ABOUT FACE

I was completely underwhelmed with this record for sure. And if it wasn't a GILMOUR album, it most likely would have earned a (slightly) higher ranking than what I gave it. But considering what 'The Master' is capable of, he must pay the price for this half-effort.

Besides having one of the greatest songs (in my humble opinion) ever written by GILMOUR ('Murder') on it , "About Face" successfully does what it's title describes: it creates a completely different sound and feel from what we are used to from Dave. The only problem being, is that this new 'direction' is poor, poppy and unbelievably 'average'.

It's not because this album isn't progressive that I find it poor. GILMOUR's first, self-titled solo debut album wasn't overly progressive either, but at least it was raw, creative, and had many a good bluesy guitar moment. "About Face" however suffers from that cheesy-80's sound that permeates almost all albums from this era; only GILMOUR's angelic voice, and virtuoso guitar playing save this album from complete obscurity.

Overall, this record has about as much creative passion and angst as a Sunday school sing-along. Two examples of the 'feel-good' feelings GILMOUR creates are on 'Out of the Blue' and 'Cruise', decent tunes, but both sugary-sweet and lacking any real emotion. The latter song at least samples some reggae rhythms that make it stand out a bit from the crowd.

PETE TOWNSHEND, that remarkable rock god, and creator of such mammoth reflections on humanity as "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia" trips out of the gate, and actually drags the album down even further with the two quickly-forgettable co-written songs of his: 'All Lovers Are Deranged' and 'Love on the Air'. As tasty as cold oatmeal...

Highlights: As mentioned, 'Murder' is a real gem, and GILMOUR's guitar work in the latter half of 'Near the End' is simply godlike.

One other good thing about this record is it saw GILMOUR get his feet wet again, post-FLOYD breaking up, as he hooked up again with producer Bob Ezrin. This would eventually lead to a much closer collaboration with said producer for FLOYD's 1987 - "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", a superior record in every way possible.