I have always vibed well with the David Gilmour era of Pink Floyd. While it was only 7 years (and 2 studio albums) long, and didn’t have much commercial success outside of the single “Learning to Fly”, it released fun albums that showed a creatively free band. They weren’t as depressing as The Final Cut, they weren’t as conceptually interesting as The Wall or Animals, and they were definitely no Wish You Were Here or Dark Side of the Moon, but they were fun.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason was released in 1987, two years after the departure of Roger Waters. They weren’t largely successful, but the live albums that spawned from this era were something else. Delicate Sound of Thunder, which was first released in 1988 and then again in 2020 as an expanded edition, is likely one of the best albums of live cuts that the band ever released (Fun fact: Delicate Sound of Thunder was the first album that was ever played in space.) Pulse, the collection of live songs from the Division Bell tour, was released in 1995, and Live at Knebworth from 1990 was released quite recently in April of 2021.
The release of these live and compilation albums, as well as the release of The Endless River in 2014, show that even though Pink Floyd as a band are over, Gilmour and Mason are just as involved in keeping the legacy of the band alive as ever.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the first Gilmour era release, was no where near as lyrically interesting as The Final Cut, but the music is arguably a step up from its predecessor. The guitar solo in On the Turning Away is possibly one of David’s best. Unfortunately, the album suffers from, not only fairly poor lyrics, but a lack of keyboardist Richard Wright, his absence also affecting The Final Cut. Thankfully, Gilmour would re-hire him in time for the Delicate Sound of Thunder tour, as well as the next album. Unfortunately, the album starts to peer out in quality with Side Two, apart from Yet Another Movie and Sorrow.
The Division Bell was released in 1994, and was the only Pink Floyd album to reach number one on the charts in most countries. The album spawned three singles; “Take It Back”, “High Hopes”, and “Keep Talking”. Take It Back is one of my favourites from The Division Bell, even though it sounds more like U2 than Pink Floyd. High Hopes is easily one of the greatest songs Pink Floyd ever recorded, and Keep Talking is a fine tune. Other great album cuts from here include What Do You Want From Me (a bluesier song), Poles Apart (an obvious dig at Waters), A Great Day For Freedom, Wearing the Inside Out (my favourite from the album), and Coming Back to Life (which contains a killer guitar solo from Sir Gilmour.) This album is possibly the stronger of the two, and is also, in my opinion, the best Pink Floyd album outside of the classic four from 1973-1979.
Overall, I would say this era was really great despite lukewarm reviews. David Gilmour might have been getting older, balder, and struggling lyrically, but he could still sing and rock on the guitar with the best of them. Rick Wright’s keyboards are as sharp as ever, and Nick’s drumming is exceptional. If you had asked me to pick between A Momentary Lapse of Reason and Roger Waters’s solo album, Radio KAOS (released in the same year), I would pick Momentary Lapse of Reason in a heartbeat. It was no 70s Pink Floyd, but it was still fine.
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