Great Rock Albums of 1984: David Gilmour- About Face

 

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:

1. Until We Sleep
2. Murder
3. Love On the Air
4. Blue Light
5. Out of the Blue
6. All Lovers are Deranged
7. Don't Turn Your Back
8. Cruise
9. Let's Get Metaphysical
10. 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

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Great Rock Albums of 1984: Roger Waters- The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

 

Proof how sometimes initial impressions can be misguided. While Pink Floyd have continued on strong since Roger Waters departed the band and it's been said that Roger's career hasn't exactly flourished, (that's a matter for debate), things seemed a lot different in 1984. There was little or no mention of Pink Floyd in this year but Roger Waters delivered a killer solo album in the form of "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking." Roger hadn't left the band yet and it turns out that way back in the late 1970s, he brought the concept for this album to the band along with that for "The Wall." He told them the band would make the one and the other concept he would do as a solo album. History can tell you which concept was chosen by the band leaving "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" for Roger to do as a solo album.

The similarities between the two albums come through immediately. Like "The Wall" and even "Dark Side of the Moon" the songs sometimes blend together where you have to listen very carefully or at least have the album cover with you so you can pinpoint where one track ends and the next one begins. Then again, like many a Pink Floyd album, this album can be best appreciated whilst mellowed out in a room and smoking things. It joins a great line of albums to space out to. Also like Pink Floyd's famous album, it tells a story. The concept is about the thoughts of a man who is driving through California and how he would like to commit adultery with the female hitchhiker he picks up. It's an interesting theme set to the music.

One thing that I noticed the very first time I ever listened to the album was that the guitarist can really wail. Teach me to read the credits before putting an album on because that was an absolute no brainer. The guitarist was Eric Clapton and he does what he always does with the guitar. There are some really cool solos throughout the album, I really like the one he lays down on "Sexual Revolution" but his presence his felt very strongly all through the album. Roger definitely achieved a major coup by having Eric play on the album but he orchestrates other instruments very effectively too. The horns and the backing vocals are prime examples.

Since it was hearing the title track on the radio that alerted me to the album, that has always been my favourite track on it. Clapton plays a killer solo on it as well and all the other elements I've previously discussed are there too. Saying that, the way the album is laid out, it is easy for such a song to stand out although I do like the near seven minute "Go Fishing." After listening to the "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" after so many years, I'm as excited about it now as I was then.

Track Listing:

1. Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad
2. Running Shoes
3. Arabs With Knives and West German Skies
4. For the First Time Today Part 2
5. Sexual Revolution
6. The Remains of Our Love
7. Go Fishing
8. For the First Time Today Part 1
9. Dunroamin, Duncarin, Dunlivin
10. The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking
11. Every Stranger's Eyes
12. The Moment of Clarity

[caption id="attachment_3846" align="aligncenter" width="245"] Roger Waters[/caption]

Roger Waters- bass, lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Eric Clapton- lead guitar

Ray Cooper- percussion

Andy Newmark- drums, percussion

David Sanbourn- saxophone

Michael Kamen- piano

Andy Brown- organ, 12 string guitar

Madeline Bell, Katie Kissoon, Doreen Chanter- backing vocals

Raphael Ravenscroft, Kevin Flanagan, Vic Sullivan- horns

When Roger Waters did leave Pink Floyd in 1985, I wasn't worried that we had seen the last of him. After all, he had put out a great solo album a year earlier. While not different from the material he did with the band, it's still a great one to enjoy.

Next post: Duke Jupiter- White Knuckle Ride

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Great Rock Albums of 1983: The Final Cut

 

Like most of the world, I was really excited to hear that Pink Floyd released a new album in 1983. While I was beginning to wean myself off being influenced by what others said about a particular album in my decision to buy it, it wasn't the case here. "The Final Cut," at least in my surroundings was slammed mercilessly by deejays, critics and some people I knew who bought it. Therefore, I didn't. After all, it seemed everybody was saying that the album sucked.

What I and many other people should have realized back then was that any album from Pink Floyd would have a very difficult time following up their mega giant, "The Wall." That album will always been known as one of the greatest albums of all time, as was their other classic, "Dark Side of the Moon." Now as I am much older and wiser, (that's a matter for debate), I am able to listen to "The Final Cut" with a much more open mind.

First and foremost, "The Final Cut" doesn't suck in the least but I will make the predictable statement that it doesn't compare to either of the two classic albums shown above. In fact, I hear reminders of both those albums and their 1977 "Animals" album in it. Except unlike that last mentioned album, there are no ten minute long songs on this album. Saying that, on this album, Pink Floyd do make use of sound effects, which was trademark for them throughout the 1970s and early 80s. But what I noticed straight away is that the songs, at least the first few, take shots at Margaret Thatcher.

What Roger Waters was trying to convey in the album was his frustration of seeing all of the liberal achievements made after World War II, where he lost his father, being eroded away by the election of Thatcher. In the very first song, Waters asks "What have we done, Maggie, what have we done? What have we done to England?" I admit that in 1983, lyrics like these would have been lost on me but today I totally understand the meaning.

Maybe it was the fact that many people weren't quite ready for music to become too political at the time. My eyes were only opening up to such things. However, I think the music to the album is very typical of Pink Floyd and is why I loved listening to them all of these years. Like with any Floyd album, I could easily pop this one on, kick back on the couch and get absorbed into it while puffing the magic dragon. Only now, I would appreciate the lyrics to the songs much more. For me, the standout songs are the title track and "Not Now John," which I now remember hearing on the radio and watching the video for back then.

Track Listing:

1. Post War Dream
2. Your Possible Pasts
3. One of the Few
4. The Hero's Return
5. The Gunner's Dream
6. Paranoid Eyes
7. Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
8. The Fletcher Memorial Home
9. Southampton Dock
10. The Final Cut
11. Not Now John
12. Two Suns in the Sunset

Roger Waters- vocals, bass

David Gilmour- guitar, vocals

Nick Mason- drums

Additional Musicians

Michael Kamen- piano, harmonium

Andy Bown- organ

Ray Cooper- percussion

Raphael Ravenscroft- tenor sax

Forget what the critics said, "The Final Cut" is a good album from Pink Floyd. It contains all that I came to love about this band. Unfortunately, it would be the last one that this particular line up would record together.

Next post: Todd Rundgren- The Ever Tortured Artist Effect

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Great Soundtracks of 1982: The Wall

For the life of me, I can't remember much about this film. I did see it once many years ago but I had to read the synopsis on Wikapedia to remind myself what it was about. The reason for my lapsed memory on this occasion is the fact that like so many who watched the film at the time, I became like one of the songs suggests, "Comfortably Numb." I can't even remember if I liked it or not but nevertheless, the one thing no one can fault is that the soundtrack to it kicks ass.

What is really cool about the soundtrack is that Roger Waters doesn't take the easy road here and just chuck in tracks from the album of the same name. It must have been very tempting to do that. There are some new songs introduced and many of the songs from the album had changes made to them with varying results in my view. A negative one and it is very minor is from the track "Goodbye Blue Sky." They omit the child at the very beginning saying, "Look mummy, there's an airplane in the sky." While it's a good song, that bit was always my favourite part of the song. "Mother" was remixed almost completely and I couldn't hear the acoustic guitar along with the lyrics although I'll admit that I have always loved the lyrics to the song and at least they left the guitar solo alone and that makes the song.

However, the most noticeable change for  me is with "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2." The teacher saying those amusing lines: "If you don't eat your meat how can you have any pudding?" comes in during the children's singing and is broken up. The following line of "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" follows on a few lines later. Strangely, I find that this doesn't effect my appreciation for the song at all. Other changes include vocal contributions from Bob Geldolf who played the lead role in the film and the inclusion of a brass band in the final song. None of these change the song for me as I can appreciate that Pink Floyd are talented enough to pull anything like this off. The two new songs, "When the Tigers Broke Free 1" and "When the Tigers Broke Free 2" are decent enough to be included in the soundtrack. Actually they make little impact on the quality of this great soundtrack.

[caption id="attachment_2735" align="aligncenter" width="270"] A scene from The Wall[/caption]

Track Listing:

1. When The Tigers Broke Free 1

2. In the Flesh

3. The Thin Ice

4. Another Brick in the Wall Part 1

5. When the Tigers Broke Free 2

6. Goodbye Blue Sky

7. The Happiest Days of Our Lives

8. Another Brick in the Wall Part 2

9. Mother

10. What Shall We Do Now

11. Young Lust

12. One of My Turns

13. Don't Leave Me Now

14. Another Brick in the Wall Part 3

15. Goodbye Cruel World

16. Is There Anybody Out There

17. Nobody Home

18. Vera

19. Bring the Boys Back Home

20. Comfortably Numb

21. In the Flesh

22. Run Like Hell

23. Waiting for the Worms

24. 5:11 AM (The Moment of Clarity)

25. Stop

26. The Trial

27. Outside the Wall

I have heard this film rubbished by some people although I can't see what they were expecting to find when they went to view it. Maybe they weren't comfortably numb. Whether or not you like the film, you can't fault the soundtrack, it is simply classic Pink Floyd doing what they did best.

Next post: Fast Times at Ridgemont High

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Great Rock Albums of 19980: Pink Floyd- The Wall

For many people, this was the album of 1980. It was one of those albums I got to listen to extensively without ever having to buy it because everyone I knew had it. Of course, in the realms of top 40 singles, the album is best known for the number one single, "Another Brick In the Wall Part 2." That single crossed a huge section of listeners as I remember both country music lovers and soul music lovers all listening to the song. Even my then disco loving little sister liked it and an ex girl friend said this was their school's rallying song when her school walked out of class in protest. I can't remember what they were protesting about.

As anyone who wasn't blinkered by the singles charts could tell you, that song didn't define the album. There were some other great songs on it and for me these included, "Mother," "Goodbye Blue Sky" and "Comfortably Numb." "The Wall" continued Pink Floyd's tendency to want to listen to them when you needed to lay back and mellow out, especially after you have been puffing the magic dragon. That is what defines this album the most. For me and many others I knew, it was THE party album of 1980. This album was listened to over and over again to while consuming many beers and other substances and in that year, there was no other album where I could enjoy so much while catching a buzz.

It wasn't just the fact that "The Wall" carried on the Pink Floyd tradition of making music conducive to the party atmosphere. Like some of their earlier albums, I was very much amused by the some of the talking parts between and during the songs. I still smile when I hear "Look mummy, there's any airplane in the sky" before "Goodbye Blue Sky" and of course the teacher at the end of "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" who bellows, "If you don't eat your meat, you can have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" Back then, there was an X- rated version to that as well.

Track Listing:

1. In the Flesh?

2. The Thin Ice

3. Another Brick in the Wall Part 1

4. The Happiest Days of Our Lives

5. Another Brick in the Wall Part 2

6. Mother

7. Goodbye Blue Sky

8. Empty Spaces

9. Young Lust

10. One of My Turns

11. Don't Leave Me Now

12. Another Brick in the Wall Part 3

13. Goodbye Cruel World

14. Hey You

15. Is Anybody Out There

16. Nobody Home

17. Vera

18. Bring the Boys Back Home

19. Comfortably Numb

20. The Show Must Go On

21. In the Flesh

22. Run Like Hell

23. Waiting for the Worms

24. Stop

25. The Trial

26. Outside the Wall

Pink Floyd

Dave Gilmour- guitars, vocals, clavinet, sound effects

Roger Waters- vocals, bass, synthesisers, sound effects

Nick Mason- drums, percussion

Richard Wright- organ, piano, electric piano, bass pedals

If you want to either mellow out at the weekend or take a trip back in history, you can kill two birds with one stone with this iconic album from Pink Floyd. This is an ultimate party album, not just for 1980 but for all time.

Next Post: Rush- Permanent Waves

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Great Rock Albums of the 70s: Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon

Question: What does a metal head do when they feel like mellowing out a bit? Yes, I can already hear many metal heads screaming, "Me, mellow out, never!" But I know there are many who once in a great while like to take it down a notch. So, do you listen to Air Supply or whatever love song is in the top 10 at the moment? I say a big "HELL NO!" to that, what many of us listened to and many still do now is Pink Floyd.
Throughout the 70s, Pink Floyd put out several really good albums such as "Animals," "Wish You Were Here" and the most popular of those, "The Wall." I will be looking at the last one at a later date. However, it is "Dark Side of the Moon" that got me truly listening to Pink Floyd and was my official mellow out party album. I've known rockers the world over to put this album when having partied their hearts out and want to relax and unwind a little. The songs on this album provide the perfect atmosphere in which to do that. Also there is something to be said about the album, like many Pink Floyd albums, to be thoroughly enjoyed after puffing the magic dragon. It is probably the way one song leads straight into the next that keeps the buzz going. Even in the days before CDs when you had to pause to turn the tape over, the first track on the second side, "Money" does a great job in returning you back to the proper atmosphere.

Track Listing:

1. Speak to Me

2. Breathe

3. On the Run

4. Time

5. The Great Gig in the Sky

6. Money

7. Us and Them

8. Any Colour You Like

9. Brain Damage

10. Eclipse

Pink Floyd

David Gilmour- guitar, synthesisers, vocals

Roger Waters- bass, vocals, synthesisers, tape effects

Nick Mason- percussion, tape effects

Richard Wright- keyboards, synthesisers

One thing I need to mention is that I can include David Gilmour in that growing list of underrated guitarists. His efforts, especially on his solo on "Money" proves that he can smoke a finger board. His style helps to create the music that Pink Floyd is best loved for. So, if you ever want to relax and just go mellow for a few brief moments, then this is the album to have on your stereo.

Next Post: The Sweet- Desolation Boulevard

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