DAVID GILMOUR IN CONCERT

This DVD would definitely favor those of you who love or who are big fan of Pink Floyd. In this concert, as you may have guessed from the cover, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd's vocalist, guitarist and songwriter) took different approach. Instead of bringing loads of electronic equipment like he did with his band mates at Pink Floyd, he delivered the concert with an unplugged style. Well, most people might have thought that Mr Gilmour lost his passion for music and he completely retired. But this case proved the other way around as he turned in Robert Wyatt (previously with Soft Machine) to do a show at the annual Meltdown Festival held in the Royal Festival Hall in London. The first concert was done in June 2001 followed with some concerts in January 2002. This live set was filmed from the Meltdown concert plus three-track encore from January concert.

The concert opener Shine on You Crazy Diamond of Pink Floyd legendary track projects how the show would look like entirely as Gilmour only use acoustic guitar even for the ambient intro of the song. In certain memorable segments the crowd gave big applauds (as the recognized that the chords or the fills that Gilmour produced was Shine On Crazy Diamond). AS for my case, while I watched this DVD at my screen I was singing the original song in my mind (quietly) as to compare with what Gilmour was presenting in unplugged fashion. The result? It's truly a rewarding experience man!!! I'm sure that you would experience the same with me if you can sense the nerve of original song which was created as a tribute to Syd Barett. The overall show seemed very peaceful, very intimate - there was virtually no distance between the artist and the crowd. It's so relaxing. Well, I'm not gonna do a track by track review, but some tracks are worth being reviewed in detail.

The concert went on with a combination of Pink Floyd legendary tracks (Shine On, Comfortably Numb, Wish You Were Here), late Pink Floyd tracks from Division Bells including my favorite High Hopes, a new track Smile and also Syd Barrett's Terrapin and Dominoes, Richard Thompson's Dimming Of The Day, and the stunning Je Crois Entendre Encore from Bizet's opera The Pearl Fishers. Oh man .. the melody of Je Crois is really nice and Gilmour did it well!

Even though tuned down with minimum electric equipment, Pink Floyd tracks sound really well with a stunning Shine On You Crazy Diamond parts 6-8 and an excellent track High Hopes which was performed brilliantly! Comfortably Numb at Meltdown Festival had curator Robert Wyatt filling in Roger Waters singing parts with Wyatt is reading out the lyrics from a paper.

David Gilmour also brought in musicians who usually helped Pink Floyd like Dick Parry (who did marvelous solo at Shine On), and backing vocalist Sam Brown (who took the lead of an 12-piece gospel choir). Chucho Merchan played double bass, Caroline Dale replaced most keyboard parts (on original song) with her cello, second guitar is provided by Neill MacColl, also drummer/percussionist Nic France. Michael Kamen, who worked with two Pink Floyd albums (The Wall and The Final Cut), and also with Roger Waters' "The Pros and Cons Of Hitchhiking" took care of grand piano and horn (he amazed me that he played horn!). The DVD set includes three 'encores' taken from shows at the same venue in January 2002. A guest appearance by Richard Wright, performed one of his own composition "Breakthrough". He still can sing excellently. Sir Bob Geldof did vocals on Comfortably Numb, with better arrangement than the previous one.

The extras includes three cover songs: Screaming Jay Hawkins' I Put a Spell On You, recorded with Mica Paris and Jools Holland in 1992, Elvis Presley's Don't, which was played at a tribute concert in 2001, and Shakespeare's 18th Sonnet, where Gilmour singing along to Michael Kamen's orchestral music. There is rehearsals with the choir at Gilmour's house, a shot from one of the shows where the High Hope was performed in an a capella style by the choir is truly a highlight.

The sonic quality of the DVD is excellent and the picture is clear. This is not a typical rock concert with crazy crowd and dynamic live vibes but it's a relaxing one to enjoy. You will find the pleasure of seeing this DVD at your home stereo set. Recommended. Keep on progging' ..!

Progressively yours, GW