Tag: david gilmour

So Close, Yet So Far

Today has been an okay work day for a last day before a vacation kind of day. I still have one hour and 42 minutes to go before said vacation, but I will get there.

I’m starting to sort of chomp at the bit though.

Today has been busy without being stressful. I have had a lot of things to do but none of them have been high pressure or high profile or anything like that. Just a bunch of administrative type things. The customers have been quiet so I have been able to focus on things that need to get done. I am thankful for that.

The Great Pink Floyd Reverse Order Playlist is now back to Animals from 1977. Great record with some absolutely outstanding guitar playing from David Gilmour.

Endless River – Complete
Division Bell – Complete
A Momentary Lapse of Reason – Complete
The Final Cut – Complete
The Wall – Complete
Animals – Currently playing track two, “Dogs”
Wish You Were Here – Up next
Dark Side of the Moon – On double deck but I probably won’t get to it today.

What else should I mention for the benefit of some future version of me looking back at Friday the 13th of September 2024 out of some sense of boredom or a this-day-in-history kinda thing?

The weather at the ocean for the next week looks excellent, according to the long range forecast I just checked. I think a sunrise photo session is a given. I hope to finish off a couple of rolls of film while I’m at it. I still have three rolls from Disney back in May that I have to get developed. I’d really like to spend a day in Boston if I can, but who knows if that will work out.

I am also going to my Dad’s place tomorrow morning to fill up a few boxes with books to donate to the public library in Tewksbury. They are having a donation drive tomorrow and they can have whatever they want from Dad’s book stash. If there is anything they won’t take (why?) I will bring them to Goodwill or something.

Those things, plus some music, plus spending a ton of time hanging out with the love of my life, plus helping the kids out with something next weekend… I think I have my staycation pretty much planned. 86 minutes to go until it starts.

Music Nook

Today’s photo a day pic comes from my iPhone early this morning as it’s a working in the office day for me. I snapped a couple of quickies of my cellar music nook… an area of the house that I hope to make serious use of during my staycation next week.

13/365

The Pink Floyd Records in Reverse Release Order playlist that I am celebrating today during work has just officially reached Roger Waters. Welcome to The Final Cut, kids.

Four hours and 33 minutes until vacation.

Friday the 13th

Oh no! Why didn’t anyone tell me today was Friday the 13th! I needed to prepare myself for the calendar date having no effect on the universe or anyone in it at all!

Okay. After listening to a playlist of all of David Gilmour’s solo records in reverse order yesterday, I created a playlist of all Pink Floyd records in reverse order to listen to today. The Endless River is rolling along.

Vacation is seven hours and 56 minutes away.

One Track (Musical) Mind

This morning as I was starting the work day I made a playlist of David Gilmour solo records. First the five studio records in reverse order of release, then the two live records also in reverse order.

I have spent the entire work day listening to this playlist. I am on the 4th from last song on the first of the two live records (the Pompeii one). As I type this, David is wailing on Sorrow. It’s just friggin’ epic.

Listening to this guy play makes me want to play more. It makes me want to play better. It doesn’t quite make me feel young, but it’s weirdly in that ball park.

All of this and I haven’t listened to a single Pink Floyd record. Imagine how inspired I’d feel today if I was actually listening to the band that he’s famous for. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.

He is touring to support his new record. Sort of. There are US shows in Los Angeles and in New York. I looked into tickets for some of the Madison Square Garden shows. The best I saw were a smidge under $900 a ticket. Yikes! There are tickets for Hollywood Bowl shows for $99 a pop, but they would involve actually traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and that will jack up the total price.

I think Mr Gilmour and I are going to miss each other on this trip. Sorry, David. I’ve seen him twice before. Both with post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd. The first of the two shows was the night of my Junior Prom. Yeah, I will never, ever regret skipping that prom experience to go and see Floyd. I mean, talk about no brainers.

I tell you what, if I hit the lottery this weekend I’ll take Jen and the kids (Harry is a big Pink Floyd fan) to shows at both Madison Square Garden in New York and The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. You know, to celebrate winning the lottery and stuff. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Finally Finished Listening

To my tiny little music obsessed brain, new music from David Gilmour is practically a religious experience. It had been almost exactly nine years since last he gave us an album of new material (2015’s Rattle that Lock) and the expectations for last Friday’s (four days ago) release of Luck and Strange were exceptionally high.

I started listening to it on Friday morning but it wasn’t until just a few minutes ago (on Tuesday afternoon) that I managed to listen to the whole record in one sitting. Mr. Gilmour* claims that it’s the best record he’s made since Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. I mean… I love you, David but no one is going to mistake this for Dark Side. Having said that though, it is really fantastic.

There isn’t a whole hell of a lot of variety here, but that’s okay. Basically it’s a collection of moody, groovy, mid-tempo, mezzo piano songs with excellent vocals and stupendous melodic guitar playing. Basically what you expect from David Gilmour: an excellent singer and a phenomenal guitar soloist. There is also a bit of a family band vibe here. Normally when my aging rock heroes start hiring their kids to play in their bands it sort of rubs me the wrong way. Guys like Steve Howe and Jack Bruce had their kids in their bands and while they were all incredibly talented people I just didn’t want that. There were exceptions, of course, Teddy Thompson singing duets with Richard Thompson sounds incredible but might that be because his mother, Linda, was in Richard’s band at the beginning and he was just filling the gap that was left when she exited? Who knows.

In this case though, I am actually digging it. His wife has been co-writing songs with him for decades, going all the way back to Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell, so maybe that’s why the vibe is different here. One of his kids sings lead on one song and I guess also plays the harp. Like… a real harp, not a harmonica. I think a couple of kids sing backups on another song, and one kid also contributed some lyrics. Like I said, a bit of a family band thing. I am not put off by it at all this time. Maybe it’s because I have a family of my own now? I don’t know.

What I will say about this album though is that Gilmour hasn’t lost a speck of magic in the guitar soloing category. He was never the technical guy. He’s basically just a blues guitarist playing in a very non-blues setting. All pentatonics and bend notes and things like that. He’s not going to shred like Steve Howe. He’s not going to redefine technique like Robert Fripp. He’s not going to invent entirely new styles of playing like Steve Hackett. Nope, he’s just Dave Gilmour improvising perfect melodic passages and nailing them to staggering, passionate, perfection. This album is flooded with such playing. It’s everywhere. From the first note of the record to the last. It is littered with signature moments. Allow me to give particular notice to the song Scattered which literally gave me chills the first time I heard it. I was in the car driving home from the grocery store yesterday and I thought I was going to have to pull over and wait for the feeling to pass.

So there you have it. My fanboy review of one of my all time favorite musician’s new album. Go give it a spin. Luck and Strange by David Gilmour. Enjoy.

Hey, King Charles. Don’t you think it’s time Mr. Gilmour became Sir David? Let’s get on that, pretty please.

New Music

A new David Gilmour single:

A new Deep Purple single:

What do I think? The Purple song is pretty good. It’s the first release with their new guitar player, Simon McBride. I had only ever heard him on an episode of That Pedal Show, but he’s good. Really good. He’s not Ritchie Blackmore. I should not judge him based on the fact that he’s not Ritchie Blackmore. I am a Tommy Bolin fan and when Bolin replaced Blackmore in 1975 most of the Purple fandom shat on him because he isn’t Ritchie Blackmore. I would like to think I would have given him a chance were I paying attention and not four years old so in that spirit I want to give Simon McBride a chance. I gave Steve Morse a chance too, but he’s Steve Freakin’ Morse and he was already an absolute legend when he joined the band back in the 90’s. I saw the Steve Morse Purple live a few times. The guy was shockingly good. This song is okay.

Ian Gillan sounds particularly good here. I’ll wait for the full album release before I decide what I think for reals. I am not sure when it comes out, but it will be called =1, which is a name I probably would have tried to talk them out of if I were their A&R guy, or their producer, or their friend, or their neighbor who they occasionally talk to when we both happen to be outside doing yard work or something.

As for the David Gilmour song… woah. My one fear with his new record is that it sounds like it’s sort of a family band kind of thing. His wife has been his lyricist since the 90’s, but this time around his kids are playing all over the record as well. That sort of thing usually rubs me the wrong way. Other than that one irrational hang up, this song makes me really want this new album. The song is a killer. If it’s any indication of what we’re going to get with the full album then… yeah, bring it on. I want it now. Now!

Rock stars from the 60’s and 70’s who are still getting the job done in the 2020’s. Gilmour is 78 years old. Ian Gillan is 78 years old. Ian Paice is 75. Roger Glover is 78. Don Airey is 75. Simon McBride is 45 so… yeah, he’s younger than me so he doesn’t count for this discussion. Old people rocking. Who would have thought? Keep up the good work, old people. You too, young mister McBride.