In his work with Pink Floyd, David Gilmour's exact, blues-based guitar solos function as tense pivotal points that set the stage for the next revelation. On his first solo album, however, Gilmour simply flirts with his own crystalline perfection. Drummer Willie Wilson (from the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver) and bassist Rick Wills (a ubiquitous hack from Frampton's Camel, Roxy Music and the reconstituted Small Faces) are constrained to the sluggish tempos favored by Floyd, and Gilmour dives in like a duck to water.

Original album advertising art. Click image for larger view.

But the alien overview, the philosophical paradoxes that make Pink Floyd's lazy playing so poignant and pregnant, are sorely missed here. Gilmour affects a bland innocence in the face of earthly perversity in lyrics barely worthy of Samuel Beckett's shoeshine boy.

One cut stands out: "Short and Sweet," coauthored by muckraker Roy Harper. A longtime Floyd ally -- he sang the biting "Have a Cigar" on Wish You Were Here -- Harper is widely regarded as the most uncompromisingly honest songwriter in England. Here, he articulates the existential riddle of David Gilmour better than Gilmour himself can.

- Michael Bloom, Rolling Stone, 9/7/78.

Bonus Reviews!

The debut solo effort by Pink Floyd's lead guitarist and primary composer is, not surprisingly, an eight-cut prismatic view of Floyd's roots. Rich, textured guitar work pervades, accented by strong bass and drum work -- yet tastily restrained. Gilmour's emphasis seems more to center on his thought-provoking lyrics rather than the electronic web Floyd usually weaves around them. However, several cuts are instrumentals. Best cuts: "There's No Way Out Of Here," "Cry From The Street," "No Way," "I Can't Breathe Anymore."

- Billboard, 1978.

This heavily atmospheric guitar rock is in the tradition of his Pink Floyd work. * * *

- Donna DiChario, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.

 Reader's Comments

No comments so far, be the first to comment.