So, with Tony Levin’s powerful bass in support, the rhythm section is in place, and is remarkably effective. David Gilmour launches into a superb solo that owes much to the urban blues of the likes of Muddy Waters. His guitar sound is dirty and very “roots,” and he seems to be playing his newly acquired white Steinberger, though it is impossible to identify it due to the quality of the digital recording. He is accompanied by Bill Payne’s B-3 in a brilliant keyboard passage, before the piece switches from a 12/8 time signature into more of a rock tempo, in 4/4. Now it is no longer Gilmour’s guitar that has the lead, but the incredible sax of Scott Page. Page would also go on to tour with the Floyd after the release of the album.
“The Dogs of War” ends with a final verse and chorus and a coda that gives Gilmour a chance to reply to Page’s sax, both in his vocal and on his guitar. Although Tom Scott is also credited on the sax, it is hard to verify this. (It is possible he did play a few lines of the piece.)
For Pink Floyd Addicts
The Dogs of War is also the title of a British movie by John Irvin starring Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger, released in 1980… which just happens to be a story about mercenaries…
One Slip
David Gilmour, Phil Manzanera / 5:09
Musicians
David Gilmour: vocals, vocal harmonies, electric rhythm and lead guitars, programming (?)
Richard Wright: keyboards (?)
Michael Landau: electric rhythm guitar
Tony Levin: bass, Chapman Stick
Jon Carin: keyboards
Bob Ezrin: keyboards, programming (?)
Jim Keltner: drums
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
“One Slip” is the most “Floydian” number on A Momentary Lapse of Reason, in terms of both its musical atmosphere and Gilmour’s voice, which takes us back to the great Meddle years. It is not by chance that it was a line from this song that was picked as the name of the band’s thirteenth album: One slip, and down the hole we fall/It seems to take no time at all/A momentary lapse of reason. “One Slip” was written by Gilmour with Phil Manzanera, ex-guitarist of Roxy Music and the band 801. In fact Gilmour made no bones about the fact that Manzanera, himself a true alchemist of progressive rock in the seventies, had the dominant role in this song: “Most of the music for “One Slip” came from him,” the guitarist acknowledged. “We spent a couple of days throwing ideas around and this was the one that fitted the album best.”36 The lyrics are somewhat idiosyncratic. “When Dave gets involved with different people and situations, it brings out different aspects of his personality,” Jon Carin observed. “Working with Phil Manzanera on ‘One Slip,’ he wrote lyrics that he might not have ordinarily written.”53
“A momentary lapse of reason”: to what does this refer? An encounter on the road to ruin, then the sensual embrace of two people burning with desire who didn’t want to remain alone as the year grew late. As a result of this nighttime embrace a child is born—at least that seems to be what is hinted at in the line: The moment slipped by and soon the seeds were sown. Hence the momentary lapse of reason/That binds a life for life.
“One Slip” first came out as the B-side of the “Learning to Fly” single, then as the A-side of the third single taken from A Momentary Lapse of Reason (with, depending on the country, “Terminal Frost” and/or “The Dogs of War” live on the B-side). It peaked at number 50 in the United Kingdom on June 25, 1988.
Production
“One Slip” starts with programmed percussion sounds similar to those of marimbas or kalimbas. While the song very much reflects the sounds of that time, including the heavy use of sequencers and samplers, it nevertheless retains its Pink Floyd flavor, even if the harmonies, composed in the main by Phil Manzanera, are rather uncharacteristic of the band. In the introduction, apart from the various sequences and keyboard layers, we hear some strange beeps, and eventually an alarm going off (at 0:33). We are hearing Andy Jackson, the sound engineer who set off the alarm on the Astoria. He confirmed as much: “It was me putting the wrong code number in to set it off.”141 This elicited a surprised reaction from a colleague when he heard it. “Strangely enough,” Jackson continued, “I had a friend who worked in another studio and they had exactly the same alarm system. And he said, ‘Oh, God that sound! I can’t believe you used that!’”141
After this alarm, the introduction resumes with a tom-tom break, punctuated by percussion contributions of various kinds, mainly from samples and drum machines, all of them kept on track by the ever-steady rhythm of a shaker. Then a guitar playing a rhythmic motif fades in (from 0:54). David Gilmour later stated that the highly talented Michael Landau played this introductory section. From the first verse, Gilmour is back in charge on his six-string, although it is hard to tell which guitar he is playing: his Steinberger or his Strat? According to Phil Taylor, Gilmour mainly used his “Red Strat” on the album. But the sounds are so laden with various effects that there is room for doubt. Nevertheless we can make out some distorted rhythmic parts, and a guitar repeating a formula that gives the impression of a programmed sequence (on the left of the stereo image). Gilmour, who is also on vocals, performs an excellent lead vocal, which he double-tracks and harmonizes, accompanied in the choruses by the four backing vocalists. On the drums is the excellent Jim Keltner (Carmine Appice having stated that he himself only played on “The Dogs of War”). The groove is very effective, and is supported by a whole host of percussion instruments, as well as by Tony Levin with his superb bass line. It is he, incidentally, who comes in after the first chorus, this time playing his incredible Chapman Stick, a type of guitar that can have between eight and twelve strings, invented in 1969 by Emmett Chapman. On this occasion, Levin mainly uses the low strings, lending the song a different feel from anything in the Floyd discography. He is accompanied by all kinds of percussion contributions, before being joined by Gilmour on the guitar with a rhythmic sequence played clean. After a brief, rather atmospheric break, we arrive at the verse, then comes a final chorus, before the piece finishes with Tony Levin on his Chapman Stick.
For Pink Floyd Addicts
Phil Manzanera is also a producer, with credits including Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy (1974) by Brian Eno and Fear (1974) by John Cale. He co-produced David Gilmour’s On an Island (2006), Live in Gdask, (2008), and Rattle That Lock (2015), and the Pink Floyd’s The Endless River (2014).
On The Turning Away
David Gilmour, Anthony Moore / 5:42
Musicians
David Gilmour: vocals, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitars, electric rhythm and lead guitars
Nick Mason: tambourine (?)
Richard Wright: keyboards, vocal harmonies
Jon Carin: keyboards
Tony Levin: bass
Jim Keltner: drums
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
A typically Gilmourian paradox. Having declared in interviews on several occasions that he (in contrast to Nick Mason) did not feel the same sense of political engagement as Roger Waters, David Gilmour—admittedly through the pen of Anthony Moore—now comes up with a full-blown protest song. “‘Turning Away’ is about the political situations in the world,” the composer explained in December 1987. “We have these rather right-wing conservative governments that don’t seem to care about many things other than looking after themselves.”149
He hopes for a new age that will draw attention to the nobodies of this world, the pale and downtrodden. A new age in which society will be profoundly transformed, a kind of cultural revolution, in which the fortunate ones will demonstrate understanding and compassion toward people who are suffering and alone. A new age in which hearts are no longer made of stone: it is a utopian world that is evoked in this song co-written by Gilmour and Moore, but the piece does deliver a message of hope. No more turning away from the coldness inside/Just a world that we all must share, Gilmour sings… And this humanist vision struck such a chord with him that he himself got involved in the writing of the lyrics: “‘Learning to Fly’ and ‘On the Turning Away’ were his [Anthony Moore’s] basic concepts,” Gilmour explained, “but, […] the last verses of those things completely steered it into a more positive thing, and I wrote the last verses of them.”150
“On the Turning Away” was the A-side of the second single taken from A Momentary Lapse of Reason (with a live version of “Run Like Hell” on the B-side), released on December 12, 1987. Five days later, the song charted at number 55 in the UK.
Production
“On the Turning Away” came as a surprise for Pink Floyd fans: it was the first time the band had ventured into the world of Celtic music. Obviously it is handled in a rock style, but the music has a strong Celtic feel to it. The piece opens with a swirling bass note played on the synthesizer (Roland Super JX?). Then, against this meditative background, the soft voice of David Gilmour is heard with a generous dose of long reverb. The effect nicely underlines the meaning of the lyrics. The message is clear; it is almost as if one is listening to a sermon. Further keyboard layers are added to the arrangement from the second verse, along with a strummed acoustic guitar played by Gilmour and a bass guitar played by Tony Levin. Flute and tambourine sounds join the accompaniment, before the arrival of the drums and some resonant sounds, adding fullness to the following verse. Everything seems to suggest that it is Jim Keltner on the drums, especially as he makes his entrance with a snare roll, a technique that Nick Mason admitted having given up on long ago! Rick Wright, who shares the keyboards with Jon Carin, is on vocal harmonies. The third verse is followed by a short instrumental bridge (from 2:03), in which Wright performs a superb accompaniment on the Hammond organ, while Gilmour plays a distorted rhythm pattern on the guitar (Steinberger or “Red Strat”?). Next we hear a brief intervention by Tony Levin on the fretless bass, probably his Music Man (at 2:35). For the last verse, Gilmour is supported by the four backing vocalists and Wright, and the song swells to an almost epic scale, enhanced by the Celtic color of the harmonies. He concludes the piece with an excellent guitar solo in his typical style, with flights of lyricism marked by very prominent delay and reverb, his playing as melodic and expressive as ever, involving the use of bends and the tremolo arm. Rick Wright later revealed that he had himself recorded a keyboard solo, but it was discarded at the mixing stage, “not because they didn’t like it, they just thought it didn’t fit,”64 he explained.
Yet Another Movie
David Gilmour, Patrick Leonard / 6:13
Musicians
David Gilmour: vocals, vocal harmonies, electric rhythm and lead guitars, keyboards (?), programming (?)
Nick Mason: drums
Pat Leonard: keyboards, programming
Tony Levin: bass
Jim Keltner: drums
Steve Forman: percussion
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
One sound, one single sound/One kiss, one single kiss… David Gilmour commented that it was hard to explain “Yet Another Movie” and that it represented “a more surrealistic effort than anything [he had] attempted to do before.”36 It seems that the narrator is in the middle of a dream in which strange visions pass before him in turn: A face outside the window pane […] A man who ran, a child who cried, or A man in black on a snow white horse and The sea of faces, eyes upraised; or the scene that inspired Storm Thorgerson when he was designing the sleeve artwork: The sun that burned a fiery red/The vision of an empty bed. The words, like the music, seem to have no other purpose than to convey strange impressions, allowing listeners to form their own story. Which may be the thinking behind the song’s title. This is the only track on the album that David Gilmour co-wrote with Pat Leonard.
Production
“Yet Another Movie” is undoubtedly one of the successes of the album. The arrangements are complex and detailed, but it is all to the benefit of the song. The introduction essentially consists of alternating bursts of synthesizer/percussion and silence, the sound shaped by various effects and samples, and the whole thing drenched in deep reverb. Fifty seconds pass before a first harmonic layer is heard. A magnificent rhythmic section involving the bass and drums carries the piece into a more jazz-rock phase in which the sounds of distorted guitars, digital keyboards, voice samples, and various effects all mingle together. We even hear snippets of dialogue taken (it seems) from the 1954 Elia Kazan movie, On the Waterfront, with the voice of Marlon Brando (from 1:10 onward). The drum part has the distinction of being played by two drummers and a percussionist simultaneously, as Nick Mason related: “On ‘Yet Another Movie,’ all three of us played together—the percussionist [Steve Forman], Jim Keltner, and me. We drummed in unison but, at other times, I kept the rhythm whilst the others played fills.”64 For the verses, David Gilmour sings and harmonizes with himself in a low register, with the resulting effect resembling that of a harmonizer. After the second verse, he embarks on a searing solo, the sound and the delays recalling the Meddle or Dark Side era. Then come two more verses, and again, Gilmour lets it rip with (presumably) his “Red Strat.” This is arguably the best solo on the album; the sound is distorted, probably by his Big Muff, as it is a warmer effect than if he were using his overdrives. In contrast to other guitar soloists of the time, whose principal aim seemed to be to cram in as many notes as possible in record time, Gilmour stuck to lines that were less technical (having said that…), but all the more profound and dazzling. It is a sound that combines rock and space rock, the delay and reverb taking the notes to ethereal heights! Following the last two verses, in which a delay with very pronounced feedback is applied to his voice, he takes a final solo, a slide solo this time, calling to mind a second time the sound of the albums of the early seventies. Another movie sound bite is audible in the background (from 5:17), this time from Casablanca (1942), the all-time Hollywood class
ic by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. “Yet Another Movie” then concludes with a key change announcing the next track, “Round and Around.”
Pink Floyd All the Songs Page 69
