THE DIVISION BELL

Pink Floyd

Psychedelic/Space Rock

3.74 | 2269 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

"The tolling of the iron bell calls the faithful to their knees"

This was the actual "Final cut" (so far anyway), and found the Floyd going out very much on a high.

Roger Waters accusations of "Momentary lapse of reason" being a "pretty fair forgery" bears little credibility here, the album sounding unique and inspired. There are of course many of the usual Pink Floyd trademarks, such as the soft, slow atmospheric opening, and David Gilmour's distinctive guitar.

Clearly a lot of time was spent both on the songwriting and the production, the quality of both being exceptional. There are no up tempo rock songs in the vein of "Money" for example, most of the tracks being of a similar, more relaxed pace. The closest they come to letting go is on the heavier "Coming back to life".

Highlights include "What do you want from me", where Gilmour's sudden vocal key change transforms the track beautifully. "Poles Apart" also has a great mood change midway, as the drums introduce an brief upping of the pace.

The final track, "High Hopes" builds seductively from an almost funereal start through uplifting choruses to a climax of one of Gilmour's best solos on any PF album. The track fades to the sound of a single bell, before an unnecessary coda involving a small child on a telephone.

There's not a weak track on the album, but as with any work worthy of longer term appreciation it does demand a number of listens, not to mention an open mind, to be fully appreciated. To my mind, "The division bell" bears comparison with "Dark side of the moon", both in terms of structure and sound, and of the overall quality.

The "David Gilmour in concert" solo DVD contains some wonderful, largely acoustic, re-workings of a selection of the tracks.

For those outwith the UK the "Division Bell" is rung in the Houses of Parliament to alert members to attend a vote.

Easy Livin | 5/5 | 2004-3-26

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