Description
Pink Floyd – A Momentary Lapse Of Reason – 180 Gram Vinyl Record
Remastered from the original analogue tapes
Pink Floyd – A Momentary Lapse of Reason, released on September 7, 1987, marked a dramatic and controversial turning point in the band’s history. It was the first Pink Floyd studio album released without founding member Roger Waters, who had left the group amid deep personal and legal conflicts. As a result, this record is often seen as David Gilmour’s resurrection of the Pink Floyd name, steering the ship through uncharted waters—without the conceptual, often politically charged direction Waters had provided on previous albums like The Wall or Animals.
From the outset, A Momentary Lapse of Reason feels like an effort to reclaim the sonic identity of Pink Floyd, while also adapting to the slick, digital production values of the 1980s. The album is filled with lush synthesizers, gated drums, and atmospheric textures, reflecting both Gilmour’s aesthetic and the influence of contemporary studio trends. While it doesn’t aim for the narrative cohesion of Floyd’s classic concept albums, it delivers a moody, introspective soundscape that echoes themes of isolation, mental struggle, and the tension between technology and humanity.
The album opens with “Signs of Life,” an ambient instrumental piece that builds gradually—waves lapping, synthetic pulses rising—setting the tone for an album that seeks to reestablish mood and sonic grandeur. It leads directly into “Learning to Fly,” a soaring track that became a hit single and remains one of Gilmour’s most enduring post-Waters contributions. The song’s metaphor of flight as liberation could easily be read as a thinly veiled comment on his emancipation from Waters’ shadow, but it also reflects the album’s introspective undercurrent.
“The Dogs of War” stands out with its militaristic march and dark atmosphere, channeling some of the socio-political cynicism that Waters once specialized in, but with a more cinematic, less aggressive tone. “One Slip” and “On the Turning Away” are more melodic and reflective, the latter being a powerful ballad with social commentary about apathy and suffering. It’s arguably the most Floyd-like track on the record in terms of lyrical depth and emotional weight, driven by Gilmour’s passionate vocals and soaring guitar solos.
Tracks like “Sorrow” and “Yet Another Movie” delve into darker, more experimental territory. “Sorrow” in particular is a highlight, with its haunting opening guitar riff (recorded through a portable amp in a stadium for that cavernous echo) and its stark lyrics about spiritual desolation. The song is a showcase of Gilmour’s atmospheric guitar work, proving that while he may not have been the band’s primary lyricist in the past, he could still deliver musically and emotionally compelling compositions.
One of the key criticisms at the time was that the album felt more like a David Gilmour solo project than a true Pink Floyd effort—especially since Richard Wright, the band’s original keyboardist, returned only in a limited, contractual role, and Nick Mason’s drumming was sometimes replaced or augmented by session players and drum machines. However, the album’s sound design, thematic tone, and production scale unmistakably echo the Floyd tradition, if with a more modern polish.
Despite skepticism from critics and fans loyal to the Waters era, A Momentary Lapse of Reason was a commercial success, reaching the top of the charts in multiple countries and launching a massive world tour that re-established Pink Floyd as a global force. Over time, the album has been re-evaluated more kindly, especially with the release of the 2019 remix (part of The Later Years box set), which brought Wright’s keyboard parts more prominently into the mix and gave the overall production a warmer, more organic feel.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is not just a survival album—it’s a reclamation project, where Gilmour reasserts Pink Floyd’s musical and emotional identity without one of its most dominant creative voices. It’s not as conceptually unified as Wish You Were Here or as narratively bold as The Wall, but it remains a rich, evocative soundscape, full of haunting melodies, existential longing, and moments of brilliance.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Signs Of Life
Learning To Fly
The Dogs Of War
One Slip
On The Turning Away
Yet Another Movie
Round And Around
A New Machine (Part 1)
Terminal Frost
A New Machine (Part 2)
Sorrow
