David Gilmour - In Concert (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Not applicable

Advantages:	Brilliant Songs played Solo .  .  .  .  . sort of .  .  .
Disadvantages:	No Flying Pigs .  .  .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Does David Gilmour need any introduction at all ???........

Well, Yes Actually, because as a musician, he has been around a very long time, and is probably now, the most famous member of Pink Floyd....but a lot of people still say who ?..

Which one's Pink ?.....

Having said that, there are many, many people who had still never heard of him, but a lot of that changed when the re-united Pink Floyd topped the Bill at Live 8 this Summer, all of a sudden people wanted to know who was that guy that sang / played the classic " Comfortably Numb " song so brilliantly, that closed the London show.....

This Concert was recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 2002, and was billed as " Robert Wyatts Meltdown Concert ", it was a pretty low key event if I remember correctly, but still a total sell out as you would expect.

The Concert Itself.....

So, we see David Gilmour strumming a few practice chords, and then playing the unmistakeable introduction to Shine on you Crazy Diamond, a tune just about all Pink Floyd fans will know well, and have in their collection, its also a very moody piece of music too, played like this, it also shows how versatile Gilmour is as a musician as he skillfully moves from one chord sequence to another with ease, when the vocals do come in we are in full flow of the song and its so refreshing to hear it played like this, and it sets the mood for the whole DVD really, all very laid back, atmospheric and beautifully played...No special effects needed here.........Not a Flying Pig in Sight.....

So I shall now brielfy review the rest of the songs on the DVD.

Terrapin..... is next, which is a very old Syd Barrett song, and once again Gilmour does it credit indeed, strumming this one along nicely, and gives Syd a mention here to acknowledge his influence.

Fat Old Sun.... sees the introduction of the Band and the backing singers to accompany Gilmour on this very old Floyd track from the album Atom Heart Mother. Its a truly moving song, and flows along with ease and emotion....

Coming back to Life...... comes from the Floyd album The Division Bell, and features some absolutely stunning female backing vocals, which at times sound like an orchestra on their own, chillingly so in fact....

High Hopes..... starts slowly with the chiming of a Bell, and a solo tinkling Piano note, and develops into a mini opera sort of sound, with a haunting cello being used to great effect...and Gilmour picking at all the right notes....

Je Crois Entendre Encore......sees Gilmour singing this short French Opera song along with a wonderful wailing cello sound, to accompany his own distinct vocal style....

Smile.....a new song this, sees Gilmour alone again, strumming along nicely, with a female backing vocals playing a big part here again.....

Wish You Were Here........ needs no introduction at all, as soon as Gilmour plays the opening few notes, we all know what is coming next, and once again we are not disappointed, its still an outstanding song too, and great to see and hear it live again....

Comfortably Numb...... is probably the fans most popular Pink Floyd song, and once again its so unique to hear it played like this, Robert Wyatt does a large part of the vocals here, the Cello is also quite prominent, and the song is finished off as usual with the trademark Gilmour guitar solo....

Dimming of the Day....is a Richard Thompson song, which is started solo with a lot of intensity, the band slowly come in, and some more brilliant female backing vocals....

Shine on You Crazy Diamond ( reprise ) sees the slow but very emotive emergence of the band, with some brilliant slide guitar from Gilmour, and some more excellent sax from Dick Parry turns it into a real good rocking sound, really needed to play this Floyd anthem...

A Great Day for the Freedom....another song off The Division Bell album, introduced by a slowly ascending Cello, and growing into another wonderful climatic crescendo with some more stunning backing vocals, and a lovely guitar solo to finish it off....

Hushabye Mountain....a rather unusual inclusion this one I thought, but it slowly and sweetly sweeps along quite nicely really, with the vocals sounding almost child like....

And those above are the main Concert tracks......

Additional Bonus Tracks from the Concert on this DVD are........

Dominoes.....another Syd Barrett song here.
Breakthrough.....a song by Rick Wright who comes out to make a guest appearance.
Comfortably Numb.....with guest vocals by Bob Geldof.

So there you have it, a little bit longer than I had anticipated, so Thanks for bearing with me on this one, but I've not finished yet....

DVD Extras..

Spare Digits.
Home Movies.
High Hopes choral.
Lyrics.

Other Miscellaneous Extra Tracks....

I put a Spell on You( with Mica Paris..1992 .Jools Holland Show )
Don't... ( from Leiber and Stoller tribute Concert 2001 )
Sonnet 18 ( William Shakespeare )
5.1 Sound Tester....

Overall this is a great DVD, especially for any Pink Floyd fans, its content will be known by most and will probably be in their collections, as I 've mentioned earlier.
The great thing about this DVD is the totally original way these tracks are performed, the musicians are superb, the backing vocals are totally stunning at times, and David Gilmour himself really comes across as being an outstanding musician indeed....

Shine On.......

Oh and for anyone thinking of buying this DVD right now, its on special offer in HMV for £14:99......I know I paid a lot more than that for it when I bought it, I think it was £19:99 then.....but still worth it....