David Gilmour
Luck and Strange

After the last tour and the sale of most of his guitars at a charity auction, no one expected a recording return from David Gilmour, who now comes back with a new album 9 years after the last one.

The former Pink Floyd singer and guitarist releases a work different from the previous Rattle That Lock.

The album is produced by David Gilmour himself and Charlie Andrew, with lyrics by Polly Samson focusing on reflections about old age and death.

I don't want to talk about the disputes between him and former bandmate Waters and who is better or worse (because I'm certainly fed up with the issue), so let's move on to the tracks of the album (in my case the CD):

1) Black Cat = an instrumental track of just over a minute that starts well but ends too soon; just when you think it's about to explode, it finishes. More could have been done.

2) Luck and Strange = The title track of the album that emerges from a 2007 session where the late great Richard Wright is on keyboards.

It’s a peculiar track which I initially couldn't quite grasp, but after multiple listens, it's clear to be an excellent track; it doesn't immediately impress upon first listen, but you eventually fall in love with it.

Well-played track, and the background keyboards give a chill of melancholy.

3) The Piper's Call = This was the first single to circulate before the album's release, and it's truly a beautiful track with strong emotions, where multiple musical styles overlap.

Really beautiful because it hits the mark, and here Mr. Gilmour demonstrates an otherworldly musical sensitivity.

4) A Single Spark = A slow and very soft piece, relaxing and atmospheric, with a wonderful final solo of 3 minutes in this marvelous musician's unique style.

5) Vita Brevis = The second and last instrumental track of the album, this one even shorter than the first and, at least for me, totally unnecessary as it only serves as an introduction to the next track.

6) Between Two Points = One of the real surprises of the album.

The only track not sung or written by Gilmour, since it is a cover of a 1999 song by The Montgolfier Brothers, the track is sung by his daughter Romany Gilmour, who also plays the harp in this song.

To say this song is wonderful is an understatement; the atmosphere is superb and the girl's voice is angelic.

The final solo escorts the listener to the pleasant end of a truly beautiful and celestial track.

7) Dark and Velvet Nights = This is the track I like the least in the whole album.

It is not a bad track; it reminds me of Today (a track from the previous Rattle That Lock), a kind of song that is a bit more commercial, more driven, a bit more rock, and with a final solo that is pleasant to listen to but doesn't make you jump out of your seat.

8) Sings = This song brings the album back to a softer dimension, which is somewhat the foundation of the entire album, and is enjoyable to listen to.

The peculiarity of this track is characterized by the fact that at the end you expect the classic final solo (which would also fit well), yet instead, a long musical carpet arrives with keyboards and bass taking the lead.

9) Scattered = This is the masterpiece of this album; just this track would be worth the price of the entire album.

It's the best recorded track in all of David Gilmour's discography, and if it had been included in a Pink Floyd album, it would have become a classic.

Beautiful, beautiful, and beautiful... the lyrics about the relentless passage of time are beautiful, the music and arrangements are stunning, the atmosphere gives chills, and the fantastic final solo starts with a classical guitar and builds to an angrier and more distorted electric one.

10) Other tracks I won't mention = are extra fillers that are not part of the official album because it ends with the previous track.

What to say in the final conclusion?

If only there were more albums like this that touch the sensitivity of an artist truly unique in the musical landscape.

He is now set to perform on a tour that will, in the coming days, hit the Circus Maximus in Rome, hoping his voice holds up, the only downside noted by fans during a pre-tour live stream he shared on YouTube.

To convey the overall atmosphere of the entire album, I can say it should be listened to in front of a fireplace with eyes closed, sipping a glass of liquor on the rocks, possibly with a woman beside you to caress but without getting too distracted :-)

Truly a beautiful album that I recommend listening to more than once to assimilate and fall in love with it.