X2 David Gilmour/About Face

Anyone who takes delight in the singular guitar stylings heard in post-Barrett Pink Floyd, and wishes to eschew the group's heavy lyrical angst, will certainly enjoy David Gilmour's initial solo foray from 1978, the year following PF's Animals. Right off in the initial cut, a simple extended instrumental titled "Mihalis", are heard those marvelous, dream-laden chords put to a simple beat before branching out into a diverse working of Gilmour's signature guitar sound. The following tune, "There's No Way Out of Here", received some extensive radio airplay in certain quarters -- it's certainly a decent enough tune in the Floyd mold replete with female choral backing. "Cry from the Street" develops as a fairly mundane blues, also in the Floyd mold, before jumping headlong into a tasty coda. "So Far Away" is a soaring ballad. In "Short and Sweet", an otherwise unexceptional tune, are first heard those familiar chords so memorably proffered a year later in the refrain of PF's "Run Like Hell" from The Wall. "Raise My Rent" is another dreamy instrumental blues styling. "No Way" is often taken as a statement on the state of Pink Floyd at the time -- I wouldn't know, but it again attaches a dreamy blues and Gilmour's soft-core voice to a Floydian arrangement. In "Deafinitely", Gilmour goes techno in an instrumental dialogue between his guitar and a howling synth. "I Can't Breathe Anymore" begins as a beautiful ballad before the guitar takes flight in bringing the album to a satisfying close. The re-mastered sound is exemplary.About Face from 1984, co-produced by Bob Ezrin, gives us much more elaborate arrangements and diverse stylings than Gilmour's eponymous first solo outing. The opener "Until We Sleep", a fan favorite on tour, is also a personal favorite along with the funky brass-infused "Blue Light". "Murder" begins as a poignant, movingly sung ballad before exploding into a vocal and guitar workout. "Love on the Air" and "Out of the Blue" are mostly delightful tunes. Gilmour grabs Pete Townshend's lyric in "All Lovers Are Deranged" and gives us a powerfully compact, straight-ahead rocker that displays an edge in his voice rarely heard. Elsewhere, the tunes are mostly variable and the lyrics often inscrutable. The closing tunes, two ballads, are disappointingly innocuous. However, despite some bombast and indulgence, good musical taste often prevails throughout the album. Again, the remastered sound from Columbia is excellent, more vivid than my LP.

This is a nice cheap way to get the first two albums from David Gilmour. As a fan of Pink Floyd I got this and I hear elements of them in his solo music. I found many of the songs interesting with Until We Sleep and All Lovers Are Deranged among the best. Pink Floyd fans should find plenty here to enjoy these albums.

presumably remastered also, this repackaging of David Gilmours first 2 solo CD's is a great buy!While Pink Floyd fans have mixed emotions about the band members separating, it is always enlightening to hear the individual members solo works, and gain a sense of what each one brought to the collaboration!

Backtracking my catalog to include Mr. Gilmour's releases before "On An Island" The two albums show the independent nature of Gilmour, as well as highlight his distinctive guitar playing. While both sound dated compared to Island, they are solid and stand up well.

Not bad for a first 2 efforts. First one is better. Not even close to On an Island or the live discs he has been making. Hoping for 1 more studio effort. One of the best R and R guitarists.

I had to replace a LOT of my music after my kids made off with most...I took it as a compliment, as they too have good taste in important rock music!

Good Band...Good Music!

I love Gilmour's work. This is great stuff. Not as well known as his Pink Floyd work but really good. And the price is right

Even better than I remembered.

If you are a fan of Pink Floyd, then you need these two CD,s to complete your collection.As normal for David Gilmour these songs are just total genius.

Awesome!! Everything just great; thanks a million!!

旧譜のセットものにありがちな、チープな「紙ジャケもどき」ではなく、普通の単品ＣＤの2枚セットです。　ブックレットもしっかり付いています。　「ABOUT FACE」には歌詞が掲載されていますが、「DAVID GILMOUR」には歌詞は掲載されていません。　クレジットを見る限り、リマスターではないようです。（僕はオリジナルを持っていないので聴き比べはできませんが。）　それぞれ単品ではリマスター盤がリリースされているので、ご所望の方はそちらをどうぞ。　音楽性はどちらも、近作「ON AN ISLAND」ほどのPFっぽさはありません（むしろまったく趣が異なる曲が多い）が、時折見せる「あのトーン」は紛れもなくギルモアです。　僕のように、超マニアックなPFあるいはギルモア・ファンでなくとも、普遍的な大人の音楽として十分に楽しめる内容です。

Fast service items as expected. Gilmour awesome.