New David Gilmour album

Diane · Post by **Diane** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:49 pm

I heard a track from the new David Gilmour album, "On an Island" this afternoon. Sounds quite Floydy. David Crosby and Graham Nash feature. Released March 6th Europe, March 7th US.

More info:

http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/news/0601201.html

Diane

linda_lakeside · Post by **linda_lakeside** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:25 pm

It would be hard for him not to sound Floydy. There are some people that luck out with one group, then don't do much else/different for the rest of their musical career.

Linda.

PS: I like Tom Waits

It just seemed like the time to admit it.

Cohen Kid · Post by **Cohen Kid** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 1:21 am

yeah, it's great. just ordered the lp, and i downloaded the on an island song. terrific

Diane · Post by **Diane** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 5:15 pm

I have listened to this album a couple of times now. It is taking time to grow on me, but it's not bad. It has some marvellous guitar solos as you'd expect. The album as a whole is very dreamy and relaxing, the sort of thing I'd like to listen to on a summer's day lying in the garden and drift away with. My fave tracks at the moment are 'Take a breath' and 'Castellorizon'. Listen to clips here, and also see video of entire title track:

http://emirecords.co.uk/players/dg/

What do you think, Cohen Kid?

If anyone is interested, a concert tonight is going to be on Radio 2 on Saturday night.

Diane

Cohen Kid · Post by **Cohen Kid** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:19 pm

Diane!! I'm glad you heard it yet! In holland the album will be released tomorrow. Also I just ordered the vinyl version, and I think that that one will be in the stores on friday...
I'm very curious to listen to it!!!
I'm very happy: In two weeks I'll be going to David Gilmour concert, and 4 months later I'll be at a Roger Waters concert!!!
Above that I'll also be going to the Moody Blues!!
I'm a happy man!
btw. Yes, I heard it would be a relaxing and dreamy album. That's nice. I think I;m in the mood for that! Romance!
It also suits the album title, I think!

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:23 am

I love this album! I got it yesterday lunchtime and this (with apologies to those of you who already read it on my blog) is what I thought yesterday evening:

On An Island
... Is the name of the new Dave Gilmour album, which was released today. And which I therefore made a special trip downtown at lunchtime to buy. (and also got the most recent Laura Veirs album, 'Year of Meteors', but that's not important right now).

I've been playing it pretty much every opportunity since then: it's not really suited to the little speakers that are all I have in the mini at the moment, must get round to supplementing those with some bigger bassier speakers, perhaps build a speaker board to fit under the rear seat. Ah, I appear to be drifting off-topic.

So, must be playing it straight through for the 3rd or 4th time now, interrupted only by the occasional Clash, Tindersticks or Laura Veirs song. It can't be bad, therefore!

In fact, to my ears it's very good. I wouldn't call it a great album, not yet anyway, but a very good one as far as I'm concerned. Some instrumentals, which inevitably sound 'Floydy', and indeed Richard Wright (of Pink Floyd, for those of you who aren't as big a fan of Pink Floyd as I am. Ah, all of you, then) plays keyboard and/or sings on a couple of tracks too. The lyrical songs somehow sound less like ones that would appear on a Floyd album, difficult though that is to judge as it's 12 years since the last album, The Division Bell, came out. Some of the songs on that album were co-written with his wife (Polly Sampson) and a quick check of the CD booklet for this album reveals that Dave Gilmour wrote all the music, and for the seven songs with lyrics, he solely wrote one song, co-wrote two others with his wife, and she contributed four songs. I don't know why I said that, guess I just like counting things.

Favourite songs so far are 'Take A Breath', 'Smile' (which I first heard him sing when he played the Meltdown festival in 2001, a festival season curated by Robert Wyatt, who turns up on this album adding voice, cornet and percussion to 'Then I Close My Eyes') and the closing 'Where We Start'. The songs sound to me like those of a devoted couple, and from Dave's point of view, those of someone who's found what he's been looking for - 'This (Earthly) Heaven' as he sings. It's worth saying here that I recognise that a lot of the music that I find great comes from unhappiness, heartbreak (thinking 'Blood on the Tracks' which you may have heard of, or lesser-known albums such as 'Ten Days in November' or 'Broken(And other Rogue States)'). Great, but not always easy to listen to, depending on your state of mind. These songs that come from a happier place will be easier to listen to, more of the time (but I don't think that puts them in the genre of 'easy listening'!) I guess being sad is more interesting than being happy, and there are so many different ways of being sad, that if you can portray that in a song, it's somehow 'better' than portraying happiness. I really don't know.

Tim

Bobbie · Post by **Bobbie** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 5:42 am

Thought of you today Tim, when this record was released in US. I was going to look into the chat this evening to see how you liked it, but, you know - got home late, got caught up with other things. Anyway, I heard a review of it on public radio today, a very good and lengthy review, which included good clips of some of the tracks... quite impressive. I was in my car when it came on, just after I'd made a special trip before coming home, to pick up the new Van Morrison, "Pay The Devil", released today in these parts, and I thought.. "I should have picked up that David Gilmour while I was there."

Bobbie

Diane · Post by **Diane** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:37 am

Great you have those concerts lined up, Cohen Kid. I'm jealous. Never seen Gilmour live. I saw Roger Waters some years back and he covered a lot of Floyd numbers. Moody Blues should be good, I didn't know they were still going, still fronted by Justin Hayward I assume?

Thanks for posting your review Tim. I am now listening to the album at the correct volume - Loud, and it's getting better all the time. It's no "Wish you were here", etc, and it is difficult not to compare, but a good album. The lyrics are not Floydy, you're right about that. They are reflective and atmospheric like the music, although I haven't read them properly yet, got that pleasure to come. Just got Take a Breath and title track on replay for now

.

Diane

ps Bobbie, go back and get it!

Cohen Kid · Post by **Cohen Kid** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:46 am

Diane wrote:Great you have those concerts lined up, Cohen Kid. I'm jealous. Never seen Gilmour live.Moody Blues should be good, I didn't know they were still going, still fronted by Justin Hayward I assume?

Yes!! The Moody Blues are still playing. In fact I can not think of a year since the seventies that they didn't tour. They're on the road about one third of the year. They work very hard. It's still with Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge. The Fluitist retired a few years ago...

I think I'll buy Gilmour tomorrow... Didn't find the time today!

I'm very in love, so warm, reflective and happy songs are just what I'm waiting for!!!

Nice reviews I've read here!

tomsakic · Post by **tomsakic** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:13 am

Future Floyd

The artist collaborated on many of the lyrics with his wife, Polly Samson. 'Other lyricists would be writing more for themselves than for me and they would not know me that well,' Gilmour says. 'If I asked Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan to write for me, I love their work but I don`t know these people. So it seems to me more artistically sound to work with someone who I live and breathe with every day.'

In same news, great news about first new Kris Kristofferson's album in years.

Cohen Kid · Post by **Cohen Kid** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:20 pm

Bought the new Gilmour just now...
amazing

Diane · Post by **Diane** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 4:45 pm

How wonderful that you are in "very in love" Cohen Kid

. Glad you finally got the album! The Mermaid Theatre concert broadcast on BBC radio 2 on Saturday was good, you can still see it here at the moment:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainfram ... r2_gilmour

This should take you straight to the video of the concert:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/chec ... eadySeen=1

Great guitar. Turn it up.

Diane

Cohen Kid · Post by **Cohen Kid** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:36 pm

Oooh, thanks so much!!

lizzytysh · Post by **lizzytysh** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:37 pm

Super quote, Tom

[including the reference to Leonard

] ~ I just wish I were able to listen to RealPlayer... can't

!

~ Lizzy

tomsakic · Post by **tomsakic** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:17 am

Well, install it...!