REMEMBER THAT NIGHT - David Gilmour (2007)

Remember That Night is taken from a single performance at the Albert Hall in March 2006.  The show begins with the reliable openers of Speak to Me, Breathe and Time.  After that, the rest of the first set is given over to the complete performance of On an Island.  In a way, this is almost like a return to 70s Pink Floyd shows, where a complete performance of the current album was a reasonable expectation.  On an Island certainly deserves that treatment.  Graham Nash and David Crosby provide harmonies as they do on the album and Robert Wyatt guests on cornet on the instrumental Then I Close My Eyes, which becomes a lovely extended jam. 

The rest of the band include Richard Wright, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin who toured with Pink Floyd in the 80s and 90s, Phil Manzanera who co-produced On an Island, Steve DiStanislao (“pinched” from Crosby and Nash according to Gilmour) on drums, and regular Pink Floyd saxophonist Dick Parry.  

The second set contains the older Pink Floyd material.  While all the selections are familiar and welcome, Gilmour avoids the temptation to load it all with familiar hits (are you listening, Paul McCartney?)  It opens with Shine On You Crazy Diamond and the arrangement sits mid-way between the solo version that appears on David Gilmour in Concert and the regular band version.  Part one (or is it Part 2?) is played solo while the rest of the band join in for Part two (or is it Part three?).  When the vocal section begins (I’ve never known if that’s Part three or Part four, but you know the bit), Crosby and Nash return to provide the chorus, which is also based on the stripped-down arrangement of the previous concert.  Gilmour deserves great credit here for taking a Pink Floyd standard and presenting it in a fresh way without ruining the mood set by the original.  

Elsewhere, Fat Old Sun gains a big solo at the end and there are a couple of pieces from The Division Bell, but the first big highlight of the second set is a complete, 25-minute performance of Echoes.  It’s the first time Echoes has been performed in about thirty years, yet with one single distorted piano note from Richard Wright’s keyboard, everyone in the room knew what they were in for.

At the end of the show Crosby and Nash perform Stephen Stills’ Find the Cost of Freedom and then David Bowie joins the band to sing Arnold Layne.  It was one of Bowie’s last public appearances before his unofficial retirement.  Bowie stays to guest of Comfortably Numb.  Unlike so many other guest vocalists, he completely nails it and makes the song his own.

The second disc contains half an hour of songs from other Albert Hall shows, including a nice version of Wots… Uh, the Deal? from Obscured by Clouds, Wearing the Inside Out, and Richard Wright singing Arnold Layne.  

There are three documentaries.  The main one follows the tour and begins with a slightly awkward chance meeting with Roger Waters who had happened to book a rehearsal room at the same facility as Gilmour.  There’s also a film about the making of On an Island.  Both of these have the option of accessing additional scenes and interviews.  The third doco is a slightly throwaway piece on the US tour, partly filmed by Richard Wright.  

Other extras include two music videos, a performance of Syd Barrett’s Dark Globe from the 2006 tour, one piece each from The AOL Sessions and Live from Abbey Road, and five pieces from the live premiere of On an Island at the Mermaid Theatre.  For all this content, it would perhaps have been preferable to stick to just a couple of sources rather than having a little taste from so many different performances.

The menus are great but the length of the transitions make it a little frustrating if you’re trying to get to something quickly.

Highlight:  Echoes, Arnold Layne

Feature:  * * * * ½

Extras:  * * * * *

Audio: Dolby 5.1, Dolby stereo

"3D"