Covid-19 & Roger Waters

Remember those marvellous days from the coronavirus lockdown? It was an introvert's wet dream. Roger Waters tried to boost morale by bringing even gloomier versions of his grimmest songs, resulting in a wonderful but dark mini album much more relevant than his Moaning Moon Redux.

Sunday Lunch

Toyah Willcox had the Sunday Lunch sessions with her husband, Robert Fripp, who more than once looked visibly uncomfortable while she tried to shock the audience. The Sunday shows still go on, although something tells me that they had better stopped a few years ago.

Kitchen Disco

The sessions that amused me the most were the shambolic Kitchen Disco performances from Sophie Ellis-Bextor. There was one where she was dancing in her underwear, giggling through most of the songs, while her busload of hyperactive children were frantically trying to break some limbs. Lo and behold, she truly was the queen of Covid-19 entertainment.

The Von Trapped Family

Last, and unfortunately least, were the Von Trapped performances from David Gilmour and his relatives. Compared to Toyah and Sophie, these looked as joyous and spontaneous as Kim Jong Un watching a military parade.

I often pity Gilmour’s children, having to visit their parents on Sunday afternoons for tea and biscuits. Invariably, Polly Samson says, “And now daddy is going to strum his guitar for the next two and a half hours, reciting a one hundred and twenty-five strophic poem about Dionysus and Ariadne from Moi.” Every... bloody... Sunday...

Luck And Strange

I was a bit afraid Alzheimer's had kicked in when David Gilmour proclaimed in Prog magazine that Luck and Strange is ‘the best album I’ve made since The Dark Side Of The Moon’. It wouldn’t be his first fabulation; just consult how he tried to bend the truth when a remix of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason was released. Mojo, however, gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and calls it the best of his solo career. Not only is Mojo the grooviest music magazine around, but they also once did a microscopic ‘featurette’ on the Church for which I am eternally thankful.

The two Gilmour songs that were streamed as singles didn’t rock my boat, as such, but perhaps the real pearls would be hidden elsewhere. So put on your seatbelts and get ready for one of these fantastic Church reviews.

Black Cat 1:32

A nice and too short introduction to start the record, but that is what it is. It’s a bit of an overstatement calling it a track, and it wouldn’t have hurt to be a minute longer.

Luck And Strange 6:56

Luck And Strange starts softly with a bluesy intro that has been taken from a barn jam with Rick Wright.

This is a relaxed, bordering on boring song, pointing at Gilmour’s early Cambridge days and those that may be his final ones. Unfortunately, David’s voice is broken, something we also hear in the rehearsal video he put on YouTube. It’s something to get used to. Gilmour isn’t afraid to strain his old voice, whether you like it or not.

This is not earth-shattering, but a nice and lazy opener.

The Piper’s Call 5:15

While the singles from this album didn’t impress me much, they are better placed in and between the others of this album. The sum of the parts being greater than the parts, something Confucius said, or Elvis Presley or whoever.

The Piper’s Call has grown on me and fits nicely after Luck And Strange. The melody isn’t bad; the refrain hits you in the stomach, but the lyrics contain plenty of meh. It makes my hair stand on end when I get confronted with Polly-isms such as ‘the voodoo that you do’, ‘whatever it takes, steer clear of the snakes’ or ‘a carpe diem attitude’. It seems I’m not the only one who thinks that.

The outro has a slight Coming Back To Life vibe, which makes me happy and makes me cry a bit. Yes, I’m that simple. This is a fucking great song.

It's a gas 

At one point, David sings, “All the things that you don't need, they'll sell you.” He certainly has a point, but his record can be found in fifteen nearly identical versions (so tells me Discogs).

Vinyl editions can be found in translucent sea blue, translucent bottle glass, translucent orange crush, opaque silver, translucent emerald green, opaque white, and how extraordinary, even black! I’m sure more versions will pop up any day. For the collectors, a Japanese edition exists with a bonus track スッキャッタード(an orchestral mix of Scattered).

A Single Spark 6:04

An average ballad about faith, or the loss of faith, complete with angels chanting and a church bell. There is a nice and soothing ending solo, quoting Louder Than Words, that makes you forget the dull first half of this track. 50/50, so to speak.

Vita Brevis 0:46

A 46-second harp intro to the next track. The only reason to call it a song is to get that sweet copyright money, I guess.

Between Two Points 5:46

Is this the best song on the album? Gilmour goes Susanne Vega. The future is to the young, they say. I’ll make you bet there will be a Romany Gilmour album one day. And I wouldn’t mind it a bit.

If this was 'side’ one of Gilmour’s latest, it has been not too bad so far.

Angel (interludium)

There is another heavenly Romany song to highlight that isn’t on this album. It’s a track by Atsuri (Alex Kharlamov) and is called Angel. You can find it on YouTube here: Angel (feat. Romany Gilmour).

Dark And Velvet Nights 4:44

The tune starts with a roaring guitar that could’ve been on Deep Purple's latest. =1 is a great record, and these old geezers are having a lot of fun. It shows. But this is supposed to be a Luck And Strange review.

Dark And Velvet Nights is Gilmour's idea of how a stomper should sound, but don’t get too excited. At his age, rocking means that he mainly raises a champagne glass in the air and that Polly is rattling her jewels.

The result, however, is remarkably irresistible — a guaranteed earworm with a slight disco vibe — and before I knew it, I was tapping my feet behind my rollator.

Sings 6:14

Gilmour goes all balladry, but the problem is we already have Chris de Burgh. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad song. It is an album track by numbers and not at all innovative or surprising. It goes with the flow and is a bit bland. This could be a favourite track for boomer radio stations all over the world.

Scattered 7:33

Scattered starts with the heartbeat of The Dark Side Of The Moon, the opening drone of Obscured By Clouds, and the piano of Echoes. Instead of ending with a bang, this is one of the more introspective songs on this record without the grandeur of Sorrow or High Hopes. In the middle, a romantic orchestra appears and a small acoustic guitar riff that I remember from Lily Was Here (David A. Stewart and Candy Dulfer). The solo refers slightly to Comfy Numb, is 110% Gilmour, and brings shivers down your spine.

Yes, I have Ghosts 3:50

Does this song ‘belong’ to the record or is it an extra? Fan opinions differ, but I think it does. David Gilmour goes folk in what some say is a remixed version of the song. An uplifting coda of a man who contemplates the last part of his life.

Conclusion 

I was a bit afraid to listen to this record. Rattle That Lock was quite a mess, but musically, this one is surprisingly solid. Expect no sex, at his age Gilmour is contented with some cuddles. Going by my personal ‘wet eyes’ barometer, it is a four stars out of five. Subtract half a star for the many Polly-isms I could live without.

It took nearly a decade for Gilmour to come out with this album, only containing six new songs (7 if we may count Ghosts). So he still goes by the Pink Floyd's adagio that they are the laziest musicians in the world.

Luck And Strange is not a masterpiece but is probably the best Gilmour has in him. I rank it somewhere in the middle of his solo endeavours and surely better than Rattle That Lock. So the final verdict for this album is: short and sweet.

Barn Jam

To fool the masses, the album contains a barn jam with Rick Wright that was the source for the track Luck And Strange. It is fourteen minutes long, and it is only there because the album itself is so short. While Floyd collectors will get a spontaneous erection by the thought alone, the simple and repetitive track is quite redundant. The average music fan will listen to it once if they can make it to the end, which is not guaranteed.

I would have liked some other extras, like the three instrumentals that could be found on the Yes, I Have Ghosts EP from 2021, available only in a limited edition and when you bought one of Polly’s books.

A Single Spark (demo) 05:46

It is a mystery why this version has not made it. It is, in my opinion, better, read: less generic, than the album version. Unfortunately, this is an exclusive track that can only be found on the deluxe box-set. That set costs about the double than the CD and Blu-ray separately. It also contains a Polly Samson photo book you will look at once.

A Single Spark (orchestral) 05:49

Instrumental version of A Single Spark. Quite redundant.

Scattered (orchestral) 07:33

Instrumental version of Scattered. More interesting than, let’s say, the A Single Spark instrumental. Something to play at funeral parlours all over the world.

♥ Iggy ♥ Libby ♥
This article was written without any help from A.I.