Considering that David Gilmour's 1984 solo album About Face bombed, and A Momentary Lapse of Reason reached #3 on both the US and UK charts, it could be true. The name Pink Floyd could've easily just been slapped on to sell more copies. But, unlike Roger Waters who took complete control (note: I'm not a Waters purist, The Final Cut was also pretty lousy), David Gilmour brought in an array of songwriters and session musicians (over 15 of them!) So is it even a David Gilmour solo album? Well it might as well have been. Both Nick Mason and Richard Wright barely played on this album, Wright not even being an actual member yet for legal matters. It gives the listener a glimpse of hope for this record before plummeting to The Dogs of War.Īnother reason for A Momentary Lapse of Reason's poorness is the fact that this isn't even really Pink Floyd. The biggest problem of the song is David's monotonous singing, also heard on Sorrow. Learning to Fly, despite being radio feed, is another pretty good song, transmitting a mystical vibe while still crammed with extravagant backing music. Even so, it's one of the better songs on this record. Terminal Frost is the other instrumental here, but instead of copying old Pink Floyd, it just takes form of a generic 80s tune. The horrendous, typical 80s production of electronic drums, tastelessly overdubbed vocals, and sappy synthesizers has not helped A Momentary Lapse of Reason's aging. Either way, this album is incredibly dated, the listener will be unable to escape the feeling that Pink Floyd is stuck in an era of leg warmers and Depeche Mode. Perhaps Gilmour was desperate to make this album popular, or he just really liked Duran Duran. The most noticeable difference from previous Floyd works though, is that A Momentary Lapse of Reason's sound is defined almost entirely by the plague of horrible synth pop that surrounded it at the time. Even though David Gilmour was sick of Waters making Floyd a political, he goes ahead and makes an anti-war rant backed by a cheesy orchestra, attempting to make the song sound dramatic, but like a Michael Jackson music video, one is quick to find that it's a mask of tackiness to cover up the even tackier music. The Dogs of War is pretty much one of the worst things to ever grace these beautiful ears of mine :P through a Pink Floyd record. With Roger Waters at least the band was achieving new sounds, but here Pink Floyd turned into the Rolling Stones. From the spacey synths, to the exactly same tone of the guitar bit, I come to realize that David Gilmour has sent Pink Floyd spiraling into devolution. Starting with the intro instrumental Signs of Life, which shamelessly mimics Shine on You Crazy Diamond's intro. Imitation? This record is a full blown rip-off of previous Floyd works in sometimes. 'A pretty fair forgery' is what Roger Waters deemed this album. As a result, we get A Momentary Lapse of Reason. He attempted to stop David and Nick from bringing back the Floyd, but failed. After one more Floyd (well it was basically a Waters solo album) album with David and Nick, Roger left the band. While recording the Wall, Waters had completely taken over firing keyboardist Rick Wright (he stayed for the Wall tour, but not as a band mate, and ironically the non-band mates on tour were the ones who actually made money) and not even listing drummer Nick Mason on the credits. This was the beginning of the band's implosion. By 1973's Darkside of the Moon, bassist Roger Waters had taken over all lyrical duties, and by Animals, Pink Floyd was almost entirely shaped by Waters ambitions. But Gilmour didn't assume the role of lead songwriter/musical force. When Syd Barrett, original guitarist/singer/musical force, left the band due to mental problems in 1968, David Gilmour was brought in to continue Pink Floyd's uncertain future. 1977, Pink Floyd released their raw, political, progressive rock masterpiece Animals. 1967, Pink Floyd released their psychedelic classic The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
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