A Momentary Lapse Of Reason de Pink Floyd
Álbum de Pink Floyd
- Fecha de lanzamiento: 7 de Septiembre de 1987
- Sello Discográfico: EMI
- Compositores: David Gilmour, Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin, Jon Carin, Phil Manzanera
- Productores: Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour
A Momentary Lapse Of Reason es un álbum de Pink Floyd, publicado en 1987 por EMI. El disco incluye 10 canciones, entre ellas «Signs Of Life», «Learning to Fly», «The Dogs Of War» y «One Slip».
Lanzado en 1987, A Momentary Lapse of Reason es el decimotercer álbum de estudio de Pink Floyd y el primero creado tras la amarga salida de Roger Waters. Liderado por David Gilmour, el álbum fue concebido para demostrar que la banda podía continuar y prosperar sin su principal letrista y fuerza conceptual. Musicalmente, es un regreso al sonido expansivo y guitarrero de la era pre-The Wall, pero filtrado a través de una producción de rock de estadio muy característica de los años 80, con un uso prominente de cajas de ritmos y sintetizadores. Aunque a menudo es criticado por ser más un álbum en solitario de Gilmour que un verdadero esfuerzo de banda, fue un éxito comercial masivo que revitalizó el nombre de Pink Floyd y dio lugar a una de las giras más grandes y exitosas de la década.
Contexto y batalla legal
Tras el lanzamiento de The Final Cut, Roger Waters disolvió extraoficialmente la banda. Sin embargo, en 1985, Gilmour y Nick Mason decidieron reactivar Pink Floyd. Esto desencadenó una agria batalla legal con Waters por el uso del nombre y el material de la banda. Waters argumentaba que Pink Floyd era una "fuerza creativa gastada". Mientras la disputa legal continuaba, Gilmour comenzó a trabajar en el álbum con una gran cantidad de músicos de sesión, ya que Nick Mason y Richard Wright (quien fue recontratado como músico asalariado a mitad de las sesiones) tuvieron una participación muy limitada inicialmente.
La producción, a cargo de Bob Ezrin (quien había sido despedido por Waters durante "The Wall") y el propio Gilmour, se llevó a cabo en parte en el estudio flotante de Gilmour, el "Astoria". El objetivo era crear un álbum que sonara inequívocamente a Pink Floyd, pero actualizado para la década de los 80.
El sonido del álbum
El sonido de "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" es grandioso, pulido y atmosférico. La guitarra de David Gilmour es la protagonista absoluta, con sus solos líricos y expansivos dominando cada canción. La producción de Bob Ezrin es típicamente ochentera, con baterías procesadas con mucha reverberación y un uso extensivo de teclados y sintetizadores digitales, interpretados en su mayoría por el músico de sesión Jon Carin. Las letras, escritas en su mayoría por Gilmour en colaboración con letristas externos como Anthony Moore, son más abstractas y menos políticas que las de Waters, centrándose en temas como la comunicación, el conflicto y la nostalgia.
Recorrido por las canciones
El álbum generó tres sencillos de gran éxito en la radio de rock estadounidense. "Learning to Fly", con su ritmo constante y su atmósfera optimista, se convirtió en un himno, inspirado por la pasión de Gilmour por la aviación. "On the Turning Away" es una poderosa balada de folk-rock con un mensaje político sobre la indiferencia ante el sufrimiento. "One Slip" es un tema de pop-rock más enérgico.
La pieza central del álbum es la instrumental "Signs of Life" y, sobre todo, la épica "Sorrow", que cierra el disco. Es una canción oscura y majestuosa, famosa porque Gilmour grabó su icónico solo de guitarra inicial en un estadio vacío para darle una escala masiva.
Diseño y portada
La portada, diseñada de nuevo por Storm Thorgerson de Hipgnosis, es una de las imágenes más surrealistas y memorables de la banda. Muestra 700 camas de hospital alineadas en una playa de Devon, creando una imagen onírica e impactante que refleja la temática del álbum sobre la comunicación y la alienación.
Salida al mercado y resultados
El álbum fue un éxito comercial rotundo, demostrando que había una audiencia masiva para un Pink Floyd liderado por Gilmour.
- USA Billboard 200: 3
- UK Albums Chart: 3
- Alemania (GfK Entertainment): 2
- Suiza (Schweizer Hitparade): 2
- España (PROMUSICAE): 11
Cómo lo recibió la crítica
La crítica fue mixta en su lanzamiento. Mientras que algunos elogiaron el regreso al sonido clásico y la brillantez de la guitarra de Gilmour, otros lo criticaron por considerarlo un producto de estudio impersonal y por la debilidad de algunas de sus letras. Roger Waters lo despreció públicamente, calificándolo de "una falsificación bastante buena". Sin embargo, el éxito masivo del álbum y de su gira mundial demostró que el nombre de Pink Floyd seguía siendo una fuerza cultural y comercial formidable.
Listado de Canciones
- Signs Of Life4:23
Letra
When the child like view of the world went, nothing replaced it...nothing replaced it...nothing replaced it... I do not like being asked to.....I do not like being asked to... I do not like being asked to.... Other people replaced it Someone who knows - Learning to Fly4:52
Into the distance a ribbon of black Stretched to the point of no turning back A flight of fancy on a windswept field Standing alone my senses reeled A fatal attraction holding me fast how Can I escape this irresistible grasp? Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies Tongue tied and twisted Just an earth bound misfit I Ice is forming on the tips of my wings Unheeded warnings I thought I thought of everything No navigator to find my way home Unladened, empty and turned to stone A soul in tension that's learning to fly Condition grounded but determined to try Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I Friction lock, set. Mixture, rich Propellers, fully forward Flaps, set, ten degrees Engine gauges and suction, check Mixture set to maximum percent, recheck Flight instruments Altimeters, check both (Garbled word) - on Navigation lights, on Strobes, on (To tower): Confirm 3-8-Echo ready for departure (Tower): Hello again, this is now 129.4 (To tower): 129.4. It's to go. (Tower): You may commence your takeoff, winds over 10 knots. (To tower): 3-8-Echo Easy on the brakes. Take it easy. it's gonna roll this time. Just hand the power gradually, and it Above the planet on a wing and a prayer, My grubby halo, a vapor trail in the empty air, Across the clouds I see my shadow fly Out of the corner of my watering eye A dream unthreatened by the morning light Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night There's no sensation to compare with this Suspended animation, A state of bliss Can't keep my mind from the circling skies Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I - The Dogs Of War6:03
Letra
Dogs of war and men of hate With no cause, we don't discriminate Discovery is to be disowned Our currency is flesh and bone Hell opened up and put on sale Gather 'round and haggle For hard cash, we will lie and deceive Even our masters don't know the web we weave One world, it's a battleground One world, and we will smash it down One world, one world Invisible transfers, long distance calls, Hollow laughter in marble halls Steps have been taken, a silent uproar Has unleashed the dogs of war You can't stop what has begun Signed, sealed, they deliver oblivion We all have a dark side, to say the least And dealing in death is the nature of the beast One world, it's a battleground One world, and we will smash it down One world, one world The dogs of war don't negotiate The dogs of war won't capitulate, They will take and you will give, And you must die so that they may live You can knock at any door, But wherever you go, you know they've been there before Well winners can lose and things can get strained But whatever you change, you know the dogs remain. One world, it's a battleground One world, and we will smash it down One world, one world - One Slip5:08
Letra
A restless eye across a weary room A glazed look and I was on the road to ruin The music played and played as we whirled without end No hint, no word her honour to defend I will, I will she sighed to my request And then she tossed her mane while my resolve was put to the test Then drowned in desire, our souls on fire I lead the way to the funeral pyre And without a thought of the consequence I gave in to my decadence One slip, and down the hole we fall It seems to take no time at all A momentary lapse of reason That binds a life for life A small regret, you won't forget, There'll be no sleep in here tonight Was it love, or was it the idea of being in love? Or was it the hand of fate, that seemed to fit just like a glove? The moment slipped by and soon the seeds were sown The year grew late and neither one wanted to remain alone One slip, and down the hole we fall It seems to take no time at all A momentary lapse of reason That binds a life for life A small regret, you will never forget, There'll be no sleep in here tonight - On The Turning Away5:41
Letra
On the turning away From the pale and downtrodden And the words they say Which we won't understand "Don't accept that what's happening Is just a case of others' suffering Or you'll find that you're joining in The turning away" It's a sin that somehow Light is changing to shadow And casting it's shroud Over all we have known Unaware how the ranks have grown Driven on by a heart of stone We could find that we're all alone In the dream of the proud On the wings of the night As the daytime is stirring Where the speechless unite In a silent accord Using words you will find are strange And mesmerized as they light the flame Feel the new wind of change On the wings of the night No more turning away From the weak and the weary No more turning away From the coldness inside Just a world that we all must share It's not enough just to stand and stare Is it only a dream that there'll be No more turning away? - Yet Another Movie6:12
Letra
One sound, one single sound One kiss, one single kiss A face outside the window pane However did it come to this? A man who ran, a child who cried A girl who heard, a voice that lied The sun that burned a fiery red The vision of an empty bed The use of force, he was so tough She'll soon submit, she's had enough The march of fate, the broken will Someone is lying very still He has laughed and he has cried He has fought and he has died He's just the same as all the rest He's not the worst, he's not the best And still this ceaseless murmuring The babbling that I brook The seas of faces, eyes upraised The empty screen, the vacant look A man in black on a snow white horse, A pointless life has run its course, The red rimmed eyes, the tears still run As he fades into the setting sun You're going on that plane to take you where you belong. But no, I have You have got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what you have to look forward to if you stay here? Nine chances out of ten we both end up in a concentration camp and that You're only saying these things to make me go. I'm saying it 'cause it's true. Inside us, we both know we belong in different Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life. But what about us? But what about us? But what about us? - A New Machine 1
Letra
I have always been here I have always looked out from behind these eyes It feels like more than a lifetime Feels like more than a lifetime Sometimes i get tired of the waiting Sometimes i get tired of being in here Is this the way it has always been? Could it ever have been different? Do you ever get tired of the waiting? Do you ever get tired of being in there? Don't worry, nobody lives forever, Nobody lives forever - Terminal Frost6:15
Letra
Instrumental - A New Machine 2
Letra
I will always be here I will always look out from behind these eyes It's only a lifetime It's only a lifetime It's only a lifetime - Sorrow8:46
Letra
The sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land Plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky: A man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise In his youth or a dream he can't be precise He's chained forever to a world that's departed It's not enough it's not enough His blood has frozen & curdled with fright His knees have trembled & given way in the night His hand has weakened at the moment of truth His step has faltered One world, one soul Time pass, the river rolls It's not enough it's not enough His hand has faltered .... .... ...... And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication And silent replies that swirl invitation Flow dark and troubled to an oily sea A grim intimation of what is to be There's an unceasing wind that blows through this night And there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight And silence that speaks so much louder that words, Of promises broken