Recently there have been several eventsbecome real holidays for Pink Floyd fans. Last year, the Orion London Orchestra recorded songs from the album Wish you were here with symphonic treatment. Alice Cooper's vocals in several compositions of this disc are one of his undeniable merits. And this year saw the light of the long-awaited new record by Roger Waters.
Recently, the music world has stirred anotherawesome news. David Gilmour has released a new live album, Live in Pompeii. The venue of this show is a landmark for an artist, since as far back as the late sixties he performed there as part of the Pink Floyd group. That concert was also recorded and released on the record. The new show took place 45 years after the historic performance. During this time, much has changed.
David Gilmore from the musician of the beginning rock bandturned into a star of world scale, and the team itself acquired the cult status of one of the greatest teams in the history of the genre. The guitarist and vocalist performs at this concert not only compositions from the Pink Floyd repertoire, but also solo works, mainly from the last album. This circumstance is an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with the work of a musician outside the group.
The recording features stunning sound quality.David Gilmore's guitar is brought to the forefront by sound engineers. Therefore, students can fully enjoy the signature sound of the instrument and the style of play of the famous rocker. This is what is sometimes lacking when listening to Pink Floyd’s studio and live recordings.
На пластинках группы звучание соло-гитары drowned in the general mix. Well, and, of course, the parts of keyboards and drums always sound so bright that sometimes they do not allow us to concentrate on the virtuoso playing of David Gilmore.
So, the new record allows fans to completeat least learn the style of play of Dave. A variety of song repertoire allows the audience to demonstrate the sound of the famous British guitar in the context of various musical styles. The program includes both psychedelic tracks and lighter pieces from solo albums.
Surely many fans of Pink Floyd,listening to the first songs of the disc, they will be surprised: what kind of music does our beloved and highly respected David play? Indeed, the concert does not begin as many fans of the famous Englishman expected. The opening track is a song from one of Gilmore’s solo CDs. Therefore, it is worth saying a few words about the work of the musician outside his native band.
David Gilmour's first album was released at the endseventies. Then, after the concert tour in support of the new at that time disc Animals, the group was in a state of crisis due to creative differences between its members and the difficult financial situation. It was at this time that the two members of Pink Floyd, keyboardist Rick Wright and guitarist David Gilmore, decided to go to France to record solo projects. In this country, then worked many rock musicians from the UK. There, colleagues in the group parallel to each other began to record their own music albums.
Gilmore's solo creations are no different topomp and monumentality, which are inherent in all compositions of "Pink Floyd". But according to his own words, the musician had no intention of recording something too similar to the music of the group. He just wanted to find a few like-minded guys to play with them light, unobtrusive songs from material unused in Pink Floyd.
At this very time, another of his colleagues in the group,Roger Waters, was writing material for the future album “The Wall”, which a few years later had the effect of a bombshell and caused another surge in the popularity of the team. David wrote something completely different. Of course, in this album some features inherent in the musical creativity of Pink Floyd are guessed. However, in this work, David Gilmour seeks greater musical freedom.
His solos are more improvised.They do not sound memorized and do not differ calculated ideality, which is inherent in many compositions of the group. We can say that in the solo albums another Gilmore appears before the audience, not familiar earlier, more “homely”. The lyrics of these songs almost never touch upon social issues. The fight against the evils of modern society, which was conducted by the Pink Floyd group starting from the album "The Other Side of the Moon" and reached its peak in The Wall, in David Gilmour's solo albums gives way to a love theme.
All records are saturated with a similar mood.musician Of course, every time these are completely unique pieces of music, original cycles of songs by an outstanding guitarist and vocalist, but they all have some common features.
For example, in these compositions there is always onlyOne solo musical instrument that is in constant focus is the guitar of David Gilmore. Other parties perform a purely accompanying role. This circumstance brings together the work of Gilmore with the music of the Renaissance. Here there is the same crystal transparency of musical fabric and simplicity of texture.
As a rule, work on these albums was carried out inbreaks between concert tours of the group and work in the studio. Therefore, these works are a reaction to the creativity of the team, that is, its complete opposite. The only exception was the album About Face, recorded after the release of "The Wall" and in many ways its continuation.
As for the new live recording of DavidGilmour in Pompeii, it should be noted that she justified the expectations of many fans also because the guitarist and his team play the classical works of Pink Floyd with a certain accuracy in the performance of musical themes, adhering to the classical interpretation of these songs.
Therefore, unlike the other live album,recorded in Paris, where some compositions are changed beyond recognition, David Gilmore’s concert in Pompeii will be interesting not only to connoisseurs of his work, but also to those who will hear this music for the first time. On the other hand, in a concert there is a certain amount of improvisation in the solo parts of instruments such as guitar and saxophone. One of the most successful performances of the concert was the classic Pink Floyd thing. The great gig in the sky. The new arrangement of vocal parts has greatly refreshed the perception of this long-loved by all fans of the group.
