![]() "Roger's criticisms are fair," Wright agreed in the book Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd. Waters stated flatly that it was not a true Pink Floyd release. Beyond a few standout tracks, the album as a whole didn't stand up to earlier triumphs. Still, A Momentary Lapse of Reason remains one of the band's most polarizing releases. A slowed down recording of Gilmour's laugh came across like a dog bark, and he decided to use it in the song. The session was buoyed by a sound that came about by mistake. "Dogs of War," a trudging track about political mercenaries, emerged as a favorite live cut. In a nod to the past, the blips and beeps at the beginning mirrored Pink Floyd's approach to "Money" from more than a decade earlier. It fit well with the more ethereal songs in their catalog like "Us and Them" and "Wish You Were Here." The third and final single was "One Slip," a collaboration with Phil Manzanera that began a lengthy musical relationship between Gilmour and the Roxy Music guitarist. "On the Turning Away," a more solemn piece referencing the issues of poverty and oppression, emerged as the second single. While work continued on "Learning to Fly," Gilmour said he came to realize a new lyrical subtext, as he assumed the band's leadership role following Waters' departure. Gilmour later purchased a De Havilland Devon airplane with Mason, whose voice was heard in the middle portion of this song via a cockpit recording. Gilmour and Mason had both been taking flying lessons, and Gilmour penned the track specifically about the feelings of freedom that flight gave him. Whatever their struggles, "Learning to Fly" quickly found an audience as the album's lead single. Watch Pink Floyd's Video for 'Learning to Fly' We didn't make this remotely like we've made any other Floyd record. "You have to find a new way of working, of operating and getting on with it. "You can't go back," Gilmour said in A Saucerful of Secrets. Contributions were made by Mason and, to a lesser degree, Wright but sessions musicians were ultimately brought in to supplement the sound. They likewise struggled with musical cohesion after so long away. Gilmour decided against attempting the band's typical concept record, focusing instead on finding the best collection of songs. Moving forward without Waters also proved difficult creatively. That cleared up some of the time-zone issues on the legal side, while allowing Pink Floyd to be closer to producer Bob Ezrin. Late-night calls from attorneys began to interfere, however, and the decision was made to move production to the U.S. Gilmour started recording A Momentary Lapse of Reason aboard his houseboat, the Astoria. The sessions provided their own challenges. Waters eventually relented, and a deal was struck where the band members could use the name so long as Waters could have the rights to The Wall. Anybody who does is extremely arrogant."Ī bitter legal fight played out during the creation of the album and followed after A Momentary Lapse of Reason arrived in stores. "No one else has claimed Pink Floyd was entirely them. But Gilmour refused to back down: "Roger is a dog in the manger and I'm going to fight him," Gilmour told the Sunday Times, as chronicled in the book A Saucerful of Secrets. Upset by their decision to move forward without him, Waters took the rest of the band to court over use of the name and attempted to thwart the release of A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Nick Mason expressed interest in new music, however, and by 1986, Gilmour was reshaping some solo material for what would become the 13th Pink Floyd studio album. Keyboardist Richard Wright's wife contacted Gilmour about lending a hand musically, but his full return was stalled by legal matters relating to his ouster during sessions for The Wall. Waters had declared Pink Floyd "a spent force," but Gilmour saw the potential in moving forward.
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