David Gilmour soars on his exquisitely composed, if ultimately undemanding, debut solo album.

“As a guitarist, he has few peers, but as a songwriter, he’s no Roger Waters”: David Gilmour soars on his exquisitely composed, if ultimately undemanding, debut solo album.
David Gilmour’s self-titled solo album, which was released between Animals and The Wall by Pink Floyd, set the stage for subsequent albums.

Pink Floyd fans are most fond of David Gilmour’s self-titled debut solo album, primarily because it is the record that most resembles Floyd, along with 2006’s On An Island.

In the quiet period after the band’s In The Flesh tour, the album was recorded at Super Bear in Nice, France, the same studio where his great Floyd friend Richard Wright produced his first solo, Wet Dream.

With Rick Wills (bass), Willie Wilson (drums), and Gilmour’s pre-Floyd band Jokers Wild on board, one of the songs that didn’t make the final cut turned out to be Comfortably Numb, while Short and Sweet, which was co-written with Roy Harper, has a lot of similarities to Run Like Hell.

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“Numbers of note include Cry From the Street, with its fully rocked-out conclusion, the sweetly sad So Far Away, one of his best vocal showcases, and the concluding I Can’t Breathe Anymore, capturing the recurrent Pink Floyd theme of isolation quite well. While one would be hard-pressed to hum a memorable melody outside of There’s No Way Out of Here, it’s still a good enough experience for those who enjoy his work.” (AllMusic)

“Generally speaking, guitarists turn out to be middling singers with a penchant for instrumentals and some facility for more concise songwriting… As latter-day Pink Floyd fans can tell you, Gilmour has a good voice and does a passable Roger Waters impression. As a guitarist he has few peers, but as a songwriter he’s no Roger Waters.” (Progography)

“David Gilmour’s self-titled first solo album was, without a doubt, the best one he did. While not always the most innovative member of the Floyd in terms of composing (lyrics and music), he does do a quality job here of making a rock album. Like any work written solely by Gilmour, this album relies on traditional chord structures and styles. The lyrics are also pretty ordinary, not always even seeming personal to him (guy wants girl, guy can’t have girl), although occasionally with some interesting wordplay.” (Classic Rock Review)