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DAVID GILMOUR : REMEMBER THAT NIGHT - LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL |
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Disc One
Disc Two
Label : David Gilmour Music Release Year : 2007 Running Time : 313 minutes NTSC : 16:9 Venue : Royal Albert Hall, London, UK Recording Date : May 29, 30 & 31, 2006 Review (AllMusic) : David Gilmour's third solo album, On an Island, had already topped the U.K. chart when he launched a European tour in March 2006, set to climax at the Royal Albert Hall with the show captured here. It goes without saying that it is stunning, both visually and aurally; how could any Pink Floyd-related project fail to be? But how stunning? It was less than 12 months, after all, since Floyd themselves re-formed for Live 8, and the fan club's heartbeat was still bumping fit to bust. But Gilmour transcended everything that his bandmates had conspired to reawaken, with a set that opened with a lush and lengthy slab of Dark Side of the Moon and then meandered through his own solo work (On an Island naturally dominates the set list) before flickering back to Floyd again. A heartfelt "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," a heartbreaking "Wish You Were Here," a surprising "Fat Old Son," and a stately "Echoes" reminded us that Roger Waters may have been the band's wordsmith, but Gilmour and keyboard player Rick Wright (who is also present here) were always the musical linchpins. Guest appearances from David Crosby and Graham Nash, Robert Wyatt, and David Bowie are exciting but ultimately unnecessary -- the Thin White Duke turns in a grand "Arnold Layne" and a smart "Comfortably Numb," but it is Gilmour's show, and no star can outshine him. Move on to disc two and the magic continues with a clutch of less-expected showstoppers, ranging from "Astronomy Domine" and "Wots...Uh the Deal" to the solo Syd Barrett's "Dark Globe"; a couple of watch-'em-once documentaries and a few other odds and ends round up the package. But it's the first disc's concert that you will return to again and again, and the sudden realization that, with Gilmour in this sort of form, we don't need no Floyd reunion.... |