David Gilmour – Luck and Strange

David Gilmour is one of the most influential guitarists of his generation – a generation with many great guitarists. But being the guitarist in Pink Floyd is a big deal – his Pink Floyd solos are truly iconic. In 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour’s solos for Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb,” “Time,” and “Money” among the top 100 greatest guitar solos. He is not the fastest, doesn’t have a broad palette, and is not technical, but he makes up for it with a beautiful tone and a tasteful sense of melody. As a friend of a friend once said: “It isn’t that David Gilmour is the technically best guitarist. He just happens to play exactly the right note at exactly the right time.”

This is Gilmour’s fifth studio album. It was produced by Charles Andrew, best known for his work with indie band Alt-J. In interviews promoting the album, Gilmour said that Andrew challenged him musically and was not intimidated by his past work with Pink Floyd. Luck and Strange is as strong as his last album, 2015’s Rattle That Lock, which, in my review at the time, I declared a masterpiece (that was a bit of an exaggeration – but I was excited at the time). I continue to be impressed with what some geriatric rock stars (the Stones, Dylan, Springsteen, etc.) are creating late in their careers (Gilmour is 78).

The album opens with “Black Cat,” an atmospheric instrumental that serves as a hors d’oeuvre to set up the rest of the album.

The music for the titular track, “Luck and Strange, ” is based on a jam with Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, who died in 2008. The original jam is included as a bonus track on the streaming version and various special editions (it is not part of the standard and color vinyl editions). That bonus track is worth seeking out.

“Between Two Points” is a cover of a 1999 song by the dream pop duo the Montgolfier Brothers. It is sung by Gilmour’s daughter, Romany Gilmour. Romany contributes backup vocals and harp on several tracks on Luck and Strange.

“The Piper’s Call” starts as a gentle acoustic guitar-focused ballad before unleashing a full-on Pink Floyd vibe, including an epic Gilmour electric guitar solo.

“A Single Spark” is a nice slow burn of a song until Gilmour launches into a quiet storm of a guitar solo.

“Vita Brevis” is a short but gorgeous harp solo from Romany Gilmour. It is a nice set-up for “Between Two Points,” which features Romany on vocals.

“Dark and Velvet Nights” sounds like classic Floyd.

“Sings” is a mellow, atmospheric, warm blanket sprinkled with Gilmour’s take on Merseybeat.

“Scattered” is a beautiful reflection on growing old and appreciating and accepting the waning days—the song is like a perfect sunset. It’s another tremendous searing guitar solo, too.

“Yes, I Have Ghosts” is an acoustic guitar-focused duet between a father and their daughter—the song is a quiet ending to a beautiful album—a minuet on quaaludes.

Gilmour has not lost a step in his vocals, guitar playing, songwriting, and studio wizardry. The collaboration with his daughter on vocals and harp is a nice touch. The guitar solos alone are worth the price of admission.

I have been listening to the Tidal high-resolution stream (24-bit/96 kHz FLAC), which sounds fantastic. This is one of the best-sounding recordings of the year. If you can listen to this album on a nice stereo, I highly recommend it—listening on Spotify with earbuds misses the point.