Pink Floyd 's
1987 Album '' was the band's first album since
1983 , and their first album since
Roger Waters ' departure from the band in
1985 . With the help of the singles "
Learning To Fly " and "On the Turning Away", the album reached #3 on both the
US and
UK charts. The album was released in the UK and Europe on EMI.
The album was performed largely by
David Gilmour with session musicians, the most famous of which was
Tony Levin (of
Peter Gabriel and
King Crimson fame) who played bass on most of the tracks. Drummer
Nick Mason felt he was out of practice, and thus, for example, the drums on "The Dogs of War" were played by
Carmine Appice instead. Keyboardist
Jon Carin , another of these session musicians, went on to collaborate with both Pink Floyd and Roger Waters on subsequent albums and tours as well as their appearance at
Live 8 . Keyboardist
Richard Wright arrived during the recording sessions, but did not officially rejoin the band (the initial album lists Pink Floyd as consisting of only Gilmour and Mason; however, the later rerelease adds Wright). Wright played on a few tracks, notably "Sorrow", in which his voice can be heard in the background.
The voice heard in the middle of "Learning to Fly" is Nick Mason talking to the control tower in his private aircraft (Both he and Gilmour are enthusiastic pilots). The song is also notable for being the first CD-only single to be released globally.
The album is Pink Floyd's first full
Digital Recording ; however, the acoustic drums and the bass guitar were recorded on analog equipment.
The cover photograph, by long-time Pink Floyd collaborator that featured his work.
After 1983's ''
The Final Cut '', band members went their separate ways until 1987, when Gilmour attempted to revive the band with Nick Mason. A bitter legal dispute with Roger Waters (who broke up the band in 1985) ensued, but Gilmour and Mason achieved the legal right to release an album as Pink Floyd. Waters, however, gained the rights to some traditional Pink Floyd imagery, including almost all of ''
The Wall ''. Richard Wright re-joined the duo during the recording sessions of this album, but only as a salaried
Session Musician .
Due to the minimal contribution of Mason and Wright (and Waters having left the band for good), the album has oft been criticized for being too much like a David Gilmour solo pop album. Many critics like to attribute the resurrection of Pink Floyd to Gilmour's two earlier solo efforts flopping miserably (both had reached chart positions many artists would consider respectable, but neither achieved anything like the success to which Pink Floyd had become accustomed), and pressure by its record company to produce another hit album under the name Pink Floyd.
Even though the album garnered a substantial share of criticism, most negative, Roger himself described the name ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason'' "a pretty fair forgery."
"On the Momentary Lapse of Reason album, Nick's belief in himself was pretty well gone, and Rick's belief in himself was totally gone. And they weren't up to making a record, to be quite honest about it
{Link without Title} Roger's very good at belittling people, and I think over the years he managed to convince Rick completely that he was useless and more or less convinced Nick of the same thing."
–
David Gilmour - ''Rock Compact Disc magazine'', September 1992
"I must say, that under the circumstances, it's a superb title for a ''so-called'' Pink Floyd record."
–
Roger Waters - ''Penthouse Magazine'', September 1988
A re-mastered
CD was released in the early
'90s for
Europe , and in
1997 for the rest of the world. Another remastered version was released in the US and Canada in October 2005 due to Columbia Records losing the production masters. James Guthrie and Joel Plante supplied the label with new masters, and thus the mastering credit was changed from Doug Sax to Guthrie and Plante. Also, a number of minor changes have been noted in the credits and legal text for this latest release, mostly reflecting changes in the band's business situation since 1997 (including the death of manager
Steve O'Rourke ).
# "
Signs Of Life " (Gilmour/Ezrin) - 4:24
# "
Learning To Fly " (Gilmour/Moore/Ezrin/Carin) - 4:53
# "
The Dogs Of War " (Gilmour/Moore) - 6:05
# "
One Slip " (Gilmour/
Manzanera ) - 5:10
# "
On The Turning Away " (Gilmour/Moore) - 5:42
# (a) "
Yet Another Movie " (Gilmour/Leonard), (b) "
Round And Around " (Gilmour) - 7:28
# "
A New Machine (Part 1) " (Gilmour) - 1:46
# "
Terminal Frost " (Gilmour) - 6:17
# "
A New Machine (Part 2) " (Gilmour) - 0:38
# "
Sorrow " (Gilmour) - 8:46
With:
The
R.I.A.A. have certified the album:
- gold and platinum, in November 1987
- double platinum ,in January 1988
- triple platinum, in February 1992
- quadruple platinum, in August 2001 .
- "Learning to Fly(edit)"/"Terminal Frost" - Columbia 38-07363; released September 15, 1987
- "On the Turning Away"/"Run Like Hell(Live)" - Columbia 38-07660; released November 24, 1987
- "One Slip" / "Terminal Frost"; June 1988
