Shine on....

Unless you just met me you know I'm a huge fan of the Floyd. So it should be no surprise that I was looking forward to the release (finally) of David Gilmour's concert DVD from the show he did in the Royal Albert Hall.

The concert starts off with a trio of tunes from Dark Side of the Moon, then David tells the crowd that he's going to play the entire album On an Island, his latest solo effort. Crosby and Nash are there to lend backup vocals just like on the album. I have to say, David's getting sentimental in his old age, the songs centred around friendships, love and appreciating the good things in life. He still has a few licks left in him though.

The second part of the concert was even better in my opinion. Shine On was a highlight but what did it for me was the first live performance of Echoes I've seen since the old Pompeii video. Although it was shortened a bit to save time (the original piece is over 23 minutes long), Gilmour and Wright did a superb job of recreating the dynamic range of the song, even ending the song on an intimate note.

In the end, I really enjoyed this performance, which had elements of raunchy, Pink Floyd styled rock at one end of the spectrum and quiet, David Gilmour solo stylings at the other end. It's not The Floyd reformed - but it's the next best thing. With guests! Like David Bowie.....