Search - Pink Floyd :: Momentary Lapse of Reason

More than just signs of life...

DeNoor | The Netherlands | 11/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It starts off oh so mysterious and withheld. A laidback guitar leads us through the instrumental Signs Of Life and into Learning To Fly.



David Gilmour then sings the first vocals on an album by Pink Floyd without Roger Waters. "Into the distance, a ribbon of black

Stretched to the point of no turning back". And there is no turning back. I am already hooked on this track, and this album, knowing I will not stop until I am through every track. I am simply flying into a new Pink Floyd sound, I have a new universe to discover.



A massive wall of sound surrounds me, the use of effects and instrumentation unlike almost anything yet heard in the 80s.



Dogs Of War starts off great, but is by many considered the weakest track on the album. I am not sure if I agree. In my opinion it fits beautifully inbetween Learning To Fly and One Slip. The sound is filled with hard guitars and backingvocals that could be taken from Dark Side Of The Moon. I think even the sax-solo fits well with everything. OK, the lyrics might not be the greatest ever written, but sometimes the instrumentation can do a lot as well, as they do now.



One Slip, starts slow, but intensifies as we go along. It has nice use of drums, percussion and bass. As well as Mr. Gilmour's guitar of course. I like the way they have built the song and the way the backing vocals are arranged. This is also the track that has the title of the album in the lyrics.



"One slip, and down the hole we fall

It seems to take no time at all

A momentary lapse of reason

That binds a life for life

A small regret, you won't forget,

There'll be no sleep in here tonight"



On The Turning Away is a classic Pink Floyd ballad. It has everything. A strong and laidback build-up, until it grows and grows to an elegant song that grabs you and takes you along. You can't help stomping your foot to this one, in steady rhythm. In the beginning it is just Gilmours voice and a synth, then an acoustic guitar joins in, before drums and bass are allowed into the party. The electric guitar is also allowed a place eventually. No Pink Floyd ballad without a solo from Mr. Gilmour, which is very understandable, he is a champion at those.



Yet Another Movie follows the great ballad. It starts off almost sci-fi like. Somehow it makes me think of the Alien-movies. I have no idea why. They have an elegant sound here too. Which is the case with every Pink Floyd album through the years. They have never released anything with poor sound-quality. Yet Another Movie is sort of an inbetween song. And it's not the only one. The thing is that they fit so well though. I just love how they have arranged the instruments in this song, to create an atmosphere and an incredible sound. The guitar solo is excellent also on this one.



A New Machine part 1 is a logical follow up to Yet Another Movie. The second part of the album is sort of conseptual, as it deals with loss of innocense, and gives portrait of a man in desperation. A New Machine is made by Gilmour manipulating his voice by a voicebox, and last for just over a minute.



It leads directly to the intstrumental Terminal Frost. A moody track, where the saxophone has a vital role in bringing through the emotions. It's very well played, and when I listened to it on headphones the first time I got small shivers down my spine. Because it sounds beautiful, really beautiful. Especially at the soloparts in the middle of the song, when the backing vocals wrap the whole thing in so beautifully.



A New Machine Part 2 is even shorter than the first part, and serves as merely an intermission towards the best track on the album.



Track 10. Sorrow.

The guitar in the beginning takes the control of you and whirls you inside the Pink Floyd universe. It is impossible to resist. On the other hand, after the 9 previous tracks there is no resistance left, if it ever was any. I am not really going to say more about Sorrow, other than that you have to lend an ear to it yourself. Then you will really hear the magic of Pink Floyd, and David Gilmour.



Is it a downer that Roger Waters is not participating on this album? Yes it is, but the quality of the album is outstanding anyway, so you don't really miss Waters after you have heard it. At least that is how I feel. I know that many fans of Pink Floyd disagree with me on that. Which I have no problem with. There will always be different opinions about music, and that is the beautiful thing with music - we all see and hear things differently.



I recommend this album very much. It is not Dark Side Of The Moon, it is no Wish You Were Here or The Wall. But it is an album by Pink Floyd and it is an extremely good one. I'd recommend you to buy it!"