David Gilmour – David Gilmour (1978)

From progarchives.com

Review by Sean Trane

A very good solo album (and only topped by Roger’s Amused To Death) as I am usually very wary of solo albums of group members, this ranks among the better one ever coming out of the Floyd stable. Released a few months before Rick Wright’s Wet Dream, both album probably suffering from Floyd’s Animals’ proximity, these albums can be seen nowadays a bit differently than back then: Obviously Roger Water’s concepts about Floyd’s musical directions was causing a pile of songs that the other two writers couldn’t use on the group’s albums, so they had to do something in order to get them published. Both chose solo albums.

Short unrelated songs that are generally spreading wider than the usual Floyd spectrum, this self-titled debut is an honest one, where it’s obvious Gilmour is not keeping his better material for his solo ventures (some issue often popping up in other groups), as there are no tracks of the calibre of Dogs or Comfortably Numb. Gilmour’s voice used alone, without Wright’s to tone it down, might surprise a bit, but you recognize the man’s vocal chords immediately.

Opening on the made-for-spacey-guitar instrumental Mihalis, the mood is set for mid-tempo tracks that are more (another delightful made-for-guitar instrumental, Raise My Rent) or less (So Far Away, No Way Out Of Here, Short And Sweet) successful tracks, some being a bit haunting like No Way. A bit harder is the track Cry From the Street, where Gilmour’s guitar is obviously feeling in its edgy playing the kid’s cry of anguish and anger in the never-ending 70’s economic crisis hitting the UK. The very Jeff Beck-like (the JR/F era) It’s Deafinitely is another instrumental winner , but the album closes on the neutral I Can’t Breathe Anymore, which is a bit of a miss – better save a good track for an album’s outro.

Despite some of the unmistakably Gilmour songwriting ticks, I don’t see much relation to Floyd music of that era (that’s Animals or The Wall) or others outside of the guitar playing and the singing. Clearly this album was made like Wet Dream for two songwriters to publish their musical ideas while a third musician was hogging the group’s album for his mammoth projects. Both this and Wet dream are minor works, especially compared to Water’s then-works, but they have much charms and merits.

Review by FloydWright

David Gilmour’s self-titled first solo album was, without a doubt, the best one he did. While not always the most innovative member of the Floyd in terms of composing (lyrics and music), he does do a quality job here of making a rock album. Like any work written solely by Gilmour, this album relies on traditional chord structures and styles. The lyrics are also pretty ordinary, not always even seeming personal to him (guy wants girl, guy can’t have girl), although occasionally with some interesting wordplay. If you enjoyed songs like “The Gold, it’s in the…” and particularly “Childhood’s End” from Obscured by Clouds, you should do well with this album. From a purely prog standpoint, I give this album a 3…but those who are interested in straight rock-and-roll should consider my rating a 4 instead.

Perhaps DG’s musical best is “Raise My Rent”, which, interestingly enough, seems to be the inspiration for “What Do You Want From Me?” on The Division Bell (my second favorite instrumental being “It’s Deafinitely”). After that, I’d name “Short and Sweet”, which departs a bit from a more standard rock format, giving it an easily memorable sound all to itself. That’s the trouble with this album–that certain songs are too “standard”, and while they’re well made, and showcase Gilmour’s guitar and vocal talents well, they don’t really stick in the mind. “Mihalis” , for instance, while still very nice, is not as effective as Rick Wright’s instrumental “Waves” in evoking the feel of the sea–one might guess the latter’s subject matter without the title (WRIGHT musically creates the sound of waves slapping into a boat’s hull), whereas the subject of “Mihalis” requires explanation to get the intended images. Mihalis, incidentally, was the name of Gilmour’s boat.

Here are two of the other noteworthy moments to watch for. GILMOUR shows off his capabilities on multiple instruments on “Cry from the Street”–he does a nice job with the Hammond organ that would not seem out of place on a Pink Floy album. Perhaps Rick Wright gave him lessons? If so, he seems to have paid attention. Also, the singing in “So Far Away” is some of the best I’ve ever heard from him anywhere, and perhaps the most difficult. The rapid note changes are quite impressive–not the sliding, warbling sound so common in today’s second-rate radio garbage, but clear, crisp notes each individually sounded in rapid succession.

Overall, this rates as Gilmour’s strongest album. Guitar enthusiasts will be happy to know that his playing excels throughout and his unique style is unmistakable. The only drawback is, unlike Pink Floyd and Rick Wright’s albums, other instruments aren’t generally ever invited to the forefront. Even trumpet legend Miles Davis would yield the floor to other instruments, making his accomplishments no less remarkable. Something similar might have helped here. This, and other flaws, are why I can’t award five stars, or four from the prog standpoint. Still, I think serious Floyd fans should definitely consider buying a copy.