Pink Floyd
A Momentary lapse of reason

One decides to write a review because they believe they have something good to say. In my case, I think I mainly need to defend a very beautiful album from the unjust attacks it has almost always received (even on "Debaser") since its release.

The public at the time was waiting for them with artillery and fuses already lit. Everyone expected something "enormous," otherwise, it would have been a fiasco. "Grandiose," "enormous," "gigantic" are the definitions that first exalted and then condemned Pink Floyd, especially David Gilmour. The name Pink Floyd, but also a bit of their style both in sound and concerts, undoubtedly evokes the definitions "gigantic" or perhaps even "monumental." These definitions find their justification in their musical architecture, made of a few lines with strong characterization (a bit like the cover design of "The Dark Side..."). Another justification was the use of instruments, spatial sounds, artificial sounds, something that, when listened to, makes us feel smaller. However, it must be remembered that the "gigantic" is only one of the dimensions of Pink Floyd, in fact, this is referable almost only to their production from '73 to '79 (and not always). For the rest, the band has always produced a variety of styles and sounds: just think of the evanescent sounds of "Pillow Of Wind" in "Meddle," or the unrestrained avant-gardism with a touch of madness in "A Saucerful Of Secrets," not to mention the Beatlesque echoes of "Stay" in "Obscured By Clouds" and I could go on a lot. On closer inspection, the traits that unite the aesthetics of Pink Floyd over the years are very few: the most important of these is surely the guitar and voice of David Gilmour. In other words, one could almost say: the "Pink Floyd sound" is David Gilmour.

This long dissertation I've made to respond to those who tear their hair over Waters' departure from the group. I will not absolutely affirm that he was not a leader of the band, but I say that his determining influence was more on the lyrics. It will be objected that Waters also wrote many splendid songs, and it's true. But what really makes Pink Floyd distinct are not the pieces themselves, it's how they are constructed, played, arranged: try to sit at the piano or guitar and play "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", do you think you'll get the same effect? You will be miles away from the piece, and the reason is that, generally in popular music (but not only), what truly differentiates is not so much the composition of the track, but above all its presentation, the style of the arrangement. To make a parallel: the originality of a fashion designer will rarely be in inventing from scratch, as much as in redesigning very similar things giving them different added values like fabrics, finishes, etc. A jacket is always a jacket. In the case of Pink Floyd, this assertion reaches the maximum; it is the sounds and the touch that make the difference. It will be objected again that tracks like "Wish You Were Here" are the paradise for beach guitar strummers precisely because it's the piece that matters, and in this case, it's true. However, it should be noted that pieces like these come out one every ten years (if all goes well) even for Pink Floyd. This added value on the tracks is real and not fictitious, all our tastes are based on these micro-differences: try taking "Imagine" by John Lennon and singing it in Italian, it will become Venditti; if you then accompany yourself with an accordion, it will become Casadei!!

Finally, I come to our album, for which I will not spend too many words; after all, this review was an excuse for a defense of Gilmour from the stupid attacks that are often moved against him with prejudice. The album is beautiful, well-constructed, full of beautiful songs, played and arranged splendidly. Except for "A New Machine" parts one and two, the album is all of high level with several peaks of magnificence. Those who want to see in this album something inferior to many tracks contained in "The Wall" or "The Final Cut," certainly do so with little intellectual honesty or worse, with blind prejudice. When I then hear that Gilmour repeats himself or "always does the same things," I smile: many artists in history have done so, I would say the majority. Caravaggio, for example, painted all his life in the same style, so what? The truth is another: there are few who listen to an album or enjoy any work of art and manage to enjoy what they truly receive. The entire history of the arts of this century should teach us this, not to engage in intellectualism, because artistic communication exists on multiple levels, and what matters is reaching the audience, otherwise one witnesses an "educated" art that speaks to no one and that, I believe, will hardly be considered the true postmodern art.

When listening to an album, one must listen, feel what is there, and not what is not there. I remember that at the time of the release of "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason," Gilmour said something that sounded more or less like this: "we just make songs!" This seemingly banal statement is actually the most exhaustive answer that can be given to most of the chatter about that album, considering that, long live freedom, one is not obliged to listen to it.