Like Lennon and McCartney after the Beatles split and Henley and Frey after the split of the Eagles, I wonder if Roger Waters and David Gilmour were entwined in some music one-upsmanship after the imagined Pink Floyd split following the last album with Waters, "The Final Cut." Early in the year, we were treated to Roger's album, "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking," which I've already posted about. In the months that followed, Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour, released his solo album, "About Face."
One thing I will never do is allow myself to be dragged into any debate as to which was the better album between Waters and Gilmour. Don't even ask because even after thirty-three years, I couldn't give an answer. I like both of them very much.
Some critic back then stated that "About Face" had a commercial feel that Pink Floyd were never bothered with. I would never call this album commercial, even if in a 2006 interview, Gilmour stated that he thought that it was too 80s. Well, maybe it was for him. In my not so humble opinion, I think that the album doesn't go too far from the Pink Floyd formula. While I wouldn't call the opening track typically Floyd, I do think "Until We Sleep" a cool space rock tune. I can easily listen to it while puffing the magic dragon and might have done so. However, the next two tracks are definitely Pink Floyd style tracks. The first of these, "Murder" was written in angry reaction to the senseless murder of John Lennon. On the track, Gilmour really vents that anger with a hair raising guitar solo. "Blue Light" has a funky jazz beat with the horns and this song is probably the farthest song from the traditional Pink Floyd trademark. I like it regardless.
"Out of the Blue" goes back to more familiar territory, nothing wrong with that either, but the track after, "All Lovers are Deranged" is a bit of a rocker. The lyrics were written by Who guitarist Peter Townsend and you can hear a bit of early Who in the song. It had to have been put on the album to give the listener a shock after being absorbed by the mellower track before it. "Don't Turn You Back" starts out like a Floyd-esque song but there's some interesting stuff going on in the middle of it with horns. If there was any track on the album that sounded commercial 80s, then it would be "Cruise." I have always wondered why it never was released as a single. With its more easy listening style, the trendy top forty types might have liked it even if they didn't know anything about David Gilmour or Pink Floyd. Some good organ work behind a reggae tint makes this song. Another interesting song is the instrumental that is "Let's Get Metaphysical." This goes from being spacey type Floyd to jazzy horns to some very good progressive sounds. The thing is that with all of this mixed together, David pulls it off. That must be a tribute to his genius. Then he ends things in what I call typical Pink Floyd fashion with "Near the End." A long sounded space out track with some great Gilmour guitar licks. It is the best song to end with.
One thing consistent on every song is the guitar work of David Gilmour. He does let himself go more and while I always liked his guitar work with Pink Floyd, he outshines himself on "About Face." It also helps that he put a great band together as well as some cool guest musicians to play with him.
Track Listing:
- Until We Sleep
- Murder
- Love On the Air
- Blue Light
- Out of the Blue
- All Lovers are Deranged
- Don't Turn Your Back
- Cruise
- Let's Get Metaphysical
- Near the End
David Glimour- guitars, lead vocals, bass
Jeff Procraro- drums, percussion
Pino Palladino- bass
Ian Kewley- organ
Additional Musicians
Steve Winwood- organ on "Blue Light" and piano on "Love on the Air"
Jon Lord- synthesizer
Anne Dudley- synthesizer
Bob Ezrin- keyboards, orchestral arrangement
The Kick Horns- brass
Luis Jardim, Ray Cooper- percussion
Roy Harper, Sam Brown, Vicki Brown, Mickey Feat- vocals
The National Philharmonic Orchestra
David Gilmour popped out onto the music world of 1984 with a great solo album. Okay, it didn't have the chart success even if Dave thought it was too 1980s. Many Pink Floyd fans do like it and so do some who weren't. A great effort from a fine musician.
Next post: The Bangles- All Over the Place
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
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