The Orb featuring David Gilmour
Metallic Spheres
Every post-Wall release by a member of Pink Floyd has been and will be, more or less, a footnote in their illustrious musical history. From The Final Cut to guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour’s 2006 release On an Island, each album lacked the ambition, the urgency, and the adventurousness that characterized the most enjoyable Floyd albums. Gilmour and bassist Roger Waters, both of whom had thrived off of their own dysfunctional brand of artistic competitiveness, appeared complacent in those thirty years since The Wall, content to release material that didn’t challenge themselves or their listeners. However, Gilmour’s latest effort, Metallic Spheres, a collaboration with electronica legends the Orb, represents his boldest and most satisfying footnote to date.
While one may flinch at the idea of amalgamating elements of Pink Floyd with electronic music, the Orb’s ethereal instrumentation plays to Gilmour’s greatest strengths. Gilmour handles each groove the Orb throws his way with an unparalleled musical finesse, wrapping passionate guitar leads and ghostly vocals around gritty beats and space age analog synths. Comprised of two long-form pieces, Metallic Spheres plays more like an early ‘90s minimal electronic take on “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” than any of those atrocious techno renditions of “Another Brick in the Wall (Pt. 2).” Each distinct movement drifts into its next evolution, somehow managing to sound simultaneously like a musical sketchbook and a deliberately constructed masterwork. The album stands not only as one of the more inspired moments of David Gilmour’s latter-day career but also a fine entry into the genre.
i’m intrigued and impressed by this project. there is a cool \making of\ video on the site…its worth a watch – http://www.metallicspheres.com