour was really trying to find his feet and as such, this is an interesting work as it carries pointers to his future direction.

I cannot really pick anything out as special, memorable or even bad. I suppose that the whole thing seems a little bland. Of course, the technical perfectionist within Gilmour does not permit anything bad and the whole thing is slickly crafted and well put together but it just doesn't have that much to say.

I personally love this album. I must point out, however, that a person should not pit this album against any pink floyd work. Dave did this as a solo piece, and if he wanted it to sound like floyd...it wouldn't be a solo work. I have alot of respect for an artist that is willing to show his talent away from his most popular medium. You have to listen to it as if you've never heard him before...because that's how it's supposed to be.