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(More customer reviews)David Gilmour really deserves credit for his "On An Island" album, released today. The man clearly doesn't give a damn about following any trends, and I say more power to him. The album does indeed sound very Floyd-ish, which Gilmour himself admits, but it's not merely some toothless rehash of past glories, and the production values here are really excellent (the album was produced by Gilmour, Phil Manzanera, and Chris Thomas). And Gilmour's in excellent voice too, sounding as though he's barely aged a day in the past 20 years. You needn't have any worries about this being a "modernized", high-tech disaster--the album sounds more like something that was recorded in 1980 than in the 2000s, and I really mean that as a compliment.
I think it's off the mark and misleading to bluntly say that Gilmour has "gone adult contemporary" with this album--that might get certain people thinking he's chosen a bland synthesizer-heavy approach. Quite the contrary, synthesizer is only used for a light sprinkling of effects on the title track, and synths are nowhere to be heard on songs such as "The Blue" and "Where We Start"--instead, David favors real piano, real electric piano, and especially real Hammond organ (which all three of these have), and that plays a huge role in them sounding so wonderfully organic.
Yes, this is a VERY low volume album, but for the most part, it's very appealing, not just thanks to the production, but also because the songwriting is generally at a really high level. Frankly, I think you could throw the same kind of praise at much of the Floyd's work--"Wish You Were Here", great album as it is, never rocks very hard at all.
Most of the lyrics here were written by Gilmour's wife Polly Samson, and although they occasionally lean towards the sickly-sweet end of things, as on "Smile", they're hardly as embarassing as some of the reviewers make them out to be. And ultimately, Gilmour makes up for it with the music. The title track is sumptuous--it sounds kind of like an acoustic modification of Floyd's "Breathe", featuring superb guitar work, live orchestration, and vocal harmonies from Crosby & Nash that really take the song to the next level (Richard Wright plays the Hammond on this track as well). The super-mellow "The Blue" has a wonderfully serene, blissful feel to it, with gentle harmonica and a remarkably effective back-and-forth piano line, and Gilmour's extended soloing, even if he overdoes those swooping sounds a bit, is still really really nice, with extremely impressive tone. The relatively short instrumental "Red Sky At Night" is an intriguing change of pace, with Gilmour switching over to saxophone, and to excellent effect--he brings the same kind of unique feeling to his sax soloing as he does to his emotional guitar leads. "A Pocketful Of Stones" is also a really fine ballad, with Gilmour's vocal making the most of the wonderful lilting melodicism on the verses. "This Heaven" adds a welcome diversity to the proceedings, shuffling along nicely and containing a nice bluesy acoustic riff. "Smile", like I said, is kind of on the sugary side, but the acoustic slide guitar work, Gilmour's somewhat jazz-tinged lead vocal, and the sheer tunefulness give it much appeal.
Gilmour's previous solo album, 1984's "About Face", ends with the song "Near The End", and he ends "On An Island" with "Where We Start" which seems like a sequel to the former song. "Where We Start" is the one non-instrumental track on the album that Gilmour wrote entirely himself. Yes, the lyrics leave a little to be desired, but the song has an undeniably soothing and reflective feel, somewhat melancholy and yet with hope for what's still to come, a trademark Gilmour touch. It makes for a highly fitting finale to the album.
As for the few remaining tracks... "Castellorizon", the obligatory album-opening instrumental, starts off as a sound collage before Gilmour starts wailing away backed by a full orchestra--it's certainly more enjoyable than the somewhat similar "Let's Get Metaphysical" from his "About Face" album, but it's still pretty forgettable. Likewise, the instrumental "Then I Close My Eyes" is okayish, but pretty dull. The one track that particularly sticks out like a sore thumb and that you're better off skipping happens to be the album's hardest-rocking song--"Take A Breath" has annoying, repetitive spoken chanting, plus it's sorely lacking in terms of melody and catchiness; it considerably hurts the overall flow of the album, and it suggests that Gilmour isn't sure how to rock out effectively anymore, making it easy to see why the album is so ballad-heavy.
All in all, I can't see anyone who loves '72-'75-era Floyd or Gilmour's previous solo work not taking a strong liking to "On An Island". I'm well aware that this album is taking quite a beating from a lot of so-called professional critics, and I can't help but suspect it's partly because of the album's mellow tone and a lack of patience on their part to really *listen*. Maybe some folks were hoping Gilmour would push the envelope more, and I'll admit I do understand the feeling that if an artist just cranks out an album that sounds like a copy of earlier work, there's no point to it. That said, this is an album for diehard David Gilmour/ mid-'70s Floyd fans who have listened to those records religiously and want something familiar, yet new, and for an artist of Gilmour's age and stature, it's understandable that he'd put out a record to fit that bill, and the fact that the result sounds this fresh and effective, it not only justifies the exercise, it actually provides an additional demonstration of just how deep Gilmour's talent is. It also underlines that this is clearly the album he wanted to make, and I give him a lot of credit for following his instincts.
(P.S. My copy of "On An Island" includes a bonus disc featuring the laidback bluesy instrumental "Island Jam"--it's a nice little bonus. On the downside, the book-style packaging of the album is marred by the vulnerable foam rubber piece that's meant to hold the CD--you may very well end up needing a separate case to hold the disc itself.)
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Japanese Digipak pressing. On An Island is the third David Gilmour solo album and his first studio recording since Pink Floyd's 1994 multi-platinum 'The Division Bell'. From the first moments of the sound collage that begins 'On An Island', you know it's a special experience that not only bears comparison with the best of Pink Floyd, but also confirms their lead guitarist and singer as an outstanding solo artist. Here he reveals a personal vision and a breadth of styles - folk, jazz, orchestral and rock - brought together as a unified piece by his lyrical guitar playing and instantly recognisable voice. On An Island is a collection of songs and instrumentals that had its genus in the critically acclaimed 2002 London Festival Hall concerts. Gilmour has stepped out of his super-group to discover he's still at his peak - and he's rightly pleased. 'It's my best and most personal work,' he says. 'Making it with my musician friends has been a positive experience on so many levels.' EMI. 2006.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.
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