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"When all seemed finished, David Gilmour returns with “Luck And Strange”, where bittersweet emotion hints at a possible farewell, without certainty, but with great grace."
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4/5
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We left David Gilmour with “Rattle That Lock” in 2015, an album many thought would be the guitar master's last studio testimony. However, the pandemic shook up many certainties, including those of Gilmour himself. Faced with this unprecedented situation, the musician felt the imperative need to take up the musical mantle once again, as if to deliver a last stand. And this time, he placed his family even more at the heart of his new project. Polly Samson, his lifelong partner, is still in charge of the lyrics, his daughter Romany lends her crystalline voice while playing the harp, while his son Gabriel also invites himself on this deeply intimate album, entitled 'Luck And Strange'.
The very title of the album resonates with an emotional duality: a recognition of how lucky we are to still be alive, and a strange, almost disconcerting feeling of still being here, as if frozen in a temporal parenthesis. This album is thus an elegant synthesis, a summary of everything David Gilmour has been able to create and offer throughout his career. But it goes even further, confronting this gratitude with the shadow of an absence, that of Richard Wright, his musical brother-in-arms. Wright's spirit floats over several tracks on this opus, like a discreet but undeniable presence, an invisible force guiding Gilmour's fingers across his strings.
Uncertainty persists as to whether this album will really be the last - and it seems that every chord, every breath brings us closer to it. We feel it deeply in Gilmour's voice, now more veiled, more fragile, especially when pushed to its limits, as on the eponymous track. The discreet but benevolent backing vocals sometimes hide these weaknesses, but is this the heart of the work? No, the essential lies in that grace still intact, that unaltered gift of conveying emotion with a few subtle notes, of making the soul vibrate in a way that few can. His guitar playing, as delicate as ever, and his arrangements, as refined as ever, bear witness to an unbroken mastery.
“Luck And Strange” is packed with subtle references to his past. Echoes of “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” resonate in 'The Piper's Call', and the bittersweet ambience of 'A Single Spark' recalls at times that of the album “On An Island”. But this album is more than just a collection of memories and nostalgic tributes: it's also about the future, about sharing and passing on. A perfect illustration of this is the duet with his daughter Romany on 'Between Two Points' (introduced by the short harp instrumental 'Vita Brevis'), a Montgolfier Brothers cover. On this reworking, the dream pop is stripped bare to reveal a moment of pure emotion, where Romany's voice, full of grace and fragility, and David's guitar harmonize in spellbinding harmony.
Although the songs are built around a classic verse-chorus structure and the master's solo, this in no way detracts from the beauty of the whole. David Gilmour brings this musical chapter to a fitting close with 'Scattered', a masterly, progressive track capable of bringing tears to the eyes as it evokes a final reverence, a pending farewell. Every note, every breath seems imbued with a poignant intensity, as if this record represented the ultimate confession of a legendary artist. And to prolong the experience, David Gilmour even offers us a final bonus: a 15-minute jam version of 'Luck And Strange', a truly immersive invitation, a suspended moment that brings fans of the artist even closer.
Yes, this new album is not without its faults with a voice marked by the years and compositions sometimes in familiar territory. But that doesn't matter. “Luck And Strange” is a moving testament, the final offering of an exceptional career, a precious gift for all those sensitive to music where emotion reigns supreme. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Black Cat
02. Luck and Strange
 03. The Piper's Call
04. A Single Spark
05. Vita Brevis
06. Between Two Points
07. Dark and Velvet Nights
08. Sings
09. Scattered
LINEUP:
David Gilmour: Chant / Guitares
Adam Betts: Batterie / Invité
Gabriel Gilmour: Invité / Choeurs
Guy Pratt: Chant / Basse / Invité
Richard Wright: Claviers / Invité
Rob Gentry: Claviers / Invité
Roger Eno: Claviers / Invité
Romany Gilmour: Chant / Guitares / Invité
Steve DiStanislao: Batterie / Invité
Steve Gadd: Batterie / Invité
Tom Herbert: Basse / Invité
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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(6) COMMENT(S)
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N'étant d'aucune espèce d'objectivité concernant David Gilmour, je ne vais pas bouder mon plaisir...
Même si, effectivement, la voix du maître n'a plus la consistance de ses vertes années, est ce bien important ?
musicalement parlant, quel plaisir !!!! le jeu de guitare est toujours là et bien là dans cette oeuvre familiale et poétique dont je ne me lasse pas depuis que le facteur a eu la bonne idée de déposer le CD dans la boite.
alors oui, certes, aucune surprise dans ce nouvel opus mais c'est bien ce que l'on cherche quand on est fan absolu et inconditionnel depuis toujours...
je terminerai en souhaitant que DG nous régale encore et toujours, pour longtemps
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Un bel album, profond. Meilleur et plus cohérent que Rattle That Lock.
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À écouter parce que c’est Gilmour, mais dans l’ensemble, je trouve cet album paresseux et assez déprimant. Les icônes ne devraient pas s’exposer comme de simples mortels. C’est ce que fait pourtant Gilmour avec ce disque et, personnellement, je préfère garder intactes les émotions du passé, plutôt que de les voir se diluer dans une litanie sans relief. Heureusement que le solo de ‘Scattered’ nous redonne un peu, pendant deux petites minutes, de ce souffle épique qui fut jadis la marque de fabrique du guitariste. Pour le reste, Gilmour se "knopflerise" depuis bien trop longtemps maintenant.
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En espérant que Tony ait raison et qu'il puisse se rattraper en chroniquant le prochain qui lui est passé sous le nez...
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Superbe chronique... cela donne envie d'écouter le disque.
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READERS
4.5/5 (8 view(s))
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STAFF:
3.7/5 (9 view(s))
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