THE DIVISION BELL

As Dave Gilmour once stated in an MTV interview, "The Division Bell" has a more musical feel than its predecessor since they hadn't anything to prove anymore by then. That is perfectly accurate as a concise overall description of this album's most featured quality, it is clearly and decidedly more focused on melodic ideas, concerning both development and arrangement. The two instrumentals, which are also two of the album's highlights, are some of the brightest proofs of that: just let yourself be wrapped by the ever-eerie ambience of 'Cluster One' and the melancholy mystery of 'Marooned'. The former has recurring keyboard layers as protagonist sources of sound, while the latter finds a constant climax in the soaring steel guitar flows. 'What Do You Want from Me', 'Lost for Words' and 'Poles Apart' are, to put it simply, reconsiderations of the usual Floydian melodies and textures that you can find all over the "Dark Side" and "Wish" albums, with 'Poles Apart' being the most brilliant item of all three - the use of effective steel guitar paintings and a daydream-like interlude makes it surpass the more average and 'deja-vu' tendencies comprised in the other aforesaid tracks. 'Wearing the Inside Out' is a Wright number that brings some of his typical contemplative spirit to the album: just like the two instrumentals, this track explores the relaxed side of PF quite efficiently, while not being as impressive. Impressive is 'A Great Day for Freedom', which finds Gilmour still trying to prove something - that he can write excellent conscious songs under a PF-circa "The Wall" frame. This song is certainly one of those amazing surprises that Gilmour-era PF brings to lifelong fans, but the best is to come last, since the closing track 'High Hopes' (widely acclaimed by many as the best Gilmour- era PF song) sets a pace of meditation, remembrance and resignation in a most poignant manner. The exquisite orchestrations (courtesy of Michael Kamen's genius) perfectly accommodate the moderate bombast demanded by the melodic lines, while the compelling steel guitar solo serves a sustained climax all the way towards the fade- out. The final bell tolls assume the emotional charge displayed throughout the song, while the opening ones apparently served just as a counterpoint to the Spartan piano chords (a trick also used for the electronic dewdrops at the beginning and the end of 'Echoes'). 'High Hopes' is cohesively connected to the whole album's general spirit, yet it takes it up to its most sublime level. This monster track alone provides a big dose of artistic dignity to the album, although, as I mentioned before, there are other high points. 'Keep Talking' and the almost neo-prog 'Take It Back' are less impressive to my ears, sounding more related to the "Momentary Lapse" material, yet lacking real novelty ('Take It Back') or too 'deja-vu' ('Keep Talking'). These tracks are nice, just that. Also just nice, even too AOR-ish, but definitely more refreshing, is 'Coming Back to Life'. Overall rating: 3.75, with a special mention for 'High Hopes' (4+).