DAVID GILMOUR

Here Dave strikes out on his own a bit, and I for one am glad he did it. Of course, there's nothing exceptionally different, progressive, or otherwise groundbreaking here, but by and large I would categorize this collection of songs as "pretty good". Unlike his next album, which is packed with special guests and notable contributors, this is mostly Dave putting together a suitable set of session musicians to play relatively straightforward blues/rock.

Most of my take on this album has already been well-stated by FloydWright, so I'll be brief. Highlights for me include Mihalis (repetitive, sure, but I want to hear Dave on guitar and here I get plenty of it...almost sounds like a restrained Satriani piece in places); There's No Way Out of Here (perfectly suited for radio play, and I'm still happy to hear it once in a while on the air), and I Can't Breathe Anymore (Dave is one of the best at writing and performing this song format: slow and featuring smooth vocals to start, and a rocking guitar solo to close). The rest is also good, but certainly nothing to return to often. Like most proggers, an album full of decent singles strung together just doesn't do it for me like it used to.

This is one that I would wait to find in a record store bargain bin. That way, you won't be expecting too much, and you'll feel like you lucked into a keeper. Who knows, maybe if Dave hadn't gotten this off his chest, he wouldn't have had the energy for the tiring, multimedia extravaganza that would be The Wall. At any rate, Dave at this point was far from a spent force in rock.