Pink Floyd

A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

This would be amusing if it weren't the Floyd

Review Score:

(4/10)
There is nothing on this album that you haven't heard already in 80's pop (David Bowie, 80's Springsteen, even Outfield). The entire album feels canned, prefabricated, and overproduced..... which would be FINE, had another 80's outfit recorded it. Unfortunately, a rich legacy including AMAZING albums such as DSOTM, WYWH, and Animals is here abandoned with the exit of Roger Waters. David Gilmour is the only Floyd member who plays on all the tracks (Mason and Wright do minor work), and he forsakes his guitar far too much in order to add canned synthesizers and cheap effects. He also writes most of the lyrics, which are flat and uninteresting after hearing Waters' lyrics. "A New Machine, Part 1," "Terminal Frost," and "A New Machine, Part 2," is the worst block of Floyd music to date.

I'm not being a Floyd nerd, but this album, AS a Pink Floyd recording, fails miserably. It is badly dated and devoid of the psychedelic flavor featured on nearly every other Floyd album, and lacks the classic rock riffs and ballads that "The Wall" and "The Final Cut" deliver.

Yet there are a few saving graces of this album. The organ part towards the middle of the instrumental "Signs of Life" sounds like a throwback to Iron Butterfly-era rock (but the 80's flavor is still undeniable). Gilmour has a few interesting solos throughout the album, and "On the Turning Away" is a good song..... NOT a great song-- if the boys had just laid off the cheesy effects in this song, it would have been a GREAT, more simple ballad that rivaled the terrific song, "Wish You Were Here."

All in all, if you need to complete your collection, get this album.... But if you love the David Gilmour of "Darkside" and "WYWH," you will be sorely disappointed by this effort... But if you ARE a fan of cheesy 80's rock, go for it! This is a novelty.

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