One of the most anticipated releases of this second part of the year is “Luck and Strange”, David Gilmour's grand return.
The new album of unreleased material, 9 years after the previous one, is the current essence of Gilmour, his vision of how to make music.
“Lucky and Strange” opens in Gilmour style, with the unmistakable slow solo of the instrumental Black Catbefore moving on to the slow blues of the title track, a piece constructed in 2007 (recorded in 2007 during a jam in a barn at David's house) which saw the participation of the late Rick Wright on Hammond organ and electric piano.
The album proceeds without too many artifices in Gilmour's classic sound territories.
Sings It's a dreamy ballad about the impossible quest to slow down time, supported by an alternately stunning and relaxing orchestral soundtrack, while Dark and Velvet Nights It features a discontinuous groove until it reaches Between Two Pointsa cover of a 1999 song by British indie duo The Montgolfier Brothers, sung by their twenty-two-year-old daughter.
The album closes with Scatteredwith his heartbeat at the Dark Side of the Moon.
For technical information, “Lucky and Strange” was recorded over five months in Brighton and London and produced by David Gilmour and Charlie Andrew, with most of the album's lyrics composed by Polly Samson, Gilmour's co-writer and collaborator for the past thirty years. In addition to the “family” work, Romany Gilmour's vocals and harp and Gabriel Gilmour's backing vocals, the musicians who contributed to “Lucky and Strange” include Guy Pratt and Tom Herbert on bass, Adam Betts, Steve Gadd and Steve DiStanislao on drums, Rob Gentry and Roger Eno on keyboards, with string and backing vocal arrangements by Will Gardner.
To top it all off, the album cover image was photographed and designed by Anton Corbijn, and is inspired by a text written by Charlie Gilmour for the album's final song. Scattered.
Even though the structure of the album may seem a bit similar in all the songs, with the final guitar solo almost putting its signature, it is without a doubt Gilmour's best post-Floyd album.
MUST LISTEN NOW
Luck and Strange – Between Two Points – Sings
MUST SKIPP NOW
Nothing. A Gilmour album is an event and above all it is a sound experience!
SCORE: 8.00
Black Cat
Luck and Strange – Rating 8.00
The Pipers Call – Score 7.50
A Single Spark – Score 8.00
Vita Brevis —
Between Two Points with Romany Gilmour – Rating 8.00
Dark and Velvet Nights – Rating 7.50
Sings – Vote 8.00
Scattered – Score 7.75
Yes, I Have Ghosts – Rating 7.50
Luck and Strange (Original Barn Jam)
THE VOTES OF OTHERS
Uncut – Vote 9,oo
Mojo – Rating 8.00
Classic Rock Magazine (USA) – Rating 7.00
Rolling Stone (USA) – Score 7.00
