Pink Floyd

A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

A 'Lapse' In Quality, But Still a Mixed Blessing

Review Score:

(6/10)
The next time Pink Floyd's current self-proclaimed "leader" David Gilmour complains about the tyranny of former band member Roger Waters, this album should be brought to his attention; his egotism and lack of confidence in fellow band members is appalling.
Pink Floyd's first album without main composer Roger Waters, who departed in 1983, would not come without a fight. Waters claimed the right to the band name, and guitarist David Gilmour disagreed, resulting in a dreadful court battle that fortunately resulted in a ruling that denied the ex-bassist's claim. With all of this built up in the press, Pink Floyd fans were expecting a flawless acheivement full of the true Floyd sound they'd done before--instead, they got "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," released in 1987.
The album is full of advances (good and bad), and is overall a mixed blessing. Normally, a flawed comeback after a shaky hiatus would be expected from a lesser band, but not for the accomplished Floyd. The album's high points are dazzling, and overshadow some of the low points, but definitely not always. The biggest mistakes that Pink Floyd (or here, David Gilmour and crew) makes on "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" are impossible to overlook; the heavy reliance on session musicians and composers is ridiculous and absurd, wounding the natural Floyd ore. With all of the justified complaining about the domination of Waters, and the players' claims that the ex-bassist did little to let band-members Nick Mason and Richard Wright contribute very much, one must observe how "Momentary Lapse" marks the rightly labelled era of 'Gilmour Domination,' which even continued to 1994's "The Division Bell." In both production, arrangement, and composing, Gilmour does little (or next to nothing) to allow Mason to contribute, much less Wright, who was not called in until late in the album's sessions (and even then he was still at session player status). So it's no surprise that Gilmour pays tribute to his own overdone guitar work at least once in each song (especially on the grimly poetic 'Sorrow'). Four songs, the half-track 'Round and Around,' 'Terminal Frost' and the two-part 'A New Machine' are brief and unimaginative, leaving the listener to become curious at the length of time it took to finish the album (though some of it was due to court battles). There are many gracious qualities of "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" however, like the marvelous studio recording quality and the balance of sound effects is very impressive (much of this was due to Nick Mason, though his production credit was muted.) This is apparent on the swirling keyboard-synthesizer masterpiece 'Signs of Life' and the memorable 'Learning to Fly.' There are also some musical innovations, even for the already accomplished Floyd, in the overlooked and misinterpereted 'Dogs of War.' 'One Slip' is a great lyrical feat, though its arrangement is disappointing. 'On the Turning Away' is promising but could have been better, and 'Yet Another Movie' contains flaws that are more puzzling than they are disappointing.
Nonetheless, "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" is poetic in its approach, overall tone, and mood. More important, it re-established Pink Floyd's progressive sound, which had formerly been the responsibility of Roger Waters. This album sounds more surreal and three dimensional than Waters' limited sombre works. And if departing from Waters' boundaries was one of the goals of "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," Pink Floyd surely succeeds at that.

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