David Gilmour - Luck and Strange (2024) (DSD128)

In the promotional lead-up to the release of Luck and Strange, David Gilmour made quite a big deal about bringing in Charlie Andrew (Alt-J, Wolf Alice) as a co-producer. Gilmour noted that the lack of deference that Andrew had for his storied career was exactly the sort of thing needed to free the proceedings from being beholden to legacy and to stay truer to the material itself. And yes, Andrew’s approach does appear to have loosened Gilmour up. Luck and Strange has the overall feel of a naturally inspired set of economical pop/rock tunes, harkening back to the casual perfectionism of Gilmour’s 1984 album About Face, except now the musical collaborators aren't Pete Townshend, Steve Winwood, and Jeff Porcaro, but instead are the guitar and singer/songwriter’s family (especially wife and co-lyricist Polly Samson, as well as his kids: Charlie, Romany, and Gabriel), along with Steve Gadd, Roger Eno, and others.

Despite Andrew’s relative youthfulness, Luck and Strange is also very much an album made by a septuagenarian who's been making music for more than 60 years. No, Gilmour's iconic voice and even-more-iconic guitar tone do not appear to be greatly reduced by age—the solo he rips into during "Scattered" easily puts any such concerns to bed—but the predominant lyrical focus and the overall tonal approach of Luck is mortality and nostalgia.

While some of the numbers are a bit on the nose with this ("Yes, I Have Ghosts," "The Piper's Call"), others more subtly evoke loss and legacy. "A Single Spark" recalls Gilmour's more indulgent post-Waters Pink Floyd moments, replete with choral backing, a majestic sonic sweep, and an epic guitar solo. Ultimately, it’s an intimate and personal song, with lyrics like "kick off my shoes, reach for my guitar" that show how one can deal with having fewer days ahead than behind. Even the "Original Barn Jam" version of the title track has its loose groove augmented by a sense of melancholy in both the tone and context (recorded in 2007, it features playing by the late Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, who passed in 2008). Still, Luck and Strange is a remarkably vibrant album, a bit removed from the stilted airlessness of Rattle That Lock and imbued with a sort of relaxed adventurousness that makes the lyrical subject matter a bit less of a bummer than it could have been. © Jason Ferguson

Tracklist
1 Black Cat
2 Luck and Strange
3 The Piper's Call
4 A Single Spark
5 Vita Brevis
6 Between Two Points
7 Dark and Velvet Nights
8 Sings
9 Scattered