RATTLE THAT LOCK

Some things, aside from scotch, do age well.

Rattle that lock is the forth solo album from renowned Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. And folks, it's not bad. Not bad at all.

Everyone by now should know the bombastic single and title track and I'm happy to say that Rattle That Lock is not representative of the album's other songs. Most of the tunes are in a slow tempo blues groove and display some of Gilmour's best guitar work outside of Pink Floyd. The Endless River sessions must have rejuvenated Gilmour's drive and this album does contain some signature Floydian motifs such as background dialogue and the now familiar opening 'Fanfare' of an instrumental Gilmour launching the album with a bluesy/jazzy guitar opener underpinned with Rick Wright like synths called 5:AM before Gilmour and company launch into the title track proper.

After the funk of Rattle That Lock dies off, David sings convincingly on Faces of Stone and A Boat Lies Waiting, two of three songs that sound like they could be cuts off his last album On An Island, in that Mrs. Gilmour has penned some more "bless this day" lyrics to go along with these mid tempo songs. The main difference is that David actually sounds enthusiastic about these songs and shows it with terrific guitar playing with vocals that actually have life in them.

Dancing Right In Front of Me returns Gilmour to a blues shuffle which is broken up nicely on the following song In Any Tongue. An anti war themed number that lacks the gravitas of lyrics penned by Roger Waters, but shows off Gilmour's majestic electric leads on the song's coda that rivals some of his finest moments with Pink Floyd and are the album's highlight.

Beauty is another instrumental that features Gilmour again on pedal steel with more Floyd like guitar riffs and tone with synths and piano again underpinning the song. Gilmour still conjures up more wonderfully melodic lines and clearly shows that his nearly seventy yeas of age have only added to his abilities to compose tasteful licks.

The Girl In The Yellow Dress is a corny jazz pastiche that comes complete with brushed drums, steamy sax and lounge lizard keys courtesy of Jules Holland. It's the album's low point.

Today is another Polly Sampson "bless this day" song with the word day actually in the lyrics this time. Gilmour lays down a funky bass groove that's almost irresistible along with soulful female vocals, that really saves this tune from being another boring castoff from On An Island.

The album closer is another instrumental with a wistful longing quality that again show's off Gilmour at his best. One great ascending guitar note after another until the song dissolves in a wash of acoustic guitar notes and the only sound left is that of a crackling fire.

In the canon of Gilmour solo works, I rank this third after his self titled debut and the follower About Face, but place it ten steps further up the hill than On An Island. If anyone was expecting something new and exciting from Gilmour, well, that's being a bit optimistic, to say the least. Is this album essential for Gilmour and Floyd fans? I think not, but you could do worse as it's better than The Endless River by leaps and bounds. 3.5 stars, actually, due to the album's punchier production than On An Island.

Even with me being a big Pink Floyd fan, I never cared much for David Gilmour's solo material (or any solo albums from the other members for that matter) and this album here isn't changing my opinion. That is mainly because this album isn't really anything different from what we have seen from David. He seems to be comfortable with what he's doing and is not willing to change up his sound and shift it into different directions. We have the typical mellow rock music accompanied by atmospheric instrumentation cantered around Gilmour's bluesy guitar backed with a group of vocalists and Polly Samson's lyrics. As someone who isn't quite fond of this sort of style is particular, this album gets tiresome very quickly for me. I don't feel like I get the emotional impact the album is trying to impose. It doesn't really feel any different than On an Island. Although that one had Richard Wright on it so we had a bit of that Division Bell era Pink Floyd sound which I'm actually fond of in a way. I think On an Island is a mellower and a more laid-back album than this one. Rattle That Lock seems to be a bit darker, but still nothing darker than what we have seen from the Floyd.

Some of the standout moments on this album like the track Faces of Stone, which features one of the best guitar solos on this album. Speaking of guitar solos, this album has let me down with the solos. I mean where are my heart-piercing solos? The solos are there, but they are just not doing it for me. David has loads of better solos than these. Another nice track is the jazzy The Girl in the Yellow Dress which has Robert Wyatt playing the cornet. It felt like a pleasant surprise on the album, and it was a good change of pace. The track also features a certain Bob Klose which was the lead guitarist of the band that would later be Pink Floyd. The closing instrumental is not that bad too, much better than the other two instrumentals that landed on the album.

All in all, this album does not have much that hasn't been heard before. If you liked On an Island, there's a big chance you'd like this album too. If you don't like On an Island, however, don't even bother with this one.

Also, that album art is absolutely horrible. For Reals. We miss you Storm, we really do.

With finally laying prog juggernaut Pink Floyd to rest to the tears of a billion and one rock fans around the world, former front-man and guitarist David Gilmour now positions himself to commit fully to a more low-key yet very worthwhile solo career. 2015's `Rattle That Lock, coming nine years after his previous sedate work `On An Island', has the musician offering ten tracks full of variety and inspiration, and despite mention from the man himself of a loose concept about "thoughts and feelings that all of us have in the course of a single day", it's more a collection of tunes peppered with similarly gentle observations and reflective thoughts that tie them together. Do not get confused - this is not much of a progressive rock album, and there's only a few sections here and there that remind of his former band, but it is a highly intelligent, reflective and melodic mix of blues, mellow contemplative rock, folk and light jazz. Oddly, despite often being melancholic and pensive, it also occasionally presents more upbeat and up-tempo pieces than might be normally expected of the artist, and it's a joy to hear David's voice sounding more relaxed, warm and freed than ever before.

Opening instrumental (yes, there are three of them on this disc, prog freaks!) `5 A.M' is a drift of ambient synths, delicate orchestration and Gilmour's heartbreaking guitar ruminations. The title track `Rattle That Lock' is an instantly enjoyable foot-tapping up- tempo bluesy strut with a great raspy lead vocal, a catchy melody and nice murmuring bass throughout, then ghostly pindrop piano and groaning accordion wafts through the despondent `Faces of Stone'. In just over four and half minutes, `A Boat Lies Waiting' calls to mind different eras of Pink Floyd - Gilmour's carefully weeping slide guitar intro harkens back to `The Division Bell', the murkier and beautifully wounded piano over field recordings of nature that follows instantly reminds of Richard Wright and the `Ummagumma' period, then uplifting soulful group harmonies from guests David Crosby and Graham Nash lift the piece to the heavens. The bluesy `Dancing Right in Front of Me' closes the first side and saunters from playful to downcast with lovely jazzy interludes.

Floyd fans will love the heavy guitars, dark lyric and brooding mood of `In Any Tongue', where the steady plodding drums would make you think the Nick Mason of the later Floyd albums had dropped by. Instrumental `Beauty' dashes through a range of ideas, initially opening with ambient synth drones, call and respond piano and guitar contemplations and careful percussion rises before picking up into tempo and taking flight with slow-burn guitar solos, and it's probably the closest the album comes to a progressive rock moment. Ex- Soft Machine founder Robert Wyatt guests on sultry and laid-back old-time jazz saunter `The Girl in the Yellow Dress', and his cornet soloing makes for a very evocative and memorable diversion. After opening with an unexpected gospel vocal arrangement, the surprising `Today' reveals itself to be a sleek up-tempo subtly grooving Peter Gabriel- esque pop/rocker, with ex-Pink Floyd player Guy Pratt's thick bass snaking between slinking New Wave 80's King Crimson-era metallic guitar jangling. Instrumental closer `And Then...' is a thoughtful guitar, electric piano and orchestral come-down to close the album in a tasteful manner that would have felt right at home on Pink Floyd's `The Division Bell'.

It's a relief to find Gilmour emerging with far more than simply his dignity intact here, if anything he sounds inspired and excited that the pressure of `that band' is past him now, leaving him free to offer more personal and approachable music without sacrificing intelligence and sophistication. The album is hardly some tired old man going through the motions, or worse, a collection of useless cover versions like so many `oldies' acts offer these days, and it's not a `guitarists solo album', with Gilmour resorting to endlessly dropping epic guitar solos as may have been expected of him. David has delivered a smart work full of rich variety, and `Rattle That Lock' might not only be more interesting than the surprise but welcome and reliable Pink Floyd swansong `The Endless River', but it could perhaps be his most satisfying and varied solo release to date.

Four stars for a mighty fine rock album from one of the most influential and important musicians in progressive rock.

One word reviews are not allowed, otherwise I would have written "disappointing". I'm sorry, but Sir David has not satisfied my tastes for the first time in his long career. Listening to the sample of Rattle That Lock released on his site few months ago I was expecting at least an album as good as About Face, but what we have is mainly discontinuity. I hate fading out finals of songs, and almost all the tracks fade out. The few spare guitar riffs seem to have no feeling, and that "feeling" was one of the best Gilmour's characteristics. Ok, there's some good. The Girl In Yellow Dress is as good as unexpected. A jazz song but it could have been Sting....well, not so bad (I don't like Sting). Good but outplaced. A full jazz album would have had its reasons, but this song is totally isolated from the context. If you decide to go for the version with the extra contents, please avoid the disco mix of "Rattle that Lock". It's absolutely the worst thing I have ever listened from Sir David....well, not really listened because I didn't resist for the whole length. If few years ago he did some interesting approaches to electronic and disco mixes in the very good album with The Orb, this mix is a total rubbish, also because the title track is poppy but not bad. The rest of the album has good moments here and there, so that it won't be a total waste of money, but this is not what I would expect from an artist like him. If this will be (I hope not) the last output of his career, there could have been dozens of better ways to close it. Just few words about the sax. We can appreciate that this is not David Gilmour's best instrument, but he plays it quite well and the work done on the mentioned "Yellow Girl" is one of the few highlights of the album. There's some good guitar "as we expect" in the opening and in the closing tracks, so it's not an album to throw directly in the bin. It's just that from David Gilmour I would have expected very much more

It took several listens for me before I started to form an opinion of "Rattle That Lock." First of all, as masterfully as each song is played by Gilmour and company, I was craving a more thorough connection between each song, with one leading into the next. Second, I felt this album was much slower than its predecessors, heavily influenced instead by jazz arrangements than anything else. This is evidenced by songs like "The Girl In The Yellow Dress" and "A Boat Lies Waiting," even utilizing common instruments like a standup bass and piano. At least "On An Island" had more memorable moments of rock music influences, urging his audience to stand up and clap. "Rattle That Lock," on the other hand, is a much more intimate album, setting more of a scene in a lounge than anywhere else. I do not feel the urge to "rock out" with this album, but feel I should take my seat. Finally, the title track "Rattle That Lock" is by far the worst song on the album. Having that song released as its single months ago made me feel even less excited for the release, tricking me to believe the whole album would sound like that song.

Have I angered enough diehard fans yet? Well, put your pitchforks away, because I still enjoyed this album overall. It just took me a little longer than I was anticipated, which I feel will be the same sentiments of most people who listen to this album. Gilmour yet again proves he is the master, adding another album full of clean doodling to his repertoire. There are enough sections and instruments spread throughout the album that the listener is able to pick out something new with every listen. Whether it's a subtle piano or guitar fill, "Rattle That Lock" will reveal many different arrangements and techniques as you listen more and more. The overall tone of the album is reminiscent, as if recalling his entire life in the span of fifty minutes. With the help of his wife and poet Polly Samson, much of the album acts as glimpse into the life of David Gilmour. With the melancholic soundscape and monologue of "A Boat Lie Waiting," to the fire crackling at the album's closing moments, you cannot help but feel we have been sitting in on a fireplace discussion of the man's life. That sentimental delivery makes "Rattle That Lock" a unique experience.

(On a side note, that instrumental outro to "And Then?"? Who here could listen to an album of David Gilmour simply dabbling on the guitar for fifty straight minutes? I sure can. How beautiful.)

There are two great songs on this album: "Dancing Right In Front Of Me" and "Today." The lighter intro to "Dancing Right In Front Of Me" toys with the listener, but is broken up by the deep rhythm guitar in the song's chorus. There's even an amusing piano pattering in the bridge section. In fact, this song particularly reminds me of Steve Hackett's "Wolflight" in its approach, and is probably the reason I enjoyed this song so much. The song "Today" is the closest thing to a Pink Floyd sound since? well, Pink Floyd. With a choral introduction, the album quickly shifts to an "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" sounding, very 80's synthesizer-backed arrangement with plenty of female backing vocals. I think for that reason alone I really enjoyed this song. If you want to trick your kids into thinking they were listening to Pink Floyd, I'd definitely play this song.

After enough listens to merit a critique, I had one concluding thought when listening to "Rattle That Lock": I wish Pink Floyd was still a band. David Gilmour provides some good tunes to listen to with this album, being his first release in almost a decade. Unfortunately, it still lacks that "oomph" that made him a star. Just as when I listen to a Roger Waters' solo albums, I cannot help but feel that although they are both very talented musicians, they both made each other even better when together. So as I hope David Gilmour wasn't lying when he said Pink Floyd are officially over, I will have to listen to the numerous almost-masterpieces of post-Pink Floyd musicians.

Taken from crashandridemusic.com

The Master Is Back!

This is a typical David Gilmour Styled Album. Great atmospheres, soothing instrumentals and tasty guitar licks. He shows that he's passion for music hasn't even gone down a bit with passion age. The lyrics are well written and are personal. Some people don't like this album because its too accessible and "poppy" this is wrong, While it may be not an PF album and is accessible but its not bad or poppy.

5.A.M- The album opens with 5AM which is a typical DG instrumental and is a good track that sets up the mood for this album with atmosphere and guitar sounds

2. Rattle That Lock - This is an upbeat track that I didn't like it at first but it grew on me. The guitar at the end is great

3.Faces Of Stone - Another great track with well written lyrics. David's voice sounds lovely on this track and is one of my personal favorites

4. A Boat Lies Waiting - This is haunting..and beautiful. Love the piano at the start. Maybe this track is a tribute to the late Rick Wright. the lyrics are sad and laments at the lament of someone

5. Dancing Right In Front Of Me - I don't like this track... maybe it'll grow on me like others did but I doubt see that happening . The only positive thing for me is the guitar at the end. If this was a short song maybe I would have liked it but it goes on for too long

6. In Any Tongue- Quite Pink Floydish with its bass and drum sound and the dark mood. I wonder why people say the guitar sound in this album isn't nice and emotional? it works for me, another good solo by David in here, but this track too suffers from being overly long

7. Beauty - Atmospheric Instrumental quite reminds you of the division bell era. Over all a good track

8.The Girl In The Yellow Dress- David with the saxophone and a jazz number! quite a welcome change in this album and is a good track, even people who don't like most of this album like this song, just jazzy an beautiful

9.Today- My least fav track and a low point on the album, I generally skip this track . I don't know what else to say about this except that it is long too (5:55)

10.And Then...- This closes the album in style. This is another instrumental by David Gilmour and my favorite from this album. Lovely guitar , the best from this album

Conclusion- While it may not be a masterpiece but it is worth checking out especially for the Floyd fans. Some tracks suffer from being too long and carries on forever but that's the only low point on this album other than that, its a solid and well written album. Don't write this off as being poppy or unlistenable, try it once. While it may not be his best effort but its better than The Endless River

I waited a while before I bought this album as I did not really enjoy "On and Island" that much and the mixed reviews also did not encourage me. Then after listening to the title track I got more curious and I bought it spontaneously seeing it in a record store. This one IMO is better than his last solo work (On an Island), his collaboration with the Orb (metallic Spheres), on par with his first solo album and nearly as good (but different although here and there parallels shine through) as the final Pink Floyd album (The Endless River).

Mr Gilmour does not reinvent himself (except maybe on the jazzy track "The Girl in the yellow dress" which is somewhat misplaced on the album) but delivers a slightly melancholic album with great atmosphere and strong melodies. . Highlights for me are the catchy and grooving title track, the powerful " In any tongue" and the atmospheric "Beauty. Anyone who enjoyed the last three Pink Floyd outputs and David Gilmour's solo work will surely not be disappointed.

RATTLE THAT LOCK, the latest album from David Gilmour, demonstrates that the ex-Floyd guitar player has firmly established himself apart from his former band, and feels free to do what he pleases. He doesn't seem to be bothered whether he sounds 'floydian' enough or not, though he works very hard to sound as David Gilmour is expected to. He, therefore, seems to care about his songwriting much more than about overall concept, and is focused on bringing each tune to blossom, rather than on attempts to take its development as far as possible in order to extract and exhaust its potential. The loose idea behind the album is that these songs bring about a pack of thoughts and feelings someone would live through in one day.

Three instrumentals aside, there is only one song on this album that feels like a Pink Floyd number: 'In Any Tongue'. This song is the longest track of the album and has a rather complex structure with an understated intro (whistling), and a reverse of the tune on choruses similar to 'Comfortably Numb'; it alters several times between forte and piano with each shift carefully prepared and executed. The final guitar solo resembles that of 'Comfortably Numb' and 'On The Turning Away', but does not repeat either of them; it fades out soon after its climax. Fade out is typical for this album and there is no crossfading or connecting sound effects, as if Gilmour wanted to highlight this is not Pink Floyd. These fadeouts, nevertheless, all seem to be timely and could hardly leave a listener unsatisfied, as it often happened to me when I was listening to A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON. Overall, this blues-based power ballad is blessed by the kind of personal touch that makes Gilmour's late output so appealing.

Although it embodies the grace of Pink Floyd sound, 'In Any Tongue' is not the only song in the album that rocks. Starting as a lullaby, 'Today' suddenly turns into a heavy pop number, based on soulful blues harmonies. The tune celebrates a day that has not been wasted; a day that had gained its meaning; a day that brought change and thus deserves our cheers. Such a mix of rocking pop and soul was first attempted on ABOUT FACE ('All Lovers Are Deranged'), but it seems Gilmour has finally found the correct formula, and the tune shines against all odds.

The mood of other tracks is much lighter; each of them, nonetheless, possesses a distinct character. The title track is a catchy pop tune, equipped with lyrics full of unexpectedly dark and foreboding allusions. It opens with a railway station jingle but grows to sound insistent and almost menacing during the brief choir section, before returning back to the bitten track. All this can make one's dream about a journey across the hell of a big city plagued with stress and depression - let's get through it.

While the aforementioned songs differ in mood, they somehow belong to Gilmour's usual range of songwriting. 'Faces of Stone', 'Dancing Right In Front of Me' and 'The Girl In the Yellow Dress', come, on the contrary, as a surprise. The first two could have been performed by Leonard Cohen or Joe Cocker, while the third is pure jazz. All of them are crafted with care and contribute to the diversity of the album; Gilmour himself has written words for the first two, leaving the rest of the lyricist duties on the album to Polly Samson. These three songs share a nostalgic mood; their tone - deeply personal - contrasts that of 'Today', 'In Any Tongue' and the title track, each making a powerful statement.

The four remaining songs are Gilmour's signature 'watercolours' with transparent keys and heavenly guitars. The opener, the closer and two 'spacers' fill the album with light and air, ease strong emotions and let the whole thing drift with the flow. The day begins in the quiet harmony at '5am'; the closing tune 'And Then...' is a more reassuring variation on the same theme. Beauty contains an easily recognisable quote from 'A Boat Lies Waiting'; the voice of Richard Wright, heard half way into the latter, in turn, invokes the ghost of THE ENDLESS RIVER.

One can notice that while the 'concept' of the album is pretty loose, its structure is clearly tight. Six conventional songs, grouped in three pairs (each containing a statement of a more universal nature and a personal reflection), are enveloped with four 'meditations', bookending the album like twilight of dawn and dusk 'bookends' a day.

This structure is not just a whimsy; it helps to keep a diverse album focused on its main theme - the power of nostalgia. It seems, nostalgia has been a driving force behind Gilmour's creativity since long ago (WISH YOU WERE HERE or, maybe, 'Fat Old Sun' and 'Childhood's End') - something he himself stated in 'High Hopes'. Whenever he looks for substance that makes our presence real and vest one's life with its own value, he tends to borrow it from the past. Exploring this trail, he has to keep it very personal, even when he makes a statement on broader matters.

To conclude, Rattle That Lock is not a style-defining prog rock opus. If you feel that observations of the lone man with a guitar travelling on his flying Island around Solaris are important for you, go for it. If you simply don't mind some tuneful blues fun, you probably won't regret killing an hour in the company of David Gilmour. If, nonetheless, you are not in the mood for compromise, and won't take anything but a slightly amended version of The Wall (which is not necessary a bad thing)... than I would suggest waiting for the next Roger Waters album :)

Lots of potential, but often squandered.

Putting this album on one is immediately struck by a beautiful instrumental tune (titled "5am") with a great subdued Gilmour solo. However, just as Gilmour's solo is about to take off and you are getting into it, it fades out. This pretty well sums up the feel of disappointment one gets from this album. There are some great musical sections, but their potential is often squandered. In general, the best tracks on this album are front-loaded, and the quality generally tends declines with each track. The title track, "Rattle that Lock", is the second song and this time is a full-length normal song, with some great playing by Gilmour, and some decent lyrics and (slightly higher-pitched) singing. Together, these two tracks are the highlight. The third track, "Faces of Stone" is also pretty good, but not quite at the level of "Rattle". "A Boat Likes Waiting", the fourth track, is also decent, very pleasant and slow with nice lyrics and vocal harmonies, but not quite as good as "Faces". And so on. The songs in the second half of the album are, for the most part, weaker - too weak to justify multiple listens, for various reasons. The instrumental "Beauty" is good, but similar to the opener "5am" in that it ends before the guitar solo gets blistering. "In any Tongue" reminds a bit too much of "High Hopes". "The Girl in the Yellow Dress" is a nice lounge-jazz tune, but sounds a bit forced. "Today" is the weakest track on the album. The closing tune, "And Then..." is an instrumental led by the guitar, which of course holds tons of promise, but turns out to be one of Gilmour's most easy-listening performances, with very little excitement, and itself just fades out. Among the frustrations here is that most of the songs fade out just when the guitar solo is getting going. By the time you get to the end of the album, you have this feeling of disappointment, having spent time waiting for the potential that we all know Gilmour has, to emerge full-blown. Really, all Gilmour needs to do is solo. But he needs to solo for more than 30 seconds, and he needs to put his heart into it. If his solo albums were to build up to a long blistering guitar solo at the end of each album, listeners would be happy and the effort it takes to sit through the weaker tracks would seem worth it. The album About Face at least had some longer solos and an excellent closing track. Here on Rattle, by putting the weakest tracks at the end, the experience merely reinforces the disappointment felt at the squandering of talent. Truth be told, the first five tracks here are all decent songs (in fact, I actually quite like the fifth song "Dancing Right in Front of Me" - for me the second-best song on the album), and if it were anyone but Gilmour I would probably give this album around 6 out of 10. However, given this is Gilmour, but with short guitar solos and premature fade outs, I can't rate this album more than 5.4 out of 10, which is 0.1 below that needed for a three-star rating. Hence, 2 PA stars.

"Rattle That Lock" is David Gilmour's first solo studio album since 2006 and it came out less than a year after his Pink Floyd's "The Endless River". It features ten relatively short elegiac songs, half of them co-written with Gilmour's wife, the novelist Polly Samson. The major lyrical theme of "Rattle That Lock", which is titled for John Milton's second book in Paradise Lost, is "a day in the life" - the authors reflect on time passing and the urgency to live what's left to the fullest. As the primary architect of Pink Floyd's sweeping soundscapes, Gilmour has transposed them into his solo music which is highlighted with signature slow ride compositional developments, elegant melodies, bird-song sustains on guitar, piano figures evoking memories of Richard Wright, sighing vocal harmonies and mellow string orchestrations. The flow of moods is really striking here - from autumnal and pensive melancholy to delicate sensitivity and vigorous cheerfulness. David Gilmour is the most eloquent here as a song-writer, vocalist and guitarist here. So, "Rattle That Lock" sounds like the work of a true master of his craft.

Hi from Argentina: Any musician who released 4 solo albums in 44 years is surely not what we call a prolific one. Moreover, Mr. Gilmour is about to blow 76 candles on next March 6. So, few chances on getting a follower of this Rattle ... but please Mr. Gilmour, you can ! ...One who loves Pink Floyd and also his solo career (stated quite unfairly on top as "unremarkable") dreams of another solo album, and if it´s not too much to ask, far away musically speaking from this dissapointing "Rattle That Lock". Back to my beloved "On An Island" from a so distant 2006, funny how half of the world consider it a boring collection of songs for being so slow, mellow, sleepy and the other 50 % loves it for the same reasons. I Think indeed i´ts a wonderful record (Got it on CD, Vinyl and 5.1 ) and while enjoying it a lot, I am aware that there was no room for 2 more minutes of slow music for the risk of becoming what it´s detractors think it is. Well, strangely enough, David Gilmour did (IMHO) an almost completely boring record while it is much more varied and up tempo than the Island one, so problem was not the speed of his playing and music, problem here is the nature of the songs , less Gilmour-ish than ever , sounds like a record with covers of standards we never heard previously. The opener "5 AM" is tricky. David did the same move on "On An Island", also on "Division Bell" and "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", it´s souds quite the same, but I like it... next come the title track, which sounds fantastic, (I mean my audio equipment sounds fantastic...) I can tell very few on what comes next. There are some moments here and there you can call enjoyable, interrupted by accidents like "The Girl In The Yellow Dress "... I consider myself a very patient listener. I can play any record ten times if I know someday it will finally amaze me. I´m still giving Rattle a chance, but it´s time to tell other collegues that being a huge Floyd & soloists fan, Rattle ranks way bottom among David´s catalogue , giving "About Face" a 3 star rating, Debut album 4 stars (I like it a lot) and On An Island 4 and a half.

4.5: The fifth album by David Gilmour, the best yet in my opinion and actually being his more commercial successfully in his solo career, as I considered On Island too calm. After hearing the different, but really good On an Island and the disappointing About Face, I was only going to give it a play to the most recommended song of this one, but I instantly fell in love. All the songs are well structured and are really good sung. The keyboard are really good and finally the guitar is not over appearing as in the other records. The lyrics as always are written by Gilmour and in some cases with his wife. Even, it sounds more to the floyd style, without being as excellent of course, and being the second best record of any solo career of any ex member of PF, only after Wet Dream. Every song has something special and even there is a jazz song here. And now I will be waiting for the release of his next album, as he promised he had some material left out of this one and he wanted to do another record. an Excellent addition to any prog list and the second best solo record for any PF Member yet.