David Gilmour in Concert

Rating:
Summary: Excellent concert DVD from David Gilmour
Review: David Gilmour of Pink Floyd released his David Gilmour in Concert DVD in November of 2002. The video was taken from the performance he gave at The Royal Festival Hall in London in June of 2001. This show was part of Robert Wyatt's Meltdown concert series. For this performance, Dave decided to go in an semi-unplugged fashion. The song list were obvious Floyd favorites(Shine on You Crazy Diamond(parts 1-5 at the beginning with just him and his guitar plus Dick Parry's sax and parts 6 and 7 at the end of the regular set), High Hopes, Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb(with Robert Wyatt on duet vocal)), some forgotten Floyd pieces(Fat Old Sun(a song not performed since 1971), Coming Back to Life, A Great Day for Freedom), a piece from fallen Floyd Syd Barrett's solo career(Terrapin), a part of a French opera(Je Crois Entendre Encore (which was a chore to sing because Gilmour had not sung in French before)), a new song(Smile(in which Dave told bootleggers to start their machines now)), a Richard Thompson song(Dimming of the Day) and a song from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(Hushabye Mountain). For those who said Roger is Pink, think again after watching this DVD as Dave was the musical brains behind the band. Also, the DVD has more footage from Dave's Royal Festival Hall shows from January of 2002 where he does another Syd song Dominoes. Plus, fellow Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright joined Dave on a song from Rick's Broken China album called Breakthrough with a great solo from Dave and Comfortably Numb with Rick on Fender Rhodes and Bob Geldof singing Roger's parts. When I first got this DVD on the day of its release, I knew I was in for a treat. The extras on this DVD are great like The Spare Digits section which shows guitar fiends how to play some of Dave's solos. Plus, the hilarious home movies are a hoot to watch. Also, three bonus tracks of his collaboration with Mica Paris from 1992, his cover of Elvis' Don't from 2001 and his vocal delivery of the late Michael Kamen and Shakespeare piece Sonnet 18. This DVD is highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: great , negatives smegatives
Review: This video exceeded my expectations. It's sound and video are
excellent. Gilmours voice and guitar is wonderful. Accompanied
by a mixed ensemble with choral at certain times in background.
Comfortably Numb, awesome as always. David Gilmour is one of y favorite guitarists next to Buchanan and Hendrix. I can't
believe I got this for 4 dollars after shipping and hanling. If
you only like as Pink Floyd, then get Pink Floyd. This dvd is
mostly acoustic with some electric and slide. Listening to his voice, never knew he sung any of Floyds tunes, but most of it sounds like Floyds vocals? Fresh, new way to hear old tunes. At
worst you may call this dvd tame, but it's tame with a grand sparkle. Good extras, though maybe an interview would have been nice. Shine on you crazy diamond is great as well.


Rating:
Summary: Gilmour Unplugged
Review: There are probably more Elvis sightings per year than Dave Gilmour sightings ever since Pink Floyd finally disbanded, so this 2002 concert is a welcome addition to most Floyd fans' libraries. It's far from perfect, but it definitely has some good moments, and shows Gilmour taking some real chances. There's no getting around the fact that Gilmour's capable of saying more with a bent note than most lead guitarist can accomplish with ultrafast picking and grandstanding.

On the positive side are Gilmour's new arrangements of old Floyd songs. Drawing heavily on lesser known songs from "The Division Bell," Gilmour treats most of the material to acoustic instruments such as cello, upright bass, classical guitar, etc. He seems to want to recast this material as chamber pop, and it works exceptionally well. Until the reprise of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" near the end, almost none of the material sounds as it did on old Floyd albums, and this is all for the better. At times, it reminded me of how Clapton updated his old electric blues roots on "Clapton Unplugged." There are also some excellent bonuses worth seeking out, featuring Gilmour jamming away in various TV performances.

On the downside are the visuals. Yes, this is supposed to be a more intimate venue, rather than the multimedia bombast Floyd perfected. But Gilmour looks scruffy, and much of the concert has a "filmed for PBS" quality about it. Sections of the show, particularly "Comfortably Numb" and "Wish You Were Here" come across as off-the-cuff rehearsals, and not a professional presentation.

Most Floyd fans, like myself, will enjoy huge sections of this DVD. Lukewarm fans should probably avoid this entirely. Regardless, it's rather sad that this DVD represents the last we've heard from Gilmour in a long while.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was very excited when I first bought this DVD. That excitement lasted until I hit the "play" button. While I enjoyed "Smile," "Wish You Were Here," Dimming of the Day," and Syd Barret's stuff, I was overall disappointed with this DVD. The reasons are as follows:

1) Gilmour has not aged well. In fact, he looks reminiscent of a bum with his unshaven, grizzly look. Also sporting a cheap t-shirt and an expansive gut, Gilmour looks terrible. Since looking at him while listening to the songs actually hurt my eyes, this detracts from the quality of the DVD, thus detracting from the overall score.

2) Gilmour's "guitar-god" image is ruined by this DVD. While I have always believed he was an excellent guitarist, I also had a few doubts. I have heard many things about Gilmour, including that a few of his solos are constructed from different takes. While that thought somewhat tarnished his image in my eyes, I always enjoyed his work anyway. On this DVD, however, Gilmour's playing seems to be lacking something. It feels like he is going through the motions, and not too well at that. After seeing Roger Waters' "In The Flesh" DVD, with Doyle Bramhall II on lead-guitar, watching Gilmour was almost painful. While part of this may be due to the acoustic environment, the lack of innovation and enthusiasm is disheartening.

3) "Comfortably Numb." This is honestly the worst thing I have ever witnessed. Gilmour butchers this song by having Robert Wyatt sing Roger Waters' parts. I use the term sing loosely. Wyatt, while conveniently reading the lyrics from a piece of paper, sounds terrible. Off time, out of tune, and just downright ugly. This is a grave injustice to this great song, one of my favorites. Also, Gilmour's work on the guitar in this song pales in comparison to the original recording, or any other for that matter. The whole song just has a different feel, and not in a good way.

4) "Comfortably Numb"...Again. It is bad enough that Gilmour had to ruin this classic once on this DVD. But to do it twice is selfish and an insult to fans. Surprise guest Bob Geldof takes on Waters' parts this time around, and does an equally terrible job of it as Wyatt does. Geldof, a man who you might think would actually know the words to the song, baffles all by reading the lyrics from a piece of paper while butchering the timing and melody. While I can forgive Wyatt, he is old after all, there is no excuse for Geldof to mess this song up so badly. To go a step further, there is no excuse for Gilmour to ruin this song in the vain that he does, let alone twice.

Overall, this is a terrible DVD. The second star comes from the added bonus of "Don't" and the pieces of Barret's that Gilmour performs. Buyer beware.

Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: All I have to say about this DVD is that any true floyd fan must have it. I was on the fence about purchasing it after reading many of the "negative" reviews posted here. Being a long time Floyd fan, however, influenced my desicion and am glad it did. Yes Dave is older, heavier, his voice is a bit weaker, but that is part of the beauty of this dvd. It shows us again how this generation of musicians can still outplay and outclass any of the "rock" that has come around for the last 10-15 years. Every song has merit, feeling, and expression. The arrangements are great, the video quality is excellent, the sound is 1st rate. If you are a Floyd fan, what is not to like? I did chuckle a bit at Bob Geldof needing a lyrics sheet for Comfortably Numb- A little ironic i thought. His tributes to Syd Barret were well done, and the DVD extras were all enjoyable. Overall, the feeling of this DVD was that Dave was truly enjoying himself, as was the band, and this was a show I wish I could have seen. Having seen Dave with Floyd, and his About Faces solo tour, this performance is unique in its delivery. It had less theatre and spectacle than any Floyd show, but more intimacy and personal touch than his solo tour.It was great to see Rick Wright team up with Dave again,and Last but not least, this DVD has perhaps some of the last live footage of the wonderful Michael Kamen, who left us all to soon, and is a loss to the heritage of Pink Floyd. If you are a Pink FLoyd fan, and are are debating the purchase of this DVD like I was; have faith, send in your money, and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the musical excitement?
Review: I recently bought both the David Gilmour DVD and Roger Waters "In The Flesh" DVD. The reviews for both were quite favorable, so I thought both of them would be a good addition to my collection. Unfortunately I found David Gilmour's video to be tired, listless, and boring to watch compared to Roger Waters' video. "In the Flesh" came across as so much more powerful and exciting and it had me riveted to my seat marvelling at the musical excitement conveyed throughtout the entire video. I did like David Gilmour's version of "Wish You Were Here" better because he kept to the original version, whereas Roger Waters changed the version somewhat, I didn't like the start of the song but as it progressed it got better. Roger assembled a far superior band, and his drummer was especially good compared to the drummer for David Gilmour. I kept an open mind when watching these videos, and didn't have a preferenece or opinion as far as the Gilmour-Waters struggle, but my eyes and ears recognized a far superior effort put together by Roger Waters.
David Gilmour included two versions of "Comfortably Numb" and both special guests had to read the lyrics off a page in front of them, they didn't bother to memorize the lyrics for this show, and the entire show lacked any kind of excitement.
"In the Flesh" is a much better effort and kept me thoroughly entertained.

Rating:
Summary: Gilmour is one of the greatest ...
Review: ...and this dvd prove it. Classics songs, an amazing good taste in selecting and performing those songs, which are in the heart of many ..Gilmour have the charisma of those who have everything clear....Of course, tracks like Confortably Numb (one of the 10 songs i loved more) and Wish you Were Here doesn't need too many words, but check out for the MARVELLOUS version of "Don't" and the SUBLIMEEEEEE!! "Sonnet 18"....This DVD deserves of all the attention. Don't miss it, please, and you'll be a happier person...

Rating:
Summary: Woah
Review: This is incredible.. I can't believe that anyone gave it anything less than 5 stars. The musicality is second to none. Truly outstanding for Pink Floyd fans and non fans alike. Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb sound amazing with the acoustic vibe. Dimming of the Day is really a beautiful song, and High Hopes gives me goosebumps. The people who say he is past his prime, or lacking in guitar skills are nuts. Yeah, he's older, that's what happens to people.. we are all going to have to deal with it eventually, no matter how much we fight it.

Rating:
Summary: Thumbs down on this one
Review: I Generally love any Pink Floyd music, including David Gilmour,
and Roger Waters. I own DVDS of each one. This one is terrible.
It gave me the feeling that David Gilmour is over the hill and
done for. I don't want to believe this but, thats the feeling
I had after watching this Concert. Nothing Personal just very
disappointed by this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: A Master at Work
Review: I've read many of the reviews stating that this effort by David Gilmour is markedly different than the same songs from his Pink Floyd days. I disagree. It is still rife with great songs, passion, and incredible musicianship. It may be primarily acoustic, but that only adds to the feeling that you're sitting front row watching a legend perform.

I think Gilmour has set the bar extremely high for intimate concert DVD's. His voice is still outstanding, even if he can't hit high notes as strongly as he used to. His backup vocalists are great. They remind me a lot of the background vocalists in the Roger Waters DVD "In the Flesh" (also excellent, although I prefer Gilmour's effort). At any rate, they add to the sound without overpowering anything. Gilmours band and array of guest singers and musicians blend in perfectly. Conversely, Waters voice has been much more profoundly affected by age.

My favorite tracks on this DVD include Coming Back to Life (my favorite), Smile, Terrapin, Shine on you Crazy Diamond, and Comfortably Numb. There is not a bad track on the DVD.

Soapbox: Those who believe Gilmour shouldn't be able to perform Pink Floyd efforts from the Roger Waters era are myopic. Gilmour co-wrote their songs, had a better voice, and is in my opinion one of the two greatest rock guitarists alive today (along with Mark Knopfler). Gilmour might not have written the words to the classic Floyd songs, but that is only a piece of the puzzle. His work on Animals, The Final Cut, Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish you Were Here is excellent.

I never thought I'd be a fan of concert DVD's, but seeing Gilmour perform this work adds so much. I give this my highest rating and feel that anyone who enjoys a great rock performance will be very satisfied. Part of me wishes he and Waters would patch up their differences and perform together again, although I'm sure nothing could match seeing Floyd in their prime.

A must buy.