ON THE TURNING AWAY

'On The Turning Away' - Pink Floyd (Single)

'On The Turning Away' is a single from Pink Floyd's album 'A Momentary Lapse Of Reason'. With the band now dominated by the mellow voice and guitar tones of David Gilmour, it is arguable that the band had now become an extension of Floyd's guitarist's solo career. With that in mind- like most of Floyd's other material from this album- this song feels very much like a David Gilmour solo tune. It makes ample use of gospel choirs, is driven by Gilmour's distinctive and soaring voice, and leaves enough room for him to strut his bluesy guitar solos. Alas, as a result of David being the only one with real creative control at this point, the song feels somewhat one sided and lacks the dynamic that defined Floyd's best work. All the same, it is an uplifting tune that almost feels like a gospel affirmation, with no little credit going to the choir for that association. Although not necessarily catchy or even entirely intelligent a song, it is uplifting, and the emotional effect is more or less intact. All the same, it's not one of the band's better tracks.

Capping off the 'On The Turning Away' single is a live rendition of the famous song 'Run Like Hell', which is defined by its very distinctive guitar tone. Like usual, Pink Floyd does a very good job with the live performance, but especially due to the fact that there are so many other live recordings of this song available in the band's discography, it would be hard to recommend checking out this single for the b-side alone. Overall, a fairly decent single, but nothing special from a band that has seen much better days.

'On the turning away' is a single from "Momentary Lapse of Reason" which is not half as bad as some Floydians would have you believe. Granted, this album is no masterpiece and comes sandwiched in between some amazing Floyd material, namely "The Wall" and "Division Bell", however it is a pleasant well performed journey with some moments of grandeur. 'On the Turning Away' is innovative in places and perhaps more than anything typified the sound of the times, remembering that 1987 was a difficult year for prog bands. Many were wiped out due to the new wave influences so it is admirable that Pink Floyd were somehow able to blend in without selling out completely. The song is a slow melancholy piece that grew on me due to constant exposure on live DVDs.

On the flip side is a live version of the wonderful 'Run Like Hell' and I am not sure where it comes from as there is no indication but it sounds terrific. I guess this single is worth picking up for the sleeve design that is rather romantic and unusual for Pink Floyd, but this is perhaps an unnecessary single for the band in many respects.