On an Island
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| On an Island | ||
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| Studio album by David Gilmour | ||
| Released | 6 March 2006 (UK) 7 March 2006 (U.S.) |
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| Genre | Progressive rock, Blues-rock, Art Rock | |
| Length | 51:36 | |
| Label | EMI (UK) Columbia Records (U.S.) |
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| Producer(s) | David Gilmour, Phil Manzanera, Chris Thomas | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| David Gilmour chronology | ||
| About Face (1984) |
On an Island (2006) |
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On an Island is the third solo album by David Gilmour, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2006, the same day as Gilmour's 60th birthday, with the U.S. release the following day. It is Gilmour's first new solo album in 22 years. The song "Castellorizon" has received a grammy award nomination for best rock instrumental.
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[edit] The album
Notable appearances include Jools Holland (playing a 2 note phrase on "The Blue"), David Crosby and Graham Nash, as well as original Pink Floyd members Richard Wright and Bob Klose. Guy Pratt, who has done studio work and toured with the Floyd, also appears. Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera assisted with production duties. Rick Wright, the keyboardist for Pink Floyd, also joined Gilmour while touring. Dick Parry, the saxophonist for Pink Floyd, whose notable appearances include: "Money", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", "Us and Them" and various others, also toured with Gilmour. Much of the album was recorded in Gilmour's private studio aboard his houseboat named Astoria. The track "Smile" was heard briefly in an unmastered form on the BBC2 show Three Men In A Boat.
Orchestrations on the album were arranged by noted Polish film composer Zbigniew Preisner and conducted by Robert Ziegler
David Gilmour's page on myspace.com features a single edit of the title track for his new album and is available for all to listen to. Single edits of "Take A Breath" and "This Heaven" were issued to coincide with the U.S. leg of the tour, while "Smile" was the second single in the UK.
Copies of the album initially purchased from Best Buy in the U.S. contained an exclusive bonus audio CD with the instrumental track Island Jam which was subsequently released on the CD single for "Smile" in Europe.
On an Island entered the UK charts at #1, giving Gilmour his first ever chart-topping album outside of Pink Floyd. It's also reached #1 in Italy, Norway, and the Czech Republic. It's reached the #2 spot in Canada and Iceland. It has also provided Gilmour with his first U.S. Top 10 album, reaching #6 but quickly falling out of sight. The album has achieved platinum status in Canada, selling over 100,000 copies in the first month of its release and has sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide.
The album was re-released in November of 2006 with a bonus DVD of Gilmour's performances of "On an Island", "This Heaven", "Smile", "Take a Breath", "High Hopes" and "Comfortably Numb" from AOL's Music Sessions filmed in New York in April 2006 plus a performance of "Astronomy Domine" filmed at Abbey Road Studios in August, 2006 and a performance of "Take a Breath" from Gilmour's upcoming DVD filmed at The Royal Albert Hall in May of 2006.
[edit] Track listing
- "Castellorizon" (Gilmour) – 3:54
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitar, Orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner.
- Based on a night he spent on Kastellórizo.
- "On an Island" (Gilmour/Samson) – 6:47
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitars, vocals, electric piano and percussion, David Crosby, Graham Nash on vocals, Guy Pratt on bass guitar, Orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner, Rick Wright on Hammond Organ, Rado Klose on guitar and Andy Newmark on drums.
- "The Blue" (Gilmour/Samson) – 5:26
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitars, vocals, bass guitar, percussion, piano, Rado Klose on guitar, Andy Newmark on drums, Jools Holland, Polly Samson on piano, Chris Stainton on Hammond Organ and Rick Wright on vocals.
- "Take a Breath" (Gilmour/Samson) – 5:46
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitars, vocals, Phil Manzanera on keyboard, Guy Pratt on bass guitar, Leszek Mozdzer on piano, Ged Lynch on drums, Orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner and Caroline Dale on cello.
- "Red Sky at Night" (Gilmour) – 2:51
- Featuring David Gilmour on saxophone and lap steel guitars, Chris Laurence on double bass, Caroline Dale on cello, Orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner and Ilan Eshkeri on programming.
- "This Heaven" (Gilmour/Samson) – 4:24
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitars, vocals, bass guitar, Phil Manzanera on keyboard, Andy Newmark on drums, Orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner and Georgie Fame on Hammond organ.
- "Then I Close My Eyes" (Gilmour) – 5:26
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitars, cumbus, bass harmonica, BJ Cole on dobro guitar, Robert Wyatt on cornet, percussion, vocals, Phil Manzanera on keyboard, Andy Newmark on percussion, Orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner, Caroline Dale on cello and Alasdair Malloy on glass harmonica.
- "Smile" (Gilmour/Samson) – 4:03
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitars, vocals, percussion, Hammond Organ, bass guitar, Polly Samson on vocals, Willie Wilson on drums and orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner.
- "A Pocketful of Stones" (Gilmour/Samson) – 6:17
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitars, vocals, Hammond Organ, piano, bass, percussion, Leszek Mozdzer on piano, Lucy Wakeford on harp, Alasdair Malloy on glass harmonica, Chris Thomas on keyboard, Chris Laurence on double bass, Ilan Eshkeri on programming and orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner.
- "Where We Start" (Gilmour) – 6:45
- Featuring David Gilmour on guitars, vocals, bass guitar, percussion, Hammond organ, Andy Newmark on drums and orchestrations by Zbigniew Preisner.
[edit] Tour personnel
- David Gilmour - Guitars, vocals, cümbüs, alto saxophone on "Red Sky At Night"
- Phil Manzanera - Guitars, vocals
- Guy Pratt - Bass guitar, vocals, guitar on "Then I Close My Eyes"
- Richard Wright - Keyboards, vocals
- Jon Carin - Keyboards, vocals, lap steel guitar
- Dick Parry - Tenor and baritone saxophones
- Steve DiStanislao - Drums, percussion, vocals
[edit] Charts
Album - [Based on stock pushed to shops, not actual sales.](North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
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| 2006 | The Billboard 200 | 6 |
| 2006 | Billboard Top Internet Albums | 2 |
| 2006 | Official UK Albums Chart | 1 |
