David Gilmour

Rattle That Lock

Written by: BV on 24/09/2015 20:57:08

Much can be said about David Gilmour. Most would probably draw the nostalgia card and declare him one of the most soulful guitarists of his generation, or something similar. It is quite true that Gilmour has penned some of the most iconic guitar solos, and worked on many of the most iconic songs of the British wave of progressive rock throughout the 1970’s. What is often overlooked, however, is a solo career that, however sporadically, has actually produced some beautiful gems in its own right. 1978’s self-titled album was straightforward blues rock, whilst 1984’s “About Face” was about as typical of the times as they come. “On an Island” was a collection of mellow, lullaby-reminiscent tracks sprinkled with the occasional rocker and now “Rattle That Lock”, Gilmour’s fourth solo effort, further broadens the musical range of his solo career.

From the atmospheric “5 A.M.” which reminds me in many ways of “Castellorizon” from “On An Island”, over to the strangely funky and highly smooth rock n’ roll of “Rattle That Lock” there seems to be only one highly characteristic feat that stays the same: Gilmour’s guitar. Even though “Rattle That Lock” kicks off with a catchy little sample of a jingle from a French railway company, and is then overtaken by a very dominating bass line, it is the exact moment that Gilmour’s (first) guitar solo kicks in that you fully realize that this is indeed a Gilmour track. Mind you, his vocals are also highly characteristic but on many of the tracks on the album, they are beautifully supplemented by gorgeous vocal arrangements by a large choir – or by Graham Nash and David Crosby as is the case on “A Boat Lies Waiting”, a haunting musical homage to the late Richard Wright.

“Faces of Stone” introduces a somewhat Italian sounding waltz-beat to the musical diversity on “Rattle That Lock”, with its quirky accordion melody and quite beautiful lyrics. Mind you, I’m not normally that caught up in lyricism, but there’s something strangely heartfelt about these lyrics – allegedly inspired the declining health of Gilmour’s mother – that simply make them alluring and somewhat relatable, as opposed to all the pseudo-intellectual lyricism that I have quite frankly grown tired of, on many other recent albums. “The Girl in the Yellow Dress” is yet another musical curveball – a sudden jazz track coming out of nowhere. It’s extremely enticing, however, and is (however odd it may seem) probably one the album’s highlights for me, personally. The vocal work on the track is mesmerizing and the general feel is a very vital rendition of early jazz stylings.

It seems odd to pinpoint the exquisite production as a flaw, but it actually is. You get this amazing sound on your speakers and you can hear every single piece of music included has been thought through, recorded, thought through once more, re-recorded and so on. It’s gorgeous, beautiful and whatever adjective you may wish to throw at it. But it’s also very mature and as such, it lacks that youthful devil-may-care attitude you’d need for an album to genuinely knock you off your feet. Then again, that was never really the aim of Gilmour’s solo career, it would seem. When all is said and done, maturity and age has done wonders for David Gilmour’s solo work. I loved “On An Island”, but grew tired of some of the tracks. “Rattle That Lock” seems more consistent, although far more scattershot in terms of musical styles.

Download: Rattle That Lock, The Girl in the Yellow Dress, A Boat Lies Waiting, Faces of Stone
For the fans of: Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, Airbag
Listen: Facebook

Release date 18.09.2015
Columbia


Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.