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:
- Signs of Life
- Learning to Fly
- The Dogs of War
- One Slip
- On the Turning Away
- Yet Another Movie
- Round and Round
- A New Machine (Part 1)
- Terminal Frost
- A New Machine (Part 2)
- Sorrow
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
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
May 26, 2021 at 11:06 pm
It’s a good album but it’s not “The Wall”.
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May 27, 2021 at 10:59 am
Definitely not!
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May 29, 2021 at 4:51 am
“Meddle” is also another very good Floyd album.
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May 29, 2021 at 9:10 am
It is.
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May 28, 2021 at 12:45 am
This was my first Pink Floyd purchase so I played it over and over and over again. As a byproduct it became my favorite Pink Floyd record ever.
In the 90s when I had more cash I went deep into their catalogue and I liked most of what I heard, except those first few Syd Barrett albums.
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May 28, 2021 at 9:48 pm
My first Pink Floyd album was “The Wall” and then I went back into their earlier stuff. Never went back to the Syd Barrett albums though.
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May 28, 2021 at 12:12 pm
I have this one and, to be honest, don’t remember buying it. Need to spend more time with it.
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May 28, 2021 at 9:48 pm
It will be worth it.
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May 29, 2021 at 11:56 am
With them, it usually is. So long as I’m in the right frame of mind when I hear it.
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May 30, 2021 at 7:18 pm
Many believe that your mind has to be in some sort of altered state to fully appreciate Pink Floyd.
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May 31, 2021 at 1:06 am
I’m stone cold sober all the time and I love ’em. Wonder if I got blasted if I’d hate ’em.
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May 31, 2021 at 9:36 am
I’ve listened to PF in both states and have found very little difference in my enjoyment of them.
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May 31, 2021 at 10:54 am
Fair enough!
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June 1, 2021 at 4:18 am
I like the stories of how they had to put testicles on the flying inflatable pig to avoid legal action from Waters.
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June 1, 2021 at 9:05 pm
LOL, that doesn’t surprise me.
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June 6, 2021 at 6:29 am
Waters is quite litigious.
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June 6, 2021 at 9:13 am
Seems so. 🙂
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