David Gilmour - Live in Gdansk

[Idisaffect]

part of the reason I joined this forum was to defend some of the music that seems to be bashed so often.

Well, you're blowing it, man.

AMLOR is a good record with some decent songs, it was a transition

AMLOR is indefensible. It was NOT a transition. Saucerful of Secrets was a transition. The other band members wrote all of the material except for Jugband. Pink Floyd wrote all of their own songs from 1967 -1983 with no outside help. With the exception of The Trial. AMLOR was written by a bunch of people who had never had anything to do with Pink Floyd up until that point. It was unprecedented for Pink Floyd. That was no transition. That was a complete identity change. A total overhaul. It's not the Pink Floyd I love when the songs are being written by people who had nothing to do with the previous 15 years of the bands existence. It's something else. It's weak.

At least Division Bell was an improvement.

Gdansk is average. Gilmour could sleepwalk through that set.

[kitkat]

Actually, I tend to agree with HahacharadeIam. Amlor is indeed a transition.....from greatness to absolute crap.

Also, it represents a second transition. For the guys, aside from Waters, who were part of the band before it was broken up, they transitioned from being genuinely lazy guys that adding enhanced musicality to the ideas and songs from The Genius to being absolute con artists.

With Amlor they recorded some songs and showed them to the record company as what to expect for the new "Pink Floyd" album. The record company told them that it was complete crap and wasnt anything like Pink Floyd...except for the name. So, they brought in a few dozen more pretend-Rogers to try to sound like The Genius. Apparently it improved enough that the record company let it go out....but since the finished product is such a ghastly collection of sounds reminecent of somebody scratching a chalkboard with their fingernails...imgagine how bad it must have been on the first try.

[David Smith]

I find it rather peculiar that on a Pink Floyd forum so many people dislike so much of the recorded output by the band and their solo efforts. It seems as though many people only really like two albums, and some haven't cared for anything that's been released since 1973. LOL

If you stick around (which i hope you do because you write darn good posts), then i'd hope you'll see that isn't really the case. A lot of people here are passionate about the pre dark side years and cite albums like Meddle and Umma Gumma as their favourites. I think some people even love More and Saucerful. Yeah, there is a bit of slating for the post wall years (generally speaking DSOTM, WYWH, Animals and The Wall are the four most popular albums on here), but there is a very balanced debate on the merits of both TFC and TDB. As for the solo albums... Well nobody kids themselves that Roger or Dave's solo albums are anything particularly substancial when they come from a band with such a strong backcatelogue... But Broken China appears to have a following here. I think most forum members have at least one solo album that they really like (for me it's pros and cons all the way) though

[Stephen]

I find it rather peculiar that on a Pink Floyd forum so many people dislike so much of the recorded output by the band and their solo efforts. It seems as though many people only really like two albums, and some haven't cared for anything that's been released since 1973. LOL

I think you rather answer that statement to a degree in your next paragraph, it's because they have encompassed different styles that people have favourite Floyd periods yet can still be classed as Pink Floyd fans. It certainly makes for more animated forum discussions.

One of the most special qualities of Floyd is that their music can encompass so many varying styles. From spacey psychedelia {Echoes - Set The Controls - Embryo} to bluesy {What Do You Want From Me - Sexual Revolution - Shine On I-V} to acoustic {Green Is The Colour - Wish You Were Here - Wot's... Uh The Deal} to gentle and soothing {Breath/Reprise - A Pillow Of Winds - The Blue} to angry {Pigs (Three Different Ones) - What God Wants Part I - Dogs} to epic {Comfortably Numb - Time - On The Turning Away} to intense {Welcome To The Machine - Amused To Death - High Hopes}... they cover it all and that is why I still value their music after so many years.

[azza200]

Actually, I tend to agree with HahacharadeIam. Amlor is indeed a transition.....from greatness to absolute crap.

Also, it represents a second transition. For the guys, aside from Waters, who were part of the band before it was broken up, they transitioned from being genuinely lazy guys that adding enhanced musicality to the ideas and songs from The Genius to being absolute con artists.

With Amlor they recorded some songs and showed them to the record company as what to expect for the new "Pink Floyd" album. The record company told them that it was complete crap and wasnt anything like Pink Floyd...except for the name. So, they brought in a few dozen more pretend-Rogers to try to sound like The Genius. Apparently it improved enough that the record company let it go out....but since the finished product is such a ghastly collection of sounds reminecent of somebody scratching a chalkboard with their fingernails...imgagine how bad it must have been on the first try.

did you go on AFG forum called Brad Cole/California Cool???

[Dellinger]

I do like the album. Echoes is excellent, as well as Fat Old Sun and most of the Pink Floyd songs played. On an Island sounds better live than studio.

[malusienka]

On an Island sounds better live than studio.

Definately.
Live in Gdańsk version of OAI was the first version of it I've heard. I like it very much and I don't know why so many of you dislike it so much.
But then I've heard the studio version and it was a little bit worse. It was also OK, but the orchestra in Gdańsk made OAI sounds better.

And I love this version of Echoes

The worst of this album is that it was so near the place I live! And at this time I didn't even know what is Pink Floyd And that this was the last concert with Rick And I wasn't there!

[Damn!t]

You didnt know what Pink Floyd is in 2006?
What kind of sick person are you?!?

...kidding.

On an island is a rather good track. There are few other songs on that album that are good.
Imo good, not great.

For me, Gdansk shipyard wasnt really a good place for this kind of concert.
There were too much people for a rather private and slightly unknown set like OAI.
And that was half of the show. Other half did slightly set that right again.
I think that majority of that crowd heard ABITW and money and thought that they could hear something of it again and see a flying pig or some other Floyd prop.
I believe that only a small portion of that crowd were Gilmour/Floyd fans who know all their songs.

OAI tour was cut out for small theatres and Floyd fans who were waiting something like this to happen for a long time so they could get that limited amount of tickets that were released and sold to the quickest of them.

[malusienka]

Nobody is born with a knowledge of all music
In fact I'm fan from about half year, and earlier I know only Money, Wish you were here and few songs from The Wall Like many people on this concert

But better late than never.

[Damn!t]

But better late than never.

Thats what my missus said the other night...

You must be very young then.
But since you're here and discussing the Floyd and ol Davey, I'm guessing
you are starting to like them alot. Thats good. I hope that we'll both have the
oportunities to see some of the Floyd/Gilmour/Waters circus live again.

[danielcaux]

On an Island sounds better live than studio.

Definately.
Live in Gdańsk version of OAI was the first version of it I've heard. I like it very much and I don't know why so many of you dislike it so much.
But then I've heard the studio version and it was a little bit worse. It was also OK, but the orchestra in Gdańsk made OAI sounds better.

Sadly that's part of the big bag of commercial tricks from Mr. Gilmour. Release first handicaped studio versions of his songs (with fade outs, mutilated solos, dry production), everybody buys the album, 'cause is a new album with new songs, then a couple months later release a double disc live set with better arrangements/versions of the songs with killer guitar solos, so everybody needs to buy this too 'cause the songs sound better than the studio counterparts, but since the live albums never include the full studio album then you still have to buy that one too, except fo Gdansk were you find all the songs of the studio album but if you want a complete live set with some of the obscure songs on it you are forced to buy a 5 disc set of the album....cacacacacaca-ching! ca-caching! caching!

[malusienka]

true

[FUloyd]

I really like this album. Ol Davy is firing on all cylinders here. Great concert too. I went to one of the shows and preferred it to the Pink Floyd concert in the mid 90's that I attended.

[Parpa]

By now Gilmour has released just about everything dating back to the MLoR tour--in terms of what the live shows represented (see: Delicate Sound of Thunder>Pulse>Remember That Night>Live in Gdansk)--but I do happen to think that "Live in Gdansk" is the best offering out there to date. It contains (for me anyway) a few of the best renditions of the classic Floyd hits and also has a couple of GREAT older tunes that haven't been played live in years! I LOVE the arrangement for Shine On...perhaps my all-time favorite. I also love Fat Old Sun, Wots Uh the Deal, of course Echoes...it was a great tour and a great show---and I do agree with an earlier post that this tour was far better than the MLoR and TDB "Pink Floyd" tours. With the addition of Richard Wright on the tour and the top-notch band Gilmour surrounded himself with (love Steve D on drums!) he seems to have outdone himself on this live release (Gdansk) and it ranks as my favorite post-Waters live release. David is in top-form both in voice and on guitar. It really can't get any better than this--unless Roger was to get involved somehow. I give Gdansk 5 stars!

[azza200]

I agree Davids renditions of Shine On were brilliant and gave the song a more haunting meaning behind it and made it more powerful IMO my fav version is from the Mermaid Theatre send shivers down my spine when ever i play it.