THE ENDLESS RIVER

As a long term fan of Pink Floyd, right from Sid Barrett's days, I am somewhat disappointed by this offering. Without the poetic vocals or constrained angst, this is melancholic ambiance and seems to be a pale copy of the early Floyd. One wonders why they released this as a Pink Floyd album? They clearly didn't do it for the money and knowing Gilmour it's likely that a large chunk of any returns will go to charity anyway. The structure of the compositions seems to be a deliberate attempt to bookend their career so maybe this is just a simple message that this time, it really is the end. In an interview with Gilmour and Mason they said this was a tribute to Richard Wright and it is certain that his influence is all over this. However, if they truly wanted a tribute to Wright, would it not have been better to release this as a Richard Wright album, perhaps with the proceeds going to a cancer charity? That would, I feel, have been a more fitting tribute to a great, and sadly missed, man As a piece of music it is accomplished, polished and professional. But to me, it's not one that makes me want to drop everything I'm doing to sit down and listen. This certainly has more in common with On An Island than Dark Side of The Moon, which is not to say that's a bad thing, I love Gilmour's guitar wherever it is! But if you are looking for something closer to the classic Pink Floyd sound then I think that bands like Airbag or Freedom to Glide are somewhat closer. Overall it's a good album but had it appeared with an unknown band I might have passed it by with just a cursory listen.