Label: Sony Music
Release date: 6. 9. 2024
Production: David Gilmour & Charlie Andrew
Album length: 43.21 min
Genre: Art Rock
Rating: 8.5/10
»Luck And Strange« is the fifth album from British singer-songwriter David Gilmour. Yes, that’s the guy who, more than anyone, defined the sound of one of the greatest rock bands of all time. No need to even name them. This fifth record is one we can safely say deserves the role of an epitaph to the more than fascinating career of this incredibly talented musician. With that hint, it’s probably clear that the rest of this review is just as approving of Gilmour’s new record.
It’s all here. The dreamy tempo, Gilmour’s trademark guitar tone, outstanding solo flourishes at certain points of the album, and his distinctive, almost proverbial ‘humming’ voice, which, even at the artist’s enviable age, still pulls off a few serious high-register feats in these mature years (e.g. the chorus of the title track).
David says the reason for this album is a ‘strange luck’ he didn’t expect, when inspiration for writing new material (and/or finishing old ideas) suddenly and unexpectedly showed up. He adds that he’ll soon release another studio album with the crew that recorded this one with him in the studio. Well, if it stays with »Luck And Strange«, then as mentioned in the opening sentence, it’s the perfect full stop on the colorful musical epic of this musical genius.
There’s no flirting with French jazz on the new album (remember that totally unnecessary ‘waltz’ on »Rattle That Locks«), nor any other adventures into genre fields we associate with the name David Gilmour, or the mighty name of his famous mother band. That’s a good thing, although… David’s guitar style and instantly recognizable vocals are so dominant that every genre bends and warps around them. Hand on heart, Gilmour’s fans don’t want those trips to ‘who knows where’. Speaking of fans, they’ll be especially pleased with one of the two bonus tracks: an almost 15-minute ‘jam’ version of the title track, recorded back in 2007, featuring the late Richard Wright, Gilmour’s Pink Floyd companion and keyboardist, on Hammond and electric piano. In this jam, the blues note that underpins the composition comes through even more intensely than in the album version.
The album opens in Gilmour’s favorite way. With an instrumental, which isn’t Lucifer Sam but Black Cat. This time it’s considerably shorter than similar openers on his past two solo albums. »Luck And Strange« is, as expected, a ‘dreamy’ album. Within that dreaminess it keeps up a brilliant sense of variety, both in ideas and in execution. Its added value lies in the details of motivic contrast. True, everything is subordinate to the persona of Mr. Gilmour, with his expressive vocals and unmistakable guitar as the album’s first violins, but the top-notch musicians backing him on the record are sharply audible.
On the production side, David treated himself to something new. He invited young producer Charlie Andrew to collaborate, and his less pronounced insight into the seventies, when rock was getting up on its feet globally, paired with the seasoned experience of an old tomcat and the search for common denominators, was even useful. The album sounds organic, the contrasts are cunningly balanced against each other, and, of course, the legendary guitarist takes center stage at every turn. Sonically, though, it’s fresher, and in that sense audibly a step away from its predecessor.
Covers aren’t exactly what you’d associate with David Gilmour. Well, this time David allowed himself such an excursion. It’s called Between Two Points. A brilliant pairing with his daughter Romany Gilmour, with whom he tackled the adaptation of a song originally by The Montgolfier Brothers (from 1999). Set against the rest of the album, this track fits so well that it feels like an original. And Romany doesn’t just shine vocally on this cover; her voice is also beautifully woven into the backing harmonies across the whole album. The young woman also tries her hand at the harp in the short instrumental Vita Brevis. At the tail end of the album there’s another bonus track, Yes, I Have Ghosts, which, together with Romany, speaks in a similar way to the cover mentioned a moment ago. It has a folk flavor and is a serious contender that could have swapped places with the cover Between Two Points on the album.
The most ‘thunderous’ track on the album is Dark And Velvet Nights – it stands out from the rest of the material in its ‘thunder’, but what the album’s integral songs, like this one, the title track, The Piper’s Call after it, and the excellent closer Scattered, share is a gradual build and rise in mood that reaches its crescendo in the final stretches of the tracks. As the minutes tick by, these songs develop in a progressive rock direction, in harmony with Gilmour’s well-known and proven art rock recipe, to which he stays completely faithful. So all the integral trademarks of his artistry are present on the new album too. Dreaminess is, of course, synonymous with a pinch of psychedelia on the album (an adjective that has always been tied to David). It shines in full especially in the gorgeous, mellow Sings, which sets up the runway for the album’s closing peak, Scattered. That track carries the album to its summit with an outstanding finish to the build-up (a pompous construction of an atmospheric backdrop), which, with Gilmour’s guitar, trades in associations with the unforgettable Pink Floyd classic Comfortably Numb. In one word: outstanding.
Given the colorful variety of ideas, and the fact that there are no surprises in the sense of excursions into different genre territories, it’s easy to conclude that »Luck And Strange« is a markedly stronger album than its predecessor »Rattle That Locks«, and that it reaches the expressive level of »On An Island« (2006) and in places even surpasses it. An album, then, that justifies everything the name of this mighty music legend stands for! It’s a pleasure to listen to.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Black Cat
2. Luck And Strange
3. The Piper’s Call
4. A Single Spark
5. Vita Brevis
6. Between Two Points – with Romany Gilmour
7. Dark and Velvet Nights
8. Sings
9. Scattered
Lineup:
David Gilmour – all guitars, piano (1), lead vocals (2–4, 7–9), ukulele (3), Höfner bass guitar (3, 8), Farfisa organ (3), backing vocals (2-4, 6–8), keyboards (6, 9), Hammond organ (7), bass guitar (9), Leslie piano (9)
Richard Wright – electric piano, Hammond organ(2)
Romany Gilmour – lead vocals (6), backing vocals (2–4, 6–8), harp (5-6)
Gabriel Gilmour – backing vocals (3, 4)
Rob Gentry – synthesizer (1–4, 6, 9), keyboards (3, 6, 8-9), piano (4, 6, 8-9), organ (7)
Roger Eno – piano (1, 9)
Guy Pratt – bass guitar (2, 3, 7–9)
Adam Betts – percussion (2, 4, 6–9), djembe (3), drums (4)
Steve DiStanislao – drums (2)
Steve Gadd – drums, percussion (3, 6–9)
Tom Herbert – bass guitar (4)
Edmund Aldhous – organist and musical director of the Ely Cathedral choir
Ely Cathedral choir – vocals
Angel Studios choir – vocals
Angel Studios orchestra
