David Gilmour still has that magic touch,
This DVD is a recording of the Meltdown concert in 2001 with three additional tracks from the concert in 2002.Most of the music is played accoustically, and played very effectively. There are a few magic moments where David Gilmour picks up an electric guitar and understandably the audience goes wild. There is a mix of old and new Pink Floyd, some Syd Barrett and a couple of other well chosen tracks that really make this a compelling DVD to enjoy.
Gilmour's singing reaches some real heights, particularly on the Bizet track 'Je crois entendre encore'. Both parts of 'Shine on you crazy diamond' are movingly played. The first part is a complex accoustic piece, on the second he really wails. I really enjoyed the two Syd Barrett pieces, 'Terrapin' and 'Dominoes'. It was good to see Richard Wright turning up to play a couple of pieces, the track 'Breakthrough' from his solo album was well executed. Old favourites 'Fat old sun' and 'Wish you were here' were fresh and full of life. Quite why we needed two versions of 'Comfortably numb' is a mystery, surely this piece of music exists in more versions than any other! Both are good, though, the guitar solos are excellent. There is one new Gilmour composition 'Smile', an easy and mellow number. All of the sixteen tracks from the two concerts are top notch.
The DVD extras are pretty good. He plays a great blues piece 'I put a spell on you' with Jools Holland and Mica Paris and sings a Shakespeare sonnet really well. Additionally there are some home videos of rehersals, close ups of his guitar solos and the lyrics to the songs.
This DVD shows that David Gilmour is not too old to play or sing with skill and style, it would be great if he could produce at least one more CD of original material before he finally retires