LUCK AND STRANGE

Certainly, there is more strangeness in the album title and in the front cover image than in the music itself that David committed to this new effort of his. Everything sounds like the return of a well-known friend, who, having just arrived, thrown his belongings trustingly in the parlour. But, just as is all this well-known, it's also all great stuff: the string bends, the bluesy licks, the relaxed, yet intense vocals, and of course, the always amazing flow of the guitar lines, opening paths to imagination and sensibility. And suddenly he's there, becoming the host in your own house, who was going to tell, and it's perfectly right that way, the preventions you may have had don't matter anymore.

The most perceptible novelty here, must be the contribution of daughter Romany, who lent her vocals to lead Track 6 Between Two Points, bringing a welcome air of young feminine charm to the proceedings (she sings also a duet with David on Bonus Track 10 Yes, I Have Ghosts), even if the song takes-off just when the electric guitar spreads wings.

The retrieved tape with a performance by the late keyboardist of Pink Floyd, Rick Wright, go mostly unnoticed in Track 2 Luck and Strange, coming to fruition just in the last of the bonuses, Track 11 Luck And Strange (Original Barn Jam), where it appears uncut.

As my favorite piece of songwriting (and also the most archetypally 'Gilmourian', in the sense of his initial solo output), I'm going to pick Track 8 Sings, an absolutely timeless beauty. And as the one with the most gorgeous instrumental contributions by band and guests, including a brilliant passage orchestrated with strings and a killer piano part like the proverbial cherry-on-top, I'm going to choose Track 9 Scattered, last one of the proper album.

So, David Gilmour is still here to tell tales of how the night can embrace, and I want to hear, what do you say?