It appears the rumors I’ve been hearing are true and erstwhile Pink Floyd guitarist/singer David Gilmour is set to release his fifth studio album Luck And Strange this coming September. Today he’s released the first single from the album, “The Piper’s Call.”

It may seem odd that David Gilmour, a very famous musician, has only put out five studio albums (if I include Luck And Strange) over the years. Of course from the 60s through the early 80s he was busy in Pink Floyd with Roger Waters, Rick Wright and Nick Mason. And from the late 80s on he was busy… well, in Pink Floyd with only Rick Wright and Nick Mason. I don’t think there was a more contentious break up in rock n roll history as Pink Floyd’s split between Gilmour/Mason/Wright and Waters. These guys make the Beatles break up look like a slightly unruly evening at a bingo night at the local church.

I have to admit, like most critics I’ve been up and down on Gilmour’s solo career. His guitar playing is some of the most melodic, recognizable, soulful sounds ever generated from the instrument. When Gilmour played guest guitar on a Pete Townshend or Paul McCartney record, you knew it was Gilmour. Pink Floyd ranks amongst Zeppelin and the Stones in the 70s pantheon of “cool” bands that every rock head loved. If you weren’t into those bands you might as well have been listening to disco. You were simply “uncool.”

However, in his solo career Gilmour has been less successful. Of course a lot of Pink Floyd “purist” would say that A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and The Division Bell, Pink Floyd’s albums without Waters are merely Gilmour solo records disguised as Floyd records. Sigh… Most critics will tell you that About Face from 1984 is the “pick of the litter” in terms of his solo career. I would probably agree with that assessment but I really liked his last studio album, Rattle That Lock. One of the issues that most critics, and fans for that matter, bring up is that Gilmour’s songwriting partner and lyric writer is his wife Polly Sampson. You get the usual “Yoko” kind of complaints about that. Hey, the guy can partner with whomever he wants, and he chooses to partner with his wife. Although I’m not immune to the ol’ trope that it’s a bad sign when you invite your significant other into the band.

Having enjoyed Rattle That Lock, I’m actually sort of looking forward to Luck And Strange. I’ve been listening to this new track, “The Piper’s Call” all morning. It wouldn’t have been out of place on his last album. The track starts off with a quiet acoustic guitar, quite lovely actually. It’s almost a Spanish guitar thing. Suddenly Gilmour’s voice – which I’ve always loved – comes on. The guy has lost nothing vocally over the years. The track kind of meanders along until the chorus when some fabulous Gilmour electric guitar comes in. He’s so plaintive in the way he plays. The track is mellow for the first minute and a half. But that chorus with Gilmour’s distressed vocals and wonderful guitar drew me in. His guitar playing is the main reason to stick around. Here’s the track:

It’s not a track that’s going to change anybody’s life or reignite a career the way say, Billy Joel’s “Turn The Lights Back On” did, but it’s not a bad little song. And if you’re a Pink Floyd fan – and who among us isn’t? – you’ll probably dig this one.

The album isn’t out until September but rest assured B&V will be out there with our ear to the ground… heeding the piper’s call, so to speak.

Cheers!