SuburbanDefeat
10-04-2006, 11:36 PM
Gilmour cranks up the hash pipe music up after a 22 year vacation. I guess the revenues from a few hundred million record sales would give you that freedom. I would have liked to write this review with out so many references to Pink Floyd but this album is so in synch with Gilmour’s Floyd output that that is impossible. While not as outright drug fucked as the classic Floyd albums it is indeed a good accompaniment to a quite night at home with a few cones.
The title of the album is ‘On an island’ and this sets the theme, both lyrically and musically for the work. The island metaphor appears on most tracks with allusions to the state of spirit, water and even a sort of pacific island feel in some of the melodies and rhythms used. But, as you would expect from the key force in Pink Floyd up until about 1976, this album is all about empathy and helplessness.
It is almost as if he is getting back to where Floyd going the mid 70’s. If this album was released in 1977 it would have seemed a natural progression. Instead Roger Walters took control and we had Animals, The Wall etc. This new album just oozes those long melodic riffs and licks, no hurry no rush just the music, soft vocals and a bleeding heart.
Lyrically it is not as strong or confronting as the early Floyd stuff. I guess being sixty and staring old age in the face will do that. More soft and feely, less philologically disturbed. There is, however, all that self examination stuff, for example on track three:
when you’re down is where you find yourself
when you drown there’s nothing else
if you’re lost you’ll need to turn around
Then you’ll find out that there’s no-one else.
That track, Take a Breath, also has some really weird ass time signature that really does fuck around with your breathing pattern (well I guess if you have to the in the right state of mind to appreciate it).
As the album progress it does move out of the classic Floyd mode with a more roots feel but still maintains the unmistakable vocal and guitar style. Throw in the harmonies of Crosby and Nash on track one and you get the picture.
The packaging is crap. It is one of those fold out book type cases that don't fit into a CD rack properly. If it didn't have the lyrics it would be destine for the bin.
This is a definite must have for fans of the rainbow pyramid period. Not as great as the early works of Pink Floyd but then what could be? File under P.
The title of the album is ‘On an island’ and this sets the theme, both lyrically and musically for the work. The island metaphor appears on most tracks with allusions to the state of spirit, water and even a sort of pacific island feel in some of the melodies and rhythms used. But, as you would expect from the key force in Pink Floyd up until about 1976, this album is all about empathy and helplessness.
It is almost as if he is getting back to where Floyd going the mid 70’s. If this album was released in 1977 it would have seemed a natural progression. Instead Roger Walters took control and we had Animals, The Wall etc. This new album just oozes those long melodic riffs and licks, no hurry no rush just the music, soft vocals and a bleeding heart.
Lyrically it is not as strong or confronting as the early Floyd stuff. I guess being sixty and staring old age in the face will do that. More soft and feely, less philologically disturbed. There is, however, all that self examination stuff, for example on track three:
when you’re down is where you find yourself
when you drown there’s nothing else
if you’re lost you’ll need to turn around
Then you’ll find out that there’s no-one else.
That track, Take a Breath, also has some really weird ass time signature that really does fuck around with your breathing pattern (well I guess if you have to the in the right state of mind to appreciate it).
As the album progress it does move out of the classic Floyd mode with a more roots feel but still maintains the unmistakable vocal and guitar style. Throw in the harmonies of Crosby and Nash on track one and you get the picture.
The packaging is crap. It is one of those fold out book type cases that don't fit into a CD rack properly. If it didn't have the lyrics it would be destine for the bin.
This is a definite must have for fans of the rainbow pyramid period. Not as great as the early works of Pink Floyd but then what could be? File under P.