There's no way out of here (David Gilmour) (LP 2622 - 2625)

David Gilmour  David Gilmour (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1978) *****  

David Gilmour  On An Island (Vinyl, EMI Records, 2006) ***  

David Gilmour  Live in Gdańsk (Vinyl, EMI Records, 2008) ****

David Gilmour  Rattle That Lock (Vinyl, EMI Records, 2015) ***

Genre: Prog rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records, Fopp, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: There's No Way Out Of Here (David Gilmour)

Gear costume: Smile (On An Island); Echoes (Live in Gdańsk)

Active compensatory factors: I'm pretty sure the cover to David Gilmour, his debut solo album, is meant to remind us of Pink Floyd's Ummagumma (1969). Given he's an intelligent, thoughtful guy, and Ummagumma was used to present a collection of solo pieces by each member, I'm thinking it is a deliberate move to use that iconic album as a starting point for his career away from Pink Floyd.

I love David Gilmour, just as I prefer his version of Pink Floyd to Roger Waters' version. I also admire his loyalty: the other two musicians on the album are Rick Wills (bass) and Willie Wilson (drums) - both of Jokers Wild, the band Gilmour was in prior to joining Pink Floyd as a replacement for Syd Barrett.

The music is naturally reminiscent of Floyd past and future after Waters left. It's catchy and very accessible. It also sounds great - they lock into a groove that is sustained throughout the album. Gilmour's singing is superb and his guitar tone unique. A classic 5 star album in my book.

During the eighties I bought About Face (1984), his second album, but sold it off. It's disappointing, especially compared to David Gilmour.

So, the story continues with his third solo album - 22 years after About Face with On An Island, a hugely successful album.

There are plenty of big hitting guest stars: Crosby and Nash on harmony vocals; Richard Wright; Robert Wyatt; Jools Holland: and Georgie Fame. 

The sound is unmistakably Gilmour - those fantastic vocals and that languid guitar style. Having said that, he earns bonus points on this album for trying different song structures and using different types of orchestrations.

The Live in Gdańsk 2CD set records the last night of his 2006 tour to support On An Island, so it includes live versions of that album's songs plus a number of Pink Floyd favourites. 

Sadly, it's the last Pink Floyd related album to feature Richard Wright, who passed away in 2008. Given that, the version of Echoes is very special - the interplay of Gilmore/ Wright's voices is unique and at its best on this song. It also features a great organ/guitar duel between the two.

Aside from Echoes, Richard and Roger perform a brilliant Comfortably Numb and Wish You Were Here has a lovely Richard Wright piano bit in it. 

Rattle That Lock came out in 2015 and was another very successful album, commercially, and the critics liked it!

It's a good album, quite similar to On An Island in approach and features pretty much the same musicians, including Crosby/Nash on one song.

Where do they all belong? There should be a new album released this year - Luck And Strange is scheduled for the end of 2024.