"Luck And Strange"

David Gilmour: But no swan song yet

The clock is ticking relentlessly, but passion is stronger than fatigue: David Gilmour and his mature work "Luck And Strange".

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Sony Music, Anton Corbijn)

Former Pink Floyd mastermind David Gilmour asks himself age-related existential questions on "Luck And Strange", but at 78 he still allows himself to be led out of his usual cocoon and dares to do the unexpected. A dignified, stripped-down old man's work that doesn't have to hide from its own discography.

The fact that guitar legend David Gilmour is actually a perpetually grating contemporary has gone under the radar in recent years due to his behaviorally conspicuous ex-colleague Roger Waters - fortunately for Gilmour. While Waters is involved in unbearably one-sided discussions about Israel/Palestine and occasionally applauds the belligerent leadership qualities of Vladimir Putin, Gilmour has retired in recent years and is rarely seen in public. Tours only come around once in a blue moon, and there's been no need to think about new music for a long time, if you ignore the single "Yes, I Have Ghosts" released during the worst of the coronavirus turmoil in 2020 and a Ukraine benefit song with Nick Mason in 2022.

Pondering in peace
The administration of the estate of Pink Floyd, still the biggest and most innovative prog rock band in music history, was completed with the release of the album "The Endless River" in 2014. The fact that the eminence grise is now coming up with his first solo work since 2015 ("Rattle That Lock") can be seen as a medium-sized sensation. The pandemic was responsible for this, as Gilmour began to brood and fall into nostalgia loops during this enforced period of rest. Now 78 years old, he could no longer fully resist his advancing age and went into a creative retreat that ultimately resulted in extensive songwriting. Together with wife and writer Polly Samson, who is once again responsible for the lyrics, the cult guitarist embarked on a life review to create an album with very contemporary content.

"Luck And Strange" is a mixture of predictable Pink Floyd references, attempts to break out and, above all, a juxtaposition of the young David Gilmour with the present. He drummed up a number of extravagant musicians (including Roger Eno) and pieced together the album's nine songs in five or six different studios (including Mark Knopfler's British Grove Studios). Knopfler can be used as an elementary guiding figure in terms of sound, because if you disregard the only rare, escalating psychedelic swerves, the album's calm, completely laid-back approach resembles the last sound excerpts of the former Dire Straits genius. For several months, Gilmour and Samson went to work from Monday to Friday in a tiny, specially equipped studio room and meticulously pieced together the congruent work.

Paying homage to a friend
Gilmour's joy at his own work is infectious. He describes it as his best album since Floyd's masterpiece "The Dark Side Of The Moon" (1973), which not only die-hard fans and long-time band lovers will find hard to accept. But you can't compete with tastes and the fact that Gilmour was happy to be guided by fresh and unspent feelings of his own youthfulness in his nostalgic journey can be seen as particularly beautiful. After a short intro, the Brit goes right back to the near past in the introductory title track and pays homage to his old friend Rick Wright. The Floyd keyboardist, who died in 2008, can also be heard here with an expansive solo that originates from a jam back then and has been expertly restored for utilization.

The finiteness runs like a red thread through the individual songs, which, however, do not automatically lapse into melancholy. The relatively recent single release "Dark And Velvet Nights", for example, poses the question of how Gilmour and Samson could go on before the approaching end, but the musical momentum turns the composition in a positive direction. In the leisurely swaying "Sings", the bard worries about the relentlessness of time, which is running through his fingers at an ever faster pace, and relies in part on orchestral support. An important influence on the adapted instrumentation was the brand new producer Charlie Andrew, who is generally known for his work with the indie band alt-J and who - probably also due to his age - has never really come into contact with Pink Floyd's work.

Progressive deformations
This in turn impressed Gilmour, who is used to being surrounded by yes-men due to his status and is rarely challenged from the outside to peel himself out of his usual cocoon of comfort. This joy of experimentation, the tendency towards more sophisticated pop and less psychedelic display of intelligence is very good for the project as a whole, because it really does show one of the most prominent songwriters in rock history in a different light at an advanced age. The track "A Single Spark", as Gilmour candidly tells us, was shaped by Andrew in such a way that he had to be painstakingly persuaded to do it. Despite all the darkness of content and musical heaviness, "Luck And Strange" is a masterpiece that just doesn't fit into the boiling midsummer in terms of release date. Gilmour, however, is obviously keen for more and has hinted that he would like to go back into the studio with the whole team soon. Please do - the Brit is in absolute top form in the winter of his career.