Comhrá

It began today:  on my lunch break I scurried down to my local Best Buy and purchase David Gilmour’s new album, On An Island.  On first impression I was extremely please by the album’s packaging, an elegant hardback CD book, plus I got a bonus disc of the non-album track Island Jam with my purchase.  Opening the book I discovered that the inner art was all done on thick, construction-style, paper, another fancy plus! 

 But enough about the packaging, that is all frills and short-lived fun.  I popped the bonus disc in first, and as expected it was the instrumental that had been playing for the past couple of months when you go to Gilmore’s web page, and it is pretty good.  With some resemblance of Shine On, mostly because of the positive driving force that the song proclaims, but with a simple, laid back attitude.  In other words it is classic Gilmour fretwork.   Now for the rest of the album: To be honest I wasn’t really all too surprised or disappointed…well maybe a little disappointed.  With such a history of rock n’ roll and a fluent touch for the blues I was a bit disheartened to discover that there were no solid rockers on the album, but to Gilmour’s he is getting up there in years and probably mellowing out too.  I guess everyone can’t be expected to resurrect their career like Keith and Mick did last year, all the while in wonderful rock n’ roll fashion.  With David Crosby and Graham Nash both contributing guest vocals on the title track I kind of thought that Gilmour would mix things up by letting the folk legends take the lead on vocals, instead Gilmour, Crosby & Nash harmonize through the majority of the song (even though that really is classic CSN style to be honest).  

Richard Wright also makes a couple of guest appearances on both keys and vocals, most notably on The Blue which has a dreamy, almost lullaby feel to it as Gilmour and Wright sing together in the neo-Pink Floyd manner that is recalls familiarity to Division Bell vocals.   All in all the album is okay, Gilmour still delivers his melodic solos throughout the album and it does compare rather well to his previous two solo outings, but the man is still just part of the Pink masterpiece.  Like all great collaborations, everyone has to bring their own talent, and Gilmour shows off his greatest talent in On An Island and it is simply playing guitar, not song writing.  

BRING BACK THE BOYS!