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161 of 172 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Rebirth Of Pink Floyd, February 7, 2003
This is the first post-Waters album released by Pink Floyd. How good this actually is really depends on who you talk to. Clearly the band lost a monstrous talent when Roger Waters decided to leave. His lyrical and conceptual ideas, as well as his sense for dramatic presentation (both on stage and on record), are unmatched. Pink Floyd became the band that it is in large part because of Waters. Equally responsible for their direction and success, however, is David Gilmour. He is a masterful musician and a brilliantly passionate guitarist who has helped shape the band with his unparalleled playing. Arguably it was Gilmour's emotional guitar and musical talent that gave power to Waters' words. Though noone can dispute the vital contributions both Rick Wright and Nick Mason made to help forge the band (nor founder Syd Barrett who laid the template for the rest to follow), most would certainly agree that Gilmour and Waters have always been the main driving force. Now where does all this leave A Momentary Lapse Of Reason? With Waters gone, obviously a large portion of the chemistry that spawned such classics as Animals and Wish You Were Here is missing. The band's direction and approach to writing would naturally have to adapt, in much the same way they had to adapt after Barrett's departure. Lyrically the album is weak in spots. It contains no conceptual thread nor does it even begin to approach Roger's level of clever wordplay and stinging sarcasm. The lyrics are more poetic generalities than they are deeply held convictions. That being said, this album is a gorgeous work of music that, in certain ways, harkens back to Wish You Were Here and Meddle. Sounding like neither, but capturing the spirit of both, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason is absolutely a return to form. Without Roger's lyrical genius, Dave wisely focused on HIS strengths and passion: the music. From the chilling instrumental opener Signs Of Life, to the glorious raging darkness of the album's closer Sorrow, this is Pink Floyd in all their musical glory. The album has a dark haunting quality to it, each song moving through several interesting parts that never sound dull or forced. The beauty of this band's sound has always been that it's very visual and evocative. This album certainly delivers that. In particular the last half is one phenomenal stretch of spine-tingling music. Keyboards, drums, bass, and the occasional saxophone blend wonderfully with sinister sound effects to create beautiful soundscapes - and Gilmour's spectacular guitar slashes, cries, whispers, screams, and howls throughout the entire journey. It is a ride worth taking. As you read through many of these other reviews, it's obvious that alot of people feel very strongly that this is not a Pink Floyd record. I understand but disagree. As much as the band had a right to carry on after Barrett left, clearly the band had a right to continue after Waters. Arguing over the "authenticity" of this album (and all those that followed without Waters) is pointless, as every listener has his or her own idea as to what Pink Floyd is to them. To put it simply, if you feel that the lyrical and conceptual content of Pink Floyd is undeniably the most important aspect to you, then you're probably better off passing this up. At the very least borrow a copy before you buy it. However if the music of this band is what has always moved you, then you're going to love this. Roger Waters may have left, but Pink Floyd remains.
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121 of 142 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Underappreciated and Given a Bad Rap by PF Elitists, September 12, 2002
I'm a HUGE fan of Waters as a lyricist, and if there's one point against A Momentary Lapse of Reason, it's the lyrics. But they aren't bad - just not Waters. But there seems to be absolutely no objectivity in many of the reviews here of this album. A few points I'd like to Counter:1) "This doesn't sound like a Pink Floyd album." - Perform a little experiment: take someone who has never listened to Pink Floyd before and have them listen to Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Momentary Lapse of Reason back to back. Now ask them if the albums are by the same group. 2) "This album sounds so obviously eighties." - Next experiment, have the same listener as before listen to Piper At The Gates of Dawn and The Wall and have them try to identify which decade they were produced in. 3) "There's more filler here than good music." - Now that the "new" listener has heard The Wall and A Momentary Lapse of Reason, ask them which album contains more filler. I prefer A Momentary Lapse of Reason to Animals and The Division Bell, two albums that I think are great. I'm happy to have purchased the remastered AMLOR, because a second criticism that could be aimed at it was that the sound fidelity on the original cd was terrible. AMLOR contains several tracks that should be considered in any `best of' compilation and many secondary tracks that overshadow those musically. It's a solid album from start to finish songwise and is held together by a soundscape that is lavish and well executed. The filler arrangements of A New Machine Parts 1 & 2 play well in the soundscape, even if they can't be considered proper tracks. This is a great album and should be highly regarded.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who needs Roger Waters really?, June 7, 2006
Yes, Roger Waters was a genius behind Pink Floyd and a driving force but David Gilmour was every bit as much the genius that Roger Waters was. He proved that by producing one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums personally and one of their strongest efforts.
1. "Signs Of Life" - One of the biggest things Pink Floyd lost with Roger Waters was a fantastic lyricist. However, as David Gilmour stressed after Waters left, the music has to be balanced with the lyrics and when things get too wordy, it becomes a problem. This was my major problem with The Final Cut personally. Here, Gilmour shows that you don't even need to write lyrics to produce good music. Though this is one of the weaker tracks on the album, it's still a great instrumental opening.
2. "Learning To Fly" - Fantastic. One of the single greatest songs ever written by Pink Floyd. There's a reason why this song still gets continuous radio play to this day and it's because it's a great song. Though the lyrics are strong, Gilmour's guitar speaks almost as loud as his words with fantastic riffs that fit the melody and mood of the song perfectly.
3. "The Dogs Of War" - A highly underrated song with very good lyrics. With the type of lyrics, it's very much a Waters-style track. This song is reminiscent of The Final Cut, however the band manages to balance the music with the lyrics far better.
4. "One Slip" - One of the weakest tracks on the album, that's not a bad thing because it has heavy competition. Though "One Slip" is more reminiscent of the trends in music of the 1980's, it still holds onto that distinct Pink Floyd sound and is a very catchy song/
5. "On The Turning Away" - Some of the best lyrics ever written by David Gilmour, the music is just as good as well. This song is a very deep, powerful song ending in one of my favorite guitar solos of all time.
6. "Yet Another Movie/Round And Around" - Yet another movie, yet another great song. A very strong effort musically, the lyrics are also a strong point. The instrumental ending of "Round And Around" is also very well played.
7. "A New Machine (Part 1)" - Not a real song but the lyrics are very good.
8. "Terminal Frost" - One of the weakest tracks, this one is a nice instrumental but doesn't really go much of anywhere.
9. "A New Machine (Part 2)" - Again, not a real song but the lyrics are very good.
10. "Sorrow" - A fantastic closer to a great album. The lyrics are some of the best Gilmour ever wrote. The music is a fitting end to the album.
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