A Momentary Lapse of Reason [CASSETTE]

Now where does all this leave A Momentary Lapse Of Reason? With Waters gone, obviously a large portion of the chemistry that spawned such classics as Animals and Wish You Were Here is missing. The band's direction and approach to writing would naturally have to adapt, in much the same way they had to adapt after Barrett's departure. Lyrically the album is weak in spots. It contains no conceptual thread nor does it even begin to approach Roger's level of clever wordplay and stinging sarcasm. The lyrics are more poetic generalities than they are deeply held convictions. That being said, this album is a gorgeous work of music that, in certain ways, harkens back to Wish You Were Here and Meddle. Sounding like neither, but capturing the spirit of both, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason is absolutely a return to form. Without Roger's lyrical genius, Dave wisely focused on HIS strengths and passion: the music. From the chilling instrumental opener Signs Of Life, to the glorious raging darkness of the album's closer Sorrow, this is Pink Floyd in all their musical glory. The album has a dark haunting quality to it, each song moving through several interesting parts that never sound dull or forced. The beauty of this band's sound has always been that it's very visual and evocative. This album certainly delivers that. In particular the last half is one phenomenal stretch of spine-tingling music. Keyboards, drums, bass, and the occasional saxophone blend wonderfully with sinister sound effects to create beautiful soundscapes - and Gilmour's spectacular guitar slashes, cries, whispers, screams, and howls throughout the entire journey. It is a ride worth taking.

As you read through many of these other reviews, it's obvious that alot of people feel very strongly that this is not a Pink Floyd record. I understand but disagree. As much as the band had a right to carry on after Barrett left, clearly the band had a right to continue after Waters. Arguing over the "authenticity" of this album (and all those that followed without Waters) is pointless, as every listener has his or her own idea as to what Pink Floyd is to them. To put it simply, if you feel that the lyrical and conceptual content of Pink Floyd is undeniably the most important aspect to you, then you're probably better off passing this up. At the very least borrow a copy before you buy it. However if the music of this band is what has always moved you, then you're going to love this. Roger Waters may have left, but Pink Floyd remains.

1) "This doesn't sound like a Pink Floyd album." - Perform a little experiment: take someone who has never listened to Pink Floyd before and have them listen to Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Momentary Lapse of Reason back to back. Now ask them if the albums are by the same group.

2) "This album sounds so obviously eighties." - Next experiment, have the same listener as before listen to Piper At The Gates of Dawn and The Wall and have them try to identify which decade they were produced in.

3) "There's more filler here than good music." - Now that the "new" listener has heard The Wall and A Momentary Lapse of Reason, ask them which album contains more filler.

I prefer A Momentary Lapse of Reason to Animals and The Division Bell, two albums that I think are great. I'm happy to have purchased the remastered AMLOR, because a second criticism that could be aimed at it was that the sound fidelity on the original cd was terrible.

AMLOR contains several tracks that should be considered in any `best of' compilation and many secondary tracks that overshadow those musically. It's a solid album from start to finish songwise and is held together by a soundscape that is lavish and well executed. The filler arrangements of A New Machine Parts 1 & 2 play well in the soundscape, even if they can't be considered proper tracks. This is a great album and should be highly regarded.