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Safe to say that Gilmour – especially considering his work alongside Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright – has helped create some of rock music’s most ambitious and timeless compositions, reports Gold Radio. None greater could be said, than Pink Floyd’s lauded concept album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, which raised the bar for what artists could conceive in the studio and later on the stage.
Now in an interview with Prog magazine, Gilmour has claimed Luck And Strange is “the best album I’ve made” since Pink Floyd’s landmark 1973 album.
That’s certainly no faint praise, given that Pink Floyd released some of their finest work after that album such as 1975’s ruminative masterpiece Wish You Were Here, 1977’s Orwellian-inspired Animals, and the dramatic rock opera The Wall in 1979. If his fans weren’t eagerly awaiting new music from Gilmour, they certainly would be now.
Though as he revealed during the same interview, it might not be much longer before he releases a follow-up to Luck And Strange. “Our plan is just to get this one out and run it and then do another one straight away. I will be working with all these people again,” he added.
Luck And Strange was recorded over five months in Brighton and London and is Gilmour’s first album of new material in nine years. The record was produced by David and Charlie Andrew, best known for his work with ALT-J and Marika Hackman.
Of this new working relationship, David says, “We invited Charlie to the house, so he came and listened to some demos, and said things like, ‘Well, why does there have to be a guitar solo there?’ and ‘Do they all fade out? Can’t some of them just end?’ He has a wonderful lack of knowledge or respect for this past of mine. He’s very direct and not in any way overawed, and I love that. That is just so good for me because the last thing you want is people just deferring to you.”
The majority of the album’s lyrics have been composed by Polly Samson, Gilmour’s co-writer and collaborator for the past thirty years.
Samson says of the lyrical themes covered on Luck And Strange, “It’s written from the point of view of being older; mortality is the constant.” Gilmour elaborates, “We spent a load of time during and after lockdown talking about and thinking about those kind of things.” Polly has also found the experience of working with Charlie Andrew liberating, “He wants to know what the songs are about, he wants everyone who’s playing on them to have the ideas that are in the lyric informing their playing. I have particularly loved it for that reason.”
The album features eight new tracks along with a beautiful reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ “Between Two Points” and has artwork and photography by the renowned artist Anton Corbijn.
Musicians contributing to the record include Guy Pratt & Tom Herbert on bass, Adam Betts, Steve Gadd and Steve DiStanislao on drums, Rob Gentry & Roger Eno on keyboards with string and choral arrangements by Will Gardner. The title track also features the late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright, recorded in 2007 at a jam in a barn at David’s house.
Some contributions emerged from the live streams that Gilmour and family performed to a global audience during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021; Romany Gilmour sings, plays the harp and appears on lead vocals on “Between Two Points”. Gabriel Gilmour also sings backing vocals.
The album’s cover image, photographed and designed by Anton Corbijn, is inspired by a lyric written by Charlie Gilmour for the album’s final song “Scattered”.
Of working with his family on Luck And Strange, David says, “Polly and I have been writing together for over thirty years and the Von Trapped live streams showed the great blend of Romany’s voice and harp-playing and that led us into a feeling of discarding some of the past that I’d felt bound to and that I could throw those rules out and do whatever I felt like doing, and that has been such a joy.”
Pre-order the album here.
Luck And Strange tracklistings:
Vinyl: Black vinyl, gatefold sleeve and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn
Side One:
“Black Cat”*
“Luck And Strange”
“The Piper’s Call”
“A Single Spark”
“Vita Brevis”*
“Between Two Points”** – with Romany Gilmour
Side Two:
“Dark and Velvet Nights”
“Sings”
“Scattered”***
CD: Album plus two bonus tracks. Digipak and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn
“Black Cat”*
“Luck And Strange”
“The Piper’s Call”
“A Single Spark”
“Vita Brevis”*
“Between Two Points”** – with Romany Gilmour
“Dark and Velvet Nights”
“Sings”
“Scattered”***
Bonus tracks:
“Yes, I Have Ghosts”
“Luck And Strange (original Barn Jam)”*
Blu-Ray – Audio Only: Album in Dolby Atmos and high-resolution stereo mixes plus four bonus tracks. Digipak and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn
“Black Cat*
“Luck And Strange”
“The Piper’s Call ”
“A Single Spark ”
“Vita Brevis”*
“Between Two Points”** – with Romany Gilmour
“Dark and Velvet Nights”
“Sings ”
“Scattered”***
Bonus tracks (In Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res stereo):
“Yes, I Have Ghosts”
“Luck And Strange (original Barn Jam)”*
“A Single Spark (Orchestral)”*
“Scattered (Orchestral)”*
Deluxe LP & CD boxsets will be announced in the coming weeks.
All songs Music: David Gilmour. Lyrics: Polly Samson.
Except:
*Music: David Gilmour.
**Music: Mark Tranmer. Lyrics by Roger Quigley.
***Music: David Gilmour. Lyrics: David Gilmour, Charlie Gilmour and Polly Samson.
Produced by David Gilmour and Charlie Andrew
Engineered by Matt Glasbey, Charlie Andrew, David Gilmour and Damon Iddins
Mixed by David Gilmour, Charlie Andrew and Matt Glasbey
Additional engineering by Andy Jackson and Luie Stylianou
“Between Two Points” lyric video;
“The Piper’s Call” lyric video:
“The Piper’s Call” video:
