David Gilmour - On an Island any good??

drunkenmaster

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Has anybody bought or heard this yet. Would be interested to hear your thoughts , I'll probably buy it anyway in a week or so.
 
drunkenmaster said:
Has anybody bought or heard this yet. Would be interested to hear your thoughts , I'll probably buy it anyway in a week or so.

it's not bad at all. a pleasant surprise. very floydy of old, rather than the floyd emulation of the post waters floyd

i'm looking forward to seeing him live in may now
 
I've just bought it and have only heard the first 2 1/2 tracks (in the car) so far....
First impressions are rather good. The first 2 tracks reminded me of the 'decent' Division Bell stuff, but the third track reminds me of the Obscured by Clouds album :thumbsup: in that it is very chilled and mellow.
Hopefully, free of the Pink Floyd name he has been able to produce an album without the need for it to sound like Floyd, and in doing so, may have recaptured what I though was missing from their last 2 releases - a chilled, blissful vibe.

Time will tell, but I'm looking forward to giving it a proper listen.

The packaging is interesting, a paper based booklet (not a jewel case) with a spongy bit keeping the disc in place. A Carbon Neutral CD !!
 
It's a very, very relaxed affair... Opening track "Castellorizon" feels particularly Floydian with its mix of orchestra, Gilmours crystalline guitar and sounds that drift in and out of hearing.
"On an Island" reminds me of his solo album "About Face" as well as parts of "A Momentary Lapse of Reason". Surprisingly it includes some fairly big solo's which come early in the track listing. Perhaps it would have been a better closing track? Nice harmonies with David Crosby and Graham Nash. Gilmours voice is more suited to harmonies then lead in my mind.
"Shameless Sea" reminds me of "Us and Them" a little. Partly because of Richard Wrights vocal I'm sure. Nice guitar part. Again, very laid back (almost horizontal). But it does sound like waves of the sea gently lapping the shore.
"Take a Breath". Interestingly it has a slightly discordant sound to it and is probably the least laid back track. Has some Floydian guitar parts, notably a feedback riff in the background. But, at nearly 60 is this maybe as close to 'Rock' Gilmour will get? But that's okay. I kinda like it.
"Red Sky at Night" featuring Gilmours sax work. The second instrumental. Probably the most downbeat track and by default one of the most Floyd like. Very lyrical. His sax playing has a similar feel as his guitar playing.
"This Heaven" has a nice riff to it with a very heavy bass drum and a particularly bluesy guitar solo. A fairly lightweight song but I can imagine it'd be a good foot-tapper.
"Then I Close My Eyes". Possibly my favourite track. The third instrumental. Very, very "chilled". It has a strong acoustic sound but with Gilmours electric guitar perfectly nailing the melody. I even like Robert Wyatts coronet. Oh and what's a cumbus?
"Smile". Starts with a simple arrangement and slowly builds to a warm middle section before receeding to the acoustic sound. Again has a strong acoustic vibe. It reminds me of his song "Near the End" from "About Face". Gilmours voice sounds good minus reverb and echo.
"A Pocketful of Stones" opens with a very Floydian sound. It starts with Gilmours voice and piano alone with the orchestra arrangement adding body and finishes with a fairlt simple guitar solo at the end. I'd have preferred a bigger solo with a full bodied orchestral arrangement but, well that's my preference.
"Where We Start" is the final track. Agiain a nice, subtle melody augumented with orchestra and bluesy guitar parts.
Do I like the album? Yes, though it is perhaps a little too laid back for me. But it doesn't sound like a Floyd album, which is a good thing as it would'nt have been very good if Gilmour had tried to do that. Instead it is a far more personal album and is perhaps more reflective of Gilmour than anything he's done up to now.
Yes I'd like there to have a little more "oomph" but I get what Gilmour has done and it makes a nice change. Perhaps Gilmour is guilty of being a little insular on this CD (French insulaire, from Late Latin īnsulāris, from Latin īnsula, island.) but there's nothing wrong with that. It still sounds good.
 
Heard a solitary track on the radio 2 today(album of the week I think). Cant recall what track it were but it did remind me of Floyd all over. A bit cumfortably numb I would say, mellow, laid back but involving listen.

Given what I heard certainly worth considering buying.
 
Got it this morning - listened to 8 tracks so far. Gotta agree with most of the posts, very laid back - floyd influences throughout- but it would be imo, as most artists, even though they veer to try something different, that certain 'signature', always remains. Very few artists change totally and still remain successful.

Very pleased with this so far, a definete :thumbsup:
 
I have listened to On An Island about four times now since getting it yesterday, and must say it is VERY laid back indeed, although it does grow on you.

Of course there is bound to be a Floyd influence there, most of the artists playing on the songs actually played with Floyd after the Roger Waters split. I'm very pleased with this CD now, first impession were that the first four tracks were fine and then the cd seem to drift off into some kind of laid back dream world, but listen again and you will become more aware of the quality of this production.

WELL worth the £9.77, a very well produced CD with some quality music to enjoy.
 
Listened once on main system thru speakers and once on headphones (sublime mix IMHO) - pretty much concur with above posts - yeah its pretty laid back but DG must have his bus pass already :) he's just mellowing with age :smashin:
 
Dave Gilmour fans may be interested to know he's live on R2 at the weekend. Details here.
 
Smile :) is the stand out track for me, currently anyway. It reminds me of songs like 'Fat Old Sun' and 'Green is the Colour'.

Q Magazine gave it 4 stars and for 'further listening' recommended Kate Bush's Aerial; I know from previous threads on here that it is supposed to be a good album, but is it in the same vein? I've not heard it.
 
GaryB said:
Dave Gilmour fans may be interested to know he's live on R2 at the weekend. Details here.

Caught it this eve and very good it was too. Pleased they doing an interactive TV viewing of the concert too.... albeit only 30mins.

The whole concert is available via the BBC site for the broadband bods among us.
 
ScouserAndy said:
good album, reminds me of '...lapse of reason'.

I find that a bit of a contradiction, :devil:

this album is better than aMLoR - which in my book is the worst album they've done (maybe the Ummagumma studio half comes close)

Just my personal opinion ;)
 
huwg said:
Smile :) is the stand out track for me, currently anyway. It reminds me of songs like 'Fat Old Sun' and 'Green is the Colour'.

Q Magazine gave it 4 stars and for 'further listening' recommended Kate Bush's Aerial; I know from previous threads on here that it is supposed to be a good album, but is it in the same vein? I've not heard it.

huwg - I'm not sure what the Q Mag reviewer was on when he/she made that recommendation (?) Aerial is an excellent album but hardly in the same vein IMO - there is one duff track IMO out of 80+ minutes - if you like the "rockier" KB stuff ("Cloudbusting" etc) it would be worth a listen (if not a blind buy) - sound quality wise "Aerial" IS in the same league as the Gilmour release (both superb IMHO)
HTH - Paul :smashin:
 
Bush's Aerial was probably recommended because Gilmour "discovered" Kate Bush in the '70s (not strictly true but most journos seem to think so).
Gilmour's "On An Island" isn't the same as "Aerial". It has a more acoustic feel to it where-as "Aerial" generally has a more layered panoramic feel. Still, I have both so it would'nt surprise me if others do too.
 
i love it. really laid back and cool. sounds real well put together, Gilmour voice is as awesome as ever , favourite songs are "on an island" and " the blue", excellent album book cover as well
 
Recieved said CD today from CD-WOW. As yet hasn't reached the playing machine but I have to say pleasantly surprised by the book style cover and page lyrics it arrived as. First impressions :thumbsup:

Anyone else have the same type of package?
 
per-Sony-fied said:
Recieved said CD today from CD-WOW. As yet hasn't reached the playing machine but I have to say pleasantly surprised by the book style cover and page lyrics it arrived as. First impressions :thumbsup:

Anyone else have the same type of package?

With the weird spongy bit to hold the CD in place?
I think they are all like that, I certainly haven't seen a standard jewel case type of package.
Maybe they will resort to that in a few months time, I don't know if it would keep its Carbon Neutral status though.
 
At Brain-Damage.co.uk they have a snippet about "On an Island" being released in 5.1 in the future. It would seem Gilmour intended it to be released in 5.1 (does'nt say SACD or DVD-Audio, though I'd assume SACD) but it'll now not be completed until after the tour/summer.
www.brain-damage.co.uk.
 
slackbladder said:
At Brain-Damage.co.uk they have a snippet about "On an Island" being released in 5.1 in the future. It would seem Gilmour intended it to be released in 5.1 (does'nt say SACD or DVD-Audio, though I'd assume SACD) but it'll now not be completed until after the tour/summer.
www.brain-damage.co.uk.

cool, i think it would suit 5.1 very well. i got my gilmour tix in the post today so i'm happy!
 
huwg said:
With the weird spongy bit to hold the CD in place?

That be the one. Shame tho' they could not of finished it off with a sleeve for the CD
 

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