However much creaking and cracking he has with that first foot to the floor in the morning, 69-year-old David Gilmour sounds in the best of health on Rattle That Lock. This is a deeply satisfying album about life, love and death that switches effortlessly between uplifting and poignant and does wonders for those knots in the soul.
While some others in his peer group are clinging to the glories of yesteryear, Gilmour shows here that he's still hungry enough to put together a solo record that works front to back - indeed, shuffle the 10 tracks in any order and the impact is the same.
With wife Polly Samson's lyrics casting him as both sage and survivor, Gilmour takes us through defiant yacht rock (the glorious title song), late night matters off the heart (Faces of Stone, Dancing Right in Front of Me, The Girl in the Yellow Dress), the epic (In Any Tongue), effortless Eighties cool (Today) and more with his soloing sublime throughout.
Last year's Pink Floyd opus The Endless River required work but Rattle That Lock clicks from the get-go. And, really, you'd want to be among the truly jaded not to take something good away after a listen. Like its creator, it is built for the long haul. Just remember: you are no different.
Harry Guerin
