David Gilmour | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 26 May 1978 | |||
Recorded | February–March 1978 | |||
Studio | Super Bear Studios, Nice, France | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:19 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | David Gilmour | |||
David Gilmour chronology | ||||
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Singles from David Gilmour | ||||
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David Gilmour is the debut solo studio album by Pink Floyd guitarist and co-lead vocalist David Gilmour, released on 26 May 1978. [2] The album reached number 17 in the UK [3] and number 29 on the Billboard US album charts; it was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA. The album was produced by Gilmour, and consists mostly of blues and guitar-oriented rock songs, except for the piano-dominated ballad "So Far Away".
The tracks used for the album were recorded between February and March 1978 with engineer John Etchells at Super Bear Studios in France. [4] They were then mixed at the same studio by Nick Griffiths. Session musicians included bass guitarist Rick Wills and drummer Willie Wilson, both of whom used to be part of Jokers Wild with Gilmour. [5] The album was recorded at the same studio where Pink Floyd bandmate Richard Wright had recorded his first solo album, Wet Dream just weeks before, though it would not be released till September 1978.
The album cover used for the first EMI pressings of the album LP was done by Hipgnosis and Gilmour and includes Gilmour, Rick Wills and Willie Wilson in the cover photo; Gilmour was credited on the cover for contributing "Keyboards, Vocals" though he was primarily a guitarist. The CBS/Columbia pressings (outside Europe) listed Gilmour as contributing "Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals". Among those depicted on the inner sleeve is Gilmour's then-wife, Ginger.
The album's only single was "There's No Way Out of Here." The single flopped in Europe, but became popular on album-oriented rock radio stations in the US.[ citation needed ] The song was originally recorded by the band Unicorn (as "No Way Out of Here") for their 1976 album Too Many Crooks (Harvest Records, US title Unicorn 2), which Gilmour produced. [6] [7] It was also recorded later by New Jersey stoner rock band Monster Magnet on their Monolithic Baby! album,[ citation needed ] and by Iron & Wine on his 2015 covers album Sing Into My Mouth.[ citation needed ]
One unused tune that was written and demoed at the time would later evolve, via collaboration with Roger Waters, into Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" from The Wall . [5] However, a song included on this album, the piano ballad "So Far Away", uses a chorus progression not unlike the chorus to "Comfortably Numb", albeit in a different key. [8]
Likewise, the song "Short and Sweet" can be seen as a musical precursor to "Run Like Hell" (also from The Wall), with its shifting chords over a D pedal point, using a flanged guitar in Drop D tuning. [9] "Short and Sweet" was written in collaboration with Roy Harper, who recorded a version, on which Gilmour played, for his 1980 album The Unknown Soldier . [5]
A five-song promotional film was made to promote the album. [5] The band comprised Gilmour himself on guitars and vocals plus the two musicians on the album (bass player Rick Wills and drummer Willie Wilson) plus David Gilmour's brother Mark on rhythm guitar and Ian McLagan on keyboards and performed "Mihalis", "There's No Way Out of Here", "So Far Away", "No Way", and "I Can't Breathe Anymore". [5] There were three female backing singers on "There's No Way Out of Here" and "So Far Away": Debbie Doss, Shirley Roden, and Carlena Williams. The promo was recorded live at The Roxy, London. [10]
Also, Gilmour promoted the album with his first ever interviews with North American media and FM rock radio stations. The promotion paid off as the album made a respectable showing on the Billboard album charts peaking at number 29, which - until 2006's On an Island - was Gilmour's highest charting solo album in the US, eventually going Gold.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
Tentative Reviews | [12] |
The album was released in the UK on 26 May 1978, [5] and in June 1978 in the US, on Harvest and Columbia respectively.
In an interview with Circus in 1978, Gilmour said: "This album [David Gilmour] was important to me in terms of self-respect. At first I didn't think my name was big enough to carry it. Being in a group for so long can be a bit claustrophobic, and I needed to step out from behind Pink Floyd's shadow."
All music composed by David Gilmour except "There's No Way Out of Here" written by Ken Baker. [5] All lyrics by Gilmour, except where noted.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mihalis" | [instrumental] | 5:46 |
2. | "There's No Way Out of Here" | Ken Baker | 5:08 |
3. | "Cry from the Street" | Gilmour, Electra Stuart | 5:13 |
4. | "So Far Away" | 5:50 | |
Total length: | 21:57 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
5. | "Short and Sweet" | Gilmour, Roy Harper [5] | 5:30 |
6. | "Raise My Rent" | [instrumental] | 5:33 |
7. | "No Way" | 5:32 | |
8. | "Deafinitely" | [instrumental] | 4:27 |
9. | "I Can't Breathe Anymore" | 3:04 | |
Total length: | 24:06 |
David Gilmour was re-released by EMI Records in Europe as a digitally remastered CD on 14 August 2006. [5] Legacy Recordings/Columbia Records released the remastered CD in the US and Canada on 12 September 2006. It features slightly extended versions of some of the tracks.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mihalis" | [instrumental] | 5:55 |
2. | "There's No Way Out of Here" | Ken Baker | 5:20 |
3. | "Cry from the Street" | Gilmour, Electra Stuart | 5:13 |
4. | "So Far Away" | 6:06 | |
5. | "Short and Sweet" | Gilmour, Roy Harper | 5:30 |
6. | "Raise My Rent" | [instrumental] | 5:47 |
7. | "No Way" | 6:12 | |
8. | "Deafinitely" | [instrumental] | 4:27 |
9. | "I Can't Breathe Anymore" | 3:43 | |
Total length: | 48:13 |
Chart | Peak Position |
---|---|
New Zealand Albums Chart [13] | 22 |
Swedish Albums Chart [14] | 20 |
UK Albums Chart [3] | 17 |
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape [15] | 29 |
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Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd is the fourth compilation album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 5 November 2001 by EMI internationally and a day later by Capitol Records in the United States. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart on 24 November 2001, with sales of 214,650 copies. It remained on the chart for 26 weeks. The album was certified gold, platinum and double platinum on 6 December 2001 in the US by the RIAA. It was certified triple platinum in the US on 8 January 2002, and quadruple platinum on 10 September 2007.
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Jokers Wild were a British rock band formed in Cambridge, England, in 1964. The group were active until 1967, and are best known for launching the career of guitarist David Gilmour, who went on to join Pink Floyd.
Broken China is the second and final solo album by Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, released on 7 October 1996.
"Arnold Layne" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. Released on 10 March 1967, it was the band's first single and was written by Syd Barrett.
"One Slip" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
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Willie Wilson is an English rock drummer, known for his work with Pink Floyd and his long-time association with their guitarist, David Gilmour.
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Carlena Williams was an American vocalist. Early in her career, she recorded under her name, Flora Williams, as an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. In the 1960s she released a few singles as Carlena Weaver. She later toured with rock group Pink Floyd as a backing vocalist. Williams sang with various artists, including The Carpenters, Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Etta James, David Gilmour, and Humble Pie. Williams was a member of Sunshine, Donna Summer's backing vocal group in the 1970s.
Unicorn were an English country rock band, notable for their association with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd from 1973.