Aging in black and white

There is every chance that most of the legends will still be alive rock'n'rolla to leave this world in a dignified and noble way. Which is to say, they will leave in style. Thus, one day, not so far away, the "rock culture" project will go down in history, in which we, the proud listeners, will have our own little place.

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One of the key chapters will certainly belong to the Pink Floyd group - when everything is added up, the conclusion will be that it is one of the most unusual mainstream group of all time, which mobilized millions with its constant theme of concern over the fate of the world and the little man in it. Their opus, full of high circulations, seems to us today as audio-literature, especially when listened to alongside today's hits that don't even bother to hold our attention anymore.

David Gilmour (b. 1946), guitarist of the aforementioned Pink Floyd, proved that this is so the other day, who released his fifth and almost certainly the best solo album - Luck and Strange (Sony). Do not doubt that it is already on the first place of the English charts, and rightly so, because this time the usual top production (Gilmour and Charlie Andrew) is completed with an emotional atmosphere that you cannot experience every day.

The secret of this record's success lies in the unexpected counterpoint between warmth and intimacy on the one hand, and coldness and alienation on the other. Intimacy is based on the fact that Luck and Strange family chronicle, and the lyrics were written by David's wife, the writer Polly Samson (a frequent author of verses on his publications), here painting the mutual relationship and aging of both partners, with notable guest roles of their children, especially embodied in the singing vocals of Romany Gilmour. Alienation is grounded in the sound that Pink Floyd created - a perfect description of the icy indifference of the reality we are all surrounded by, including this family. The tower of inner beauty of this plate was built on that unusual juxtaposition of hot and cold.

It's a real miracle that all this is being communicated to us by a character who, on previous solo albums, has not shown significant ambitions to change the world around him - certainly not like Roger Waters, his former closest collaborator, with whom he is currently in a bitter conflict. David Gilmour has long been satisfied with the fact that he is one of the most influential guitarists alive, and only in the 21st century did he begin to show a desire to make more meaningful records (On an Iceland 2006.i Rattle That Lock 2015). Still, at peace with himself, at the age of 78, Gilmour manages here with ease to be exactly what he seemed unable to do: an unpretentious living classic, who finally stepped into the role that belonged to him for a long time - that of a great artist who he can carefully express some of our deepest fears and perhaps offer us some grain of understanding.

Again there are long tracks that sound menacingly hellish and as a hint that everything will soon come crashing down on our heads. Again there are those recognizable sections full of melodies, which make each of his solos seem like a blues symphony. As trivial as it sounds, Gilmour still manages to create a sense of the guitar crying out for us.

This is especially true for the headline Luck and Strange, which recorded the last recording of Richard Wright at the keyboards, back in 2008, the deceased closest friend and comrade from Pink Floyd. It is the first composition of special importance on this album, because it hides the quintessence of this group's connection with the blues heritage, of which David is the main protagonist, and which is additionally highlighted by a bonus recording of the fourteen-minute session from which this thing originates. The Piper's Call it has that vintage guitar majesty we've come to expect from Gilmour (with a touching tribute to Syd Barrett); A Single Spark over the strings, he adds new electronic and string overlays, building a solemn atmosphere of glorifying man's struggle for survival; immediately after, a thumbnail Life is short dizzyingly quickly reminds us that everything that exists has an end.

In the sequel, we meet another song of special importance, the single Between Two Points, in which the worried young female voice of Romany Gilmour sums up all the bad life scenarios she has already encountered, forcing her to withdraw into herself to withstand the pressure of the aggressive arrogance of her surroundings. That moment of her self-awareness is miraculous and represents a kind of rounding off of David's career, who with this act leaves his daughter a legacy in the midst of a restless world (by the way, it is a cover of the old indie pop band The Montgolfier Brothers). The impression of passing the message from knee to knee is later enhanced by an excellent bonus folk song Yes, I Have Ghosts, in which she additionally excels. The rest of the album is filled with the voice of an old man who is still hoping, as in a dark, slightly cabaret song about an eternal breakup with his soulmate. Dark and Velvet Nights, thus illustrating our thesis that the most relevant music in 2024 is made mostly by girls and older men - both of whom the world still owes something to. Until the end Luck and Strange turns into a soothing love elegy on Sings i scattered, because this is after all mainstream rock product, made not to offend anyone's taste.

In its epic momentum equal to all those good moments from the Pink Floyd canon, since Gilmour began to color it decisively with his guitar in the seventies, Luck and Strange reconstructs the quietly depressing sentiment from which famous compositions are woven Breathe i Time from the masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon, here stretched over several chapters. As in the case of those two poems - it is clear that it is a convincing poem about the transience and fragility of existence, as it is once made. When David Gilmour, one of the last active greats of the golden age of rock music, gives us such an open insight into his aging, it inevitably sounds like a confirmation of some basic human truths.

His conclusion is understandable to everyone. To love and be loved for life, that's what it's all about, and nothing else.