Pink Floyd

A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

Pink Floyd proves there is life after Roger Waters

Review Score:

(8/10)
Whatever you think of Roger Waters, Pink Floyd was clearly never the same after his rather acrimonious exit. Having won the right to continue using the band's name, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright recorded and released A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987. It's a far cry from the incredibly successful concept albums largely controlled by Roger Waters (e.g., The Wall, Dark Side of the Moon), and it has its inherent imperfections, but A Momentary Lapse of Reason is still an impressive album featuring some great musical moments and awesome Gilmour guitar riffs.

Freed from the controlling influences of Waters, David Gilmour dominates this album - he wrote or co-wrote every track, took up the mantle of lead singer, and did much to prove himself the greatest guitarist in the business. One can read certain things in the album title and some of the songs (e.g., Sorrow) about the whole Pink Floyd turmoil of the previous years, but the main problem with this album is its seeming lack of a unifying theme. There is unquestionably a great deal of intensity in the words and music, but there's no real depth. To me, the whole album has an artificial feel to it - especially compared with the Waters-dominated Pink Floyd releases. There are no bad songs on this album (although some Pink Floyd fans don't think very much of The Dogs of War), but few seem to work up any real emotion. One can get a feel for this in the opening instrumental track; there may be Signs of Life in the initial sounds of plodding movement through water, but these are lost in a cacophony of artificial voices speaking unintelligibly in the background. I have to admit that I don't always understand what Gilmour and the guys are trying to do in some of these songs.

Learning to Fly is somewhat pop-oriented track that succeeds quite well, but the first real magic is to be found in the song On the Turning Away. This track about man's lack of concern for his fellow man also features some amazing guitar work by Gilmour. Gilmour's finger work basically carries the second half of the album, one rendered somewhat obscure by the long instrumental Terminal Frost and its musical A New Machine bookends. The album closes out impressively, though, with Sorrow. This is the most emotionally compelling song on the album, and it opens with David Gilmour doing what he does best.

I can see how some Pink Floyd fans don't really care for this album. It's very different from what had come before, and the song lyrics don't really compare to those written by Roger Waters. Still, this is Pink Floyd - maybe not the Pink Floyd we wish we still had, but Pink Floyd nonetheless. David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright revived this group when many thought it was dead and buried, and their own distinctive musical creations introduced a new generation of fans to the magic that is, was, and always will be Pink Floyd.

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