DAVID GILMOUR

Legendary Pink Floyd guitarist and singer DAVID GILMOUR (born 1946) has played on all of Pink Floyd's albums apart from the first one, "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (1967). David Gilmour was brought in for the second Pink Floyd album "A Saucerful of Secrets" (1968), when the drug-induced, unreliable behaviour of Syd Barrett was becoming increasingly erratic. Gilmour replaced Barrett during the making of the album and he went on to record fourteen albums with Pink Floyd in total from "A Saucerful of Secrets" in 1968, right through to "The Endless River" album in 2014, which also included a posthumous appearance by keyboard player Richard Wright. With a long career spanning over 50 years, David Gilmour has won numerous awards both as a singer and guitarist, including being inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as part of Pink Floyd, and in 2011, he was voted one of the greatest guitarists of all time in Rolling Stone magazine. He's also made guest appearances on a multitude of albums over the years. This self-titled album "David Gilmour" (1978) is the first of four acclaimed studio albums. He followed it up with "About Face" (1984), "On an Island" (2006), and his most recent album "Rattle That Lock" (2015). David Gilmour's four solo albums might be few and far between, but that makes them all the more special amongst his devoted fanbase. He's also released a couple of very well-received Live albums on CD & DVD, "Live in Gdansk" (2008) and "Live at Pompeii" (2017). The "David Gilmour" album we have here was produced and written by Gilmour and featured the guest musicians Rick Willis on bass and Willie Wilson on drums with three female backing singers providing vocal harmonies. Okay, that's enough waffle for now, so let's plunge in and have a listen to the album.

David Gilmour is in stonking good form with the instrumental opening number "Mihalis" (the Greek name for Michael). It features the kind of long-drawn-out soaring Floydian guitar riffs we've come to know and love from Pink Floyd. Although there are no lyrics, the music has a joyous and jubilant feel-good vibe to it, which makes it a perfect album opener. "There's No Way Out of Here" for Song No. 2, and it's a good thing too, because we're not going anywhere. We're sticking around to listen to this uplifting song and album in its entirety. "There's No Way Out of Here" might be a moody bluesy number, but it definitely won't leave you feeling moody or blue. The sound of David Gilmour's captivating guitar riffs is enough to brighten up the dullest of days and there's some lovely vocal harmonising too from the three female backing singers. We're getting all down and dirty now for some hard drivin' blues now in Song No. 3: "Cry from the Street". It begins as a slow bluesy number, but don't let that put you off, because the song quickly gathers in pace and concludes with some magnificent guitar flourishes from Mr Gilmour to leave you on an emotional and spiritual high. We're not "So Far Away" from being halfway through the album now. This song probably most resembles classic Pink Floyd than any of the songs on the album so far. It's similar in style to "Us and Them" and wouldn't seem out of place at all on the "Dark Side of the Moon" album. Even the vocal harmonising from the three female singers is very reminiscent of the Pink Floyd sound, which has to be a good thing.

Side Two opens with "Short and Sweet", which is not particularly short, but it's a little bit bittersweet. It's five and a half minutes of inspirational and uplifting music, given the masterly Gilmour touch of magic with some euphoric-sounding vocals and magnificent guitar work, in true Floyd-esque fashion. It's one of the highlights of the album in an album that's packed solid with great songs. Song No. 6 is "Raise My Rent", an instrumental number, featuring those oh-so-beautiful, trademark Gilmour glissandos. If you weren't on Cloud 9 already from listening to this superb album, then you may be after hearing this stunning virtuoso performance. You may not reach seventh heaven, but this uplifting piece of music will show you the way there. Song No. 7 is another song rooted in the blues, but there's "No Way" you'll be feeling blue after listening to the sound of David Gilmour's intoxicating guitar solo midway through the song. Onto Song No. 8 now and "Deafinitely" (no, that's not a spelling mistake or typo error). It's another instrumental piece giving David Gilmour a chance to really shine and do what he does best with some sublime soloing. Somewhat unusually, this uptempo and exuberant piece of music also features the sonorous sound of a synth with some weird electronic effects thrown in for good measure. We now reach the concluding song on the album with "I Can't Breathe Anymore", which could have been a Pink Floyd classic for sure, if it wasn't included on this solo album. It's classy and sophisticated Progressive Rock in true "Floyd-esquian" tradition.

This invigorating and uplifting album is absolutely essential for fans of Pink Floyd, although I expect most Floyd fans will already have this album nestling in their treasured LP record and CD collections. It has all the hallmarks of the classic Pink Floyd sound we've come to know and love over the years from guitar maestro David Gilmour. I "Wish You Were Here" with me to hear this album because it's sensational!