LEARNING TO FLY (PROMO SINGLE)

From the album 'A Momentary Lapse Of Reason', Pink Floyd's 'Learning To Fly' was a fairly big song on the radio around the late eighties. Although not even comparing to the sort of quality the band had achieved earlier on their career, 'Learning To Fly' is a fairly good song doused in eighties sampled beats and a repetitive, catchy guitar lick that goes on throughout the track. Due to the fact that Floyd had not been functioning together as a unit for quite some time by this point, 'Learning To Fly' feels more like a David Gilmour solo piece than a band track, but especially when compared to the lows that many other classic progressive rock giants had fallen over the course of this decade, it's this much we can settle for.

Very true to the song title, 'Learning To Fly' has a sense of floating throughout, soaring over an open plain. This feeling comes across through the light synths and uplifting nature of the song; there's nothing here that could be considered melancholic or sad in nature. Instead, the song feels like an affirmation in music. For the singles promo release on which this song came on alone, there are two versions; an LP version and radio edit, but they are fairly similar, so there is little point in comparing the two. Truly, the best thing that this song has going for it is the ongoing instrumental idea that cycles onward through most of the song, going from some tinny beats to a higher register guitar lick that is instantly memorable and enjoyable to hear. Unfortunately, the vocal melodies do not feel quite as powerful, and the way the song progresses is a bit disappointing, only sticking to one main idea throughout the entire track.

A pleasant enough song for David Gilmour, but I can't say this compares to any of the band's best material.

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