On an Island (Special Edition)

by

David Gilmour

Edit

This is NOT Pink Floyd. David Gilmour doesn't want it to be Pink Floyd. But it is a fantastic album by an amazing artist. It is best appreciated listening undisturbed start to finish with headphones on. David has gone all out in many ways... his web site gave tickets to see him perform on the Jay Leno show (which I was lucky enough to be a part of), he performed the first concert promoting his new album at the Mermaid Theater for lucky fans who won tickets from his web site. Later the Mermaid show appeared on the Big Screen. This cd has been re-released with a DVD of a performance for AOL, a song from his upcoming DVD Remember That Night, as well as a track from a performance he gave at Abbey Road studios for an upcoming tv event (I bought the DVD from his web site as a limited edition stand alone DVD and it is alone worth the price of the CD, but you get both!). His web site has gone all out with a blog and constant updates. Oh yeah- this is a review of the album... the title track is excellent with classic Gilmour guitar solos. The Blue features a guitar solo that gives a whole new meaning to the idea of "bending notes". Take a Breath has an incredible guitar solo at the end (and fares even better in the two(!) live versions on the DVD- and before you ask, yes both versions are worthy of being on the same DVD). I would say the only weak track is Smile, which I didn't care for much on his Meltdown DVD either. Aside from that, this is a really great album! And the more I listen to it the more it seems to just fit like a comfortable old shoe. Terrible imagery, but you know what I'm trying to say- right?

While nice to have a copy of this DVD (as indeed it is always enjoyable to own anything featuring Gilmour) the quality here is rather suspect in places (to put it mildly). The opening track from the forthcoming "Remember That Night" collection ("Take a Breath") is very grainy, with unacceptable levels of picture noise. Having been at the HD launch at the Odeon Leicester Square, London a couple of weeks ago, I am pleased to say that the final version is infinitely sharper. The Abbey Road take of "Astronomy Domine" is VG - and was not among the tracks broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK from that session. Both picture and sound quality are by far the best on this disk. The AOL sessions are frankly disappointing. The picture quality is lamentable - being no better than average streaming quality and showing judder and re-fresh lag on my 100Hz system. If you already have the CD (which I have had since the original release date) I'd save your money if I were you and put it towards the "Remember That Night" collection - which, from what I have seen thus far, is vastly superior and more representative of David's normal attention to detail and James Guthrie's exemplary sound mastering. A DVD for completists only!