The Guitarist Of The Year: 17. Dave Gilmour
It might not have been the grand finale some were expecting, but 2014 saw one of the greatest guitarists wave goodbye to the most legendary of bands.
- Photo by Chris Boland / www.distantcloud.co.uk
The Endless River is Pink Floyd’s final chapter. It’s hard to take rock stars at their word in a world where Fleetwood Mac are friends again and holograms headline music festivals, but there has always been a sincerity to Dave Gilmour and Rogers Waters’ insistence that Floyd wouldn’t and will never be Floyd without keyboardist Richard Wright.
This last tribute to their fallen comrade comes from the oft-maligned Gilmour-era Pink Floyd, returning to the studio to touch up and transform hours of tape from the early-90s Division Bell sessions into one final album. The resulting record didn’t fundamentally alter anything; instead it offered serenely ambient echoes of years past and sounds gone by. Glorious glimmers of tone and sensuous unrestrained playing concerned with manipulating mood as opposed to grand rock theatrics. The Endless River sees Gilmour, Wright and Mason bathe in sonic waters of their own making.
Do not expect life-changing brilliance and The Endless River proves a fascinating delight; like an opportunity to glimpse the palette that produced a million masterpieces. It cannot take the place of an original artwork, but it offers something tangibly different, a peak behind the curtain and a chance to see those dazzling colours afresh.
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