Donny Gerrard (misspelled “Donnie” on the album) is a soul singer who started his career in the seventies in the band Skylark, based in Vancouver. Following a successful solo career, he became a highly respected session musician who played on numerous albums by international artists like Elton John, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, and many others.
John Helliwell (also misspelled, as “Halliwell,” on the sleeve) is the famous saxophonist from Supertramp. He got involved in parallel projects outside of his band on several occasions, including notably “Terminal Frost” on the Pink Floyd album.
Jim Keltner, another stand-in drummer, definitely ranks as one of the most respected drummers of his generation. His myriad collaborations included: George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Steely Dan, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Jack Bruce, and many more.
Darlene Koldenhoven is a singer with an impressive career. She worked on a great many projects, for instance with Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, REO Speedwagon, Ringo Starr, Lionel Richie, and Neil Young, to name but a few.
A session guitarist since the end of the seventies, Michael Landau had played with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor as well as Roger Daltrey and Miles Davis.
Pat Leonard, composer, producer, and keyboard specialist, is known for his work with Madonna on several of her records. He was also involved in numerous other recordings (notably for Carly Simon), and co-produced Bête Noire (1987) by Bryan Ferry. In 1992, he worked alongside Roger Waters on Amused to Death. After that he could be seen in the company of Fleetwood Mac, Julian Lennon, Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Marianne Faithfull, and others…
Tony Levin was one of the foremost bassists of the rock scene. A friend of producer Bob Ezrin, he took part in the recording of Berlin (1973) by Lou Reed, before working on several albums for Alice Cooper and Peter Gabriel (becoming his official bassist on Peter Gabriel (1977) and thereafter). He even played on Double Fantasy (1980) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, before he hooked up with Pink Floyd. At that stage Levin had already become part of the King Crimson lineup. He would go on to record with the quartet Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (eponymous, 1989), Yes (Union, 1991), and Liquid Tension Experiment (from 1998 onward), confirming his preeminence on the prog scene.
Originally known for accompanying the stars of easy listening music, like Barry Manilow, onstage, the saxophonist Scott Page joined Supertramp in 1983 for its “Famous Last Words Tour,” before recording Free as a Bird (1987) with them. He then went on tour with Toto, and not long after, David Gilmour persuaded him to take part in the recording of “The Dogs of War,” followed by the tour to promote A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
Bill Payne was a big-name pianist-organist on the blues-rock scene, known principally for his role within the band Little Feat (with Lowell George). He also deployed his talents in the service of some of the most famous names in folk rock and American rock, such as J. J. Cale, the Doobie Brothers, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor.
Having written countless songs for other artists, the soul singer Phyllis St. James was involved in numerous recordings, notably for Randy Crawford, the Bee Gees, the Jackson Five, and Billy Preston, among many others.
Tom Scott is a studio musician of international stature, a saxophonist extraordinaire who played with Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Donovan, Steppenwolf, George Harrison, Joan Baez, and Steely Dan, to name but a few.
Carmen Twillie, the actress and session singer, is credited on numerous albums by Elton John, as well as Cat Stevens, Julian Lennon, Rod Stewart, B. B. King, and The Brian Setzer Orchestra, among many others.
For Pink Floyd Addicts
Rick Wright did not become a member of Pink Floyd again for the recording of A Momentary Lapse of Reason. He was paid a weekly salary of $11,000 as an ordinary employee.
For Pink Floyd Addicts
Pink Floyd’s thirteenth studio album had a succession of names, Signs of Life, Of Promises Broken, and Delusion of Maturity, before the band finally settled on A Momentary Lapse of Reason, a phrase taken from the song “One Slip.”
Carole Pope, who had been approached to help with the writing of the album, later revealed that Gilmour and Ezrin had written a song about Roger Waters entitled “Peace Be with You.” “It’s odd that they didn’t release it,”140 she commented.
Signs Of Life
David Gilmour, Bob Ezrin / 4:22
Musicians
David Gilmour: electric lead guitar, synthesizers, programming
Rick Wright: Kurzweil
Nick Mason: voice
Tony Levin: bass (?)
Recorded
Astoria, Hampton: November 1986 to February 1987
Britannia Row Studios, Islington, London: February 1987
Mayfair Studios, Primrose Hill, London: February 1987
Audio International Studios, London: February 1987
A&M Studios, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
The Village Recorder, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
Can-Am Studios, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
Technical Team
Producers: David Gilmour, Bob Ezrin
Sound Engineer: Andy Jackson
Assistant Sound Engineers: Robert Hrycyna, Marc DeSisto, Stan Katayama, Jeff DeMorris
Genesis
It all begins with the sound of oars in the water—most likely the water of the river Thames. Then we hear indistinctly the voice of Nick Mason, who recites a few enigmatic phrases: When the childlike view of the world went, nothing replaced it [three times]. I do not like being asked to [three times]… Other people replaced it. Someone who knows. Nick Mason revealed that this sound effect of the boat gliding peacefully through the water was chosen because it was such a romantic sound.147 Maybe the water of the Thames is meant to represent the “first signs of life”…
Production
“Signs of Life” seems to mark a return to the atmospheric style of the Pink Floyd of the pre-Animals era. David Gilmour would later confirm this, saying that the track was in fact based on an old demo. “I had to re-record a lot of things, but the rhythm guitar chords in the background are from a demo from way back in ’78.”29
The piece starts in earnest after thirty-nine seconds of river sounds (recorded by Andy Jackson), as if the listener is invited to share in the enjoyment of the Astoria’s surroundings. A layer of synthesizer (Kurzweil?) fades in, conjuring up a dreamlike ambiance. There is an accompanying melody, the sound of a glockenspiel rings out, a (synthesized) bass comes in from time to time, and the voice of Nick Mason pronounces the cryptic words against a background of a robotic sequence sounding very much like a VCS3. The melody comes more to the fore; other layers intensify the harmony. It is rather in the style of Brian Eno. Gilmour’s “Red Strat,” played clean and directly into the console, announces the second part of the piece (at 2:37). Here the general tone recalls the introduction to “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 1)” (Wish You Were Here). Gilmour plays on, introducing harmonics and a melodic motif curiously reminiscent of the introduction to “Roundabout” by Yes on their album Fragile (1971). Each of his lines is repeated by a whistling sound played on the synthesizer. He continues in this way until the end of the piece; his phrasing and the sound of his “Red Strat” (which came with two Boss pedals, a CS-2 for compression and a CE-2 for chorus) recall his bluesy improvisations in the first part of “Shine On.”
For Pink Floyd Addicts
In the video for “Signs of Life,” the man seen rowing is Langley Iddins, the caretaker of the Astoria, David Gilmour’s houseboat studio. He is rowing through Grantchester Meadows.
The atmosphere on “Signs of Life” bears some similarity to the Japanese musician Kitarō, whose work is greatly influenced by the sounds of nature. His score for the Oliver Stone movie Heaven & Earth (1993) earned him a Golden Globe.
Learning To Fly
David Gilmour, Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin, Jon Carin / 4:53
Musicians
David Gilmour: vocals, voc
al harmonies, electric rhythm and lead guitars, programming (?)
Nick Mason: vocals
Rick Wright: keyboards, vocal harmonies (?)
Bob Ezrin: percussion (programming) (?)
Jon Carin: keyboards
Tony Levin: bass
Steve Forman: percussion
Darlene Koldenhoven, Carmen Twillie, Phyllis St. James, Donny Gerrard: backing vocals
Recorded
Astoria, Hampton: November 1986 to February 1987
Britannia Row Studios, Islington, London: February 1987
Mayfair Studios, Primrose Hill, London: February 1987
Audio International Studios, London: February 1987
A&M Studios, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
The Village Recorder, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
Can-Am Studios, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
Technical Team
Producers: David Gilmour, Bob Ezrin
Sound Engineer: Andy Jackson
Assistant Sound Engineers: Robert Hrycyna, Marc DeSisto, Stan Katayama, Jeff DeMorris
Genesis
“Learning to Fly” came into being during the course of a jamming session involving David Gilmour and Jon Carin soon after they had appeared alongside Bryan Ferry at Wembley at the massive Live Aid charity concert on July 13, 1985. Gilmour had already produced a demo of the song. Jon Carin, who had joined Gilmour on the Astoria to do some impromptu recording, worked out the keyboard part while Gilmour was off picking someone up from the station. The lyrics were penned by Anthony Moore. “[It was inspired] by the fact that several mornings Anthony [Moore] would be there hard at work, and I wouldn’t show up. I’d call up and tell someone [that I was having a flying lesson] and they’d say, ‘Dave’s not coming in today ’cause he’s learning to fly.’ [That was] the starting point [for] something a bit wider.”148 So this song, in the literal sense, is about Gilmour’s new passion for flying, a hobby he shared with Nick Mason (the two of them later bought their own aircraft), which also enabled him for a time to escape his obligations as a rock star. There’s no sensation to compare with this/Suspended animation, a state of bliss, Gilmour sings. These lessons were also a way of overcoming fear. “We ended up sharing planes for a number of years, and frightening ourselves far more than we ever did on all those commercial flights,”5 Nick Mason admitted.
The song can be read on several levels, though. As Gilmour himself commented to Karl Dallas in 1995, this song symbolized both a new departure for the band and a new venture for him, now sole captain of the Pink Floyd spaceship since the split with Roger Waters: “Yeah, well, ‘Learning To Fly,’ from the spiritual aspect of it, is about Pink Floyd taking to their wings again, as well as me taking to my wings again, and all sorts of things. And learning to fly, of course, physically. So there’s a number of levels to that.”144 So this explains the lines No navigator to guide my way home/Unladen, empty and turned to stone, as the navigator, Roger Waters, has obviously now gone….
“Learning to Fly,” which was side A of the first single taken from A Momentary Lapse of Reason (with “Terminal Frost” on the B-side), released on September 14, 1987, only reached number 70 on the US Billboard chart, but made it to number 1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart.
Production
Of all the songs on the album, Nick Mason judged “Learning to Fly” to be the most faithful to the sound and spirit of Pink Floyd. However, the piece seems to have been formulated with radio in mind, more so than any other of the band’s titles. Right from the intro, a nonchalant yet very effective rhythm pattern establishes a groove that draws one in. Jon Carin suggested that the rhythm was probably influenced by Steve Jansen and Yukihiro Takahashi. The drum kit composition and programming are quite complex and hard to pin down. It could be a combination of drum kit samples probably played by Jim Keltner, drum machines apparently programmed by David Gilmour and Bob Ezrin (LinnDrum? Linn 9000? E-mu SP 1200?), and Simmons drums. Percussion was added by Steve Forman, such as the tambourine that can be heard throughout the piece. On the bass is the excellent Tony Levin, who does a good job of supporting and energizing the groove. As far as the keyboards, shared between Jon Carin and Rick Wright, are concerned, again it is difficult to distinguish the numerous different parts, most of them played on either the Kurzweil K250 or an electric piano. On the lead vocal is David Gilmour, his first time back in this role since The Wall (apart from on “Not Now John” on The Final Cut), and although its timbre is immediately recognizable, his voice is slightly drawling, which is surprising. On the choruses he is accompanied by Darlene Koldenhoven, Carmen Twillie, Phyllis St. James, and Donny Gerrard on backing vocals. It is possible that they are joined by Rick Wright, but it is more likely that he is supporting on vocal harmonies. After the second chorus, the piece moves into a long instrumental bridge (from 2:08), during which we hear the voice of Nick Mason in the cockpit of a plane, as he summons his courage: Friction lock—set/Mixture—rich/Propellers—fully forward/Flaps—set—ten degrees/Engine gauges and suction—check/Mixture set to maximum percent—recheck/Flight instruments… altimeters—check both/Beacon and navigation lights—on/Pitot Heater—on/Strobes—on/(to control tower:) Confirm three-eight-Echo ready for departure/(control tower:) Hello again, this is now 129.4/(to control tower:) 129.4. It’s to go./(control tower:) You may commence your takeoff, winds over 10 knots./(to control tower:) Three-eight-Echo/Easy on the brakes. Take it easy. It’s gonna roll this time./Just hand the power gradually, and it…
In the next verse, Gilmour’s voice is drenched in reverb, with a powerful phasing effect added. In the background we hear the sound of the wind. As for the guitar, it is his “Red Strat” we hear, the sound distorted by the overdrive on his Gallien-Krueger amp, compressed by his Boss CS-2, and enriched by the stereo chorus of his Yamaha SPX90. He plays a rhythm part, but also an intoxicating riff that first appears in the intro and is repeated at points throughout the piece. There are several exceptional solos, notably after the first chorus (at 1:12), in the middle section, and in the coda (from 4:01 onward).
“Learning to Fly,” the first song in the band’s history without Roger Waters’s input, is a very good track with much to like about it. The Waters touch is lacking, though, and one can’t help drawing comparisons. David Gilmour comes across as not totally confident in his lead vocal, but the outcome proves he is up to the challenge. The only real disappointment is that the overall sound is not as rich as in the past, and the mix is at times rather crowded despite all the technical possibilities offered by the digital equipment.
The video for “Learning to Fly” was produced by Storm Thorgerson in person. It was shot not far from Calgary (Alberta, Canada) during band rehearsals in the run-up to the tour. Thorgerson mixed in footage of the band performing live, as well as images of a Native American (portrayed by the actor Lawrence Bayne). The video was named “Best Concept Video” at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1988.
The Dogs Of War
David Gilmour, Anthony Moore / 6:04
Musicians
David Gilmour: vocals, vocal harmonies, electric lead guitars
Tony Levin: bass
Scott Page: tenor saxophone
Tom Scott: saxophone (?)
Carmine Appice: drums, percussion (?)
Jon Carin: keyboards
Bill Payne: organ
Darlene Koldenhoven, Carmen Twillie, Phyllis St. James, Donny Gerrard: backing vocals
Recorded
Astoria, Hampton: November 1986 to February 1987
Britannia Row Studios, Islington, London: February 1987
Mayfair Studios, Primrose Hill, London: February 1987
Audio International Studios, London: February 1987
A&M Studios, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
The Village Recorder, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
Can-Am Studios, Los Angeles: February to March 1987
Technical Team
Producers: David Gilmour, Bob Ez
rin
Sound Engineer: Andy Jackson
Assistant Sound Engineer: Robert Hrycyna, Marc DeSisto, Stan Katayama, Jeff DeMorris
Genesis
David Gilmour has talked about how this song came about: “I had the idea [for a song] and explained it to Anthony [Moore] and he came up with the first draft of words; we chopped and changed it over quite a long time until it wound up as it is.”36 The music was then arrived at by an unconventional route, the musician admitted, involving a computer error and the accidental use of a laugh that had been sampled on one of his pieces of equipment. This third track provides little to smile about, however. The Gilmour-Moore collaboration takes as its theme the wars of the eighties, and specifically the mercenaries who would kill not for an ideology but simply for financial gain—men of hate/with no cause who for hard cash, […] will lie and deceive, Gilmour sings. This is undoubtedly the most politicized Pink Floyd song of the post-Waters era.
Production
So it is with the sample of a laugh that “The Dogs of War” begins: Gilmour had “a sample of someone laughing and accidentally played it.”36 But the sound one hears no longer bears much resemblance to the original sound, as Gilmour has reproduced it on his keyboard at a much lower pitch than the original, giving it a dark, sinister resonance: “In the background,” he said, “this laughter actually sounded like dogs yapping and the way I’d sung the demo also had elements of that long before we had that lyric.”36 The piece is principally built around cello sounds from the Kurzweil K250 and various interventions on the keyboards. Nightmarish percussion drenched in very deep reverb issues forth at regular intervals, heightening the song’s very oppressive atmosphere. When Gilmour takes the lead vocal, the contrast is quite striking: his rock voice rips right through the string arrangements and seems to offer a glimmer of hope in this bleak landscape. In contrast to the noticeable lack of presence in his performance on “Learning to Fly,” his singing on “The Dogs of War” is brimming with energy. It is a shame, however, that his voice is overprocessed, with too much delay and reverb added. The effects would have been more effective if they had been more subtle. He is accompanied, in the first chorus, by Darlene Koldenhoven, Carmen Twillie, Phyllis St. James, and Donny Gerrard on backing vocals, then, in the next chorus, by Bill Payne on the Hammond organ. The instrumental section that then follows enables the drums and the bass respectively to make their entry (from 2:59 onward). “I like ‘Dogs of War’ because it’s a great R&B track to play live,”36 Nick Mason revealed. One can see why if one listens to the performance on Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988). However, when it was recorded, it was not Mason on the drums but Carmine Appice, one of the most accomplished drummers on the rock scene, having played at various times with Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, and Jeff Beck. “I came home one day and there was a message on my machine from Bob Ezrin. He said, ‘Hey Carmine, I’m in the studio with Pink Floyd and there’s a track that’s just screaming for some Carmine fills.’ I called him back, I said, ‘Where’s Nick Mason?’ He said, ‘He’s here, but he’s a bit rusty and everybody wants a bit of a change, so they’re bringing in guest drummers.’ So I went down and did it, it was pretty wild. Nick was there. I said, ‘Why aren’t you playing?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ve been racing my cars, my calluses are soft… ’”147
Pink Floyd All the Songs Page 68
