If you look at David Gilmour’s first two post-Pink Floyd solo efforts — 2006’s On An Island and 2016’s Rattle That Lock — there is this sense that the singer and guitarist was trying to create something a little outside of the box — perhaps more contemporary with less static, a bit softer around the edges, totally age-suitable. Of course, there were surges of Floydian familiarity whenever he sang or played one of his epic guitar solos. He’ll never be able to shake that off. So, nearly a decade after his last album, how does one fairly assess a new David Gilmour album in 2024? On first impression, Luck And Strange plays like a welcomed reprieve with a tighter knit of tapestry — from someone who has little left to prove and lots to live up to.
A common denominator of Pink Floyd and David Gilmour albums of the last 30 years is the mysterious and luminous opener, seemingly designed to massage your mood for the rest of the album. On Luck And Strange it’s “Black Cat” that floats in over the course of 92 seconds. It succeeds in such an engaging manner, you’re pretty much on the hook for what comes next. The title track takes the baton and runs with it in full stride. Indeed, “Luck And Strange” is the album’s only song to feature Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, who passed away in 2008, and it would have fit squarely within the landscape of The Division Bell.
“The Piper’s Call” radiates with a similar tone. The build-up to that chunky crescendo is enough to dose any kind-hearted Floyd fan with a groove and a Pict to spare. “A Single Spark” marks a departure of sorts, with its romantic bent and rowing pace. Gilmour sprinkles a few guitar notes on top of a smooth orchestration before it dissolves into the ether, setting up a gateway of enhancing chords ala “Vita Brevis” into late 90s British duo The Montgolfier Brothers’ “Between Two Points,” a somber, melancholic number sung by Gilmour’s daughter Romany.
“Dark and Velvet Nights” is a boomy, clangy romp soaking in a Hammond organ grind played by Gilmour. Polly Samson, Gilmour’s wife who wrote most of the album’s lyrics, waxes a quixotic ode for her husband to wrap his beloved vocal cords around. It’s really up to “Scattered” to bring the album home. It provides another dreamy stretch with lush orchestration. Gilmour tests the waters first with a bit of smooth acoustic before switching over to his Strat to deliver the album’s brief flagship solo.
The CD version of Luck And Strange includes two bonus tracks: “Yes, I Have Ghosts,” which David and Romany Gilmour issued as a single and video in 2020, and “Luck And Strange (Original Barn Jam)” — as advertised, a 14-minute “jam” with Gilmour, Wright, longtime Pink Floyd and David Gilmour bassist Guy Pratt and longtime David Gilmour drummer Steve DiStanislao riffing about. Famed drummer Steve Gadd plays on five of the album’s tracks, while Roger Eno (brother of Brian) and Rob Gentry, in absence of Wright, handle the keyboards throughout.
And yes, Luck And Strange is very much a family affair with Samson’s lyrics, Romany’s vocals and harp, and even a few more lyrics on “Scattered” from Gilmour’s son, Charlie. The homespun nature around the record offers a glimpse of rare reflection, on days gone by (“Quite the time to be a boy / Six-string masters of an expanding universe”) and days to look forward to (“And we’re still doing this dance one step at a time”). As of right now, there’s plenty to look forward to from David Gilmour.
~ Shawn Perry
