A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON

2.5 stars really!!! Momentary or permanent??

A bit like its predecessor TFC, AMLOR is much maligned and controversial. Highly lauded by Floyd unconditional fans who forced themselves to love it, and hated by those who were scandalised that the name of Floyd went to a non-original member (in the light of Waters' lost court battle, Mason should've inherited the name), this album is just as much a Gilmour solo album as TFC was a Waters solo album. Obviously written hastily to prove his ownership point, Gilmour and Mason in tow were definitely not ready for a Floyd album without Waters or Wright; but instead, it (Lapse) was a pretext to a gigantic two-years-tour to capitalize and replenish bank accounts. In this regard, the picture of the all-too-content and connivingly smiling David and Nick is another punch in the face of Roger. Coming with an ambitious concept ala Waters and a no-less Waters-ian title, this album has an intriguing Hypgnosis artwork that defies reason, but was probably a little too whacked-out for credibility. On the guest list, we find Supertramp's Helliwell, returning the favour to David's collab in the epic title track of Brother Where You Bound, but Scott Page is the main sax man. .Gilmour was never a prolific (or very good) lyric writer, so he hired someone for almost half the album, like he would in all future albums of his.

Just like TFC and The Wall before it, Lapse presents most of its song in a very conventional canvas of verse & chorus, thus sending Animals and the older siblings to another galaxy. Gilmour can't help but involuntarily showing his lack of inspiration by plagiarizing himself in the opening Sign Of Life, a rewrite of Shine On You, but this can also be seen a nod to it. The album is plagued by weak songs with pedestrian rhythms like the boring Learning To Fly and the equally un-moving Dogs Of War (despite a wink to Time with the electronic alarm clock tones). Most of the songs are linked musically, thus ensuring a semblance of cohesiveness, but it is clear that Wright's chord arrangements are missing. The most atrocious floyd tracj must be the electronic-paced One Slip and the Bono/U2 ?inspired On The Turning Away, with a cheesy sing-along chorus and a fine Gilmour solo.

The flipside is slightly more substantial, starting with a rather correct Yet Another Movie, and the average instrumental and tape-effect loaded Terminal Frost, unfortunately sandwiched in cheesy and outdated (even in 87) vocoder vocals of New Machine (we prefer the Welcoming one of 75), but nothing much happens in a very static slow tempo. Sorrow is a correct closer, but again it uses this mid-to-slow pedestrian tempo (and these friggin' 80's drums, most courtesy of Carnine Appice, but this is Gimour's bravura moment of the album.

If TFC showed Waters' songwriting limitations and musical universe, AMLOR shows Gilmour's just as blatantly. Clearly this album was a bit of a rushed job songwriting-wise, thus not even giving themselves enough time to re-integrate the returning Rick Wright ? his small contributions are more than solidly underlined by a third-in-order appearance in the list of musicians, but at least this was giving the trio a bit of legitimacy. Roger is probably wondering if someone would even remember this album if it had not been released under the Floyd moniker. Personally I think this Lapse is certainly no better than Final Cut (or Roger's Hitch-Hiking and Radio Kaos for that matter) or David's very own About Face, his only other work. in the 80's. Lapse is an album that hasn't aged well, mostly due to the then-obligatory use of actual digital/numerical technologies and ranks probably a tad lower than TFC, but compared to other prog giants (Yes, Genesis, Tull and ELP), Floyd (and solo projects) has not to be ashamed of its weaker decade, despite a change of leader.

This Pink Floyd album is VERY underrated! Roger Waters is NOT anymore on this album. There are 5 keyboardists including Rick Wright himself + ex-Madonna Pat Leonard, THE keyboardist on the "Amused to death" album. So, you have to expect a very keyboards and guitars oriented album.

The most impressive element on this album is the excellent echoed combination of omnipresent atmospheric & modern keyboards and delightful electric rhythmic guitars + ALMOST PERFECT guitar solos. Many ambiences are even futuristic with some EXCELLENT magestic & percussive keyboards: for an decent comparison, selected slow & modern New Age artists must be considered to describe the atmosphere involved: the best who come to my mind is Jon Jenkins' Flow album, especially the Flow track, and David Helpling's "Between the green and the blue" album, especially the Worlds track. Shall we add Supertramp's "Brother were you bound" album, especially the intro of the eponymous track. Mostly the rhythm is slow, David Gilmour's lead vocals are absolutely OUTSTANDING, and he is probably at his best here regarding the guitar solos. There are many excellent backing female vocals, similar to the Waters' ones. There are some EXCELLENT "Supertramp-esque" echoed sax parts, absolutely giving a refined urban touch to the whole. The guitar solos on "On the turning away" and "Yet another movie" are among the loudest & best ones from David Gilmour: just turn up the volume! UNBELIEVABLE! They can almost be compared with the ones on Rush's "Power windows" and Marillion's "Fugazi"! Even without Waters, there are still many subtle sounds arrangements, mainly serious talks. All the tracks are excellent.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Well, one good thing I can say of this album is Roger WATERS isn't around anymore, so no more "I hate the world" type of lyrics like you find on "The Wall" and "The Final Cut". Still the band isn't really a band, although Richard WRIGHT had returned, he still hadn't got full billing, and they were still using tons of studio musicians. They even had Tony LEVIN (who was best known for playing for Peter GABRIEL and the 1980s version of KING CRIMSON) fill in for Roger WATERS in the bass department (although given this is LEVIN, he also used the Chapman Stick on this album). The album only featured pictures of David GILMOUR and Nick MASON. And basically you can better pass it off as a GILMOUR solo album (even though officially, his last solo album was "About Face" released at the beginning of 1984).

But the music, for the most part, fails to excite me. Pretty generic late '80s fare, with the big drums and digital synthesizers, in that stereotypical "big arena rock" sound. Still the band was able to fill up stadiums and arenas at this point, but by this point, many nightclubs and planetariums across America started "Pink Floyd with laser light" shows which has turned in to a real bad cliché. Yeah, a couple songs do stick out, like "Signs of Life" and "Yet Another Movie", but that's it. The rest is basically give or take.

There's something special in Pink Floyd without Roger Waters, it's not the same as when he was part of the band, but they maintain their identity and classical sound. "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" is not among the best Floyd albums, but still the fan can listen it and recognize their favorite band, even if they don't like the album very much.

The base of Pink Floyd is present with David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Max Wright, plus other musicians who will be part of later Floyd albums like Jon Carin and Scott Paige. The rest of the lineup is completed by efficient musicians and living legends as Tony Levin and Carmine Appice.

The album starts with a spacey instrumental called "Signs of Life" which for a few seconds reminds of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", but it's only a short illusion, most of the songs lack of bright and becomes boring. The problem with this song is that it leads to nowhere, has no feet or head.

"Learning to Fly" is what I call a modern classic, well-achieved atmospheric sound, excellent guitar typical feminine chorus and strong drumming. Included in most live presentations of the band. I believe this song could have made it in previous albums with success.

"Dogs of War" is another modern Pink Floyd classic, very aggressive and hard song based mostly in the unique Gilmour vocals and excelent keyboards work plus an incredible bass and drum, maybe a bit repetitive but it's strength and psychedelic keyboards makes of it a great song.

"One Slip" is one of the weakest tracks, pretends to be dynamic but ends sounding as a POP oriented tune similar to Alan Parsons in his weakest albums. Luckily is followed by "On the Turning Away", a semi ballad with the signature of David Gilmour, the acoustic guitar is very pleasant but the keyboards and correct vocals in the middle of the song produce a nostalgic feeling, the effect is completed with the electric guitar at the end, IMO the best track of the album.

"Yet another Movie/Round and Around" is another track that leads to nowhere, keyboards are terrible and don't match with the vocals, monotone and repetitive turns into a predictable and boring song, not even the frantic guitar semi solo saves "Yet Another Movie" from disaster. Don't understand why they decided to divide this song in two parts, because honestly there's no substantial difference between them. The same fate is shared by the next track "A New Machine Part One" another unlucky song.

"Terminal Frost" even though is not brilliant, is saved by the jazzy edge, sounds as a good jamming session, efficient sax and drums, good but not excellent sounds as a jamming session. Of course there's no need to describe "A New Machine Part Two" which IMO consists in 38 seconds they needed to cover with something.

The album is closed with "Sorrow", it was about time they played a better track, Gilmour is outstanding with his guitar and vocals, the song has a constant evolution that keeps the interest of the listener even when it's not one of their best.

The album is not bad, but it's very uneven, with a first half much stronger than the second, and great tracks mixed with fillers. "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" will never be considered an essential album by any fan, but it's much better than what most critics affirm.

Good for die hard fans but if you don't have it, don't worry; there are plenty of Pink Floyd albums you should buy first.

A reasonable effort

The album Roger waters described as a "pretty fair forgery". Having left the band, and given up the custody battle for the name, he was somewhat incensed to find his former colleagues (including Rick Wright whom he had previously sacked), come up with an album which still sounded like Pink Floyd. With Gilmour in control, he (Gilmour) had clearly made a conscious effort to be as faithful as possible to the Pink Floyd discography, or at least that part of it made since he had taken over from Syd Barrett.

The accusation of forgery is however somewhat misplaced. While the sound is unmistakably that of Pink Floyd, the tracks are entirely original, diverse and interesting, something which could not be said for the later PF albums while Waters was still on board. The pictures on the album cover, and the album title itself are probably the only places where Waters accusations may be justifiable, with more than a passing nod to "Wish you were here" in both.

"A momentary lapse of reason" is not perfect by any means, neither is it the band's best work. "Signs of life" leading into "Learning to fly" is a good opener, which catches the attention and sets the scene. "One slip", and "On the turning away" are also excellent tracks, but some of the others, such as "Sorrow" and "Yet another movie" appear to be little more than fillers.

There is however a lot that is good about the album. It was a vast improvement on its immediate predecessors, and of course it kept the Pink Floyd flag flying high.

The great gods of progressive rock -PINK FLOYD, YES, ELP, and GENESIS- hit their lowest creative point- and highest earning potential- in the 80s (I won't include KING CRIMSON in the lineup as they managed to succeed creatively on "Discipline" and the follow-ups). To be honest, "Learning to Fly", "Dogs of War", and "One Slip" were more enjoyable pop songs than most of what circulated during their time, and somewhat adventurous within a narrow scope. However, "On the Turning Away" seems so deliberately constructed that the cynic in me can't help but picture them in a room writing it and saying, "yeah, that'll make the fools hold up their zippos". The loss of Waters was probably not the death-blow that it seemed- his creative well was almost dry by the end of the 70s anyway, as "The Wall" and "The Final Cut" proved (need more proof? his solo albums...). It is open for debate whether Gilmour and Mason (did Wright have a say in anything at this point?) actually decided to milk the FLOYD name to pay the bills or if they just wanted to continue doing what they loved as long as possible; these guys proved time and again their dedication to putting on a great tour. I had the pleasure of seeing them perform right after this album's release and it was a magnificent show- although I would have preferred to have been born earlier so I could have seen them at their peak. So at worst, this album enabled the mighty FLOYD to continue (if not progress) making music for a while, fulfilling their own decade-old prophecy: "Let me tell you the name of the game, boy; they call it riding the gravy train."

Nothing was good after The Wall. Another 80's stinker from Pink Floyd. Seeing Richard Wright cast as an extra musician is an insult and the lack of roger and rick is upsetting. The album does manage to sound like a pink floyd album but it plays more like a gilmour solo album.

Signs of Life is a pointless opening track that takes up too much time of the sounds of being on a boat. There are some good guitar effects on "Sorrow" which is one of the better tracks but still this cant compare to anything before this album and the intro can go on too long and the song is just too long and boring. "Dogs of War" is very strained and annoying whilst "The New Machine (part one and two)" are just a nuicesence and clutter up the album. round and around is a disapointing tag on.

Learning to Fly would be an ok song if it didn't sound so annoyingly pop like, which is odd for a pink floyd song. One Slip and Terminal Frost have their moments along with yet another movie. These are about the only songs that manage to keep the album going. A Dreadful piece from pink floyd but arguably better than The Division Bell.

Great comeback by Pink Floyd with the exclusion of Waters after bitter court disputes. Gilmour won that one thankfully, for Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell we are all the richer. Rick Wright only guests as well which is a shame as his influence is always greatly needed. The album though is excellent and although moving away from ' concept' it still has a strong formula. Most of the tracks are excellent, ' Signs of Life' starting off as the instrumental beauty, a formula used on Division Bell also. Check out ' One slip'' The turning away' ' Terminal frost' and the gloomy ' Sorrow'. John Carin ( keyboards) and Scott Page ( sax) play some mean riffs too.If I am not mistaken Phil Manzanera co-credits ' One slip' as well and John Halliwell of Supertramp fame helps his hand on sax too. Great album and thank God the Pink Floyd were alive and well.

David Gilmour and Nick Mason invested their time and money to produce an album which is more accessible and "lighter" than their previous 3 albums. I started to like to hear Pink Foyd`s albums again with this album. It seems that Rick Wright arrived almost at the end of the recording of this album, so that`s why he appeared only as an additional musician. Nick Mason played a little bit of drums in this album, as Gilmour said in interviews. So, this album was made mainly by Gilmour, but it seems that he and Mason where trying to revive the old Pink Floyd sound while adding new influences from the music of the eighties. They renovated their sound without losing their identity. "On the Turning Away" is the best song. It talks about hope, something that was missing in previous albums. "Learning to Fly" maybe is poppish, but it`s good. "One Slip" sounds more like late eighties music. "The Dogs of War" has good lyrics." Gilmour`s guitars are very good in this album.

In the eighties Pink Floyd released two solo-albums. The first was The final cut which was a Roger Waters solo album, the second was A momentary lapse of reason which was a David Gilmour solo album. Waters is surely missed on this album but that doesn't mean this is a bad album, A momentary. sounds much more like a Pink Floyd Album but it isn't Pink Floyd. At this time Richard Wright wasn't even a member, played only little of the keyboard parts and did not contribute to the songwriting or lead vocals which is a pity because his influence too is surely missed. Nick Mason played the drums on some of the tracks but didn't contribute to the music either. Instead of using the skills of Mason and Wright, Gilmour invited extremely talented session musicians like John Carin, Patrick Leonard or Phil Manzanera. The result is an album which isn't a masterpiece but isn't bad either. Signs of life sounds too much like the opening part of shine on you.., there is too much sound without a song. Learning to fly is the best track of the album and shows the band has found it's keyboard driven sound again and adapt it to the eighties. The dogs of war tries to recapture the bluesy rock of money but fails. This piece of crap is one of the most horrible songs the band's ever done, today it sounds outdated with its eighties sounding keys. One slip is one of the finer moments of the album, a song with a good chorus. No wonder Phil Manzanera was the co-writer of this song, it has the roxy music touch. On the turning away is a typical David Gilmour ballad, if you like this, you should check Gilmour's second solo album out. The great guitar solo saves it from being too mellow. Next track is one of the highlights of A momentary. Yet another movie has great mysterious moods. Listening to it is like being like in a dream maybe this is where they got the idea for the great cover art. David Gilmour plays his guitar as a god, the keyboard and drum parts are marvellous. On this track you'll notice the power of a good production, Bob Ezrin did a good job. A new machine keeps the mystery feel but it's hardly a song. Not a track to be played much. Terminal frost is better but maybe it sounds too easy for a progressive rock album : a nice atmosphere and great musicianship, but again not much of a songline. This one too is saved by the big production of Bob. They told me Sorrow is a track David Gimour wrote on his own one dark evening, Gilmour couldn't pick up a better name for this one. The band is known for his great ending tracks but this time they let me down. I keep searching for the point in this. Like most of the tracks of a momentary.there's a nice structure and great guitar work but to me this just ain't good enough. To my humble opinion this album has too less highlights for a Pink Floyd album.

PINK FLOYD, at the time of this album's release, was still reeling from the departure of Roger WATERS--a battle that had begun during The Wall and continued even past his departure, almost (but not quite) into legal wrangling. David GILMOUR, in typical style, was not going to "go down easy". With him was Nick MASON. Halfway into the album they were joined by Richard WRIGHT, who was perhaps still a bit unsteady on his feet after his coerced departure during The Wall. His presence on Momentary Lapse was more of a future promise than anything--his nearly inaudible vocals on "Sorrow" ("One world, one soul...") require a sharp ear to detect, and his keyboard contributions are somewhat few, although I do think his distinctive Hammond organ appears on a few songs. But in spite of this limitation, I still believe this album is worthy of credit.

The album may indeed have an 80's sound, but this is certainly not the 80's of "Safety Dance". To me, Momentary Lapse represents the best of that decade's possibilities--yes, the sound is "harder" than you might find before or after, but I greatly prefer this slightly edgier sound to the pureed feel of current pop music. Although thematically not as unified as its predecessors, there is a definite flow in the mood of the album, from a guardedly optimistic beginning to a hopeless, bitter end. The sound clips are well placed to augment the running themes.

To me, all of the songs on this album have a place--even the much maligned "A New Machine" songs. Really, they were never meant to serve as full songs, but as interstitial pieces, they do fine at highlighting the atmosphere of desolation that sets in at the end of the album. The second half of the album (from "Yet Another Movie" forward) is where the strongest songs are. Not only are the songs here the best (think of the fantastic "Sorrow", "Yet Another Movie", and "Terminal Frost"), but the flow of the mood is most coherent here. The first half has good tracks as well, but is slightly choppier in flow. My particular favorites on the first half are "Signs of Life" and "One Slip" ("Learning to Fly" is good but I prefer it by far on PULSE). Even the songs I did not mention are still good tracks. GILMOUR's lyric-writing is actually very good even if he doesn't show the conceptual inclinations of Roger WATERS, and his guitar playing most certainly hasn't suffered.

It may seem surprising for an ardent Richard WRIGHT fan to rate this album so highly, given his limited involvement--but even after all this time, I can't help still having a huge soft spot for this album. Besides, GILMOUR isn't half bad as a keyboardist--just as on his first solo album, it's clear he has a rather underrated talent. Yes, it is in part because of the band's difficult circumstances that I give the high rating...but even now I can't help but be impressed at how well PINK FLOYD pulled through its darkest hour. It is a fine predecessor to The Division Bell.

Does this album really deserve a 4 star rating?!? Absolutely! Regardless if you think this is a true FLOYD record or a Gilmour-solo album, I enjoy "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" tremendously. Besides spawning a few hit singles, it is a very intelligent album, and it creates a certain android or robotic mood/atmosphere similar to that found on 'Welcome To The Machine'. That is what FLOYD albums often do: create a feeling, mood or atmosphere. I also like it because it doesn't sound like any other FLOYD album. Which is often why a lot of reviewers slag it. I respect their opinion.

"AMLOR" does suffer from that 'electronic, poppy, heavy synth' sound unfortunately so common in the 1980's. But, when this record is put in perspective with what else was coming out in 1987 like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and even Roger Waters' flop "Radio KAOS", well "AMLOR" looks bloody revolutionary!

"AMLOR" is a concept album. And when seen in this light, this album should be viewed differently than it currently is. The concept centres around the post-apocalyptic world, and one newly born man's (android's?) attempt to live in it.The title "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" refers to someone's poor judgement to launch a nuclear strike. Remember, we are still smack damn in the middle of the Cold War when this piece was written...

A lot of the song titles, and lyrics support this thesis. 'Signs of Life' (Birth/Re-birth); 'Learning To Fly' (a euphenism for learning to walk or run); 'The Dogs of War' (Survival of the fittest, social Darwinism); 'One Slip' (the perils of falling in love, with another? an object? oneself?); 'On The Turning Away' (Loss and/or ignorance of the less fortunate); 'A New Machine' (android, computer reference to artificial intelligence/life similar to the movie 2001 or even ELP's 'Karnevil9: 3rd Impression'); 'Yet Another Movie' (how mankind attempts to ignore reality and immerses himself in fantasy and entertainment as a distraction); 'Terminal Frost' (the atomic winter that will set in after a nuclear holocaust); 'Sorrow' (the android and/or last man's feeling of loneliness, lack of human contact).

An excellent musical and lyrical journey, IF you keep an open mind. Not just for FLOYD fans.

This one is not a "bad" album as we often see people tagging it. Unfortunately it is not as brilliant as the ones from the 70's, but it is still worthy of attention. Here we have amazing songs like "On The Turning Away", "Terminal Frost" and the opening instrumental. These three are in my opinion the highlights here. The rest ain't bad either, except for the awful "One Slip" and the two parts of "A New Machine". "Dogs of War" is not so bad as it seems in the live versions, and nowadays i like this song - but i once considered it the worst FLOYD one. "Sorrow" has an amazing guitar intro but, together with "Learning To Fly", is still a weirdly overrated track.

This is a very "trippy" album, though. I feel like i am in another world while i listen to it, which i would describe as a cold futuristic one full with androids and lacking of human warmth, and despite the coldness feel, it still has a moving beauty described on some of Gilmour's guitar solos. I'd really like to give this album 4 stars, but i can't rate this at the same level as several other 4 star albums which are much better than this ("Division Bell", for example). So, consider this a 3.5 rating.

A great trip if you listen to it with an open mind and forget all that "Pink Floyd without Waters is not Pink Floyd" sillyness.

2 1/2 Stars

This is an average album, but knowing that it is from Pink Floyd, it makes it a disappointing album that shouldn't be bought except for collectors.

Roger Water's gone and wright is not in the line up. The music is often mellow, but does not sound so much like Pink Floyd. IT sounds like a solo Album of Gilmour.

1. Signs of life 4/10 : A decent but not too special Shine on you wannabe. It lacks magic, and is boring.

2. Learning to fly 6/10 : A decent bouncy pop song, with good musicianship.

3. The dogs of war 5/10 : The music sounds like welcome to the machine(dark). It also sounds dramatic and symphonic. 4. One slip 3/10 : very weak composition makes a weak track

5. On the turning away 7/10 : Easily the strongest song from the album. It talks about hope, and contains pretty acoustic guitar embellishments.

6. Yet another movie 4.5/10 : kinda boring and pointless long piece.

7. Round and round : filler

8. A new machine Part one : filler

9. Terminal frost : 5.5/10 : the guitar work is not bad at all, but it lacks in composition and hooks. 10. A new machine Part two : filler

11. Sorrow 6/10 : The slow distorted guitar intro is my favourite moment of the album, but the rest of the song drags, is mediocre, and can be called filler, or bad song writing.

So, overall ... I do not enjoy this album much, and I think I wasted my money. I warn you that this is weak Pink Floyd.

My Grade : D+

This was the first album from Pink Floyd without the controversial Roger Waters. I had very high expectations and bought it without reading any review. Well, this album turned out to be a rather disappointing experience because it sounded to polished and to predictable to me. Despite the very impressive list of guest musicians (from Carmine Appice to John Halliwell and Tony Levin, the music fails to generate the smallest amount of excitement that we could expect from Pink Floyd in the past. It is a very professional product, the video-clips look smooth but can't hide that Pink Floyd has turned into a machine, welcome!

I have always liked this album. It is surprisingly good, considering it is not the full team we were used to on earlier albums. Many of the songs are catchy, melodic, and full of wonderful Gilmourian guitar work! 'Learning To Fly', 'One Slip', 'On The Turning Away' are all good songs. 'Signs Of Life', which opens the album, is not on the same level, but is a decent way to start the record. 'Dogs Of War' is too heavy for me, but again it is not exactly a bad track. The rest of the songs are decent, if not essential, efforts, 'Terminal Frost' and 'Another Movie' being the best of them. But then comes the tremendous finale - the wonderful 'Sorrow'. This song has all the hallmarks of classic Floyd, with stunning guitar work, and an excellent, laid back, yet powerful melody. Good stuff! I personally rate this album as better than the following 'Division Bell', although many fans will prefer that album. Gilmour has done a good job here, minus Waters. Ironic that the only member of the band who didn't appear on the first album, back in 1967, has here taken on the job of leading the group. I wonder what Syd Barrett thinks of it all? Recommended to Floyd fans who are not too keen on the depressing lyrics of Waters. Funnily enough, the album this resembles most closely, to my ears, is 'Wish You Were Here'. If you like that, you should like this. Not essential, but better than expected.

Rogers is out...and David attempt to take control, and direction of the band! A good effort, but is a transition album..To be honest, PF will never be the same after this!! I still kept collecting them, but I knew their glorious days as a band were over!!

In recent issue of MOJO (April 2006) the Roxy Music guitarist, Phil Manzanera - who is David Gilmour's neighbor in Sussex - categorized "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" album under the last era (out of three) of Pink Floyd where he named the category under "After The War" (with Roger, obviously). Looking at the CD sleeve this album looks like a collaborative efforts by David Gilmour and Nick Mason; Bob Ezrin is the producer. This can be considered as David's expression to the "war", saying to the public that "Pink Floyd is alive without Roger Waters".

When I purchased my first version of this album in cassette format, this album did not attract me at first spin except one track "Sorrow" which has great flow and a bit of bluesy rhythm. I could afford to listen to more than two spins, I think, and I put it in my cassette rack. I'd rather play Marillion "Misplaced Childhood" or "Clutching AT Straws" cassettes which at the time became my day-to-day menu. Yes, I was more Marillionized than being Floyded. A Momentary was to me far more inferior than any Marillion's albums at the time. I only listened to this album seriously again after I purchased the laser disc of Pink Floyd live concert video "Delicate Sound of Thunder". Watching the video reminded me to this album and I played that again. Couple of years later I upgraded into CD format.

The opening title "Signs Of Life" with its ambient sound of waters remind me to the picture of man rowing about on a silent river (segment in the Delicate Sound of Thunder video) and gives me a sense of peaceful life. There are of course still many elements of early Pink Floyd sounds on guitar, keyboard as well as sound effects. Some tracks like "Turning Away" is too poppy being considered as Floyd track. "Dogs of War" is another good thread of this album. The best track is of course "Sorrow"! If you are Pink Floyd freaks and get used to early albums you might find this album lost the soul of Pink Floyd sound in the early days. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Was this album just a Momentary Lapse of Reason? This reviewer thinks so. In 1983, the internal disintegration of Pink Floyd saw the end of Roger Waters' collaborations with the group, and in the years between 1983-1987 many fans wondered what was going to happen to the group. After a pressing legal suit, David Gilmour and Nick Mason were granted use of the Pink Floyd name, much to Roger Waters' bitterness. In 1987, David Gilmour and Nick Mason released A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and it just shows that without Roger Waters Pink Floyd could not function as a group. Although Richard Wright was on the album, he wasn't granted status as a full member of the group (he was still a hired gun for the album). On this album is a slew of studio musicians, writers, lyricists, etc. who try to help Gilmour and Mason out all along the way. But from the very beginning, one can tell that this album could have used a lot of refinement, as it completely changes the Pink Floyd sound into a more commercial, arena rock approach. Not saying that this album has no strengths, though, it's just very weakl in comparison to other Floyd works.

Signs of Life is the opening instrumental, and what it mainly is is a solo spot for David Gilmour (as it a lot of the album). It's not a terribly strong instrumental, but it gets its point across and it is effective. Learning to Fly is the most popular song on the album, with an uplifiting guitar riff and a catchy chorus. Easily the best song on the album in my opinion. Dogs of War is consistently voted as the worst Pink Floyd song ever, and I can see where those who say that are coming from. Bland synths, bland vocals, bland lyrics, this song is just terribly bland, and it drags a lot. One Slip is a song about (from what I can grasp) teenage pregnancy or some unexpected pregnancy. The chorus is catchy and hooks you in. On the Turning Away is another one of the stronger songs on the album. More great guitar work from Gilmour and some nice work from Tony Levin on this track. Yet Another Movie/Round and Round is a segue track that isn't anything particularly special. Just noodling and bland/generic lyrics and vocals.

A New Machine, pt. 1 is a perfect example of filler. It has no real significance being split into two parts and it only acts as a weak intro to Terminal Frost, which is a strong instrumental which has some more great guitar work from Gilmour. A New Machine, pt. 2 is the same as part 1, bland and a perfect example of filler. Sorrow ends the album, and it begins with a lot of guitar noodling from Gilmour, more filler I feel. The song is often revered highly by fans as the best song on this album. I like the song, but I'm just not impressed by it. I really do like Tony Levin's work on it, though.

Overall, this album isn't terribly bad... but it isn't really that good. There's just a lot of weak material on this album, more weak than strong. If Gilmour had spent more time with his team of collaborators and writers refining the songs on this album, then maybe this wouldn't have been a disappointment in my eyes. A Momentary Lapse of Reason for Pink Floyd? So thinks this reviewer. 2.5/5.

First a caveat: this is one fan who has never been able to sit through "The Wall" (or its unofficial sequel "The Final Cut") for more than five minutes without wincing, falling asleep, or getting pissed off at what Roger Waters did to the memory of the band once known as Pink Floyd.

But now that the dust has long since settled, I'm belatedly taking Water's side in the battle that raged around the group's convulsive separation and unexpected reformation (without him) in the mid 1980s. All ancient history, of course, but in retrospect the band should have been allowed to die of natural causes, rather than continue as the sadly resuscitated corpse on display here.

Pink Floyd was by then a shadow of its former self, reduced to David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason, and over a dozen guest musicians (including, in a ludicrous demotion, erstwhile Floyd founder Rick Wright). With such a crowd it's no wonder the album has such a generic, corporate halo around it, not helped by an utterly impersonal production job: all spotless digital synths and thudding 1980s drum clichés. This is music designed to be played only in the biggest auditoriums on the planet, and it's a sad reflection of how far the band had traveled from those heady counterculture gigs at the Marquee Club in 1967.

What was it that made recording this album so imperative, besides as a crutch for Pink Floyd's sagging reputation? It was hardly an original effort: every other note was a pre- packaged trade on former successes. The instrumental opener "Signs of Life" (easily the best thing on the album) is an opaque re-tread of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"; the overwrought "Dogs of War" recalls its namesake from the underrated "Animals" album; and the leaden pace of every track makes the whole package sound like a pile of leftover bricks from "The Wall".

Pink Floyd was always a band that set high standards for itself, and thus deserves the courtesy of being judged accordingly. By that measure this rebirth is at best a halfhearted abortion, living up to its long-winded title in ways the remains of the group never dreamed of. Maybe it would help to regard it more as a Dave Gilmour solo album, in much the same way that the band's previous releases had all been de facto Roger Waters solo projects likewise marketed under the Pink Floyd brand name.

In short, it's a disappointing one-star effort, only partially redeemed by the usual saving grace of Gilmour's classy guitar skills, by itself (and without his singing) enough to push this rating up another notch.

Roger Waters left Pink Floyd at the peak of its popularity. Rick Wright also left, though he was roped back in to contribute a little to this album. After teh last few Waters-dominated albums, Gilmour now had to assume control of what is certainly the most commercailly successful prog band in history. To aid this daunting task, he recruited various musicians and songwriters to prove that Floyd could surivive without its lyricist, considered to be one of the best of all time. He got some impressive names, chief of which are probably Tony Levin and Carmine Appice, but he just couldn't pull it off. He's really the only member of Pink Floyd contributing to this record. Nick is there, though his parts are more often than not given to others. Rick showed up, but conributed nothing and barely played his instrument.

There are a few positive tracks that keep this from being a total mess. Learning To Fly and One the Turning Away are strong, and Sorrow is the best post-Waters tune bar none. It has the strongest lyrics on the album and the guitar solo is one of Gilmour's best, and that's saying something.

In the end, Lapse has a few strong tracks that can't hope to match the power of 70s Floyd. For the resulting tour, Nick and Rick would return to the fold and things looked brighter for the band, and 1994 Division Bell was quite good. This album is for devoted Floydians only.

Things sure got complicated after "The Wall" was released. A court case ensued and the band would be forever changed.The previous record "The Final Cut" was much like Waters' solo record. Well this album really comes off sounding like a Gilmour solo album.Touche ! I'm sure that's what Gilmour was thinking. Anyway this was recorded in 1987 which in my opinion was the worst year in Prog music history. Richard Wright would be here only as a part timer, along with a host of guest musicians. I often wondered if the title of this album was directed at Mr.Waters. Wouldn't be surprised. Anyway the pictures of Gilmour and Mason with them both smiling away in the liner notes looks so eighties and wrong.

I don't want to harp on the Roger Waters conflict but I always thought "Signs Of Life" was a strange pick for the opening song, but the fact it's a song with no lyrics may have some significance. Anyway it consists of samples of birds singing and water splashing, everything is peaceful. Synths and some guitar late in the song. "Learning To Fly" is a song that impresses me more for the lyrics then the melody. Hearing a pilot singing about flying is pretty cool. Too poppy though for my tastes. "The Dogs Of War" opens with a melody that sounds like marching armies, and the vocals are aggressive sounding because of the subject matter. "One Slip" may have an eighties feel to it but I like it. It has a spacey intro that gives way to an uptempo melody with lots of percussion.

"On The Turning Away" features amazing lyrics and a great guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in. Talk about a meaningful song ! "Yet Another Movie" and it's instrumental partner "Round And Around" are slow paced with drums pounding and keys in the background. The guitar outbreak is good. "A New Machine Part 1" and "Part 2" features distorted vocals and subtle keys.The instrumental "Terminal Frost" has a lazy, relaxed melody of sax, keys and slowly pounding drums that develope into a fuller sound after 2 minutes, and an even fuller sound after 3 minutes. The final tune "Sorrow" has some distorted guitar in the intro and the guitar melodies are good especially later on in the song.

I saw them on tour in support of this record in Toronto where they sold out the CNE for three straight nights. I saw the second show. The first half which featured a lot of material from this album holds some good memories because of the videos up on the big screen more than the music itself. The German Shepherd dogs and the guy in the bed being chased were all so cool,The second half was marred by some sound problems during my favourite song "Us And Them".

This album is often reviled, but I find it to be wonderfully inventive, awash with varied arrangements, strong performances from Gilmour and his cohorts, lots of very Floydian sound effects, and all based on a fine set of songs with plenty of attack and aggression, something that would begin to fade from his repertoire in future years. The opening three tracks are as good as anything Floyd have done, from the extended languid instrumental intro Signs Of Life through the classic Learning To Fly with its 'elephant' guitar and evocative lyric, to the much maligned The Dogs Of War. Add in album closer Sorrow and you have a set of classic modern rock songs, Pink Floyd style.

Most older fans bemoan the passing of Roger Waters, and it is clear the lyrics lack his bite and the sound has changed, but for this album Gilmour was still hungry - for success, perhaps for adulation, and to receive credit that maybe he had lacked in the past. It may have had a difficult genesis, but the result is a superb piece of modern stadium rock.

After the disastrous "Final Cut", three members of the band could not cope any longer with the fourth one. So, exit Roger. This is a sad story but Pink Floyd has had very little personnel changes throughout the years. I guess that living and working with Roger was not possible any longer, so either he had to do the Floyd on his own or the other three would have to take over. The latter option prevailed.

The former Floyd album was a Waters'one. This is a Gilmour's one. He is now in the command. To replace Roger, Tony Levin will deliver a very good work on the bass (but not in songwritting, obviously).

"Signs Of Live" is a clone of the intro for "Shine" ? So, what ! Both are great tracks. It has the same aerial feeling. Of course, the emotional side (Syd tribute) is not present here but musically it is a good opener. "Learning To Fly" is also very pleasant : a bit harder but melodious. I quite like the chorus (good backing vocals). Altough it will be a trademark of this Floyd era it was already usual before. This is quite a traditional Floyd song : no revolution. Spacey moment, some special effets (as far as I remember such were also used in DSOTM) and a catchy voice. "The Dogs Of War" is a heavier than usual. Lots of backing vocals, an orgy of keys and a great guitar & sax solo. It lacks of melodious moments though and it is not really my fave here.

"One Slip" will be the third single released from the album and is a nice pop song. This shows significantly the change in direction. Not great a moment but just an average one. "On The Turning Away" starts mellow and acoustic, then the rythm catches up (slowly) and features great guitar from Dave (but we are used to this since "Echoes" (the track). A great song IMO and a highlight on this album. It sounds as if the band has encountered relief. They could again concentrate on their music and their fabulous shows.

The album goes on nicely : "Yet Another Movie + Round And Around" has a spacey intro and a bizarre atmosphere : it catches up around minute four. We are not reaching heaven of course with this number. Just average.

The first and useless tracks are "A New Machine-Part One & Two". Part I is one the shortest Floyd track ever (only topped by "Stop" from "The Wall" (38 seconds vs 34) ! If we add them we reach 2'24. But that's not too much of useless music. One might argue that there are very few truely memorable tracks, and that the album is rather repetitive and monotonuous which in a way is true. But this album is very consistent and solid.

"Terminal Frost" is an average instrumental with very good sax (sounds a bit like Roxy). "Sorrow" is a fabulous closing number. Harder, melodious, good backing vocals. The band is again confident in his own means (even if at this stage David is holding the Floyd almost on his own). Nick and Wright will grow back in the Floyd during the supporting tour. But that's another story.

His Royal Highness Roger is not there any longer to show disrespect (especially to Nick and Rick). This album will reach the number three spot both in the US and in the UK.

Since I have mentioned several times the word average or good; it is obvious that we are not listening to a masterpiece. But the Floyd has stopped its descent towards the inmost dephts of the void. Three stars and welcome to the new Floyd.

Considering that it has now been two full decades since the "And then there were three" version of the mighty Pink Floyd put out this album I recently spun it through the changer and reminisced. I have to confess that I've been no more than a casual fan of PF but have always admired their success and the high quality of their work. It wasn't until I became more exposed to Gilmore's exemplary guitar playing that I started to pay better attention to the band and picked up some of their later CDs as well as giving another listen to some of their older LPs in my collection of records.

Following a duly mysterious (you know at once that you are listening to a Pink Floyd album) and aptly titled "Signs of Life" instrumental (in which Gilmore draws us in with his unmistakable tinklings on guitar) our patience is rewarded by the irresistible "Learning to Fly" in which David tells us that he's "a soul in tension that's learning to fly, condition grounded but determined to try." This is evident by glancing at the accompanying liner notes that list a virtual who's who of studio musicians (Jim Keltner, Tony Levin and Carmen Appice to name just a few) as well as seven different recording studios. In other words, a lot of calculated time and effort went into this project to show the world that they were still a force to be reckoned with sans any contribution from the charismatic Roger Waters. A menacing undertow of sound (that brings to mind the loping charge of Hannibal's elephants) characterizes "The Dogs of War" but, despite an excellent burning sax solo by Tom Scott, this song just never takes off.

"One Slip" is obviously about a serious momentary lapse of reason and the resulting guilt and remorse that follows infidelity. The lyrics are brutally honest but, more than any other song on the album, this tune unfortunately reflects the MTV neon signs of the times influence with its thinly veiled MJ "Thriller" feel and dates it terribly. Then things make a remarkable turn for the better. "On the Turning Away" redeems the whole project. It is, in every category, a brilliant song. Its call for universal and unconditional compassion is timeless and ever-relevant. Gilmore's emotion-packed solo and understated vocal performance makes this one of their best tunes ever. Big, deep drums introduce "Yet Another Movie/Round and Round" and promise great things but the song soon falls flat and never gets up again. I have never figured out what it's about, either. "A New Machine" features a very interesting vocal effect that gives me the impression of a computer left on its own that is talking to itself. This is followed by "Terminal Frost," a terrific instrumental that is an atmospheric mix of piano, guitar and saxophone. The dynamics are stunning as it ebbs and flows and it is a highlight of the disc. After a brief return to the talking PC we get to the closer, "Sorrow." David uses an earth-shaking guitar effect to get our attention for this song that seems to be directed at his no-longer-around partner with lines like "he's chained forever to a world that's departed." Even the obligatory "dry ice" moments in the middle can't stop the inertia of this rocker.

Released in 1987, this was the first release since 1983's questionable "Final Cut" fiasco that signaled the end of the Waters era. I think that David Gilmore in particular felt a real sense of purpose in proving that the band was still a formidable presence in the world of music and he did everything in his power to create a masterpiece. My feeling is that he and the group may have tried too hard. They included a few risky tracks that fell short of the runway and pulled the album down a notch or two despite the inclusion of some truly magnificent songs. That being said, I still think it is vastly better than a lot of the drivel that was being foisted upon the general public circa 1987 and deserves a place in any decent progressive rock collection. Not quite 4 stars but definitely more deserving than just 3. Let's say it's a 3.4.

A Momentary Lapse of Judgement

Behind the poor decision to call Dave's solo career PF lies the complete vacuum of material of the level of what they were doing years prior. What you end up with is nothing more than clichés of Pink Floyd like you'd get if Clapton did Cream without Bruce, or Plant did Zeppelin without Page's vision, or Daltrey doing The Who without Townshend. I could go on all day about how ludicrous the idea of a Waters-less Floyd is, but I'll spare you.

"The Dogs of War" is a particularly awful track and throughout the album we have Dave doing his best 80s Clapton stylings with huffy vocals, recycled licks, and poor lyrics. The one bright spot here is "On the Turning Away" which for the first time elicits some authentic emotion from the vocal and gives a brief flash of Floydian majesty. The songs are pretty uninspired and even the boatload of guest stars cannot rescue this. I can't imagine how Tony Levin got himself roped into this project; I can only assume he and Dave must be close friends. "Sorrow" is without doubt the most uneventful Floyd epic to date and sounds like filler.

I have to try very hard to justify the second star here and do so only because of "On the Turning Away" and out of respect for Nick Mason. I admit a Roger bias completely as I feel he was the reason for the great 70s albums, however I am not unable to be objective. Were this a great album I would say so. It is far from a great album.

A Momentary Lapse of Reason initially started out as David Gilmour's third solo album with recording starting in October 1986. Gilmour initially thought the material was too weak to make it a Pink Floyd project. However, by the end of 1986 he felt confident in placing it under the Pink Floyd name. Of course prior to this Gilmour, Mason, and Waters had a dispute over the band's name which eventually became settled out of court with Waters gaining exclusive rights to nearly all of The Wall album and the entire Final Cut album along with some Floydian imagery including the original "flying pig."

Gilmour attempted to make A Momentary Lapse of Reason a Pink Floyd album by adding sound effects and lacing the album with synthesizer vocal effects, among other things. Although Nick Mason was a full member, his contributions were minimal as Gilmour relied mostly on a large team of session musicians including bassist Tony Levin, keyboardist Jon Carin (who would later tour with the band), Bob Ezrin, Carmine Appice, a variety of saxophone players (including John Helliwell of Supertramp), among others. Even Richard Wright would rejoin the band, though in the role of a salaried session musician.

Gilmour's new version of Pink Floyd was an entirely new creation. Sure, you have his amazing guitar work, which for the most part is the showcase behind the band's instrumentation from this point forward. But this is a Pink Floyd brought into the 1980s and along with it all those things we loved (i.e. hated) about the 1980s. This included programmed drums and a heap of digital synthesizers. Now that doesn't mean Pink Floyd went the route of Yes or Genesis. In fact, the new 1980s version of Pink Floyd was actually quite tastefully done considering the time period. After all, 1987 saw the likes of Invisible Touch, Big Generator, and Crest of a Knave. A Momentary Lapse of Reason, though not anywhere on par with their 1970s albums, was miles above the rubbish from other prog groups of the time.

Many of the songs are of a radio-friendly nature, most of them quite simple and uncomplicated. The most notable feel one can pick out of this album are the lush, and sometimes dark atmospherics created by the digital synthesizers. Maybe overused, but effective nonetheless. A couple of the songs have a driving energy (often lacking from Waters material), such as The Dogs of War, One Slip, and the concert favorite Sorrow. Another major difference is Gilmour's lyrical style. Instead of the lengthy political diatribes of Waters, we are left with some very poetical pieces. I think of that as an improvement.

Pink Floyd will never be the same without Waters, but Waters became so dominant that it was no longer Pink Floyd. A Momentary Lapse of Reason is a departure, but I find it to be a refreshing one. Unfortunately, it doesn't fare well compared to the group's earlier masterpieces. So I'm left with concluding this to be a three star effort. Good, but not essential.

During the 80's, many precious bands sacrificed quality over sales and popularity - Floyd were no exception. Having got that rather brash generalisation off my chest, 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' is a fairly decent listen, but really adds nothing to the whole Space/Psychedelic faction of Progressive music. I remember waiting for hours, subjected to listening to, what can only be described as 'absolute pus', a local radio station announcing that they intend to play some of the new Pink Floyd album - well after waiting some time, lo and behold, here come the excerpts from the up-coming release. I was totally thrilled. They ended up playing the entire first side of the vinyl. I taped the affair and listened to it several times a day until the LP was in at the local record bar (I actually took a day off school to go and purchase it). I loved the introductory piece Signs of Life - what can only be described as a 'movie for your ears' - clever and experimental, what a comeback. The catchy pop-song 'Learning to Fly', was a commercial success, but still a quality song when compared to some of the dross that was released at the time. 'The Dogs of War' had a venomous bite to it, particularly Dave Gilmour's vocal delivery. The song is blues-based, but has a good feel to it. 'One Slip' is the slip into mainstream commercialdom for me, but I do listen to the song without being put off, it has an interesting intro. 'On the Turning Away' is somewhat anthemic, but has a great melody and Gilmour's soloing is quite impressive and enjoyable.

The songs on the 2nd side sounded a little more faithful to their reputation. 'Yet Another Movie' holds an ethereal vibe to it, and is one of the winners of the album. It segues into a little motif entitled 'Round and Around', which tops off the piece in fine form. 'A New Machine - Part 1' is just some prose that's belted out by Gilmour, albeit vocoder manipulated - same goes for 'A New Machine - Part 2', not adding up to much within the overall picture, but eclectic never-the-less. 'Terminal Frost' is a semi-lengthy instrumental track that I find is a bit dull - it features some lovely piano melodies and some fine saxophone playing, backed with some wordless female voices - nice, but somewhat middle-of-the-road. The epic of the album is the near 9 minute 'Sorrow', a fine musical extravaganza in true Floyd fashion - Gilmour's guitar intro is big, and I mean BIG !!!!!!!!! A worthwhile track to finish off the album. a big '3' for the rating of this good, but unfortunately, inessential release.

Well, we saw in 1983 what happens when PINK FLOYD let a bitter, acerbic man mastermind an album: it becomes intolerably bleak and self-fixated. So now, four years later, we get to see what happens when a gentler, middle-aged millionaire masterminds a PINK FLOYD album. The result: gentleness, bordering on blandness. The band clearly misses ROGER WATERS, but not as much as ROGER WATERS missed the band.

This album is much more like the early 70s albums in spirit, as one would expect. Slow, spaced-out and languid, the music dominates here over lyrical vision. To be blunt, DAVID GILMOUR doesn't have a lyrical vision, and so those looking for FLOYD-with-a-message will take 'The Final Cut' over this. However, those interested in the music will plump for this. Most fans just wish the two could have been married one more time.

'Signs Of Life' reprises the opening of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' but without the starfield magnificence of the former: this track is definitely earth- (or water) bound. 'Learning to Fly' begins with a searing guitar, but the subject matter (literally, having flying lessons) reveals the shallowness of the subject matter at hand. To my mind it still beats yet another album about the war ... but what's this? 'Dogs of War'? Is GILMOUR trying to out-WATERS WATERS? This track is usually panned by the critics but I have no particular beef with it. 'One Slip' and 'On the Turning Away' are worthy album tracks, but not really up to post-72 PINK FLOYD.

Side Two is where the record excels. Here GILMOUR stretches his guitar fingers. 'Yet Another Movie/Round and Around', 'Terminal Frost' and 'Sorrow' were destined for a GILMOUR solo album, but are infinitely more valuable here, getting the full FLOYD treatment. 'Sorrow' in particular is a treat, the best FLOYD song since 1975 with the exception of C-Numb. A great growling guitar start, and a worthy, if overlong, solo to finish, with a meaningful song sandwiched in between.

Yes, it's as much a GILMOUR solo album as 'The Final Cut' was WATERS'. But gone is the smothering air of dominance. Instead, we see moves back towards democratisation, with the inclusion of WRIGHT (as much as his severance contract would allow). I'd love to have a machine that would somehow graft the best of this into the best of 1979-83 FLOYD and see what happens.

It comes down to this. I love PINK FLOYD as a space-rock band, not a protest art-rock band, irrespective of the brilliance of 'The Wall'.Therefore, what GILMOUR does is inherently more interesting to me than what WATERS does. This album is a fair forgery of a PINK FLOYD album indeed, as WATERS most famously put it. I'll settle for that over another war album from an angry tyrant.

Even though this is one of the latest albums by PF it is certainly not the last one I bought . In fact it's one of the first, I got in the band's discography relatively late. According to the averages it's one of their lesser albums but there I do not quite agree. Not that it's a masterpiece, far from it but it's a good album and there are a few releases by PF I'm not really fond of so there's my explanation.

First track, Signs of life, is a typical opening track, like a sort of introduction to what is to come. This instrumental overture is mysterious and atmospheric. Nice. 3*.

Learning to Fly is more of a vocal track, a famous one, often played on their live concerts. Good Song but not quite mindblowing I would say. 3,25*.

The Dogs of War goes on in the same style, most of the songs on this album are pretty slow and have a sort of build up, a sort of growth in them. Same with this one, most of the songs are also a bit restrained as if they never come to some spectacular explosion. This one does for a bit after 3 minutes when Gilmour starts displaying a bit of his talent. Some companionship from the sax as well. But also this one doesn't grow to great heights. 3,5*.

One Slip is sort of the title track, well at least it's the only of the 10 tracks where the title is mentioned in the lyrics to be more precise. The track is a bit flat, no significant features here, more of an average track with an atypical rhythm by the way. 3*.

Next is one of my favourite PF tracks of all time although at the same time I must admit I'm not always in the mood for it. But when I'm in the right mood I enjoy it hugely not in the least because of Gilmour's great guitar solo at the end. 4,5*.

Yet another Movie is the one with the psychedelic/space sounds in the beginning, maybe a hint to their past (early seventies) when they did this all the time. It just lasts a minute, after this another regular song, quite interesting but not great. 3,25*

After two short ones, Round and Round and A New Machine, it's time for Terminal Frost. A very nice instrumental with great saxophone amongst other fine contributions. 3,5*.

And after the last short interlude (A New Machine pt.2) the second highlight, Sorrow. Longest song of the album and an impressive composition. And also on this one the sting is in the tail with great guitar at the end. 4*.

So a nice album by this great band but nothing to go overboard about really. And two really good songs are not enough to give 4 stars for so it will have to be three.

Hardly a slip

With the departure of Roger Waters many fans would likely call the band dead in the... er... water - but this was not so for the legendary progressive band. It may have been a long hiatus since the release of their last studio album before this one, The Final Cut, and we may be knee deep in the 80s now, but this album somehow turned out quite good! The songs are not really as ''progressive'' as some people would likely have liked to have them - there's no psychedelic jams and no long suites named after newspaper headlines and cows and whatnot, but there's still many of the ingredients of classic Floyd. True, they've been rearranged and mixed around, but that doesn't mean they're not present.

Gilmour's Floyd is a completely different beast than it was under the command of bass playing songwriter Roger Waters. It also doesn't help that the 80s are upon us, but the style is wildly different. Shorter, catchier songs get heavier radio play these days than some of the other songs in the Floyd catalog (see, for example, the soft and moody Learning to Fly) but in general they still pack a heavy punch. Faster and heavier songs such as One Slip and the brooding Dogs Of War still hold the classic Floyd sound in small doses, but offer a unique look at the band while instrumentals such as the opening intro Signs Of Life and the excellent Terminal Frost offer a new side to the band that's been seemingly hidden until Gilmour had the chance to take over.

Likely the best song on the album, though, has to be the closer. This is one of the best examples of blending the 80s style that many prog bands were using (and not doing well with in most cases) as Sorrow is an excellent piece. Driven by a heavy bass and some haunting vocals Gilmour and the boys really make the best of what they've got here. This really is one that can compete with most of the other material in the band's catalog, believe it or not.

The increased use of the 80s synth and the heavy beat to the album may make it a threatening one to listen to at first - not exactly at kin with any of Floyd's other albums (including the sole album to follow it, The Division Bell), but it really does have a certain charm that some of the others don't have. Between it's interesting cover art and it's unique style this one really is a fun one to listen to.

All things considered this is not one of Floyd's best albums, but it's not one to be shrugged off either. Not for people who are not fans of the band, but people who have avoided it simply because of it's date should reconsider if they want to hear something very different by the band. In the end this one gets 3.5 New Machines out of 5. Definitely not the album to start with by the band, but certainly not one that has to wait until the completionists get around to it. Recommended to people who have an interest to what happened to prog in the 80s, and anyone who thinks that The Division Bell needed a bit of extra 'oomph'.

Not Roger Waters any more! And the result is the weakest Pink Floyd's album. It's not bad album at all,but in comparison with the other albums by the band it is weaker. Richard Wright is again with the band, but only as session musician. The genre is simplified in comparison with the other albums. There are some important moments about A Momentary Lapse of Reason - it is the most electronic album and the most mainstream album by Pink Floyd. It contains one very good song - Signs of Life and a few good songs - Learning to Fly, One Slip, On the Turning Away. Appropriate for those who like more pop rock sound!

In 1985, Roger Waters claimed that Pink Floyd was "a spent force." While that may still hold true for most die hard fans, the remaining members of Pink Floyd proved they could still craft highly enjoyable music, even if inconsistently and not as complex. For all intents and purposes, this album may as well have been a David Gilmour solo album, though. Rick Wright was only a paid session musician, and Nick Mason was replaced on at least two of the tracks by a drum machine, and on many other tracks, credited only with "percussion," with someone else handling the "drums." Quite a bit of the music is a place to showcase Gilmour's talent as a guitarist, and sadly, at times this can get old.

"Signs of Life" As will be the case with both David Gilmour-led Pink Floyd releases, A Momentary Lapse of Reason opens with an atmospheric instrumental, this one full of synthesizer and subtle guitar passages.

"Learning to Fly" Perhaps the most well-known song from the album (nay, post-1970s Pink Floyd) , "Learning to Fly" is great blend of progressive rock and straightforward pop. The middle section features Nick Mason speaking, as though on a radio. The lyrics are not only about literal flight, but apparently reflect Gilmour's realization that he was stepping into his former band mate's shoes as front man of such a legendary and respected band.

"The Dogs of War" The problem with this song is that it tries too hard to be menacing. The splashes of keyboard, the marching strings, the growling vocals- it all sounds a trifle too ridiculous to be effective.

"One Slip" In spite of the prolonged introduction and the 1980s pop sounding music, this is a great song and one of the best on the album. The lyrics describe a spontaneous romantic rendezvous that results in a pregnancy, ultimately referencing how one seemingly frivolous act can have monumental consequences. After the guitar suddenly fades in, the vocals begin immediately. The music is catchy and upbeat (this is the fastest song on the album).

"On the Turning Away" Like "Learning to Fly," this beautiful anthem gained a respectable amount of radio airtime. The verses progress from a capella to an all-out choir, followed by a typical David Gilmour guitar solo, this one a bit reminiscent of the second one on "Comfortably Numb."

"Yet Another Movie" This is a long, atmospheric track with a 1980's pop-rock sound and not much going for it. The vocals are bland, and the music doesn't really move anywhere. It's more of the same for nearly seven-and-a-half minutes.

"A New Machine (Part One)" Not so much a song, as an introduction to the next track, this track has David Gilmour's distorted voice singing through a Vocoder.

"Terminal Frost" Beautifully bleak, this happens to be one of my favorite instrumentals. The piano and the saxophone can impart chills. For me, this song conjures up precisely what the title describes- something cold and deadly. Nick Mason doesn't actually play on this one- what you hear is a drum machine.

"A New Machine (Part Two)" This is essentially a reprise of part one.

"Sorrow" "Sorrow" begins with a heavily distorted, loud guitar, which was recorded in an arena through a sound system. For some of the lyrics, Gilmour borrows lines from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. There are pleasant vocal harmonies and a smooth atmospheric part in the middle. Again, there are no real drums on the track, just a drum machine, and this gives the song a really stunted feel. Nearly the last three minutes consist of additional guitar soloing.

What's Pink Floyd without Roger Waters? Well, more Floydish

A Momentary Lapse of Reason is often looked as a Gilmour solo album, which I disagree or tend to reach to a logical conclusion, in which if someone considers this as a Gilmour solo project, then why consider The Final Cut, which is written in it's entirety by Roger Waters, be Pink Floyd? Either both are Pink Floyd or both are solo albums with Pink Floyd as their moniker, don't you think?

A Momentary Lapse of Reason is also said to be light, pop, radio friendly, and so on. I can't help to disagree more, I mean songs like Signs of Life, Sorrow, Yet Another Movie, Dogs of War, I really can't hear any radio-friendly or light-hearted on those songs, on the contrary, they're pretty somber to your usual Gilmour-aspect, and I can also say that they're quite prog-esque if you don't mind the 80's sound and can deal that the Dark Side of the Moon-period is gone. I won't ommit the fact that this album does have radio-friendly songs like the popular Learning to Fly and One Slip, both up-lifting but still both carry that Floyd(at least Gilmour) touch that makes it so recognisable such as Money and Another Brick in the Wall, and definitely making up a great enjoyment.

I must also point out the great vast of musicians that participate in this album(maybe another reason for those who consider this a Gilmour solo project, which in that case I can just say that Pink Floyd needed a bass player, a saxophone play and a keyboard player, and ended up bringing quite a lot of them), which makes this album to have such a sophisticated sound like almost every Floyd album, excluding The Wall and The Final Cut.

As a conclusion I must say that A Momentary Lapse of Reason achieves to be a very good album for Pink Floyd standards, not essential, yet highly enjoyable and recomended for the Pink Floyd fan who enjoys their style of music and doesn't worry for the complexity or things of the sort. I'm really not sure what's not Floyd of this album and The Division Bell.

3.5 stars.

A great day for freedom (from Waters' creative control)!

We all know the story; Roger Waters took more and more command over Pink Floyd around the time of The Wall and his complete control culminated on the very disappointing The Final Cut until the rest of the band had enough and they split up. Momentary Lapse Of Reason is the band's comeback album and in my view a return to form. Roger Waters is no longer here and this fact was evidently very liberating for David Gilmour. This album is dominated by David Gilmour's guitars and vocals and he sounds completely rejuvenated in both departments! His vocals are strong and his guitar sound was never as distinctive and powerful as this. Also as a songwriter, Gilmour had matured a lot and he had a hand in all the songs on this album, but he is helped out by several others. Songs like On The Turning Away and Learning To Fly give a strong indication of what was to come on the excellent follow-up album The Division Bell, for which Gilmour's song writing skills would improve further.

A Momentary Lapse Of Reason is not just a comeback album after a longer absence, but a return to form after the disappointing The Wall and The Final Cut albums, and also, in a way, it is a transitional album; it is both backward-looking and forward looking at the same time. It is partly a return to the sound of Animals and Wish You Were Here, where Gilmour and keyboardist Rick Wright had a much larger influence, and partly also the birth of something brand new that would culminate with the excellent Division Bell (and the equally great live album PULSE). The titles of Dogs Of War and New Machine are probably not coincidental. Dogs Of War remind of Dogs from Animals and New Machine remind of Welcome To The Machine from Wish You Were Here.

It is a bit weird that Rick Wright is not listed as a full member of the band, but as a session musician! He finally became a full member of the band again for the Division Bell album and tour.

The title of the album possibly refers to the time when they let Roger Waters take complete control of the band. The period between Animals and The Final Cut was perhaps 'a momentary lapse of reason' on behalf of the other members?

Personally, I find A Momentary Lapse Of Reason better than many older Pink Floyd albums and a very good album in its own right with several good songs and a few excellent ones. The almost folky On The Turning Away being particularly noteworthy - one of Gilmour's finest vocal moments ever!

This is one hell of a dreadful record. By far and away the worst studio album ever released by Pink Floyd. The annoying thing is that I was really looking forward to hearing this as a 17 year old when it was released in the summer of 1987.

Awful lyrics combined with painfully ordinary tunes make this an ordeal to listen to. It's like waiting for a funeral to begin.

A far more appropriate title would have been 'A Momentary Collapse of Reason'. This record clearly shows the damage caused by Roger Waters departure. It just plods along in a nondescript way from beginning to end.

It's all very middle of the road and by the time we get to 'Dogs of War' I can feel my mouth filling up with sick at the sheer blandness of the tunes. Even the gatefold sleeve annoyed me with it's ridiculous pretentiousness. It's also dated really poorly compared with their 70's outings. This has 80's stamped all over it - overly produced where everything sounds squeaky clean. The only part I can listen to is the intro to 'Signs of Life' which has a nice clear recording of some bloke rowing in a boat. That's about it I'm afraid. Ugly.

"A Momentary Lapse of Reason" is the 13th full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Pink Floyd. The album was released through EMI/Columbia in September 1987. Bassist Roger Waters left Pink Floyd after the release of "The Final Cut (1983)" creating quite a drama in the process but the rest of the band opted to continue recording and touring using the Pink Floyd monicker. "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" is not far from sounding like a David Gilmour solo project though and indeed the writing sessions initially started out as sessions for David Gilmour´s third solo album. David Gilmour felt that the quality of the material and the sound of said material would be better suited to be released under the Pink Floyd monicker. Drummer Nick Mason joined forces with David Gilmour and gave the project a bit more credibility. Keyboardist Richard Wright also plays on the album but only as a session musician. In addition to the three members of Pink Floyd there is a host of guest musicians contributing to "A Momentary Lapse of Reason". Prolific artists like Tony Levin (bass), Carmine Appice (drums) and Bob Ezrin (keyboards, sequencers, percussion). The latter mentioned also functions as co-producer along with David Gilmour.

"A Momentary Lapse of Reason" opens in pretty convincing style with "Signs of Life", "Learning to Fly" and "The Dogs of War", which is also a pretty decent track. Unfortunately the remaining part of the album is also only decent and very seldom does it reach the heights of the first couple of tracks. The tracks often comes off as too polished and uninspired with female soul type backing vocals, cheesy sax playing and a dominant use of eighties synth sounds. There are redeeming features on the album like David Gilmour´s excellent guitar solos and pleasant vocal delivery, but they don´t manage to pull the project enough in the right direction.

The sound production instantly gives away the fact that this is an album recorded in the eighties and in this case it´s not necessarily a good thing. The warmth of earlier releases by Pink Floyd is nowhere to be found on "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", which sounds quite soulless compared to it´s many predecessors. No body wanted Pink Floyd to be over because of Roger Waters departure from the band, but listening to "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" it´s clear to me, that he took the soul of Pink Floyd with him when he left, and that this album should probably have been released as a David Gilmour solo album. It´s definitely the weakest release in the band´s discography and a 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

This is not half as bad as some people would like you to believe. On the contrary, it's twice as good :-) For me this is the best album since Animals and the last great Floyd opus. The reason it works out so well might simply be Gilmour's personal ambition to prove how essential he was to Pink Floyd before Waters started dictating what he thought Pink Floyd was all about.

So stylistically he returned to the success formula of Wish You Were Here, adding some bluesy touches inflated to the well known glossy epic Pink Floyd proportions. But the backbone to support the pathos is there: the song writing is excellent and the dedication and intensity is very focussed.

We miss Roger Waters here - that's for sure - but on the other hand, it's infinitely better than any of Water's solo albums. Apart from the silly pop song Learning to Fly, I will defend this album as a prog masterpiece to all non-believers, armed to the teeth and without relenting!

Too much bad blood here, too much envy, retribution and hate, which blindly smashes hopes. But maybe it's just "temporary", as after this, Nick and Rick would become regular buddies on gigs (famous Thunder and Pulse). Don't know why, but I don't feel so good listening this. Whereas "The Final Cut" became Roger's work, this seems to be David's. Like two small boys fighting each others for pretty girl (audience). Almost, except they create quite good music. However, where Waters was at least a little bit crazy (who knows how much), so his music wasn't so mundane (even it followed some patterns - noise/calm singing), Gilmour is more rock. And certainly influenced by 80's, even not so much. Repertoire from this album would become standard ammunition of their concerts, but is it worth of ? Mostly melodic, sometimes more pop, but there are experimental (not so much, but they are at least a little bit) pieces.

4(-) perhaps. Let's be fair. Even three plus would be maybe more sufficient. However, because of mentioned repeats on gigs, this is quite well known album, just another reason to give more.

This is my least favourite Pink Floyd album. But there is nothing explicitly wrong with it. It's just sort of weak on all fronts. Wait... that does qualify as something wrong. Okay, so there IS something explicitly wrong with this; everything.

The single was overplayed and unmoving. The more contemporary (for the time) tracks are not really to my taste and judging from the album's chart position, the audience of that era weren't too bothered either. The more "classic Floyd" style songs are better (I enjoy the albeit brief soloing on 'Dog's of War'). But the filler really is filler, by no stretch of the imagination: 'Sign's of Life' sounds like somebody accidentally pressed the record button whilst noodling around in the studio. And 'A New Machine' is for some unexplainable reason split into two separate tracks (it's not like it was too long; combined it only clocks in at 2:24) and these are literally JUST vocals put through some dated vocoder. Maybe I'm being harsh; the band lacked their primary songwriter here. And the first few songs do [just about] hold my attention, but the entire second half of the album feels like one very long and boring song with no feeling or expression (or compositional quality, OR lyrical interest).

I think the reasons for the lack of focus here is because there was really no band. There was David Gilmour. That's one person. Nick and Rick's contributions were minimal and most of the stuff they DID play on was actually re-recorded by better musicians or machines (apparently they could barely play anymore (so why reform?!)). Given the subsequent lack of quality anyway, I'd dread to think how bad these songs must have been before Wright and Mason were overdubbed.

This album sucks. I hold no grudges against Pink Floyd because they had plenty of legitimate reasons for why this album sucks. But it still does.

1987

We had all heard that Pink Floyd had broken up. Then we heard that they were back together. Without Roger Waters. How bad could that be? Waters was never an exceptional bass player or singer. However mediocre "The Wall" was (just wait to see my review, coming soon) and how just plain bad "The Final Cut" was, Waters' genius was in his production and songwriting.

This album, for all it's flaws, was a gift to us in those prog-starved eighties. At least there still was a Pink Floyd. It is missing that ominous feeling you get when listening to just about any other Floyd album. But if you compare it to David Gilmour's solo albums (which this almost qualifies as, since Gilmour wrote all the songs), it fares well.

The best songs to me are The Dogs Of War, with it's machine like rhythm (sure, it's not terribly original, but it comes closest to that old Floyd feeling), and Yet Another Movie. The biggest disappointment is Tony Levin's nondescript appearance. Like the Peter Gabriel albums he appears on, his playing is so low key, you hardly know it's him. Except for a couple of short, and not too flashy solos in One Slip (with Gilmour lowering himself to copying U2's The Edge's single guitar trick), it could be anyone.

Still, I like this better than the two previous Floyd albums.

Roger Waters left in 1985 and assumed Floyd was finished. Apparently David Gilmour disagreed. The first post-Waters Floyd album is just as much a mess as The Final Cut, but it's a completely different kind of mess. Along with Gilmour, Mason returns. Rick Wright plays on the album but he is only a session musician here. Gilmour wrote most of the music with help from friends not in the band. Waters replacement on bass for this album is none other than Tony Levin. Bob Ezrin is in the producer's chair again.

A lot of this sounds like a Gilmour solo album. The production dates it severely; only the first two Floyd albums are more "dated" than this is. This is alright for a late 80s rock album, but for a 'Pink Floyd' album, this is terrible. As much as I don't like The Final Cut, AMLOR is worse because there are less interesting moments here. There is nothing here as good as "Not Now John" or the title cut. The only songs that stand out here are "Learning To Fly", "The Dogs Of War", "On The Turning Away" and "Sorrow".

"Signs Of Life" is a nice opening instrumental. Includes Mason talking. "Learning To Fly" has Mason talking in the middle section as well. This is the best song here but this version pales in comparrison to the one on P-U-L-S-E. "The Dogs Of War" has not much going on for the first half. Then drums come in, a guitar solo, back up vocals and sax. "Terminal Frost" is a decent instrumental. Just before halfway it gets to a good section with sax solo and back up vocals. "Sorrow" is maybe the second best song. Great guitar playing from Gilmour. Features the best use of back up singers on the album.

Mediocre songwriting mixed with very 1980s production values. At least The Division Bell was a major improvement over this. The best songs from AMLOR appear in better live versions on the Delicate and PULSE albums. Floyd's worst album but The Final Cut is not far behind. 2 stars.

I have been at a gig of Australian Pink Floyd. They opened the show with "Learning To Fly", an unexpected choice. What impressed me a lot is that this song was really better in their version respect to any official Pink Floyd's release of this song. Why? They played the bass as if Roger Waters was in the band.

I am a Gilmour's fan and I would have appreciated this album even if released as a Gilmour's solo as originally planned. Lot of the material was ready for Gilmour's next album when he and Mason won the lawsuit for the use of the Pink Floyd's name.

Gilmour and Mason tried to arrange the songs for a Pink Floyd album, so there's not the funky or the heavy guitar of "About Face", but the absence of Waters is evident. This album tries to go in the "missed" direction of Wish You Were Here, and this is why Waters is missed.

Also Wright is not officially back. It means that he plays in the album but he doesn't contribute to the songwriting.

No concept, then. Just a collection of songs with more attention to the music than to the lyrics. Gilmour wasn't a great lyricist until he wrote High Hopes, and even if some social obsessions are present, everything is lighter respect to the usual Waters.

Dogs of War is emblematic. It's a bluesy song that contains a reference to Animals and a not very hidden message to Roger Waters. The other big Floyd's obsession: Syd Barrett is present also in this album. In terms of lyrics there are very weak moments, like "On The Turning Away".

However the album is very well played and arranged and the sound is the Pink Floyd's sound. Of course it's not the album to start with for a newbie and it's not musch better or worse than The Final Cut. It's just "The brigth side of Pink Floyd" respect to Waters.

Good but non-essential.

This release was an event. Nominally Pink Floyd's new record after all the internal nonsense, it has many important Floyd markers-- it sounds great; it's pithy, tragically hip, and dark all at once; and it incorporates elements of past favorites as Dark Side, WYWH, Animals, and The Wall. Dave Gilmour's vocals are fine and his flowing blues chops right in the pocket yielding some real good moments.

But the individual parts don't necessarily make up a whole and there is something decidedly missing, and the empirical evidence suggests that it would be Roger Waters ("a pretty fair forgery" ?-- I'm afraid that's kind). One doesn't have to be a Waters fan to understand the 1987 issue is an excellent example of how important one band member can be, especially a mover & shaker like RW. The tension is gone, everything works smoothly, and that's a real shame. There is also a tangible lack of lyrical depth replaced by an easier, formulaic verse. I mean when you're rhyming "love" and "glove" maybe it's time for some soul-searching, if only out of courtesy. The overall impression is that of a cold, well-oiled machine: a dreadnought that could punch out all the modern, ironic spacerock you want 24 hours a day if you let it. It's not a pretty picture, and is itself consumed by the very post-apocalyptic visions it feeds upon. Worse is the feeling we're hearing an imitation, a cruel pun, New Coke.

Some didn't seem to mind in '87, basking in the light of new material from a favorite group. Others heard the quiet desperation but gave them a pass. After all, it could've been worse. The anemic single 'Learning to Fly' has Gilmour's studio-only breathiness and Jimi Hendrix guitar phrasing over the munch of an electronic percussive. Dave and the boys' synthestra encroaches, incurs, and Wagners its way through the battlements in 'Dogs of War' and "it's scary now" melodrama. 'One Slip' is promising with remnants of his About Face period, 'On the Turning Away's arm-twisting sentiment is saved by a popping guitar solo, sandstorms and incomprehensible lyrics fill-out the enormous space of 'Yet Another Movie' and the mean skirl of Dave's ax opens superfluous 'Sorrow'.

I don't begrudge Gilmour & Friends this first try (as I recall Division Bell was a bit better), but it was far from the album we wanted and needed in those lean years of the '80s, and it had the sense these three vets were occasionally phoning it in. After giving so much, they probably deserved it. I just don't know if we did. In many ways this was indeed a momentary lapse of reason, no doubt to the giddy delight of Mr. Waters.

A new era, a new beginning, a new album after Waters left the band. "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" marked a considerable change in Pink Floyd's sound, now with Gilmour as the "new leader" after all that ego-battles etc., which makes people think that this was actually a Gilmour album and not a Floyd one. Here, besides the three Floyd members (Gilmour, Wright, Mason) several musicians contributed with some songs, people such as Tony Levin or Bob Ezrin added their grain of sand.

This album was released in 1987, and the 80s sound may be evident in some passages, that is another thing I believe people don't really like from this album. This record consists on eleven songs and a total time of 50 minutes approximately, where you will listen to a new face of this iconic band, dinosaurs of progressive rock (and rock in general).

The Gilmour-oriented sound can be appreciated since the very first track, because that unique guitar is the element that catches your attention in "Signs of Life", an instrumental introduction that will lead you to probably their most successful (commercially speaking) single in the new era. "Learning to Fly" is a catchy melody which I like, but that has a clearly different sound spiced with that 80s background, placing it in as a loved/hated song between fans.

With "The Dogs of War" we can listen to a dark atmosphere, a grey and obscure tone that actually can be appreciated in the whole album. The use of backing vocals is also a constant element, used in this song as well as the most of them. "One Slip" is a nice track with good bass notes and great percussion arrangements, however it is not an outstanding or truly memorable track, of course, in my opinion.

A much better one is "On The Turning Away", which is my personal favorite here. It is a very well composed song with several cool elements, wonderful lyrics, once again cool bass lines, great changes in mood and rhythm and in general a very clever track. Later, with the "Yet Another Movie" and "Round and Around" combo we can have a nice time, with dreamy atmospheres, slow-tempo rhythms that constantly progresses.

The weakest moments on this album (and I dare say in the entire Pink Floyd discography) is that two-part-song entitled "A New Machine", which is Gilmour speaking, well singing, with a kind of robotic sound. Both parts are short, and useless in my opinion. They are separated by one track, "Terminal Frost" which is a cool instrumental song that shines on a little bit after those darker and sad moments.

Finally, "Sorrow" which objectively might be the best song of the album, saves what seemed to be a weak album ending. This track is pretty cool, full of textures and colors, emotional changes and wonderful guitar riffs. It is also the longest composition here. A Momentary Lapse of Reason is not a bad album at all, in spite of those weaker moments and the change in their musical direction, I like it and enjoy listening and even singing to their songs. It surely does not belong in my top Floyd albums, but I would not put it as their worst either. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

'Momentary Lapse of Reason' is a transitional album as Pink Floyd begins a new chapter.

With Waters out after his egomaniacal 'Final Cut' abomination, which was generally Water's solo album with the stuff that didn't deserve to be on "The Wall", the next album is a real breath of fresh air. Yes, the band were becoming a lot more commercial or radio friendly and why not with the incredible success of the single 'Another Brick in the Wall Part 2'. The single was both a blessing and a curse as the band were never into radio chart success, nor was it their desire, so when success came it came swiftly and mercilessly knocked some of the wind out of the prog sails. The progressive music was taking a back seat to usher in a more AOR style and it is most notable on this release. There was no concept this time rather a bunch of songs that range from excellent to mediocre. This was a change for the better in some ways as at least the band were still capable of excellent compositions despite the massive heave ho of Waters. It begins with 'Signs of life', a slow meandering piece that reminds me somewhat of the intro to 'Shine On'. It builds slowly but is rather forgettable in comparison to other songs on the album.

'Learning to fly' is a brilliant track, my favourite on the album. It works well live also and is atmospheric with lyrics that perfectly capture the exhilaration and dangers of flight. 'The dogs of war' is a 6 minute tribute to the theme of war that the band return to on almost every album. It is certainly a powerful song that reminds me of Gary Numan's 'Call Out the Dogs' everytime. Pink Floyd have mentioned Dogs as war symbols for some time especially on "Animals" but this is their best.

'One slip' is a more poppy song demonstrating the new direction of the band and I only like it due to Gilmour's accomplished vocals but it is definitely a radio friendly sound bound to alienate old Floydians. 'On the turning away' is a slow melancholy piece that grew on me due to constant exposure on live DVDs.

'Yet another movie' is quite forgettable as are the next songs 'Round and round' and 'A new machine Part one' that are thankfully less than 2 minutes in length. 'Terminal frost is a more progressive song thanks to the structure and experimental feel. I love the stark foreboding intro and then the instrumental takes over. It is a wonderful guitar solo with soaring saxophone over a pleasant piano melody.

'A new machine Part two' is a short 38 second interlude to 'Sorrow' clocking 8:46. It boasts one of the all time great guitar intros that always is a showstopper in the live arena. The song is definitely a highlight on this album. In conclusion "Momentary Lapse of Reason" is not half as bad as some Floydians would have you believe. Granted, this is no masterpiece and comes sandwiched in between some amazing Floyd material, namely "The Wall" and "Division Bell", however it is a pleasant well performed journey with some moments of grandeur. It is innovative in places and perhaps more than anything typified the sound of the times, remembering that 1987 was a difficult year for prog bands. Many were wiped out due to the new wave influences so it is admirable that Pink Floyd were somehow able to blend in without selling out completely.

Considering the bitter, seething, and at points totally inexcusable hostility that existed between the Gilmour and Waters camps which overshadowed - and was exacerbated by - the process of recording this album, you could argue that it was something of an achievement to complete and release the album in the first place. Certainly there isn't much to applaud on a musical level. A Momentary Lapse of Reason is a disjointed muddle, containing instrumental atmospheres which don't go anywhere and seem rather unsure of what atmosphere they're aiming for in the first place, interspersed with soulless pop-prog anthems like Learning to Fly.

Overall, the impression I have is of a dilettante's album: a piece which exists not because the artists behind it needed to create something to earn their daily crust, or because they had any particular artistic statement they wanted to make, but simply because they had all this cool recording equipment lying around and happened to be bored one day. Of course, the process of producing the album was much more laboured than that, but that's part of the reason it's such a disappointment: surely, after fighting so many battles and spending so many months in the studio, Gilmour, Mason and Wright should have been able to put together something a little bit more compelling than this? One for the fanboys only.

A damn sight better than the dreary 'The Final Cut', though that's not saying much at all, the first post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd release would see the remaining members - guitarist-and-vocalist David Gilmour and Drummer Nick Mason - pull out all the stops in an attempt to create a new sound for the new decade. Including an army of session musicians(former Keyboardist Richard Wright and Vanilla Fudge sticksman Carmine Appice just two of the many listed on the album's lengthy list of credits) an arsenal of brand-spanking-new technology and a lighter, rock-pop veneer, 'A Momentary Lapse Of Reason' - the first Floyd studio product in almost six years - was very much a David Gilmour record produced under the lucrative Pink Floyd banner. The album would, predictably, shift tens of millions of copies across the globe, yet it's all a far cry from the outfit's 1970s peak. The large, Roger Waters-shaped hole is a factor, the absence of the bassist's acerbic lyrics and expansive song-writing that proved so important to such classic albums as 'Wish You Were Here', 'Animals' and 'The Wall' rendering much of the material rather lightweight by comparison, yet the real problem here is the fact that this is very much a product of it's time, the year 1987. Listened to with 21st century ears it all sounds very dated, with slick synthesizers, cavernous, gated-reverb drums and an earnest, over-polished production clouding the rather restrained individual tracks, though the strident, upbeat melodies of 'Learning To Fly'(a song that is, literally, about learning to fly aeroplanes) and the hazy, instrumental jazz-rock of 'Terminal Frost' do provide brief flickers of the group's old creative power. Of all the Floyd studio albums this is probably the weakest - 1994's 'The Division Bell' would provide a part-return to form - though truth be told expecting a fragmenting group from a different musical era to re-capture past glories is probably asking far too much - even for an outfit as popular as Pink Floyd. One for die-hard fans and completionists, this is an album featuring a streamlined pop-rock sound completely at odds with the group's classic, genre- defining sound of yore.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON,

Momentary laps of reason from 1987 was the first prog album I've ever heared in my life, it was in 1988 and I didn't knew who was Pink Floyd - I was only 11 years. After years and years I begun to really catchy the past prog music and who was Pink Floyd in musical history and in prog aswell. Well, maybe I'm biased here but to me this is a fairly good album, ok doesn't have the magic of the masterpices they released in the '70, but is ok and enjoyble for sure. So, Waters is long gone to pursue a solo career and Gilmour done a good job here, his guitar and voice is particulary strong, I have no complains. Pieces like Learning to fly, the beautiful sad On the turning away to me are good pieces, the rest are also ok minus A new machine part 1 and 2 who are forgetable and pointless. So, decent towards great in places, I don't find the missing links here, this is a Pink Floyd album and sounding miles away better then other albums from that period ( Invisible touch comes in mind right now) coming from a legendary prog rock band from the late 60 - early 70. 3.5 stars easy I like it no matter what other say about.

I think it might be time. I know this might be shocking, but I think the prog community can finally forgive Gilmour for being a jerk. I think we can get over the fact that a non-original member of the mighty Pink Floyd was able to take over the revered name. I think we can mature as a community, people. It's time that "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" finally be given the props that it deserves as the masterpiece that it is.

I know that might be shocking. I know that might be hard to take. But this first album without Roger Waters is every bit the masterwork that "Dark Side of the Moon", "The Wall", and "Animals" are. The only Pink Floyd album that I consider better is "Wish You Were Here", and that only by a hair. I understand that I have to explain myself.

"A Momentary Lapse of Reason" features all the mood, the casual atmosphere, the hard- hitting lyrics, and the instrumental brilliance of all the Floyd albums, but with an added complexity and eclecticism that floors me. The jazziness, the atmospheric instrumental perfection, the array of instruments used: these all tell me that this album needs to be recognized. This can be seen right from the beginning, as "Learning to Fly" contains classic Floyd rhythm and leaves an immense impression. "Dogs of War" brings the melancholy negativity that Floyd has often been known for, and it brings it with style and jazz. "On the Turning Away" gives us delicate melody and the tenderness of emotion that I find in "Wish You Were Here". "Terminal Frost" is one of the best and most interesting instrumental tracks I've ever heard! I could go on and on, but I will only mention one more. "Sorrow" is possibly one of the top 10, if not top 5, Floyd songs ever recorded. From the massive drone of its guitars and its spectacular guitar solo to the funky, off-time beat and awesome bass, this track is killer.

Gilmour's guitars were never better than on this album. His mastery is everywhere, and his perfection of the guitar solo is evident. Tony Levin shines with his groovy bass and his energy. Yes, Mason even convinced me here that he is one of the greatest drummers of all time, as his deceptively simple drumming is rife with incredible intricacies and exacting signature changes. John Halliwell is phenomenal on the sax, simply fantastic. This, then, is no Gilmour solo album. It might seem like that only because Gilmour became the sole vocalist (for the most part) and his guitar work is more prominent. That's it.

Look, I understand. I don't like it when a great band splits and the seemingly "unworthy" member gets to lead the band into the future. But, as subsequent albums and the sensational "Pulse" show us, I think Gilmour was the best choice. Hindsight is 20/20, right? Could Waters have done anything more than keep travelling his downward spiral of negativity? And, in all honesty, do you think Mason really wanted to lead this legendary band? Gilmour, then, was the best thing for Floyd, and "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" is simply one of the best Floyd albums ever made.

The will of the fans'among which I am included'to break off Floyd's saga dissolution after the release of The Final Cut was as eager as Roger Waters' determination to put an end to the group. It seemed everything was coming to an end due to the group's internal strife.

But David Gilmour and Nick Mason were not keen to simply please Waters, and after endless legal disputes, the first post-Waters Pink Floyd album was released: A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

The disc, crowded with invited musicians, was rather dull. Nevertheless, some good songs deserve to be plucked. On the Turning Away, for instance, is a beautiful and deep ballad; Yet Another Movie has a good instrumental development; Sorrow possesses an energetic and zealous guitar-opening; Signs of Life is, in a sort of way, a tribute to the group's earlier creations. But we have to stop counting: there is nothing worth anthologizing.

The really important matter was that Pink Floyd was back. All the fans eloquently expressed their gratitude: for 2 years, all the stadiums were full of people eager the hear A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

Review Nº 519

"A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" is the thirteenth studio album of Pink Floyd and was released in 1987. After the release of "The Final Cut" in 1983, the members of the band went for separate ways until 1987. In 1985 David Gilmour began to assemble a group of musicians to work on his third solo studio album but in the end of 1986 he changed his mind, and decided that the new material composed by him would instead be included as a new Pink Floyd's album. So, he decided to revive the band with Nick Mason and Richard Wright. However, for legal reasons Wright couldn't be a member of the band. Due to that, he only participated on "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" as a musician paid weekly.

After the release of "The Final Cut" in 1983, succeeded a harsh legal dispute with Roger Waters who left the group in 1985, and Gilmour and Mason won the legal rights to use the name of Pink Floyd and Waters won the rights to some of the images of Pink Floyd, including almost all the characters of "The Wall" and all the rights of "The Final Cut".

So, "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" is a very different and special album in the musical career of the group because it would became the first Pink Floyd's album since the departure of their founder member, the lyricist, bassist and one of the main composers of the group, Roger Waters. And mainly due to that, "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" was heavily criticized for having less substance than an album released in the musical era of Roger Waters. It's commonly accepted that "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" is one of the weakest studio works released by the band and especially Roger Waters' fans never accepted it as a Pink Floyd's album. Waters himself, referred to it as being a reasonable forgery.

"A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" has eleven tracks. The first track "Signs Of Life" conjures a "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" throwback vibe on this opening instrumental, which is well-sequenced before the crashing opening of "Learning To Fly". Wright makes his return to the band with some synthesizer work. The second track "Learning To Fly" is a focused well-produced rock song with great backing vocals in the chorus, that nods to the band's spirit of experimentation, but still stays accessible throughout. The lyrics on this track are excellent. The third track "The Dogs Of War" is the song on the album where the lyrics sort of take center stage, is as unsmiling and strident as anything Waters ever wrote. It's not quite eloquent enough to catch my best full attention. The fourth track "One Slip" is an atmospheric track with some poetic lyrics. The lyrics get a bit clunky here and there. Still, the sweeping chorus and the pinball sound effects at the start give a kind of a fun touch to the song. The fifth track "On The Turning Away" has a beautiful melody. The melody is one of the loveliest in the band's catalog, while the words are humbly poetic and subtly stirring. Gilmour gets the chance for an extended solo at the end. This is probably the best song released under the Pink Floyd's banner after Waters' exit. The sixth track "Yet Another Movie" and the seventh track "Round And Round" are linked together. It's a cold and dark piece, monotone and repetitive that turns a bit into a predictable and boring song. It's very strange and difficult to understand why they decided to divide this song in two parts. Sincerely, I can't see any substantial difference between them. The eighth track "A New Machine Part One" and the tenth track "A New Machine Part Two" are also linked together. The two parts of this track are positioned as the bread of a sandwich for which "Terminal Frost" is the meat, making this one of the most askew and forgettable song suites the band has ever attempted. The vocoder effect on Gilmour's voice with the lack of any real instrumentation behind it is a striking effect, but that's all that's really here. The ninth track "Terminal Frost" isn't brilliant but sounds as a good jamming session. If you're looking for tasteful if passionless soundtrack material, then you've come to the right place. But you bought a Pink Floyd's album, so you're probably quite disappointed. The eleventh track "Sorrow" has some great playing of Gilmour as well as some lyrics from him that are good enough to get by. But, the whole thing never rises above the moody, airless atmosphere it maintains, making of it a closing track that fails to ignite. Still, it's one of the best tracks.

Conclusion: "The Final Cut" was a personal Roger Waters' bet, and is largely based on Waters' life, the loss of his father in World War II and his personal concept about the war. All composition duties belong only to Waters and its release was only exclusively decided by him. So, as I wrote before when I reviewed "The Final Cut", is less a Pink Floyd's album and more a solo project of Waters. Despite "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" be a totally different kind of a project, I think we can consider that there are some common points. The album was to be released as a solo project of Gilmour. Waters was no longer in the band and Wright only participats as a guest musician and not as a band's member. Almost all composition duties belong to Gilmour. The songs not composed by him aren't composed by any other band's member. So, "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" can also be considered a personal project of Gilmour. So and probably, "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" should never have been realized as a Pink Floyd's album too, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)