Review of David Gilmour: Remember That Night - Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Introduction

Now in his fifth decade as a recording artist, David Gilmour may not produce as much new material as he did in his pomp, but when he does, the world sits up and listens.

His most recent solo album, "On An Island", which was released to coincide with his 60th birthday, saw him race to the top of the charts in the UK. The All-Music guide described the album as "a laid-back, utterly elegant English record…(with the) feel of taking place between twilight and dawn". In other words, it`s a beautiful, atmospheric album, which allows Gilmour to show off the guitar skill and tone that made him an idol to millions.

"Remember That Night: Live at the Royal Albert Hall" was recorded over three nights in May 2006, on the tour which promoted the album. Gilmour`s band included former Pink Floyd band-mate Richard Wright, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Steve DiStanislao, as well as Dick Parry, Guy Pratt, and Jon Carin. Special guest contributors were David Bowie, Robert Wyatt, David Crosby, and Graham Nash.

Released as a two-disc set, "Remember That Night" compiles over five hours worth of footage, with the concert itself weighing in at a hefty 2 ½ hours. Extras include a special "Breaking Bread, Drinking Wine" documentary, filmed as the band travelled on their European tour.

Video

Video is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. Shot using High Definition technology - which will come into play upon the BluRay and HD-DVD releases, due later this year - the main concert feature looks fabulous, especially considering that there is 2 ½ hours of footage crammed on to one disc.

The transfer is tremendously clean, especially considering the show`s use of pyrotechnics, which often enhance digital flaws. The only compression artefacts that I could see occurred on some shades of blue, including the shirts worn by singers Crosby and Nash. But that issue is so minor that it will escape the attention of all but the most pedantic videophiles.

The concert was directed by David Mallet, who worked on Gilmour`s last DVD release, simply entitled "Live in Concert". This effort looks much the same, which means that the camera switches are paced superbly - there are no split-second switches here that can so often ruin a concert video. As such, there are some beautiful lingering shots of Gilmour`s guitar work, especially on "Castellorizon", with plenty of close-ups too.

The production values are typically high for the show, but once again, they aren`t overbearing. There are no pyrotechnics without a reason, and the Pink Floyd-esque light shows that accompany some of the songs, seem to reflect the music that is being played. In other words, they accentuate the music, not take away from it.

Audio

There are two Dolby Digital audio tracks available here, one in 5.1, and the other in 2.0.

With both tracks, the sound has been beautifully captured, and well-mixed. Gilmour`s guitar, of course, is loud in the mix, but not moreso than expected. If there are any complaints to be had, perhaps it is that the drums aren`t as much of a focal point as rock lovers may be used to. But this isn`t Led Zeppelin, and especially on the "On An Island" tracks, the drums parts were designed to be subtle.

The 5.1 track is, naturally, superior to its 2.0 counterpart, but the difference is not as huge as you might think. The 5.1 track actually relies very little on the surrounds, with only a little echo emanating from there, but it certainly has a broader sound to it, over the 2.0. The other notable advantage of the 5.1 track is the bass. The 2.0 track delivers it well, but the 5.1 adds greater definition to each note.

There are subtitle tracks available here in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, and Polish. Unfortunately, they only cover the inter-track chatter, and not track lyrics.

Features

Extras are bountiful on this two-disc set, with 2hrs 40mins alone allocated to bonus material.

There are quite a number of extra tracks available here, beginning with five which were unused in the main feature. Aside from another version of "Comfortably Numb" (which, despite its similarity to the other performance, is more than welcome), the track "Wearing The Inside Out" caught my particular attention on account of the fantastic saxophone work from Dick Parry. All of these tracks are available in both Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1.

Aside from those, there are performances of "Dark Globe" (again from the 2006 tour, but mysteriously captured in black & white), the fabulous "Astronomy Domine" (live from Abbey Road studios), and "This Heaven" (from the AOL sessions).

Furthermore, we are blessed with another five tracks from the BBC Mermaid Theatre concert. Even though all of these tracks ("Castellorizon", "On An Island", "The Blue", "Take A Breath", and "High Hopes") appear on the main feature concert, it is great to have another high-quality performance of them available here.

After two music videos for "On An Island" and "Smile", we are into the documentary section. Interestingly, extended scenes are available during the "Breaking Bread, Drinking Wine" and "The Making of `On An Island`" documentaries.

"Breaking Bread, Drinking Wine" is a tremendous 45-minute tour video, which sees the band travel all over Europe, from Scotland to Austria to Italy, amongst others. It`s a very enjoyable behind-the-scenes look at the tour and its personalities, with some genuinely humourous moments. There is also a quite remarkable scene in which Gilmour bumps into his old Pink Floyd band-mate Roger Waters.

The "Making of `On An Island`" documentary is likewise excellent, with some fascinating Gilmour guitar moments captured. On this, Gilmour explains the making of his 2006 album, and the extended scenes are particularly noteworthy, as they contain excerpts from an interviews conducted specifically about the album`s tracks.

"The West Coast" documentary is a five-minute handheld camera look at the United States tour. While it doesn`t contain the information or quality of footage of the other documentaries, it is a close-up, intimate look at backstage shenanigans.

Bringing the extras to an end are a music video for "Island Jam" - a track not used on the "On An Island" album - and a lovely slide-show photo gallery, the images from which I believe were taken by David`s photographer wife Polly Samson.

Conclusion

The main concert feature here is divided up into two parts, which is somewhat questionable until Gilmour himself announces to the crowd that in the first half of the show, the band will play the entire "On An Island" album, before moving on to older material. Live in the Royal Albert Hall, they made use of an intermission in the middle, which is the main reason for the divide here.

That notation, however, proceeded what was virtually a medley of Floyd tracks, in "Speak To Me", "Breathe" and "Time". Following it, "Castellorizon" set the tone for the new album tracks, and the actual "On An Island" composition provided the best moment of the entire Part I, with the extended guitar solos making it truly memorable.

Other standout tracks in Part I were "Red Sky At Night", which featured some gorgeous saxophone playing, as did "This Heaven". I also enjoyed the near-metal sound during some sequences of "Take A Breath".

Part II started as it meant to go on, with a quite superb rendition of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", one of Floyd`s seminal tracks, written about the late Syd Barrett. I`ve already mentioned Dick Parry`s saxophone playing a couple of times, but it is worth highlighting on this track, where it is simply stunning.

"Fat Old Man" is a little dull until a superb blues outro fixes that, and "Coming Back To Life" is an interesting track, as it often sounds like a modern guitar-pop song, the likes of which Matchbox Twenty are known for.

The Pink Floyd epic "Echoes" is also performed here in all its glory, filmed for the first time since 1972`s "Live In Pompeii". It`s an amazingly atmospheric track, and is particularly masterful in it`s heaviest sequences.

But the standout moment of the show is also the one which closes it, as arguably Floyd`s greatest ever track, "Comfortably Numb", is performed. The song steals the show with its descriptive lyrics (performed by David Bowie), and true melodic genius. It is a track that in its original studio form, remains one of the greatest of its genre, and there is no question that it is treated with the same reverence by this band in a live setting.


Overall, "Remember That Night: Live at the Royal Albert Hall" is a tremendous concert, which such is its artistry, is not so much classic rock, as classical rock. Womderfully, the "On An Island" tracks actually sound better in this live setting, than they do on the studio album, which is quite the compliment.

The audio and video on the DVD are very good, and match up to almost anything on standard DVD format. The extras are wholly worth watching, and in some cases, are worthy of many repeat viewings.

If you are a fan of David Gilmour or Pink Floyd, you will likely have been one of the people that sent "Remember That Night" to number 1 in the DVD charts upon its release. If you are not, but are a fan of atmospheric, emotive music, you simply must add this to your DVD collection.