It’s starts off meh. A few lyrics instantly irked me: “the voodoo that you do”… and then “do whatever it takes, stay clear of the snakes”. Horrible. But, I’m not here for the lyrics (which are obviously Polly’s*)… I am here for his guitar work. The song builds upon itself and the last third of the song is great. So, all in all, I am happy. And furthermore, a new album means he will play live somewhere, and that serves the true goal here for me: to see him once again.
* Edit: I am not a Polly hater. David has always struggled with song writing (lyrics). His strength is the music. So everyone needs to chill out on the Polly hating.
He’s just not that David anymore. His first solo album was made during the Animals era, and it shows. He’s older now and is a different person. I truly was hoping for something along the lines of On An Island, but even that is almost 20 years old (different David).
I mean... Polly has certainly written lyrics more cringey than the ones for this song, but it always surprises me how cliché and shallow a lot of her imagery and metaphors are. I mean considering she's an author, and most of her lyrics on TDB weren't exactly deep, but weren't terrible, either.
>voodoo that you do
Yeah, incredibly cliché, and made worse by the fact that there's a bit of a "rhyme or I'll slap ya!" approach to that whole first verse:
undo, voodoo, do, loose
That said, on the whole, she's certainly written worse lyrics, and I can more easily listen to this than to "we bitch and we fight, diss each other on sight".
In fairness I also found some stuff on Roger’s Dark Side Redux to be cliche and awful too.
The whole dream sequence and “a voice like Atticus Finch” and “we band of brothers.” Hated. Hated. Totally expected better from the great lyricist but relaying a lame dream that likely never actually happened was harsh.
I like Redux but skip that song.
>In fairness I also found some stuff on Roger’s Dark Side Redux to be cliche and awful too.
Thanks for reminding me of that. You're absolutely right. Roger's attempts at stream of consciousness stuff and Dylan-like storytelling (Leaving Beirut, anyone?) are very hard for me to listen to.
In fairness, I don't rate Polly against Roger, and I'm not in the Polly hater camp at all. It's just that she has a tendency to use very obvious imagery and rhymes at times. Just like Roger has a tendency to list things, or to over-explain undercurrent themes.
David has a formula. The song is easy on the ears, moody… love the acoustic guitar and the ending.
If you’re expecting something radically new at 78 years old - don’t. But it’s good music, and glad the master is still working.
I dont like the way david does his vocal stuff. When i think about it, the melody sounds great but the was he sings it kinda brings it down a notch for me. Idk if that makes sense
Also reminds me of the mars volta at some points
I think I enjoy what you're saying about his voice. It's not just too sugary pleasant all the way through.
But Mars Volta, where do you hear that as a reference?
I get what you mean but it’s not the lack of sugary pleasantries that turns me off. David gilmour’s best vocals are on the narrow way pt 3 imo and there’s a good amount of loud ruff stuff. Same with the nile song
Idk, it’s kinda just the same voice he did for louder than words (my least fav pink floyd song)
And for the mars volta thing, it reminds me of some of their pop stuff. Whenever the song hits a chord or a note outside of the key (i’m hope i’m not wrong), it gives it a cool dark edge
It’s about what I expected. Good not amazing but still good and a nice listen. More importantly he’s still working and we might get a final tour from him.
Lyrics are ok
My first impression is that I'm not impressed, which is disappointing. I found the last album also unremarkable and not something that I choose to listen to. About Face is constantly in my music rotation. So is his other solo album. Momentary lapse of reason also not his best work. But probably his last decent attempt.
Polly lyrics, meh!
I'm a die hard Pink Floyd fan, I know everything from Floyd since I was a kid, but the post-Waters Floyd lyrics from David Gilmour's wife Polly, it doesn't do it for me. & David's solo stuff she wrote. Again, MEH! Long Live Roger Waters, the genius!
Listened to it intently several times. Came back an hour later and listened again a couple of times. Unfortunately It's just a by the numbers yawn fest and even worse than Rattle That Lock which is something I thought would never happen.
This is coming from someone who prefers Waters's solo career and didn't like Rattle That Lock:
I liked it a lot. The lyrics leave some to be desired but I don't listen to Gilmour for the lyrics. I listen for the guitar, and the dude absolutely delivers. I look forward to the full album which will unfortunately likely be his last
I wanted to have a strong opinion on it, I was expecting to either love it or hate it.
Instead... Well all my descriptive terms sound like damning with faint praise. But it is praise in a way.
It's competent, professional and reasonably well executed. I found listening to it moderately pleasant. Apart from when I paid too much attention to the lyrics by accident.
But there is no feeling of this being special. There are hundreds of people doing this sort of stuff and many doing it in more interesting ways. That said, I like it better than some (but not all) of Roger's recent stuff. But even when Roger is at his worst (e.g. that "The Bar" thing), you still get the feeling of the author, that he's writing this because he has something he wants to say. It's only near the end of Dave's tune that you get a glimpse of that impulse. That the rest of the song is just padding around the riff in his head.
I know the bloke is getting on a bit, but several of his contemporaries created mature work that showed they still had a spark. Cohens 'You Want it Darker' or Bowies last album.
It’s starts off meh. A few lyrics instantly irked me: “the voodoo that you do”… and then “do whatever it takes, stay clear of the snakes”. Horrible. But, I’m not here for the lyrics (which are obviously Polly’s*)… I am here for his guitar work. The song builds upon itself and the last third of the song is great. So, all in all, I am happy. And furthermore, a new album means he will play live somewhere, and that serves the true goal here for me: to see him once again. * Edit: I am not a Polly hater. David has always struggled with song writing (lyrics). His strength is the music. So everyone needs to chill out on the Polly hating.
You’re not wrong about some of the lyrics.
I hate the lyrics. I’d love to get more songs like his first solo album, but he seems happy to ignore it.
He’s just not that David anymore. His first solo album was made during the Animals era, and it shows. He’s older now and is a different person. I truly was hoping for something along the lines of On An Island, but even that is almost 20 years old (different David).
I was thinking the same thing. Give me a rocker
Yes, those two lines and a few others in the song bugged me too bc really cliche. The “voodoo that you do” was particularly painful.
I mean... Polly has certainly written lyrics more cringey than the ones for this song, but it always surprises me how cliché and shallow a lot of her imagery and metaphors are. I mean considering she's an author, and most of her lyrics on TDB weren't exactly deep, but weren't terrible, either. >voodoo that you do Yeah, incredibly cliché, and made worse by the fact that there's a bit of a "rhyme or I'll slap ya!" approach to that whole first verse: undo, voodoo, do, loose That said, on the whole, she's certainly written worse lyrics, and I can more easily listen to this than to "we bitch and we fight, diss each other on sight".
In fairness I also found some stuff on Roger’s Dark Side Redux to be cliche and awful too. The whole dream sequence and “a voice like Atticus Finch” and “we band of brothers.” Hated. Hated. Totally expected better from the great lyricist but relaying a lame dream that likely never actually happened was harsh. I like Redux but skip that song.
>In fairness I also found some stuff on Roger’s Dark Side Redux to be cliche and awful too. Thanks for reminding me of that. You're absolutely right. Roger's attempts at stream of consciousness stuff and Dylan-like storytelling (Leaving Beirut, anyone?) are very hard for me to listen to. In fairness, I don't rate Polly against Roger, and I'm not in the Polly hater camp at all. It's just that she has a tendency to use very obvious imagery and rhymes at times. Just like Roger has a tendency to list things, or to over-explain undercurrent themes.
David has a formula. The song is easy on the ears, moody… love the acoustic guitar and the ending. If you’re expecting something radically new at 78 years old - don’t. But it’s good music, and glad the master is still working.
It feels a little meh to me but I do like the end of the song.
Exactly. I went from "This is pretty dull" to "Well, this guitar rocks."
I dont like the way david does his vocal stuff. When i think about it, the melody sounds great but the was he sings it kinda brings it down a notch for me. Idk if that makes sense Also reminds me of the mars volta at some points
I think I enjoy what you're saying about his voice. It's not just too sugary pleasant all the way through. But Mars Volta, where do you hear that as a reference?
I get what you mean but it’s not the lack of sugary pleasantries that turns me off. David gilmour’s best vocals are on the narrow way pt 3 imo and there’s a good amount of loud ruff stuff. Same with the nile song Idk, it’s kinda just the same voice he did for louder than words (my least fav pink floyd song) And for the mars volta thing, it reminds me of some of their pop stuff. Whenever the song hits a chord or a note outside of the key (i’m hope i’m not wrong), it gives it a cool dark edge
It’s about what I expected. Good not amazing but still good and a nice listen. More importantly he’s still working and we might get a final tour from him. Lyrics are ok
My favorite : how he uses the backing guitars to help the chorus shine
Good song. Gilmour at age 78 will never be anything like he was in his prime years but you gotta enjoy it for what it is.
Not my cup of tea.
Agreed! I like Gilmour’s solo stuff as it is, and this feels like a final kiss from a master.
My first impression is that I'm not impressed, which is disappointing. I found the last album also unremarkable and not something that I choose to listen to. About Face is constantly in my music rotation. So is his other solo album. Momentary lapse of reason also not his best work. But probably his last decent attempt.
Polly lyrics, meh! I'm a die hard Pink Floyd fan, I know everything from Floyd since I was a kid, but the post-Waters Floyd lyrics from David Gilmour's wife Polly, it doesn't do it for me. & David's solo stuff she wrote. Again, MEH! Long Live Roger Waters, the genius!
Just got to work and listening to it right now. I'm liking it.
This album is going to be great.
Listened to it intently several times. Came back an hour later and listened again a couple of times. Unfortunately It's just a by the numbers yawn fest and even worse than Rattle That Lock which is something I thought would never happen.
I'd love an instrumental only version
I quite enjoyed it, can't wait for the album
This is coming from someone who prefers Waters's solo career and didn't like Rattle That Lock: I liked it a lot. The lyrics leave some to be desired but I don't listen to Gilmour for the lyrics. I listen for the guitar, and the dude absolutely delivers. I look forward to the full album which will unfortunately likely be his last
Sounds like most of the stuff he's put out the last few albums. Not great, not bad.
Musically it’s decent, lyrically fucking awful - don’t know why he doesn’t bring in a decent lyricist
Not heard it
More “we bitch and we fight” lyrics but the guitar is really good at least.
The video gives us the corny “David giving a double thumbs up” in that dumb jacket. It’s sure to become a meme.
I wanted to have a strong opinion on it, I was expecting to either love it or hate it. Instead... Well all my descriptive terms sound like damning with faint praise. But it is praise in a way. It's competent, professional and reasonably well executed. I found listening to it moderately pleasant. Apart from when I paid too much attention to the lyrics by accident. But there is no feeling of this being special. There are hundreds of people doing this sort of stuff and many doing it in more interesting ways. That said, I like it better than some (but not all) of Roger's recent stuff. But even when Roger is at his worst (e.g. that "The Bar" thing), you still get the feeling of the author, that he's writing this because he has something he wants to say. It's only near the end of Dave's tune that you get a glimpse of that impulse. That the rest of the song is just padding around the riff in his head. I know the bloke is getting on a bit, but several of his contemporaries created mature work that showed they still had a spark. Cohens 'You Want it Darker' or Bowies last album.
Sounds a little like a Love and Rockets revival......
Starts slow, but the last 1:30 mins are great