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Rating:
"We certainly are underspoken and understanding
But there's a lot of things unsaid as well
We shout and argue and fight, and work it on out"
(Richard William "Rick" Wright 1943-2008)
I return to review on Debaser after a year and a half with a work already reviewed, but one whose thoughts I wanted to share (feel free to disagree)-
To start (I admit that more than a review, it will be a stream of consciousness): it is not an album for novices. Despite its 53-minute duration citing (almost) the entire career of the band, if someone asked me which album to start listening to them from...well, it wouldn't be this one. This work is for long-time fans, for those who (like me) have exhausted their entire discography. It's for them.
And for Rick.
I don't know why these ambient recordings from twenty years ago ("The Division Bell" sessions) have only come out now, but frankly, I don't even care to know; the fact is, this album is a tribute to the creator of the true Pink Floyd sound: the silent Rick. It's to him that Gilmour and Mason (cough cough...Waters absent) dedicate their latest effort.
Listening to it, you can already hear from the first notes how the soundscape created by his keyboards permeates the entire album, and Gilmour essentially plays over it. To say goodbye, they wanted to engage with an album that is essentially ambient (but not only) and totally instrumental, except for the last track.
Returning to the starting point: why isn't it an album for novices? Because it is a continuous sonic reference to various periods of the band: we can find echoes of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" ("It's What We Do"), the '80s sound ("Allons-y (1)" and "Allons-y (2)"), echoes of certain '60s instrumental escapes (generally side 2), or return to the more recent music of the penultimate album (in this regard immediately catching the eye "Talkin' Hawkin'").
Given the particular structure of the album (4 suites divided into various subsections) and the particular atmosphere, distant from Floydian canons, it is nevertheless superfluous to review piece by piece the 18 tracks of the album, because it must be perceived more as a continuum to immerse oneself in; this may discourage the inexperienced listener, or simply who gets bored easily with ambient and instrumental sounds, but it must be listened to knowing that it doesn't pretend to be the Pink Floyd album, absolutely not, but as a tribute.
Maybe those of you who have read to this point without tiring have already asked: "But did you like it?" Answer: yes.
Yes, because it is addressed to nostalgic types like me, because it wants to be an addendum, a small postscript to the immense career of these artists (because they are artists), in which they summarize their over 45 years of career, without any pretense of returning to the top of the world (they already took care of that between 1967 and 1979). It should not be taken seriously with a critical spirit, and start the Gilmourian-Watersian debate, or criticize it because certain moments are boring and not very incisive (something I agree with, because side 1 is the only one that just doesn't convince me at all); it should be taken with emotions, and with this they have succeeded fully.
Final small note for the only track with lyrics: "Louder Than Words". Authentic Horatian manifesto of 'Non omnis moriar' (Odes, III, 30), the text itself is a summary of textual quotes from other texts in other albums (yes, I wrote this line on purpose), wrapped in an elegant production and an intro and outro that are blatantly citationist (the bells of "Fat Old Sun" and "High Hopes", and the finale of "Bike"). Very beautiful.
In short, my rating is a 3.5/5, rounded to 4, because it is neither the worst nor the best album of their career: it is just an extreme farewell to Rick and the fans, before sailing on the clouds like the boy on the cover.
"Float on a river, forever and ever"
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