Great Rock Albums of 1987: Pink Floyd- A Momentary Lapse in Reason

The last thing I would have expected to hear back in 1987, was a new album from Pink Floyd. After their previous album, “The Final Cut,” the band seemed to go their separate ways. In 1984, both Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour put out successful solo albums. Furthermore, when asked about Pink Floyd in an interview, Roger plainly stated that he didn’t care to discuss the topic. Plus, he was taking legal action against the band. Therefore, I, along with many others, thought that Pink Floyd would be no more but in 1987, we were all proved to be wrong with the release of “A Momentary Lapse in Reason.”

Two questions emerged from the release of “AMLoR.” The first was: How good would Pink Floyd be without Roger Waters? The second: How much would their sound change? Let me try to answer the second question first. Being the late 1980s, the main concern would be whether or not Pink Floyd would bow to pressure to be more synth pop. My answer to that concern and the question was no. The album sounds very much like the Pink Floyd I listened to as a teen back in the 1970s. On the other hand, while I like “AMLoR,” it doesn’t make me want to stop listening to their classics like “The Wall,” my personal favourite Floyd album, “Dark Side of the Moon” or even “Animals.” I will say this though, some of you might remember my comments on other blogs on how my ex wife forbade me from playing “Animals” in the car because she called it “music to slit your wrists to.” “AMLoR” doesn’t make me want to do that.

As for the answer the life without Roger question, I have to say that they are still good without him. Dave Gilmour’s vocals on the album aren’t too far from what Roger had done with the band. The main difference is that this album is not a concept album but that doesn’t take anything away from it. Like with so many Pink Floyd albums, the tracks bleed into each other and it is definitely enjoyable while vegging out in a quiet place while puffing the magic dragon. There are the famous sound effects which start at the very beginning of the album with some great eerie keyboard work and a some great guitar solos from David Gilmour. His best effort is on the track, “Learning to Fly.” So in conclusion, in spite of one critic who said that ‘someone was missing from the album,’ Pink Floyd for had life after Roger, even if he did try to sue to keep them from using the band’s name.

Like with just about every Pink Floyd album I’ve listened to, “AMLoR” just has me sailing along, enjoying the music and then a standout track comes along. In the case of this album, that track is “On the Turning Away.” It’s keyboard followed by acoustic guitar intro provides an ear catching hook before going into some great keyboard and guitar work which includes a cool solo from Dave. Another standout track for me is “Yet Another Movie” with its foreboding doom feel and some more great guitar work. The spoken words in the background add to the effect. Still, you need to listen to all of the tracks to fully appreciate the album. “Terminal Frost” is a cool instrumental.

Track Listing:

1. Signs of Life
2. Learning to Fly
3. The Dogs of War
4. One Slip
5. On the Turning Away
6. Yet Another Movie
7. Round and Round
8. A New Machine (Part 1)
9. Terminal Frost
10. A New Machine (Part 2)
11. Sorrow

Pink Floyd

David Gilmour- vocals, guitar, talk box, keyboards

Nick Mason- drums, sound effects, spoken vocals

Richard Wright- piano, organ, backing vocals

Additional Musicians

Bob Ezrin- keyboards, percussion

John Carin- keyboards

Patrick Leonard- synthesizers

Bill Payne- organ

Michael Landau- guitar

Tony Levin- bass, Chapman Stick

John Keltner- drums

Carmine Appice- drums

Steve Foreman- percussion

Tom Scott- alto and soprano saxophones

John Heliwell- saxophone

Scott Page- tenor saxophone

Darlene Koldenhoven- backing vocals

Carmen Twillie- backing vocals

Phyllis St. James- backing vocals

Donnie Gerrard- backing vocals

In 1987, when everyone thought they were just a memory of some great progressive space rock, Pink Floyd came back with a great album in “A Momentary Lapse of Reason.” It might not have been as good as their 70s classics, it’s still Pink Floyd and a great album.

Next post: Night Ranger- Big Life

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