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Review Summary: The heart of the 'Floyd is missing, so why in the world would you bring it back? When I say Pink Floyd, what do you think of? Dark Side of the Moon? The Wall? Roger Waters? LSD?
Certainly not A Momentary Lapse of Reason. At least I hope. Easily Pink Floyd's most lackluster album, if this is the album you think of when I say Pink Floyd, something's wrong with you. This album is just plainly desperate and completely mediocre. Is it the worst album ever written? No. Does it live up to Pink Floyd's reputation? No. But, this album shows you, despite all of Roger Waters' quirky obsessions and his control freak ego, he was Pink Floyd. Without Waters, Pink Floyd was just another mediocre synthesizer-led psychedelic act. What Roger Waters added to Pink Floyd is innumerable. Who else could have thought out the in-depth story behind The Wall other than Waters? Not many, at least. Not many bands can fuse their album into a successful movie, but the Floyd led by Waters sure isn't any other band. David Gilmour is certainly not the person who could think up an insane storyline like that, or write the Floyd's amazing albums like Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, etc. A Momentary Lapse of Reason is proof of this.
Is this album completely worthless? No, there's a few good songs littered about on here, like the first two tracks, Signs of Life and Learning to Fly. These two songs sound a lot like previous Floyd works, highly progressive, psychedelic, and are truly good tracks. The rest? Pretty bad keyboard/new wave 80s trash. This album should never have been released; all it did was ruin Pink Floyd's reputation. The album was desperate, pitiful, and felt rushed. It still feels like a 'Floyd album, but there's something missing. Gilmour tries his hardest to sing like Waters, some definite psychedelica and progressive influences are featured here, and there's some signs of natural maturation. The lyrics are still pretty deep and whack, so what's the issue?
The song Dogs of War defines all that is wrong with A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Starting off with some noises...almost from a horror movie, the song slowly builds until Gilmour belts out some overpowering vocals backed up by some ultimately cheesy and unnecessary organ noises emphasizing his vocals. The song is psychedelic, but at the end of the day, its just not up to par. The organ is unbearable, the rhythm is completely childish and immature, Gilmour's overpowering vocals are mindless and when I hear it, I think of him being the Wizard of Oz and being some almighty human being. This song, by itself, is what's wrong with this album. It tries so hard to be another epic Pink Floyd album-and almost makes it, but falls flat on its face, because everyone figures out that the album is so desperate, and "a pretty fair forgery" (Roger Waters) that everyone calls Gilmour's bluff before they even listen to the album.
Learning to Fly isn't that bad, and was deservingly the album's biggest hit. The song has a very deserving 'epic' feel about it, mostly lead by the use of keyboards, synthesizers, and Gilmour's subdued and echoing vocals. The chorus feels like some long-lost tragedy, and the lyrics have a deep, heartfelt response to the human urge to be able to fly. The song itself feels a bit out of place in Pink Floyd's catalogue and doesn't really fit the band's style, as it's heavy reliant on keyboards and synthesizers, but the song is still perfectly executed and spot-on. Learning to Fly is definately a diamond in the rough.
There's not much else to like on A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Sorrow is miserably bad as well, as the chorus sounds really strange, the song has a pretty bad hair metal vibe about it, and the beginning riff is way too heavy for traditional Floyd material. The album is just a badly executed release that comes close to hitting the mark, but has a bad curveball motion thrown in the rotation. The album is messy, unpredictable, a cheap rip-off of old Floyd material, and too heavy. That doesn't make a solid release, despite what David Gilmour wants to believe. There's a point where the band's heart is missing, and considering the band's former two masterminds, Syd Barrett and Roger Waters are missing, the band just isn't the same Pink Floyd we used to know. You can try your hardest to bring it back, but it will never be the same, and that's exactly the mistake Gilmour made; because while the album itself was a success commercially, many fans saw it as a pretentious sell-out, and the album stained the Floyd for life. Roger Waters said it all, "A pretty fair forgery, or a good copy.". That statement by itself may be pompous, but it tells the story in-depth of what A Momentary Lapse of Reason actually is.
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Album Rating: 2.5
yeah, I agree, this album was their worst. I remember buying this some years back and not listening to it for the second time for at least a year.
nice review btw. 
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I fixed some quirky wording issues, too.
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You are overrating Roger Waters, he only wrote the lines, the best music if from Gilmour and Wright. The thing with this album is that the time it was written was a bad time for most members.
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1. He wrote the lyrics.
2. He made in-depth stories for the albums.
3. He was a great vocalist.
4. He was a great lyricist.
5. He was Pink Floyd.
They didn't make anything good after Waters left.This Message Edited On 09.16.07
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yeah but when Waters was in pretty much total control of the band they also made an overall mediocre album. See: The Wall
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Didn't they fire Roger Waters?
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good review. i probably wont ever buy this album. i agree with most all the stuff you said except for this
Without Waters, Pink Floyd was just another mediocre synthesizer-led psychedelic act.
Gilmour was too creative as a guitarist for this to be true.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
They fired Roger Waters. There wasa big court battle. That's why you get this "Who Was Pink Floyd?" (or, "Which one's Pink?") controversy. Before they fired Waters though, Waters fired Richard Wright, the keyboardist. The Floyd reeased one album w/o Wright, The Final Cut. The Final Cut was an awesome album, but just as Momentary Lapse IS practically a David Gilmour solo album, the Final Cut was practically a Roger Waters solo album. Wright and Nick Mason were mostly angry with Waters and allowed Gilmour to release an album in which they only played on a few tracks, along with many studio musicians and occasionally a drum machine, which is unprecedented in the Floyd catalogue.
Compare Momentary to Gilmour's new solo album, On An Island; and The Final Cut to Waters' Pros and Cons of Hitchiking, and you'll find how indicative of each personality each record is.
As for who's Pink: It's Syd Barrett of course! lol. As for the best period without Syd though, there's no question that the Floyd did their best in the Dark Side era (DS, Wish You Were Here, Animals) in which Waters AND Gilmour had creative control; and in the era previous to the Dark Side era, in which all members collaborated.
If you want an albm in which you get all five members, try Syd Barrett's Madcap Laughs. They all play on his solo debut! They are also all present on the title track of A Saucerful of Secrets.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Sorry, should have used the soudoff feature there. But good review! I agree with its basic points, but I'll argue the details! (And sorry, but "Sorrow" is a beautiful track!This Message Edited On 09.16.07
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1. He wrote the lyrics.
2. He made in-depth stories for the albums.
3. He was a great vocalist.
4. He was a great lyricist.
5. He was Pink Floyd.
They didn't make anything good after Waters left.
1+2. If the albums had bad music they wouldn't be good, it is the keyboardwork of wright and the guitarwork of gilmour that makes PF what it is. Roger Waters did not even write all the bass lines.
3. He isn't a great vocalist, he has a nice voice though
4. True
5. Not true
The Devision Bell is great, better than The Final Cut I believe.
What makes PF for me is the great piano on The Great Gig in the Sky, the beautiful intro of Shine on You Crazy Diamond, the accoustics of Wish You Were Here, the pling in Echoes and all those beautiful moments. Not the lyrics it is the music, the feeling behind it.
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
You are overrating Roger Waters wayyyy too much. Yes he was the creative force for all their conceptual work, but the fact is, he didn't have the musical talent to pull it together. Just because he got most of the songwriting credits doesn't mean he didn't need the other members to string the songs together. And you could go either way with your argument. Pink Floyd couldn't make a decent album without Waters, and Waters couldn't make a decent album without Floyd. I think your review did too much Waters jock-riding, and not enough writing on the album itself.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
I don't think this album is that bad. It's just not up to the standards of alot of their previous stuff. As an album it itself, well, its ok. I like the first three tracks and On the Turning Away - if only because i hear it and think of the interpretation of it they did on PLUSE.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
This is an average album for PF, nothing more, nothing less. And PF made the Division Bell without Waters and that was a very good album. Surely they didn't need Waters to be a good band, but they needed him to be a great and timeless one.
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I like this more than the Division Bell. I guess I'm dumb.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
This album is underrated.
Learning to Fly is amazing.
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You are overrating Roger Waters wayyyy too much. Yes he was the creative force for all their conceptual work, but the fact is, he didn't have the musical talent to pull it together. Just because he got most of the songwriting credits doesn't mean he didn't need the other members to string the songs together. And you could go either way with your argument. Pink Floyd couldn't make a decent album without Waters, and Waters couldn't make a decent album without Floyd. I think your review did too much Waters jock-riding, and not enough writing on the album itself.
this is exactly what I was going to say
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Stop bombarding your reviews with rhetorical questions
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I feel it prudent to add - Take a look at the credits. Most of the tracks on Momentary Lapse and Division Bell have credits from people who are not even one of the hired studio musicians for the band.
These are credits for contributing lyrics writers. Samson, for instance is David Gilmour's girlfriend; Ezrin, the albums' producer. Thought it should be noted w all this lyrics hubbub.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
" As for the best period without Syd though, there's no question that the Floyd did their best in the Dark Side era (DS, Wish You Were Here, Animals) in which Waters AND Gilmour had creative control; and in the era previous to the Dark Side era, in which all members collaborated. "
Amen, dudeinthepassinglane.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Ehh I do agree you might have sweated Waters a bit much, but you are certainly right. While I do love Gilmour highly, this album is just a bad one. No heart. Its almost as if Gilmour tried too hard to make it a Pink Floyd record, but all of the members involved (besides the very little help he got from Mason and Wright) certainly werent living and breathing Floyd. I dunno, Im just very blah to this album. The Division Bell is quite alright, though.
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