Yes me too. I thought it was one of their better albums. As for Syd Barrett, well he provided a lifetime of ideas for Roger Waters to steal. Listen to the end of Bike or Dark Globe.
My dad JAMMED Sorrow in his 87 Corvette tape deck when I was a kid. He’s gone now,and this track i so special to me because I feel closer to him when I play it.
@@cornfilledscreamer614 It's just his opinion and I quite agree. I like Sorrow but there's not so much substance to it compared to a lot of other Floyd songs. David's guitar palying is great of course.
This is my favorite Pink Floyd album !!! I know that isn’t the popular opinion, but I could care less. Learning to fly is maybe my favorite song ever created. Just beautiful. Reminds me of my dad who introduced me to Pink Floyd.
For me the appeal of this album (discovered when I was probably about 15) was always it's feeling of being a totally isolated, futuristic, depersonalized, existentially despairing, machine-like music, which both the technology of the time and the reality of Dave's isolated and uncertain period of recording it made possible. I always thought Dogs of War stunk, regardless of the mix haha, but everything else was and still is gold to me, and the sometimes inappropriately punching drum sounds, squealing "dentist" guitar, and expansive reverb almost to parody levels somehow all work together to give a feeling of, what felt to me at the time and still kind of does, like Sartre-in-sound. Which, was completely my headspace as a teenager, and I can still kind of fall back into.
When I was planning my first ever solo vacation, "Learning To Fly" became my anthem, along with the Tom Petty song of the same name. For that reason I always associate those two songs with finally meeting my online friends in person after 6 years This was a great review! Can't wait to see the Division Bell review!
So as 15 years old Pink Floyd fan when the album came out I really liked it at the time. I agree On The Turning Away makes the album. I did get to see them on that tour 2 times. First at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia with something like 100,000 people there. The second at the Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey. Both shows were amazing and I truly felt that Roger wasn’t missed at all.
David actually played the Steinberger on most of the songs! Only „Signs of life“, „Learning to Fly“ and „Terminal Frost“ have the Red Strat on it! Love the Steinberger sound on „Dogs of War“ and „OTTA“. On „Round and Around“ he played his Gibson Goldtop for whatever Reason…
@@JTCurtisMusic yes the tone is very close! I I think thats because both guitars beeing equiped with EMG SAs… some of the tremolowork on „turning away“ is a bit difficult to achieve on a strat. The „slide“ solo at the end of „Yet another movie“ is also the steinberger… its a really versatile instrument! For a perfect Steinberger tone check out his solo on the Song „Only One Word“ by Propaganda. Thanks for your great Contend by the way!
I like this album quite a bit. The recent remixed and partially re-recorded album is also good, just a little bit different from the original. With the rerelease of Delicate Sound of Thunder, we have all of Momentary Lapse of Reason live, and it is far superior to the studio album..
Honestly, the line one Yet Another Movie describes this album in a nutshell "He's not the worst, he's not the best" He, of course, is referencing the album Some good tracks, some meh ones, it's a good record that definetly deserves the spotted fish ranking
I remember buying the album Momentary Lapse of Reason when it came out and loved "Learning To Fly" - and I had ZERO idea one of the singers (Roger) had left the band until 10 years later around the turn of the century. Still love the song Learning To Fly. Dogs of War and On The Turning Away has some great lines. "No more turning away, from the weak and the weary...."
Honestly? I like this album. Tracks like One Slip, On The Turning Away and Sorrow are great and the 80s production gives it a certain charm over Division Bell. I also love the pointless lists bit.
On the Turning away, my favourite Floyd song. I have almost all their albums and a fan since the early 70s and I love this album. I have several albums from both Gilmore and Waters and Dave gets the most spins. I’d say this album gets underrated to much. Delicate Sound of Thunder proves these songs are great. Cheers.
Roger Waters picked great musicians to help record and tour, and so did David Gilmour, the sad thing is Roger and Dave are back to spitting venomous words at each other, the shame beyond any album 'fails'
To that one commenter @AMguitar @1:31 who said Roger wrote 90% of the music.. are you kidding me? Do you honestly think it was roger who came up with the synth composition in sheep? Or the guitar riff in pigs? Or the guitar licks in have a cigar? Roger waters can barely play the bass, his primary instrument, let alone write a piano and guitar chord progression. On the wall do you think it was roger who came up with any of the orchestral arrangements? No, it was Michael kamen.. yet kamen never got a single song writing credit. So if roger can do that to the great Oscar-winning michael kamen, you think he wouldn't do that to the shy and quiet Rick? Or the only non founding member Dave? It was Bob ezrin's idea to turn another brick pt 2 into a disco rock and to add the school choir yet ezrin didn't get song writing credits either. Stop deluding yourself into thinking roger wrote pink Floyd's music
Maybe I am in a significant minority, but, for me, there are some great songs on Momentary Lapse. True, I would rate Animals, Dark Side Of The Moon as better, but still I am grateful for this record's release.
To me, there are no bad Floyd songs, or Roger Waters, but the worst annoying to me are Talk box highlight Keep Talking and Barrett era Chapter 24, not so inspiring really
Hey I just wanted to thank you for making your history of rock videos, as in my Music History class for the last couple of weeks before finals we watched all of them and they brought joy in my days and made everyone laugh!
I prefer Roger-less Floyd to the Roger solo stuff... there was a hollowness to the album but it's the 80's production... I had four people from school call me up just to see if I'd heard it... I was such a Floyd fan in high school... (except The Wall- even liked Final Cut more than The Wall)... my fave song on this- On the Turning Away-
After relistening to this album for the first time in about a year, I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would. While I'm not a huge fan of 80's production (it's good in small quantities, but not when overdone), I think the band really makes it their own on this album and the next two they would release. They have this really spacious ambient vibe that I really dig, and this is especially true for tracks like Signs of Life and Terminal Frost. I agree that On the Turning Away is the best track on here. It's a great song with a great message, and a solid solo from Gilmour. Dogs of War is also a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, mainly because I love the organ runs and sax solo on it. I will say that the second side is where the album starts to lose me. Even with the great instrumental Terminal Frost, the rest of it does nothing for me. It's kind of the opposite problem I have with Big Generator by Yes, which came out the same year. That album has a great second side, but the first side is more poppy and not very interesting. The second side of this album just bores me. The New Machine songs have no reason to exist, and Yet Another Movie and Sorrow are snoozefests for me. Maybe I would prefer their live counterparts more, but the studio ones just don't do anything for me. It's like if AI was asked to generate Pink Floyd songs. I think my biggest gripe with the album is that it's really lacking that creative spark that makes Pink Floyd so great. I understand them wanting to try new things and keep up with the times. To bring up Yes again, I think they did a great job doing this with Drama and 90125. Both records have an 80's new wave sound to them, while still keeping a lot of those classic Yes ingredients. Here, a lot of songs sound like they could have come from any progressive pop/rock band of that time. Again, I must make clear that I do really enjoy the album, and songs like Learning to Fly, On the Turning Away, and Terminal Frost are up there with my favorite tracks from the group. It's just not one I revisit a lot because it lacks that signature Pink Floyd flavor, and it kinda slows down during the second half. Thankfully, their next studio album would fair much better. Which reminds me, I need to relisten to Division Bell pretty soon as well!
One of my earliest memories is sitting backwards in my dads couch listening to his Walkman and playing the first three tracks over and over and over. Signs of Life, Learning to Fly and then Dogs of War.. I remember thinking how cool it was that the music and the soundscape mixed seamlessly together just blew my 6 year old mind.
I am one of the people that refer to Momentary Lapse of Reason as a David Gilmore album, not to be negative but just because, to me, it's just the way it is. I do enjoy a few songs from the album-Learning to Fly and Sorrow in particular. I had to laugh when you listed the reasons why some people don't consider this a PF album. I love each and every member of Pink Floyd (not a fan of their ugly squabbles though) so it's not about me favoring one member over the other. They all did contribute to the PF sound, in varying degrees in various albums. But without Roger, you are taking away a bearing wall. And without Gilmore's god-like guitar talents, I would feel a similar hole if he left and the other three continued. I wish the four of them had been able to come together and rise above the issues. But when you are talking about creating masterpiece after masterpiece, it's a difficult thing to hang onto.
I think it's a good album, better than the Final Cut, and ANYTHING from RW solo efforts. Yes the lyrics aren't the same, but for me it's all about the music, words are tertiary. As far as musicianship, DG and GP are better bass players and DG's vocals are always better, see every hit they had. And like you said the live album kills, as did the concert in 1987. The Radio KAOS tour that was happening at the same time paled vastly in comparison. I saw both. RW was all sour grapes at this point and the guy with video at the beginning is just a RW fanboy and apologist, romanticizing his work. We've all heard what he can come up with by himself.
@@jamesthomas8645 I just have never been a fan of the brooding RW. He should've gotten all that out via The Wall. I've seen him live 5 times and it was all presented throughout each show. I have lost interest in going back. So I skipped the last show. I will see DG anywhere he plays. It's a more uplifting musical experience, which is pretty much all I want from a concert. RW hypocritically tries to shame your life purchases by including a Mercedes Benz logo during the modified GBBS animations while personally owning a 280SL. Meanwhile DG auctioned off his unique collection of guitars with all the proceeds going to charity, while Roger sits atop his stash of $300+M. It will be interesting to see how much will go to charity once he passes. Nothing against your opinion, you like what you like.
@@jamesthomas8645 Nah, it's not. It's just too angry and political, much like Roger's entire solo work. Also, I think it's quite rich that Roger would accuse David of hiring lyricists to sound like him when he spent 4 albums hiring guitarists to fill the gap left by David. And to be honest, the only thing that makes Amused to Death a worthwhile listen for me is Jeff Beck's guitar work.
This is a great time to be a JT Curtis fan. The Division Bell review coming out, Elements on vinyl (MORE DETAILS PLEASE!!!), whatever you’re doing after PFAB, you mentioned the you MAY (I stress MAY because I don’t want anyone coming at me if he never does) do History of Rock 2010s. Edit: now I know Top Ten worst Beatles covers
This is the first Pink Floyd album i had ever heard because it was the only album of theirs my mother had on cd instead of vinyl. I avoided the band for years because i hated the 80's synth sound and thought all their albums would be similar im glad i eventually listened to their other works! Meddle and Animals being my personal favorites! I think you kinda need to treat Roger Floyd and David Floyd like 2 different bands because the main lyrics and direction is very different stylistically. I love both for different reasons. Im a huge Roger fan lyrically but a Gilmour fan Guitar wise hes one of the best ever to do it. To me Pink Floyd is really those 4 guys.
Imo, one of the weaker Pink Floyd albums, extremely dated, and a lot of the songs would be done better live. However even a meh album by Pink Floyd is better than most albums, especially with On the Turning Away and Learning to Fly.
I have no idea why, but I feel One Slip is similar to George Harrison's song, Teardrops, where it feels so poppy, to the point where it becomes an enjoyable listen
@@dunger1531 MUCH better. I think Gilmour's reservations about "About Face" has to do with its lack of commercial succes. He doesn't play a note from that album, when he tours.
I'd have to agree with pretty much everything you say here. I do think the 2019 version of the album is MUCH better than the original, but no amount of sonic improvements can improve on subpar songwriting, which is all over the album. And while I also like the same two or three tracks the most that you do, ultimately, I think the best thing about A Momentary Lapse of Reason is that it brought Rick back and made the band tour again. - If that hadn't happened, we'd never have gotten The Division Bell, and I love that album!
I recently discovered an interesting interview with Gilmour which took place prior to their 1987 A Momentary Lapse Of Reason tour. My favorite part of the interview involved Waters' litigation against Gilmour and Mason and his predilection for taking all of the credit for Pink Floyd's immense success. GILMOUR: It's a joke, he won't stop us. There is no question about it, there is not really a struggle. I mean, there is a cute idea that, uh, that I keep reading about that he did it all and he wrote all sorts of songs that he didn't write...life's too short to sit around about those sorts of things. IMO, the 2019 AMLOR remix lifts this album above most of Pink Floyd's pre-Meddle discography and is far superior to The Final Cut. Waters could only dream of composing the melodic soundscapes contained in One Slip, On The Turning Away, and Sorrow. Gilmour was probably thrilled that he didn't have to play bass (e.g., Animals: SHEEP, The Wall: HEY, YOU) on AMLOR.
One Slip is an instant favorite since day one, I remember the ads when the album was announced a week before it dropped!!! Roger Waters had spotty bootlegs but near perfect records if you happen upon out-takes you'll see this. I've seen them both live and heard all the bootlegs I can put my ears on, love it to death! Pink Floyd are the Mount Everest of all things Rock
I love this album which was one of the first albums I bought on CD. It's no DSOTM or WYWH for sure and lacks Waters brilliant lyrics but it's a fair attempt at a new sound/direction while still maintaining much of the trademark mood/atmosphere of the old Floyd that was lacking on The Final Cut and features some of Gilmour's best guitar work.
As a fan who lived through their career, hearing all the issues dividing Gilmour, Mason and Wright from Waters this album was a welcome respite from the internal war, that really left us all in shock, led to the hope Waters would hear it and do what he could to rejoin. Do I put it in my top five favorite Pink Floyd albums? Absolutely NOT, but I still do like it, and really enjoyed the 1987 concert in Seattle. The old Kingdome never sounded better, with their true quad sound. Still my favorite live version of Welcome To The Machine. Sorry, I digress. For this album I can do without Learning to Fly, Dogs of War, One Slip and the two New Machines, to the point this is one of the only Pink Floyd albums I don't listen to from front to back. My track listing is: Signs of Life On The Turning Away Yet Another Movie/Round and Round Terminal Frost Sorrow Sorry, but I do like side two, with all its flaws. I especially like Yet Another Movie. Not just because I love movies, and love the visuals in the lyrics, even incorporating dialogue from the last scene in Casablanca, but I feel the music fits the lyrics. I feel that way about On The Turning Away and Sorrow, as well. I agree with your spotted fish, but leaning towards a full goldfish. Again, you would have to understand that at that time when we, the fans who were alive at that time, clung to this album like a life-preserver.
I seriously cannot understand why any true Pink Floyd fan would dislike this album. I find it quite good. Yes it has an 80s vibe, however, the songs Sorrow, Terminal Frost, and Yet Another Movie/Round and Round are great tracks. As the initial album post Roger Waters, it works. Nothing beats hearing them live from The Delicate Sound Of Thunder tour!
Personally I really like the Lapse of Reason album. Though there has been criticism of the album being too 80s sounding, many other classic artist at the time worked to modernize their sound. I suspect even if everything in Floyd was warm and fuzzy and Waters was still in the band, a resulting album would have had a similar glitzy/polished sound. Though great to have Rick's keyboards fully incorporated into the updated 2019 version of the album, the mix seems to take away some of the bright-sparkle of the 1988 version. The highlights for me are: Dogs of War One Slip Yet Another Movie Sorrow (the masterpiece) Though the album flow does get disjointed with the unnecessary A New Machine Parts 1 & 2. I'm still confused by them to this day.
The problem with most people - and I'm sorry, but I have to include you in that group - was their own expectations. Although they may have consciously accepted the fact that this is a different Pink Floyd, deep down, they were hoping for something more Waters-esque. As for myself, a man now 65 years old, who also plays guitar, loves the "old" Pink Floyd but also loves all music - including 80's - except most country and techno-pop-dance-clap-trap - I loved it and though that it was worth waiting for. No comparison to the Final Cut, which I felt was just a contract-fulfillment album. You could tell that their hearts weren't in it, even Waters'. MLoR? Right from the opening, you could hear the difference that musicians who love music make to the sound.
When I first heard this album, I knew nothing about the squabble between Roger W and the others, so my opinion of it wasn't shaped by that or by who was or wasn't on it. I just didn't like it, and that probably shaped my perspective on the squabble when I DID learn of it. So... it's decades later and I'm still not a great fan of this album, but "Learning to Fly" is a really good song, "Terminal Frost" is quite a good instrumental, "On the Turning Away" and "One Slip" are good, and "Sorrow" is okay and Gilmour plays great guitar as usual. And...um.... the sax solo in "Dogs of War" is good. Pity about the song, though. Too much of the album is a bit dull, and the '80s production doesn't help. Although Roger's album of 1987 was no better in that respect.
At least half of the 2nd half of the album relates to Roger Zelazny’s sci fi novel ‘For A Breath I Tarry’. The protagonist is a sentient computer terminal called *Frost*. ‘A New Machine’ et al , even ‘Sorrow’ &’Yet Another Movie’ can be interpreted as *Frost*’s seeking to define humanity, following the demise of humans.
Excellent video about a sadly underappreciated album. I came to love it later on, but I'd just sort of liked it at first. Speaking of love, I picked up a 45 RPM half-speed master of the vinyl for this record, not sure when, but would that be the 2019 remix you referred to a few times? It's making me want to go back and hear it again - perhaps tonight - that is, if I can get my roommate to stop talking long enough😅😅😅😅
I have legit watched this video numerous times It’s just so in depth and amazing man I really enjoy your content a lot I’ve really been digging into this album A Lot I bought it remastered the original and the remixed version all on vinyl And also bought the Cd/DVD box set Can’t get enough of this album Don’t get me wrong I’ll say it now I love there older and newer stuff All of it actually Umm maybe except for The Final Cut
Someone did a good 1 hour loop of Terminal frost that you can find on youtube. I have loved this track and often put that video on when sitting at the computer for background. I enjoy these reviews. Unlike some others, you can tell he's a fan and spent some time in the "deep waters".
Fun fact, JT. (This is from MictheSnare's entire discography review from Pink Floyd, by the way). Apparently, Bob Ezrin wanted David to rap and I think he also wanted to include hip-hop into this record, if my memory serves me correct.
I went into A Momentary Lapse of Reason with an open mind and was eager to see this iteration of Pink Floyd, sans Roger Waters. I think their biggest mistake was trying to copy that "concept album" format that Roger Waters drove into the ground and made it bombastic. They should have went back to their roots and made trippy head music from that period of Saucerful Of Secrets to Meddle and discarded any sort "concept" to link the songs. The album has several cringeworthy moments and tries too hard to recapture that sound of that previous era. Learning to Fly is a passable song but the lyrics can be very clunky and don't flow as smoothly as they should. The only two tracks that stand out for me are Dogs of War and On The Turning Away. The former I've always interpreted as the war between the bandmates and the "dogs of war" are their respective lawyers. I had this idea for a video in which it replicates the photoshoot for the Animals album cover when the inflatable pig breaks from its tethers and floats free above England, intercut with animation segments of lawyers transforming into wolves, as well as the band performing on stage, the rogue pig finding its way into the stadium. It's nice to hear them play a hard rocking song, especially after The Final Cut. I've never attributed any overall "theme". The rest of the tracks are pretty forgettable. I cannot recall the last time I listened to the album from beginning to end without skipping tracks.
ok i absolutely love this record. its the one that got me into them. I dont think its too 80s, (and its way less 80s than if we could have had if roger stayed on and made radio kaos a pink floyd record). i also love gilmour's writing, some of which are my favourite of all time. The Clarkson quote "this is brilliant, but i like this" applies to these final 3 records. The final 3 albums are definitely not the best, but i cant help but have them on repeat. Sorrow is also up there with their very best music
I've never seen anyone do a deep dive of "Yet Another Movie" but the lyrics lean into themes of sexual assault, cultural apathy, and sociopathy with very little ambiguity. I don't know if guys don't pick up as fast on that message or if it's just uncomfortable to confront so people blow it off/pass it over, but i don't see what else it could honestly be about.
@@benny_2049 It's got such a dark, looming 'tragic but inevitable' quality to it... the whole album seems plagued by sexual guilt or confusion... i can see why the album isn't a fave for popular fans of PF, but the lyrics on this album speak of more hardcore personal struggles than even the Wall does. Like 'sad intimacy.'
@Ingrid Fong-Daley the lyrics are so real...and the instruments are so ethereal, not space like or anything. but almost atmospheric...like every single instrument is surrounding you, almost overwhelming in a sense, but not really...kinda like the score of a film...lmao the name of the song is "yet another movie" and the lyrics are so real and can be interpreted so differently...I like to interpret the song like every person thinks their the Protagonist and main character of their own story kinda like movie characters "its just the same as all the rest" showing how everyone thinks their story is unique just like how every film tries to be unique...but in reality we're all the same...every person has yet another "unique" story...yet another movie
Great review again, as with tfc, this could be called a solo but through both releases i never heard either described as a solo, it wasnt till later that i heard them decribed as anything but a floyd album, although i am sure i heard gilmour say he eventually thought it needed more mason and wright to sound more like a floyd album, (cant remember where i heard that though), to me both are floyd albums but this one not as good, i look forward to hearing your take on tdb, i find it a bit of an improvement and an album i listen to much more than amlor,
I haven't been Team Roger for a long time. Never listen to his solo albums, used to love Final Cut but not so much anymore. But even today, with a bit more perspective and maturity, Momentary Lapse still sounds like Gilmour's attempt to keep Floyd in the public eye, take advantage of MTV's influence, and have a reason to go on tour for a couple years, make a sh!tzillion dollars, and maybe rub Roger's face in it all along the way. Props to those who enjoy it, but I never came around to it.
David steals the certain sound on Learning To Fly from Supertramp's Cannonball on 1985's Brother Where You Bound, which David played guitar on the title track, Brother Where You Bound. Just outstanding guitar work from David. Makes the song sound like a Floyd's song. Another stolen idea David used is the song Keeping Talking using Stephen Hawking voice but Roger Waters already used the computerized voice from his Radio KAOS album in 1988. I think David needs other people to get his inspiration from. But there's probably more guitarist's who get more inspiration from David's work.
Good and fair review. The 2019 edtition is slightly better but it is an "average" Floyd album. For me there are only three actual stand out tracks. Sorrow (although this has been taken to new heights as a live piece and the fact that David has played it about 300 times live and never played the same extended solo at the end twice is incredible), On The Turning Away, and whilst it;s far from their best prog song, the fact that they DID include an actual prog track with Yet Another Movie means I have a soft spot for it. Learnign TO Fly is a bit TOO poprock but it's still a decent tune, Dogs of War?. Great tune live again but it's a bit to "clever" for it's own good imo as a studio piece. Otherwise the albums is okay. As for the old arguement about Roger being Floyd? Rubbish. Bands become a success based on their SOUND more than anything else and that was something that Gilmour and Wright (and to a slightly lesser extent Nick) were responsible for. more than Roger. The claims that David can't write? again nonsense! he did fine in Early Floyd as a writer (provising the only decent studio track on Ummagumma imho) as well as with his first two solo albums. I believe that David deserves far more writing credits than he got from Dark Side through to The Wall and he knows it (Money and Sheep are the two main one... but there are others) so unfair writing credits were not going to happen on HIS watch, Hence his philosophy that if you contributed you get a credit.. so he gives Jon Carin a writing credit on Learning To Fly for instance. It's a looping 20 second syth piece, but as it's part of the published track?. He gets a credit! And while I'm not a huge fan of Polly Sampson she's absolutely fine as a lyricist. She's a former Times editor and succesfully published author.. To try and say she can't write lyrics is ludicrous. I reckon about 25% of the Rogerettes genuinely don't like Rogerless Floyd for valid reasons. The other 75% had made their minds up BEFORE even listening (if they even actually have) to any of the post Waters output from the band
Nah, this is a pretty good album. Not their best, but still good. One Slip is really nice. Sorrow, while sounding excruciatingly '80s, has a melancholic darkness to it that I like. On The Turning Away is a classic. As for people saying Roger Waters wrote all the lyrics and all the music and that the sales show it... Yeah, MLoR sold 20-30 times more than his best selling album.
I love this album, it's one of the few that I can listen to in all of my moods, it makes me happy and sad, filled with masterpieces, and I don't mind the 80s sound I hardly even notice it, 'learning to fly' is a masterpeice, and 'one slip' made its way to my top 10 PF songs, also this album is in my Top 5 PF albums, everyone expierences it different...
I must totally disagree that either The Final Cut or Momentary Lapse are like solo albums. If you know their solo albums well, they sound and feel very different. Michael Kamen did great filling in the piano/synth are on The Final Cut and Bob Ezrin's input filled in the Roger Waters gaps on Momentary Lapse.
If Wikipedia's track-by-track credits are correct I'd say, while I like the album (no complaints), it's false advertising to call it Pink Floyd - not because Roger is missing, but because Richard and Nick are. Per the individual track credits, Richard is on just five songs and Nick is on just four. Worse still, of the four to which Nick contributes, he plays drums on just two (one where he is the only drummer and one where he is the second drummer). On the other two he contributes spoken-word vocals and percussion, respectively. No "sound effects" as per the album's main page (though if anyone has a source saying otherwise please advise). Awfully scant involvement for a supposed full-fledged member. The honest thing for David to do would have been to do what Pete Townshend did with his 1989 album Iron Man: Release the album under his own name but credit the relevant individual tracks to the band; then tour with the band under the band's name. Or, alternatively, run by and get notes from Richard on all or most of the percussion-related programing, sequencing, and effects (or better still involve him in their creation); take his feedback on board; and on the relevant tracks credit him with something along the lines of "drum patterns."
As mentioned Rick came in very late in the creation of the album. He had not been on The Final Cut and I think David and Nick went into this with the intention that Pink Floyd would just be a two-man operation (even if David did the lion's share of the work). It's why I consider the live versions to be closer in spirit to Pink Floyd as Nick and Rick are performing on every song (which does make a difference). Thankfully The Division Bell was a return to form for Pink Floyd.
@@JTCurtisMusic Thanks for responding. I understand about Rick. It's more Nick drumming on two songs (just one as main drummer), and contributing spoken words and percussion to just two others, that causes me to charge the band with false advertising in crediting Momentary Lapse to Pink Floyd. If David and Nick are the only band members, you can't use Nick this minimally and use "Pink Floyd" (again I'd change my view with evidence of Nick contributing "effects" to other tracks). If you're not going to use Nick on more tracks (which they could have done by taking his input or oversight when using drum machine), credit the album to David with a "featuring Pink Floyd" on the songs where Nick meaningfully contributes. A two-man band where one "member" does hardly anything is not a band but a solo artist.
Funny enough, I find On The Turning Away to be one of the few skippable PF dongs for me. I just think it sounds a bit too much like cheesy uplifting church music. But hey, I might be wrong. It has been easily over a year since the last time I listened to it, so I'll give it another spin. Edit: I listened to it again, and I'll admit, it was better than I remember, but something about David's vocals and especially the choir that just rubs me wrong. I'm probably going to keep skipping the song, as with A New Machine parts 1 and 2.
To me a great album is defined as how much of it do you want to here live? Could be Either in real concert by the artist, A concert by a tribute band or just in a fan fantasy playlist. The fact is that most of A Momentary Lapse of Reason definitely delivers the live goods. OK one maybe could live without A New Machine / Terminal Frost being in the live set and getting another classic or two instead. But that's about it.
@@JTCurtisMusic I saw the AMLOR tour in August 1988 at Maine Road Stadium Manchester (Manchester City's old ground) from the vantage point of the centre circle halfway line of the soccer pitch
As I said even when you come to a song that’s not doing it for you, you can still go “Wow that’s a great guitar solo” and Yet Another Movie is no exception.
Excellent review, as always, though I wish you would have gone into more detail into your thoughts on the 2019 remix. Honestly, I prefer that version of the album the most, even above the admittedly amazing live album.
To be honest I was surprised they didn’t go further in the remix to give it a more organic sound. Most of the 80s MIDI textures are still very prevalent. I also feel like the songs were written and arranged for those sounds so it’s best just to listen to the original.
@@JTCurtisMusic well, okay, but... It's Rick Wright and Nick Mason being present in an album they previously weren't! I'd say that's more preferable to one where they aren't, surely?
@@madgreekreviews5933 In theory yes, but it just didn’t seem like it added much. It’s different on the live recordings where they are contributing the music in real time.
@@JTCurtisMusic while I agree the live album is still superior, I just can't go back to the original cd after the 2019 remix. Terminal Frost in particular and One Slip are vastly improved, the former now sounds like a complete instrumental whereas it didn't before and the latter is actually now an enjoyable tune, and even Signs of Life is significantly improved, too. I just find those little Wright touches to be immensely impressive.
Supposedly Yet Another Movie was a track initially written for The Final Cut by David (one of his very few ideas he submitted during the hell that was the albums production), but was rejected by Roger. Not sure how true that is though
It may not be the best Pink Floyd album, but I prefer it over The Final Cut. The Final Cut lacks that Pink Floyd sound with Water’s ego taking over while Momentary Lapse of Reason returns to having great soundscapes while attempting to take the music in a new direction in an era without Waters.
This isn’t a Pink Floyd album for me. Not even cause of any side or politics but because I think it’s FAR removed from the sound Pink Floyd had developed over the years.
JT, im peoud kf you for covering rhis album. Your opinions were a lor more fair rhan rhat Jerk whose video you shared. As fimny as it was, i rhink he knew there ess littlenlogoc ro it! I have nore if sn appreciate for Learning To Fly (Bur I Ain't Got Wings, oops wrong LTF!) and On The Turning Away. I also liked thar look, almosr saying "Do i really have to review THIS album?!"
I once read a compelling post from about 20 years ago that reckoned ‘Learning To Fly’ has a dark alternate meaning. & when you dig into the lyrics it starts to read like an insouciant homage to the writer’s imminent demise. The way the pilot describes himself & the ✈️ condition would be alarming to any passenger. It was probably a solo flight anyway.
Their BEST album. This got me into Floyd. 1993, on Ops in Somalia. On my mates walkman. No I didn't have one. But by end of 93 I'd have a portable CD player and all Floyd albums on CD. Because of Momentary. Ironically a mate showed me Learning to fly on video tape when it 1st came out. Didn't grab me. Few years later....bang! I'm 52btw. Born 72. My first group was Queen. I think The works, Magic are their best albums. 7th Son is Maidens best so there is that. Ironically the same mate showed me Can I play with madness. No response originally either. Go figure. Love Momentary. Love division Bell. Love no Waters. Love the wall, dark side, animals, final cut. Love Radio Kaos. Heard a mate play it. Said who TF is that. Sounds like Floyd. Love Pro's n cons. Love amused to death. There's some great albums out there. Momentary is very much right up there!
The idea there is no Floyd without Waters is ridiculous. Dark Side of the Moon was the band at its collective height. The Walk is Roger working through his Daddy issues. It is a great album, but Waters themes were wearing thin by Final Cut. I like this album. On the Turning Away is a great track. I've always loved Learning to Fly covered in all of its 80's "cheese" which is such an overly repeated complaint.
I got into Floyd through MLOR at the time, and it's David and Rick that make The Sound I like, no Roger - who was making total crap like Radio Krap - wasn't a minus for me. And Sorrow was just fantastic.
You did analyse it well, but forgot to put facts in their context. When this album came in 1987, it was the sound of the future, not the 80’s sound you’re talking about. Everybody, even myself was totally blown up by the sound, the production, the gear used (this was one of the first time we saw someone modulating his voice through a tube linked to his guitar….) You definitely need to take this part in consideration before telling that it « sounds 80’s ». Indeed, we were in 1987, then. Anyways, love your videos, and sub to your channel. Keep on the good work. I don’t agree with you all the time but your videos are well produced, and quite close to the truth. Chely. (45 yo, fan since I’m a little child)
Not by 1987. David Gilmour was already using a talk-box back in the 70s and Peter Frampton made it famous on Frampton comes alive in 1976. And DX7 keyboards were already well established on records by Prince, Tears for Fears, etc. I can see that in 1987 it was still seen as contemporary and cutting edge, but even David Gilmour himself said he felt they adapted the technology too enthusiastically, hence why they attempted to remix it years later. The Division Bell on the other hand has aged much better.
I honestly love this album, On The Turning Away, One Slip and Sign Of Life are just perfect
I second that. One Slip and Signs Of Life are extremely underrated.
Yes me too. I thought it was one of their better albums.
As for Syd Barrett, well he provided a lifetime of ideas for Roger Waters to steal. Listen to the end of Bike or Dark Globe.
I think it’s a great album and always wanted a remix. When that came I didn’t like it the original is fine
@babylemonade2868 Agreed. I liked some aspects of the remix, but I thought some of the bite was lost in the 2019 version.
My dad JAMMED Sorrow in his 87 Corvette tape deck when I was a kid. He’s gone now,and this track i so special to me because I feel closer to him when I play it.
"Sorrow" is an absolute masterpiece.
hard agree!!! espescially the pulse live version. opening guitar sounds thunderous and I also love the drums on the album version
Shine On is a masterpiece. Sorrow is just pretty good.
@@nectarinedreams7208 Whatever you need to say to make you feel better, Roger.
@@cornfilledscreamer614 It's just his opinion and I quite agree. I like Sorrow but there's not so much substance to it compared to a lot of other Floyd songs. David's guitar palying is great of course.
@@tobismusicchannel3033 Opinions vary. Not to dis SOYCD at all, but Sorrow is definitely up there...
No one else is mentioning this so I will. Terminal Frost is amazing! Not quite shine on or echoes but still a great effort
I love the sequence of 'Round and Round' 'A new Machine, Part 1' 'Terminal Frost' and 'A New Machine, Part 2'.
I still love it! Brings the goosebumps every single time. 👌🏻
Seriously, Gilmour absolutely KILLS it on the guitar solos on this album. They’re just so damn good!
This is my favorite Pink Floyd album !!! I know that isn’t the popular opinion, but I could care less. Learning to fly is maybe my favorite song ever created. Just beautiful. Reminds me of my dad who introduced me to Pink Floyd.
I actually really like the dark 80's sound tbh. Fav song for me is Yet Another Movie, peak epic.
For me the appeal of this album (discovered when I was probably about 15) was always it's feeling of being a totally isolated, futuristic, depersonalized, existentially despairing, machine-like music, which both the technology of the time and the reality of Dave's isolated and uncertain period of recording it made possible. I always thought Dogs of War stunk, regardless of the mix haha, but everything else was and still is gold to me, and the sometimes inappropriately punching drum sounds, squealing "dentist" guitar, and expansive reverb almost to parody levels somehow all work together to give a feeling of, what felt to me at the time and still kind of does, like Sartre-in-sound. Which, was completely my headspace as a teenager, and I can still kind of fall back into.
Me too. I love that really heavy drum sound on the record. Also yet another movie is such and underrated song.
AMLOR, although it was not a true 4 member album, it was still enjoyed and the concerts were banging.
When I was planning my first ever solo vacation, "Learning To Fly" became my anthem, along with the Tom Petty song of the same name. For that reason I always associate those two songs with finally meeting my online friends in person after 6 years
This was a great review! Can't wait to see the Division Bell review!
I love most everything on this album. terminal frost is one of my absolute faves.
So as 15 years old Pink Floyd fan when the album came out I really liked it at the time. I agree On The Turning Away makes the album. I did get to see them on that tour 2 times. First at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia with something like 100,000 people there. The second at the Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey. Both shows were amazing and I truly felt that Roger wasn’t missed at all.
David actually played the Steinberger on most of the songs! Only „Signs of life“, „Learning to Fly“ and „Terminal Frost“ have the Red Strat on it! Love the Steinberger sound on „Dogs of War“ and „OTTA“. On „Round and Around“ he played his Gibson Goldtop for whatever Reason…
That's interesting. I would have thought for sure "On the Turning Away" was his Strat.
@@JTCurtisMusic yes the tone is very close! I I think thats because both guitars beeing equiped with EMG SAs… some of the tremolowork on „turning away“ is a bit difficult to achieve on a strat. The „slide“ solo at the end of „Yet another movie“ is also the steinberger… its a really versatile instrument! For a perfect Steinberger tone check out his solo on the Song „Only One Word“ by Propaganda. Thanks for your great Contend by the way!
I like this album quite a bit. The recent remixed and partially re-recorded album is also good, just a little bit different from the original. With the rerelease of Delicate Sound of Thunder, we have all of Momentary Lapse of Reason live, and it is far superior to the studio album..
Honestly, the line one Yet Another Movie describes this album in a nutshell
"He's not the worst, he's not the best"
He, of course, is referencing the album
Some good tracks, some meh ones, it's a good record that definetly deserves the spotted fish ranking
This is my all time favorite song.
I remember buying the album Momentary Lapse of Reason when it came out and loved "Learning To Fly" - and I had ZERO idea one of the singers (Roger) had left the band until 10 years later around the turn of the century. Still love the song Learning To Fly. Dogs of War and On The Turning Away has some great lines. "No more turning away, from the weak and the weary...."
Momentary Lapse of Reason is very good
Honestly? I like this album. Tracks like One Slip, On The Turning Away and Sorrow are great and the 80s production gives it a certain charm over Division Bell.
I also love the pointless lists bit.
One Slip is one of my favorite songs.
On the Turning away, my favourite Floyd song. I have almost all their albums and a fan since the early 70s and I love this album. I have several albums from both Gilmore and Waters and Dave gets the most spins. I’d say this album gets underrated to much. Delicate Sound of Thunder proves these songs are great. Cheers.
Roger Waters picked great musicians to help record and tour, and so did David Gilmour, the sad thing is Roger and Dave are back to spitting venomous words at each other, the shame beyond any album 'fails'
To that one commenter @AMguitar @1:31 who said Roger wrote 90% of the music.. are you kidding me? Do you honestly think it was roger who came up with the synth composition in sheep? Or the guitar riff in pigs? Or the guitar licks in have a cigar? Roger waters can barely play the bass, his primary instrument, let alone write a piano and guitar chord progression. On the wall do you think it was roger who came up with any of the orchestral arrangements? No, it was Michael kamen.. yet kamen never got a single song writing credit. So if roger can do that to the great Oscar-winning michael kamen, you think he wouldn't do that to the shy and quiet Rick? Or the only non founding member Dave? It was Bob ezrin's idea to turn another brick pt 2 into a disco rock and to add the school choir yet ezrin didn't get song writing credits either. Stop deluding yourself into thinking roger wrote pink Floyd's music
Good points. Roger was great, but he was great as part of a team. He was not Pink Floyd as he likes to think.
Maybe I am in a significant minority, but, for me, there are some great songs on Momentary Lapse. True, I would rate Animals, Dark Side Of The Moon as better, but still I am grateful for this record's release.
thanks for making these videos as they really help me to get deeper into pink floyd and understand and appreciate their musical genius even more.
To me, there are no bad Floyd songs, or Roger Waters, but the worst annoying to me are Talk box highlight Keep Talking and Barrett era Chapter 24, not so inspiring really
Hey I just wanted to thank you for making your history of rock videos, as in my Music History class for the last couple of weeks before finals we watched all of them and they brought joy in my days and made everyone laugh!
Been so hyped for this, you legend JT!
Love your videos man, gives such a early UA-cam vibe, like I've been watching forever!
I prefer Roger-less Floyd to the Roger solo stuff... there was a hollowness to the album but it's the 80's production... I had four people from school call me up just to see if I'd heard it... I was such a Floyd fan in high school... (except The Wall- even liked Final Cut more than The Wall)... my fave song on this- On the Turning Away-
Floyd "Purists" are so cringe, this album is a masterpiece
From start to end, brilliant
After relistening to this album for the first time in about a year, I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would. While I'm not a huge fan of 80's production (it's good in small quantities, but not when overdone), I think the band really makes it their own on this album and the next two they would release. They have this really spacious ambient vibe that I really dig, and this is especially true for tracks like Signs of Life and Terminal Frost. I agree that On the Turning Away is the best track on here. It's a great song with a great message, and a solid solo from Gilmour. Dogs of War is also a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, mainly because I love the organ runs and sax solo on it. I will say that the second side is where the album starts to lose me. Even with the great instrumental Terminal Frost, the rest of it does nothing for me. It's kind of the opposite problem I have with Big Generator by Yes, which came out the same year. That album has a great second side, but the first side is more poppy and not very interesting. The second side of this album just bores me. The New Machine songs have no reason to exist, and Yet Another Movie and Sorrow are snoozefests for me. Maybe I would prefer their live counterparts more, but the studio ones just don't do anything for me. It's like if AI was asked to generate Pink Floyd songs. I think my biggest gripe with the album is that it's really lacking that creative spark that makes Pink Floyd so great. I understand them wanting to try new things and keep up with the times. To bring up Yes again, I think they did a great job doing this with Drama and 90125. Both records have an 80's new wave sound to them, while still keeping a lot of those classic Yes ingredients. Here, a lot of songs sound like they could have come from any progressive pop/rock band of that time. Again, I must make clear that I do really enjoy the album, and songs like Learning to Fly, On the Turning Away, and Terminal Frost are up there with my favorite tracks from the group. It's just not one I revisit a lot because it lacks that signature Pink Floyd flavor, and it kinda slows down during the second half. Thankfully, their next studio album would fair much better. Which reminds me, I need to relisten to Division Bell pretty soon as well!
I was in the Army in Germany when this came out... Even saw the concert in Munich. One of my favorite Floyd albums
One of my earliest memories is sitting backwards in my dads couch listening to his Walkman and playing the first three tracks over and over and over. Signs of Life, Learning to Fly and then Dogs of War.. I remember thinking how cool it was that the music and the soundscape mixed seamlessly together just blew my 6 year old mind.
I am one of the people that refer to Momentary Lapse of Reason as a David Gilmore album, not to be negative but just because, to me, it's just the way it is. I do enjoy a few songs from the album-Learning to Fly and Sorrow in particular. I had to laugh when you listed the reasons why some people don't consider this a PF album. I love each and every member of Pink Floyd (not a fan of their ugly squabbles though) so it's not about me favoring one member over the other. They all did contribute to the PF sound, in varying degrees in various albums. But without Roger, you are taking away a bearing wall. And without Gilmore's god-like guitar talents, I would feel a similar hole if he left and the other three continued. I wish the four of them had been able to come together and rise above the issues. But when you are talking about creating masterpiece after masterpiece, it's a difficult thing to hang onto.
My favourite Pink Floyd album. Sorrow is epic,
I think it's a good album, better than the Final Cut, and ANYTHING from RW solo efforts. Yes the lyrics aren't the same, but for me it's all about the music, words are tertiary. As far as musicianship, DG and GP are better bass players and DG's vocals are always better, see every hit they had. And like you said the live album kills, as did the concert in 1987. The Radio KAOS tour that was happening at the same time paled vastly in comparison. I saw both. RW was all sour grapes at this point and the guy with video at the beginning is just a RW fanboy and apologist, romanticizing his work. We've all heard what he can come up with by himself.
I disagree, I think amused to death is far better than this album but it is better than Rogers other albums
@@jamesthomas8645 I just have never been a fan of the brooding RW. He should've gotten all that out via The Wall. I've seen him live 5 times and it was all presented throughout each show. I have lost interest in going back. So I skipped the last show. I will see DG anywhere he plays. It's a more uplifting musical experience, which is pretty much all I want from a concert. RW hypocritically tries to shame your life purchases by including a Mercedes Benz logo during the modified GBBS animations while personally owning a 280SL. Meanwhile DG auctioned off his unique collection of guitars with all the proceeds going to charity, while Roger sits atop his stash of $300+M. It will be interesting to see how much will go to charity once he passes. Nothing against your opinion, you like what you like.
@@koelekahuna9370 the wall was the very first album I listened to so I’ve always been in camp Roger but I love David as well
@@jamesthomas8645 That's cool, mine too I think, but I quickly moved onto the Dark Side and Meddle + WYWH and Animals.
@@jamesthomas8645 Nah, it's not. It's just too angry and political, much like Roger's entire solo work. Also, I think it's quite rich that Roger would accuse David of hiring lyricists to sound like him when he spent 4 albums hiring guitarists to fill the gap left by David. And to be honest, the only thing that makes Amused to Death a worthwhile listen for me is Jeff Beck's guitar work.
This is a great time to be a JT Curtis fan. The Division Bell review coming out, Elements on vinyl (MORE DETAILS PLEASE!!!), whatever you’re doing after PFAB, you mentioned the you MAY (I stress MAY because I don’t want anyone coming at me if he never does) do History of Rock 2010s.
Edit: now I know Top Ten worst Beatles covers
This is the first Pink Floyd album i had ever heard because it was the only album of theirs my mother had on cd instead of vinyl. I avoided the band for years because i hated the 80's synth sound and thought all their albums would be similar im glad i eventually listened to their other works! Meddle and Animals being my personal favorites! I think you kinda need to treat Roger Floyd and David Floyd like 2 different bands because the main lyrics and direction is very different stylistically. I love both for different reasons. Im a huge Roger fan lyrically but a Gilmour fan Guitar wise hes one of the best ever to do it. To me Pink Floyd is really those 4 guys.
Imo, one of the weaker Pink Floyd albums, extremely dated, and a lot of the songs would be done better live. However even a meh album by Pink Floyd is better than most albums, especially with On the Turning Away and Learning to Fly.
I really loved that click bait video in the middle, so accurate, too funny. I thought your analysis of this record spot on, great job JT
I have always thought that this album was a concept album about a heroin addict that ODs and ends up in a coma
Another great video! Keep up the good work as always! ❤🙏
All PF reviews have been great. Looking forward to the Division Bell and I hope Endless River is included in that one or gets its own review.
I have no idea why, but I feel One Slip is similar to George Harrison's song, Teardrops, where it feels so poppy, to the point where it becomes an enjoyable listen
Not to be that guy, but I’m pretty sure you mean teardrops, not tearbreaker, but you to have a good point
what an awesome review!
Gilmour's "About Face" is a wonderful, honest record with spectacular playing. "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" is a mood piece with three good songs.
Most of About Face is really good. Better than AMLoR by a long shot.
@@dunger1531 MUCH better. I think Gilmour's reservations about "About Face" has to do with its lack of commercial succes. He doesn't play a note from that album, when he tours.
I'd have to agree with pretty much everything you say here. I do think the 2019 version of the album is MUCH better than the original,
but no amount of sonic improvements can improve on subpar songwriting, which is all over the album.
And while I also like the same two or three tracks the most that you do, ultimately, I think the best thing about A Momentary Lapse of Reason
is that it brought Rick back and made the band tour again. - If that hadn't happened, we'd never have gotten The Division Bell, and I love that album!
I recently discovered an interesting interview with Gilmour which took place prior to their 1987 A Momentary Lapse Of Reason tour. My favorite part of the interview involved Waters' litigation against Gilmour and Mason and his predilection for taking all of the credit for Pink Floyd's immense success.
GILMOUR: It's a joke, he won't stop us. There is no question about it, there is not really a struggle. I mean, there is a cute idea that, uh, that I keep reading about that he did it all and he wrote all sorts of songs that he didn't write...life's too short to sit around about those sorts of things.
IMO, the 2019 AMLOR remix lifts this album above most of Pink Floyd's pre-Meddle discography and is far superior to The Final Cut. Waters could only dream of composing the melodic soundscapes contained in One Slip, On The Turning Away, and Sorrow. Gilmour was probably thrilled that he didn't have to play bass (e.g., Animals: SHEEP, The Wall: HEY, YOU) on AMLOR.
One Slip is an instant favorite since day one, I remember the ads when the album was announced a week before it dropped!!! Roger Waters had spotty bootlegs but near perfect records if you happen upon out-takes you'll see this. I've seen them both live and heard all the bootlegs I can put my ears on, love it to death! Pink Floyd are the Mount Everest of all things Rock
I love this album which was one of the first albums I bought on CD. It's no DSOTM or WYWH for sure and lacks Waters brilliant lyrics but it's a fair attempt at a new sound/direction while still maintaining much of the trademark mood/atmosphere of the old Floyd that was lacking on The Final Cut and features some of Gilmour's best guitar work.
As a fan who lived through their career, hearing all the issues dividing Gilmour, Mason and Wright from Waters this album was a welcome respite from the internal war, that really left us all in shock, led to the hope Waters would hear it and do what he could to rejoin.
Do I put it in my top five favorite Pink Floyd albums? Absolutely NOT, but I still do like it, and really enjoyed the 1987 concert in Seattle. The old Kingdome never sounded better, with their true quad sound. Still my favorite live version of Welcome To The Machine.
Sorry, I digress.
For this album I can do without Learning to Fly, Dogs of War, One Slip and the two New Machines, to the point this is one of the only Pink Floyd albums I don't listen to from front to back. My track listing is:
Signs of Life
On The Turning Away
Yet Another Movie/Round and Round
Terminal Frost
Sorrow
Sorry, but I do like side two, with all its flaws. I especially like Yet Another Movie. Not just because I love movies, and love the visuals in the lyrics, even incorporating dialogue from the last scene in Casablanca, but I feel the music fits the lyrics. I feel that way about On The Turning Away and Sorrow, as well.
I agree with your spotted fish, but leaning towards a full goldfish. Again, you would have to understand that at that time when we, the fans who were alive at that time, clung to this album like a life-preserver.
I seriously cannot understand why any true Pink Floyd fan would dislike this album. I find it quite good. Yes it has an 80s vibe, however, the songs Sorrow, Terminal Frost, and Yet Another Movie/Round and Round are great tracks. As the initial album post Roger Waters, it works. Nothing beats hearing them live from The Delicate Sound Of Thunder tour!
I’m a very pro waters fan. But your comment is correct and spot on.
Then you clearly cannot understand what true Pink Floyd fans like about Pink Floyd.
Personally I really like the Lapse of Reason album. Though there has been criticism of the album being too 80s sounding, many other classic artist at the time worked to modernize their sound. I suspect even if everything in Floyd was warm and fuzzy and Waters was still in the band, a resulting album would have had a similar glitzy/polished sound.
Though great to have Rick's keyboards fully incorporated into the updated 2019 version of the album, the mix seems to take away some of the bright-sparkle of the 1988 version.
The highlights for me are:
Dogs of War
One Slip
Yet Another Movie
Sorrow (the masterpiece)
Though the album flow does get disjointed with the unnecessary A New Machine Parts 1 & 2. I'm still confused by them to this day.
The problem with most people - and I'm sorry, but I have to include you in that group - was their own expectations. Although they may have consciously accepted the fact that this is a different Pink Floyd, deep down, they were hoping for something more Waters-esque. As for myself, a man now 65 years old, who also plays guitar, loves the "old" Pink Floyd but also loves all music - including 80's - except most country and techno-pop-dance-clap-trap - I loved it and though that it was worth waiting for. No comparison to the Final Cut, which I felt was just a contract-fulfillment album. You could tell that their hearts weren't in it, even Waters'. MLoR? Right from the opening, you could hear the difference that musicians who love music make to the sound.
When I first heard this album, I knew nothing about the squabble between Roger W and the others, so my opinion of it wasn't shaped by that or by who was or wasn't on it. I just didn't like it, and that probably shaped my perspective on the squabble when I DID learn of it.
So... it's decades later and I'm still not a great fan of this album, but "Learning to Fly" is a really good song, "Terminal Frost" is quite a good instrumental, "On the Turning Away" and "One Slip" are good, and "Sorrow" is okay and Gilmour plays great guitar as usual. And...um.... the sax solo in "Dogs of War" is good. Pity about the song, though.
Too much of the album is a bit dull, and the '80s production doesn't help. Although Roger's album of 1987 was no better in that respect.
I just felt like giving AMLOR another lister earlier this day and honestly, it just clicked to me, i love Signs of life and Terminal frost
This review makes me love this album even more
At least half of the 2nd half of the album relates to Roger Zelazny’s sci fi novel ‘For A Breath I Tarry’. The protagonist is a sentient computer terminal called *Frost*.
‘A New Machine’ et al , even ‘Sorrow’ &’Yet Another Movie’ can be interpreted as *Frost*’s seeking to define humanity, following the demise of humans.
The 2019 version is awesome. Nick fixed the drums
Also, JT. This album is very similar to Bowie's album Never Let Me Down (released from the very same year).
Excellent video about a sadly underappreciated album. I came to love it later on, but I'd just sort of liked it at first. Speaking of love, I picked up a 45 RPM half-speed master of the vinyl for this record, not sure when, but would that be the 2019 remix you referred to a few times? It's making me want to go back and hear it again - perhaps tonight - that is, if I can get my roommate to stop talking long enough😅😅😅😅
This album is a MASTERPIECE
I have legit watched this video numerous times
It’s just so in depth and amazing man
I really enjoy your content a lot
I’ve really been digging into this album A Lot
I bought it remastered the original and the remixed version all on vinyl
And also bought the Cd/DVD box set
Can’t get enough of this album
Don’t get me wrong I’ll say it now
I love there older and newer stuff
All of it actually
Umm maybe except for The Final Cut
Someone did a good 1 hour loop of Terminal frost that you can find on youtube. I have loved this track and often put that video on when sitting at the computer for background. I enjoy these reviews. Unlike some others, you can tell he's a fan and spent some time in the "deep waters".
Thank you!
Fun fact, JT.
(This is from MictheSnare's entire discography review from Pink Floyd, by the way).
Apparently, Bob Ezrin wanted David to rap and I think he also wanted to include hip-hop into this record, if my memory serves me correct.
I think that was with the division bell but notheless pink floyd rapping would've been insanely hilarious xD
I went into A Momentary Lapse of Reason with an open mind and was eager to see this iteration of Pink Floyd, sans Roger Waters. I think their biggest mistake was trying to copy that "concept album" format that Roger Waters drove into the ground and made it bombastic. They should have went back to their roots and made trippy head music from that period of Saucerful Of Secrets to Meddle and discarded any sort "concept" to link the songs. The album has several cringeworthy moments and tries too hard to recapture that sound of that previous era. Learning to Fly is a passable song but the lyrics can be very clunky and don't flow as smoothly as they should. The only two tracks that stand out for me are Dogs of War and On The Turning Away. The former I've always interpreted as the war between the bandmates and the "dogs of war" are their respective lawyers. I had this idea for a video in which it replicates the photoshoot for the Animals album cover when the inflatable pig breaks from its tethers and floats free above England, intercut with animation segments of lawyers transforming into wolves, as well as the band performing on stage, the rogue pig finding its way into the stadium. It's nice to hear them play a hard rocking song, especially after The Final Cut. I've never attributed any overall "theme". The rest of the tracks are pretty forgettable. I cannot recall the last time I listened to the album from beginning to end without skipping tracks.
I love their stuff after waters as much as before so clearly he wasn’t the only driving force
Poppycock, if I remember right it was one of the biggest tours, and take it for what it is, it was great for a new generation getting into Floyd
Just finished this one. Thus concluding my tour of the discography (not necessarily in order). Kinda bummed 😕
The four songs you listed as worth listening to are all quite good.
If you are a Pink Floyd fan and have not listened to the album "The Division Bell", I highly recommend it.
The Revision Hell...yawn. zzzzzzzzz.
ok i absolutely love this record. its the one that got me into them. I dont think its too 80s, (and its way less 80s than if we could have had if roger stayed on and made radio kaos a pink floyd record). i also love gilmour's writing, some of which are my favourite of all time. The Clarkson quote "this is brilliant, but i like this" applies to these final 3 records. The final 3 albums are definitely not the best, but i cant help but have them on repeat. Sorrow is also up there with their very best music
Have you checked out the 2021 Remixed and updated version of this album?
Scottie Page is the best!
I've never seen anyone do a deep dive of "Yet Another Movie" but the lyrics lean into themes of sexual assault, cultural apathy, and sociopathy with very little ambiguity. I don't know if guys don't pick up as fast on that message or if it's just uncomfortable to confront so people blow it off/pass it over, but i don't see what else it could honestly be about.
my favorite song oat
@@benny_2049 It's got such a dark, looming 'tragic but inevitable' quality to it... the whole album seems plagued by sexual guilt or confusion... i can see why the album isn't a fave for popular fans of PF, but the lyrics on this album speak of more hardcore personal struggles than even the Wall does. Like 'sad intimacy.'
@Ingrid Fong-Daley the lyrics are so real...and the instruments are so ethereal, not space like or anything. but almost atmospheric...like every single instrument is surrounding you, almost overwhelming in a sense, but not really...kinda like the score of a film...lmao the name of the song is "yet another movie" and the lyrics are so real and can be interpreted so differently...I like to interpret the song like every person thinks their the Protagonist and main character of their own story kinda like movie characters "its just the same as all the rest" showing how everyone thinks their story is unique just like how every film tries to be unique...but in reality we're all the same...every person has yet another "unique" story...yet another movie
@@benny_2049 YES--the film score-y aspect is absolutely a part of it too... Great comment. :)
Great review again, as with tfc, this could be called a solo but through both releases i never heard either described as a solo, it wasnt till later that i heard them decribed as anything but a floyd album, although i am sure i heard gilmour say he eventually thought it needed more mason and wright to sound more like a floyd album, (cant remember where i heard that though), to me both are floyd albums but this one not as good, i look forward to hearing your take on tdb, i find it a bit of an improvement and an album i listen to much more than amlor,
Where can we find that interview with Scott Page? Thanks!!!
ua-cam.com/video/igFFYV178F4/v-deo.html
Learning to Fly and Sarrow are great Post Roger Songs from Pink Floyd.
I haven't been Team Roger for a long time. Never listen to his solo albums, used to love Final Cut but not so much anymore. But even today, with a bit more perspective and maturity, Momentary Lapse still sounds like Gilmour's attempt to keep Floyd in the public eye, take advantage of MTV's influence, and have a reason to go on tour for a couple years, make a sh!tzillion dollars, and maybe rub Roger's face in it all along the way. Props to those who enjoy it, but I never came around to it.
David steals the certain sound on Learning To Fly from Supertramp's Cannonball on 1985's Brother Where You Bound, which David played guitar on the title track, Brother Where You Bound. Just outstanding guitar work from David. Makes the song sound like a Floyd's song. Another stolen idea David used is the song Keeping Talking using Stephen Hawking voice but Roger Waters already used the computerized voice from his Radio KAOS album in 1988. I think David needs other people to get his inspiration from. But there's probably more guitarist's who get more inspiration from David's work.
Good and fair review. The 2019 edtition is slightly better but it is an "average" Floyd album. For me there are only three actual stand out tracks. Sorrow (although this has been taken to new heights as a live piece and the fact that David has played it about 300 times live and never played the same extended solo at the end twice is incredible), On The Turning Away, and whilst it;s far from their best prog song, the fact that they DID include an actual prog track with Yet Another Movie means I have a soft spot for it. Learnign TO Fly is a bit TOO poprock but it's still a decent tune, Dogs of War?. Great tune live again but it's a bit to "clever" for it's own good imo as a studio piece. Otherwise the albums is okay. As for the old arguement about Roger being Floyd? Rubbish. Bands become a success based on their SOUND more than anything else and that was something that Gilmour and Wright (and to a slightly lesser extent Nick) were responsible for. more than Roger. The claims that David can't write? again nonsense! he did fine in Early Floyd as a writer (provising the only decent studio track on Ummagumma imho) as well as with his first two solo albums. I believe that David deserves far more writing credits than he got from Dark Side through to The Wall and he knows it (Money and Sheep are the two main one... but there are others) so unfair writing credits were not going to happen on HIS watch, Hence his philosophy that if you contributed you get a credit.. so he gives Jon Carin a writing credit on Learning To Fly for instance. It's a looping 20 second syth piece, but as it's part of the published track?. He gets a credit! And while I'm not a huge fan of Polly Sampson she's absolutely fine as a lyricist. She's a former Times editor and succesfully published author.. To try and say she can't write lyrics is ludicrous. I reckon about 25% of the Rogerettes genuinely don't like Rogerless Floyd for valid reasons. The other 75% had made their minds up BEFORE even listening (if they even actually have) to any of the post Waters output from the band
Nah, this is a pretty good album. Not their best, but still good. One Slip is really nice. Sorrow, while sounding excruciatingly '80s, has a melancholic darkness to it that I like. On The Turning Away is a classic. As for people saying Roger Waters wrote all the lyrics and all the music and that the sales show it... Yeah, MLoR sold 20-30 times more than his best selling album.
I love this album, it's one of the few that I can listen to in all of my moods, it makes me happy and sad, filled with masterpieces, and I don't mind the 80s sound I hardly even notice it, 'learning to fly' is a masterpeice, and 'one slip' made its way to my top 10 PF songs, also this album is in my Top 5 PF albums, everyone expierences it different...
On the turning away is one of the most beautiful songs ever written by the Floyd. Team David no question.
Do you prefer this album over The Final Cut? I personally think The Final Cut doesn't even come close
I prefer Tfc.
@@doscwolny2221 Me too. It's much better, not neither are great.
I must totally disagree that either The Final Cut or Momentary Lapse are like solo albums. If you know their solo albums well, they sound and feel very different. Michael Kamen did great filling in the piano/synth are on The Final Cut and Bob Ezrin's input filled in the Roger Waters gaps on Momentary Lapse.
It’s a Gilmour solo album and that’s not bad.
If Wikipedia's track-by-track credits are correct I'd say, while I like the album (no complaints), it's false advertising to call it Pink Floyd - not because Roger is missing, but because Richard and Nick are.
Per the individual track credits, Richard is on just five songs and Nick is on just four. Worse still, of the four to which Nick contributes, he plays drums on just two (one where he is the only drummer and one where he is the second drummer). On the other two he contributes spoken-word vocals and percussion, respectively. No "sound effects" as per the album's main page (though if anyone has a source saying otherwise please advise). Awfully scant involvement for a supposed full-fledged member.
The honest thing for David to do would have been to do what Pete Townshend did with his 1989 album Iron Man: Release the album under his own name but credit the relevant individual tracks to the band; then tour with the band under the band's name.
Or, alternatively, run by and get notes from Richard on all or most of the percussion-related programing, sequencing, and effects (or better still involve him in their creation); take his feedback on board; and on the relevant tracks credit him with something along the lines of "drum patterns."
As mentioned Rick came in very late in the creation of the album. He had not been on The Final Cut and I think David and Nick went into this with the intention that Pink Floyd would just be a two-man operation (even if David did the lion's share of the work). It's why I consider the live versions to be closer in spirit to Pink Floyd as Nick and Rick are performing on every song (which does make a difference).
Thankfully The Division Bell was a return to form for Pink Floyd.
@@JTCurtisMusic Thanks for responding. I understand about Rick. It's more Nick drumming on two songs (just one as main drummer), and contributing spoken words and percussion to just two others, that causes me to charge the band with false advertising in crediting Momentary Lapse to Pink Floyd.
If David and Nick are the only band members, you can't use Nick this minimally and use "Pink Floyd" (again I'd change my view with evidence of Nick contributing "effects" to other tracks).
If you're not going to use Nick on more tracks (which they could have done by taking his input or oversight when using drum machine), credit the album to David with a "featuring Pink Floyd" on the songs where Nick meaningfully contributes.
A two-man band where one "member" does hardly anything is not a band but a solo artist.
Love this album very nostalgic
Division Bell is much better then momentary lapse for one reason and one reason only… HIGH FUCKIN HOPES!
Funny enough, I find On The Turning Away to be one of the few skippable PF dongs for me. I just think it sounds a bit too much like cheesy uplifting church music. But hey, I might be wrong. It has been easily over a year since the last time I listened to it, so I'll give it another spin.
Edit: I listened to it again, and I'll admit, it was better than I remember, but something about David's vocals and especially the choir that just rubs me wrong. I'm probably going to keep skipping the song, as with A New Machine parts 1 and 2.
To me a great album is defined as how much of it do you want to here live?
Could be Either in real concert by the artist, A concert by a tribute band or just in a fan fantasy playlist.
The fact is that most of A Momentary Lapse of Reason definitely delivers the live goods.
OK one maybe could live without A New Machine / Terminal Frost being in the live set and getting another classic or two instead. But that's about it.
Join me in the Delicate Sound of Thunder Review
@@JTCurtisMusic I saw the AMLOR tour in August 1988 at Maine Road Stadium Manchester (Manchester City's old ground) from the vantage point of the centre circle halfway line of the soccer pitch
But JT what about the solo on yet another movie? A cracker and you went easier on this than I thought you would. Great review
As I said even when you come to a song that’s not doing it for you, you can still go “Wow that’s a great guitar solo” and Yet Another Movie is no exception.
Very underrated album! I think Learning to Fly, Sorrow, and On the Turning Away are classics!
Excellent review, as always, though I wish you would have gone into more detail into your thoughts on the 2019 remix. Honestly, I prefer that version of the album the most, even above the admittedly amazing live album.
To be honest I was surprised they didn’t go further in the remix to give it a more organic sound. Most of the 80s MIDI textures are still very prevalent. I also feel like the songs were written and arranged for those sounds so it’s best just to listen to the original.
@@JTCurtisMusic well, okay, but... It's Rick Wright and Nick Mason being present in an album they previously weren't! I'd say that's more preferable to one where they aren't, surely?
@@madgreekreviews5933 In theory yes, but it just didn’t seem like it added much. It’s different on the live recordings where they are contributing the music in real time.
@@JTCurtisMusic while I agree the live album is still superior, I just can't go back to the original cd after the 2019 remix. Terminal Frost in particular and One Slip are vastly improved, the former now sounds like a complete instrumental whereas it didn't before and the latter is actually now an enjoyable tune, and even Signs of Life is significantly improved, too. I just find those little Wright touches to be immensely impressive.
Supposedly Yet Another Movie was a track initially written for The Final Cut by David (one of his very few ideas he submitted during the hell that was the albums production), but was rejected by Roger. Not sure how true that is though
I've heard that rumor but I can't really confirm it in any sources I've read either.
It may not be the best Pink Floyd album, but I prefer it over The Final Cut. The Final Cut lacks that Pink Floyd sound with Water’s ego taking over while Momentary Lapse of Reason returns to having great soundscapes while attempting to take the music in a new direction in an era without Waters.
This isn’t a Pink Floyd album for me. Not even cause of any side or politics but because I think it’s FAR removed from the sound Pink Floyd had developed over the years.
JT, im peoud kf you for covering rhis album. Your opinions were a lor more fair rhan rhat Jerk whose video you shared. As fimny as it was, i rhink he knew there ess littlenlogoc ro it! I have nore if sn appreciate for Learning To Fly (Bur I Ain't Got Wings, oops wrong LTF!) and On The Turning Away. I also liked thar look, almosr saying "Do i really have to review THIS album?!"
I once read a compelling post from about 20 years ago that reckoned ‘Learning To Fly’ has a dark alternate meaning.
& when you dig into the lyrics it starts to read like an insouciant homage to the writer’s imminent demise.
The way the pilot describes himself & the ✈️ condition would be alarming to any passenger. It was probably a solo flight anyway.
Their BEST album. This got me into Floyd. 1993, on Ops in Somalia. On my mates walkman. No I didn't have one. But by end of 93 I'd have a portable CD player and all Floyd albums on CD. Because of Momentary. Ironically a mate showed me Learning to fly on video tape when it 1st came out. Didn't grab me. Few years later....bang! I'm 52btw. Born 72.
My first group was Queen.
I think The works, Magic are their best albums. 7th Son is Maidens best so there is that.
Ironically the same mate showed me Can I play with madness. No response originally either. Go figure.
Love Momentary. Love division Bell. Love no Waters.
Love the wall, dark side, animals, final cut.
Love Radio Kaos. Heard a mate play it. Said who TF is that. Sounds like Floyd. Love Pro's n cons. Love amused to death.
There's some great albums out there. Momentary is very much right up there!
The idea there is no Floyd without Waters is ridiculous. Dark Side of the Moon was the band at its collective height. The Walk is Roger working through his Daddy issues. It is a great album, but Waters themes were wearing thin by Final Cut. I like this album. On the Turning Away is a great track. I've always loved Learning to Fly covered in all of its 80's "cheese" which is such an overly repeated complaint.
I got into Floyd through MLOR at the time, and it's David and Rick that make The Sound I like, no Roger - who was making total crap like Radio Krap - wasn't a minus for me. And Sorrow was just fantastic.
You did analyse it well, but forgot to put facts in their context. When this album came in 1987, it was the sound of the future, not the 80’s sound you’re talking about. Everybody, even myself was totally blown up by the sound, the production, the gear used (this was one of the first time we saw someone modulating his voice through a tube linked to his guitar….) You definitely need to take this part in consideration before telling that it « sounds 80’s ». Indeed, we were in 1987, then. Anyways, love your videos, and sub to your channel. Keep on the good work. I don’t agree with you all the time but your videos are well produced, and quite close to the truth. Chely. (45 yo, fan since I’m a little child)
Not by 1987. David Gilmour was already using a talk-box back in the 70s and Peter Frampton made it famous on Frampton comes alive in 1976. And DX7 keyboards were already well established on records by Prince, Tears for Fears, etc. I can see that in 1987 it was still seen as contemporary and cutting edge, but even David Gilmour himself said he felt they adapted the technology too enthusiastically, hence why they attempted to remix it years later. The Division Bell on the other hand has aged much better.