Review: David Gilmour, ‘Luck And Strange’ – The Pink Floyd Guitarist’s First Solo LP In Nine Years

Erstwhile Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has returned with his first solo album in nine years, Luck And Strange. We heralded his return a while ago with a post about the first single, “The Piper’s Call,” a song that has only grown in my estimation since it came out. I had to look it up, but Luck And Strange is only Gilmour’s fifth solo album since he launched his solo career in 1978 with his self-titled album. Although I can almost hear the Pink Floyd purists out there who will always say that the Gilmour-led, Roger Water-less Pink Floyd albums A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, The Division Bell and The Endless River were actually Gilmour solo albums masquerading as Floyd. A guy who worked for me, who loved Pink Floyd, always claimed that point, despite the fact that his ring-tone was “Learning To Fly.” Purists, what are you gonna do?

When I think about Gilmour’s solo career and having only released now 5 albums over 46 years you have to think “Here’s a guy that is not too concerned about having a solo career.” He’s certainly no Sting, for example. I think it’s funny his arch nemesis and former band mate Roger Waters has only released 4 solo albums over the course of the last 40 years – if I ignore The Lockdown Sessions and his ill-advised The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux, both revisits of former material. These guy’s don’t agree on much, but apparently they share that lackadaisical approach to a solo career. Perhaps they each needed the other more than they realized.

David Gilmour, as lead guitarist and sometimes lead singer for Pink Floyd is, in my opinion, one of rock’s greatest guitarists. His guitar sound is so distinctive, it could almost be a vocal. I don’t care if he’s playing on a track by Kate Bush, Pete Townshend, or Paul McCartney, I’m gonna look up at the stereo and say, “That’s David Gilmour on guitar.” It was junior high school for me when I became a Floyd fan. My first purchase was, of course, Dark Side Of The Moon. I slowly began to buy the back catalog from there. It wasn’t until I was in college that I discovered Gilmour’s solo debut, David Gilmour. I always thought back then if an artist was part of a band I love, I’m going to automatically like their solo record.  I was wrong about Gilmour’s solo debut and I’m on record as loving solo debut albums. There was just nothing I could connect to there.

It was six years later and after a contentious breakup with Roger Waters before we heard another Gilmour solo album, 1984’s About Face. It is critically, and I think by most fans, heralded as his best solo work. “Blue Light” from that album made my Songs From 1984 Playlist. Gilmour wrote most of the songs himself – with a few lyrical contributions from Pete Townshend. I remember recording my roommate Drew’s copy on cassette, which is how I got a lot of music in those days. It was 22 years until his next solo record, 2006’s On An Island. He took a lot of heat on that record for using the lyrics written by his wife, Polly Samson. I found that album to be utterly dull. It was so laid back it was somnambulant. It was a bad record, but it wasn’t Samson’s fault. The critics all cried, “He has any lyricist in the world to work with and he chose his wife.” Sigh. Lyrics from Townshend or even Bob Dylan wouldn’t have saved that sleepy music. There were a few solo’s that got my attention, but I was mostly disappointed with that record.

As usual there was a long break before we got another Gilmour solo album. In 2015, when B&V was in it’s nascent stages, he released Rattle That Lock, and I actually really liked that album. It got “meh” reviews but it was his most coherent album since About Face. The song “In Any Tongue” is one of the most moving songs he’s ever written. That album has only grown better with repeated listens. Again, that record featured lyrics from Samson which may have only nettled the critics more. But for me it was Rattle That Lock that brought me back to Gilmour’s solo career and gave me such hope for this new album, Luck And Strange.

I think this is a very solid album. Gilmour’s solo records just keep getting better. However, to be honest, while I think this is a much better record than On An Island, it doesn’t reach the heights of Rattle That Lock for me. Perhaps it’s the curse of expectations, but after 9 years I feel like I could be objective. About Face remains his best solo album, no threat from this album. I will say – and I never comment on this – the album art is some of the worst I’ve seen from Gilmour. It’s clear he’s not working with Hipgnosis on album art any more… And he’s made this even more of a family affair – his wife wrote the lyrics, his son sings back up vocals on a couple of tracks and… his daughter sings lead on a song.

I’ve been playing the extended edition, with 11 songs. Of those 3 are instrumentals, which for Gilmour is a positive thing. I love when the guy just stands back and plays a bluesy, plaintive guitar solo. “Black Cat” opens the record and is a blast of that signature Gilmour guitar. I almost hear echos of “Marooned” from Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell. “Vita Brevis” is, as named, a brief track which is mostly acoustic. It feels like connective tissue. The final track is a 12-minute song, “Luck And Strange Original Barn Jam,” that I just love. We forget how “jammy” Floyd could be. I love that the band are just hanging out grooving… it’s probably considered an outtake, but I always listen to the whole thing.

We tend to judge artists who were formerly in a band we love, by how much the solo record sounds like the former band. I think it’s just natural to do that, although we probably shouldn’t think that way… As such, I find myself tending to gravitate more towards Gilmour’s tracks that sound, well, Pink Floyd-y. In much the same way I like some of the aforementioned Sting’s solo stuff when it sounds Police-y like his new track “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart).” That said, I love the title track on this album. It just slinks onto the speakers. I could say it’s Floyd-y but I’ll just say it has some keyboards played by Pink Floyd’s keyboard player, the late Richard Wright. I think it’s cool he’s worked Wright in on his last few solo records in tribute to his fallen comrade. It’s a great song. It feels like a man looking back and thinking, “The world of my youth, the sixties, can’t have been all for naught?” “The Piper’s Call,” as mentioned, gets better with each listen.

“Dark And Velvet Nights” is the loudest track here. It starts with a big riff and some organ and just marches along…it’s another highlight. Gilmour’s voice is a little more gravelly now and he strains on some of the high notes, but kudos to him for not using autotune. “Scattered” is another strong track that has a few moments that remind me of a mini-“Echos.” It’s another slinky, prog-blues kind of thing. It has a huge piano crescendo in the middle… it would have a perfect time to hit us with a huge guitar solo but alas, Gilmour just picks the vocal back up there. “A Single Spark,” is on the ballad side of things… Gilmour sings in a deeper register and it has a great guitar solo.

There are few near misses here. As mentioned, Gilmour employs his daughter Romany for lead vocals on “Between Two Points,” a song about (maybe?) misogyny. I dig the message but her vocals leave me cold – and don’t get me wrong, I like women singers. I can get by the lyrics from his wife, but having his daughter take the mic leaves me a little cold. At least Gilmour’s guitar keeps the song interesting. “Sings” is an acoustic ballad that feels under-baked. “Yes I Have Ghosts,” also acoustic, feels like an old folk song. I like it, but I’m not sure most people will. The album does sort of run out of speed on the back end and gets really mellow but that may just be a matter of sequencing.

While David Gilmour’s solo career has definitely been up and down, I think I’d classify this one on the “up” side. It’s a near miss for me. There are enough good songs and great music to engage me, but not enough to get me to rave about it. It’s definitely worth hearing for the guitar solo’s at least. This is definitely an album I will recommend everybody at least gives a listen or two. Some of the songs will absolutely grow on you. I was really looking forward to recommending this one, but I just can’t. Let’s hope that Gilmour doesn’t wait another 9 years for his next record. I hear he’s going to tour behind Luck And Strange and head back into the studio to record his next one. I’ll have my ear to the ground for that one…

Cheers!