ABOUT FACE

After the unofficial break up of Pink Floyd in 1983, all of the members pursued solo projects. About Face was David Gilmour's, his second one released six years following his first one. I think About Face is considerably underrated by music critics and fans. Musically it was quite different from Gilmour's first album, but in many ways it was just as skillfully composed and produced, although maybe less consistent. Lyrically, I think it was much better written (maybe with the exception of Blue Light). Gilmour experimented a lot more here with different sounds and styles than he was expected to "conform" to. And I think he succeeds in putting his unique skill into these different styles.

Until We Sleep, Murder, Out of the Blue, and Near the End are probably some the best solo songs Gilmour has ever done. All of them would easily have fit on a Pink Floyd album, though probably with different sound textures. Gilmour also of course excels in his guitar playing. After all, he is a god on that instrument. His vocal performances on About Face are the best of his career up to this point.

Overall, About Face is almost as or as good as his debut album. It's probably the varying styles he uses that make About Face seem inconsistent. If you can get past that, you'll probably really enjoy this album if you liked his first one. Definitely recommended for Pink Floyd or Gilmour fans. Because it is a more straightforward rock album and has occasional progressive moments, three stars seems like a fair rating. If this were just "Rock Archives," I'd consider something closer to four stars.