This is the first post-Waters album released by Pink Floyd. How good this actually is really depends on who you talk to. Clearly the band lost a monstrous talent when Roger Waters decided to leave. His lyrical and conceptual ideas, as well as his sense for dramatic presentation (both on stage and on record), are unmatched. Pink Floyd became the band that it is in large part because of Waters. Equally responsible for their direction and success, however, is David Gilmour. He is a masterful musician and a brilliantly passionate guitarist who has helped shape the band with his unparalleled playing. Arguably it was Gilmour's emotional guitar and musical talent that gave power to Waters' words. Though noone can dispute the vital contributions both Rick Wright and Nick Mason made to help forge the band (nor founder Syd Barrett who laid the template for the rest to follow), most would certainly agree that Gilmour and Waters have always been the main driving force.

Now where does all this leave A Momentary Lapse Of Reason? With Waters gone, obviously a large portion of the chemistry that spawned such classics as Animals and Wish You Were Here is missing. The band's direction and approach to writing would naturally have to adapt, in much the same way they had to adapt after Barrett's departure. Lyrically the album is weak in spots. It contains no conceptual thread nor does it even begin to approach Roger's level of clever wordplay and stinging sarcasm. The lyrics are more poetic generalities than they are deeply held convictions. That being said, this album is a gorgeous work of music that, in certain ways, harkens back to Wish You Were Here and Meddle. Sounding like neither, but capturing the spirit of both, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason is absolutely a return to form. Without Roger's lyrical genius, Dave wisely focused on HIS strengths and passion: the music. From the chilling instrumental opener Signs Of Life, to the glorious raging darkness of the album's closer Sorrow, this is Pink Floyd in all their musical glory. The album has a dark haunting quality to it, each song moving through several interesting parts that never sound dull or forced. The beauty of this band's sound has always been that it's very visual and evocative. This album certainly delivers that. In particular the last half is one phenomenal stretch of spine-tingling music. Keyboards, drums, bass, and the occasional saxophone blend wonderfully with sinister sound effects to create beautiful soundscapes - and Gilmour's spectacular guitar slashes, cries, whispers, screams, and howls throughout the entire journey. It is a ride worth taking.

As you read through many of these other reviews, it's obvious that alot of people feel very strongly that this is not a Pink Floyd record. I understand but disagree. As much as the band had a right to carry on after Barrett left, clearly the band had a right to continue after Waters. Arguing over the "authenticity" of this album (and all those that followed without Waters) is pointless, as every listener has his or her own idea as to what Pink Floyd is to them. To put it simply, if you feel that the lyrical and conceptual content of Pink Floyd is undeniably the most important aspect to you, then you're probably better off passing this up. At the very least borrow a copy before you buy it. However if the music of this band is what has always moved you, then you're going to love this. Roger Waters may have left, but Pink Floyd remains.

I'm a HUGE fan of Waters as a lyricist, and if there's one point against A Momentary Lapse of Reason, it's the lyrics. But they aren't bad - just not Waters. But there seems to be absolutely no objectivity in many of the reviews here of this album. A few points I'd like to Counter:

1) "This doesn't sound like a Pink Floyd album." - Perform a little experiment: take someone who has never listened to Pink Floyd before and have them listen to Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Momentary Lapse of Reason back to back. Now ask them if the albums are by the same group.

2) "This album sounds so obviously eighties." - Next experiment, have the same listener as before listen to Piper At The Gates of Dawn and The Wall and have them try to identify which decade they were produced in.

3) "There's more filler here than good music." - Now that the "new" listener has heard The Wall and A Momentary Lapse of Reason, ask them which album contains more filler.

I prefer A Momentary Lapse of Reason to Animals and The Division Bell, two albums that I think are great. I'm happy to have purchased the remastered AMLOR, because a second criticism that could be aimed at it was that the sound fidelity on the original cd was terrible.

AMLOR contains several tracks that should be considered in any `best of' compilation and many secondary tracks that overshadow those musically. It's a solid album from start to finish songwise and is held together by a soundscape that is lavish and well executed. The filler arrangements of A New Machine Parts 1 & 2 play well in the soundscape, even if they can't be considered proper tracks. This is a great album and should be highly regarded.

I've been a fan since the very first time my dad danced me to sleep to "Cpmfortably Numb." I love The Wall, Dark Side, and all the other recognized greats. I have to say, though, that Momentary Lapse is my favorite. Even without Waters, the group pulls off a stunning ensemble of sound complimented with excellent sound effects, awesome guitar solos, good lyrics (as good as they can get without Waters), and an overall theme that you come to expect from Pink Floyd. A few of the songs could use tweaking- "Dogs of War" comes to mind- but overall I was very impressed. I had expected the band to flop after Final Cut.
I would highly recommend this album.

When I first heard One Slip from this album many years ago - I immediately thought - what is Tony Levin doing on a Pink Floyd record? What a welcome addition of real talent to David Gilmour and Nick Mason! These musicians all possess that unique style that makes them stand out and be easily recognizable. Combine one of the world's best ever bass players with one of the most talented guitarists and songwriters and you have an enduring classic. Floyd's music really pulls you in on this album - very melodic with the kind of thought provoking lyrics the band is known for. Out of all the Floyd discs, this is the one I have come back to most - a wonderful collection of songs with the added energy and unique talent of Tony Levin to make it the best Pink Floyd disc ever!

BEST SONGS: "Signs of Life", "Learning To Fly", "On The Turning Away", "Yet Another Movie", "Terminal Frost", "One Slip".

PRODUCTION QUALITY: Claustrophobic.

I love Pink Floyd's music, but "Momentary" could've and should've been better. The awful production just gets in the way, probably because of several factors. For one thing, the liner notes say that the acoustic drums and bass guitar were recorded in analog while everything else was recorded in digital (digital recording was a relatively new thing in 1987). On top of this were a host of session musicians. The otherwise-mighty bassist Tony Levin turns in a dismal performance here, along with very weak tone. Third, David Gilmour had gotten a new guitar system that he was trying out. A case in point is "Dogs of War", especially when the band kicks in after the vocal. The drums are quite loud, and Gilmour's guitar sounds processed, but unrehearsed. I say "claustrophobic" because it sounds like they're jamming in a small room with everything on max.

If you want better sounding versions of these songs, I would recommend their 1988 live album, "Delicate sound of Thunder". It contains most of the best songs from the album, and sounds much better.