On an Island

David Gilmour

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 7, 2006)
• Original Release Date: March 7, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000E6UK5K
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (416 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,302 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
David Gilmour’s solo career hasn’t exactly been creatively restless; this is but the third album by the Pink Floyd guitarist, and first in 18 years. But that seemingly lackadaisical career ethos hasn’t prevented Gilmour from producing some of his finest work here, an album whose soaring, lyrical guitar lines will be familiar to Floyd fans, yet one also blessed by often surprising nuances and delicate musical textures. Gilmour’s Division Bell collaborator Polly Samson is credited with most of the writing, helping conjure a moody, texturally rich "island" that’s as much musical as it is personally and lyrically metaphorical. "Castellorizon," the impressionistic opening instrumental collage, presages much of what’s to come in subtle ways, with Gilmour’s emotionally-charged guitar lines climbing into realms usually staked out by contemporary Jeff Beck.

Gilmour’s choice of collaborators is equally compelling, from the evocative orchestrations of Polish classical modernist Zbigniew Preisner and expected contributions from Floyd (Richard Wright and proto-Pink mate Rado "Bob" Klose) to a host of guest turns that span both decades and styles: Georgie Fame, Phil Manzanera, Jools Holland, Caroline Dale and Robert Wyatt. The title track is graced by the stately harmonies of David Crosby and Graham Nash while the instrumental "Then I Close My Eyes" spins a hypnotic, bayou-meets-boho ethos where Dale’s gentle cello lines meet the melancholy cornet flourishes of Wyatt to challenge the very notions of genre itself. "This Heaven" finds Gilmour in unexpected R&B territory, weaving playful riffs with ‘60s London scenester Fame’s Hammond organ and finding its lyrical spirituality in simple, personal intimacy, a subtext that wafts through the upbeat airiness of "The Blue" to the spare "Smile," spinning a surprisingly romantic elegy that co! mes satisfyingly full circle on the closing "Where We Start." No man may be an island, but Gilmour has nonetheless crafted a rewarding artistic oasis on this, his finest and most gently personal album. -- Jerry McCulley

Recommended David Gilmour & Pink Floyd

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Product Description
Japanese 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 the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

201 of 220 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a very low-volume effort, and highly satisfying, with excellent production values, March 7, 2006

By	Dave "missing person" (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

David 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.)

80 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On an island but not alone, March 7, 2006

By	Wayne Klein "If at first the idea is not absu... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

"On An Island" features the type of music that Pink Floyd and David Gilmour fans have come to expect from the man--there's lots of moody, atmospheric playing, Gilmour's memorable raspy vocals and some of the best material he's written in years. Collaborating with guitarist/songwriter Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music and veteran producer Chris Thomas (The Pretenders), Gilmour has crafted an atmospheric album full of hazy instrumentals and songs that may not rock out the way fans are used to but are still filled with passion and emotion. By the way, if you decide not to buy this locally some retail outlets are offering a bonus disc that includes an additional song. How does this compare to his other solo albums? Well each one represented a different decade in Gilmour's life so they are all quite different and difficult to compare but the quality of the songwriting is top notch here as on those. This effort is a little more focused than his first ("David Gilmour") and a little less commercial than his second ("About Face").

Written solo and in collaboration with Polly Samson (a journalist and writer who wrote some of the lyrics for "The Division Bell" as well as Mrs. Gilmour)providing words on most of the tracks "On An Island" features a wide variety of memorable guest players (Floyd's Richard Wright, David Crosby & Graham Nash on backing vocals, Jools Holland formerly of Squeeze, Robert Wyatt and--surprisingly--guitarist Phil Manzanera playing keyboards). I'll be the first to admit that Samson isn't Waters as a lyricist but her words are servicable for the songs and occasionally inspired (hence the four stars and not five). The production by Gilmour, Manzanera and Thomas is atmospheric providing the perfect sonic backdrop for Gilmour to do what he does best--play and sing.

"On An Island" does allows Gilmour to experiment a bit as well with the material but what's most interesting as how emotionally direct the songs are. Clearly no man's an island and that's true of Gilmour as well--he works well with his collaborators building a sonic home on this solo album. The album does have flaws for example the pacing is a bit turgid at times and truly it would have helped to have a solid hard rock number here to break through the haze on the album but overall it's a terrific effort and a worthy follow up to his work leading Floyd and solo efforts. It's a shame we had to wait for so long Gilmour to assert himself on record again but it was well worth the wait. David, don't make us wait another decad! Oh, by the way, happy birthday!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real surprise..., March 15, 2006

By	ReGen - See all my reviews

This is the first David Gilmour album I've purchased - being more of a Pink Floyd fan, but having owned this album for a week now; I can confirm OAI in my opinion is excellent. Yes, it's generally fairly slow paced, but that doesn't make it bad. The people who seem to think Gilmour can't produce a decent song without Roger Waters are in the main, totally blinkered to the waters style of writing. This isn't a Waters or a Floyd album. OAI sounds just great the way it is. Waters penned lyrics would be totally daft on such a beautiful set of musical tracks as these, tracks that all relate to Gilmour's past. Polly may have added most of the lyrics but the music is all Gilmour's - and the music came first.

Gilmour has finally been released from the burden of Floyd to produce music the way he wants to, and that makes OAI a pure pleasure to listen to. It still has the Floyd sound in places - how could it not. But this is a David Gilmour album. Slow sensual songs with wonderful guitar peaks in all the right places. The whole album works wonderfully as a single musical piece, but made up of many different musical styles. Highly recommended to anyone that likes mellow, thought provoking music.

This review was written without any `Robotic loyalty'. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, not just the people who expected something different, and then come back to knock OAI because it doesn't sound like a 29 year old Pink Floyd album that they'd all been wishing for. OAI is David Gilmour, not Pink Floyd.