So, once I had the wallet out in Oundle, I ended up picking up anything that I thought might be of interest, so this for a couple of quid seemed worth it.
I'm approaching with caution, since Pink Floyd and I had parted company over a decade earlier. I'd been lukewarm about Animals and found The Wall self indulgent (remember, it was 1979), so let this pass at the time.
First thoughts are that this is really a David Gilmour solo album. No Roger Waters or Rick Wright (OK, he's credited as a session player); sure, Nick Mason's still there but he didn't contribute to songwriting.
Opening with Signs Of Life, a dull instrumental, which feels like it wants to emulate the opening of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, but falls far short, then Learning To Fly, a gentle, listenable, unmemorable song. The Dogs Of War is angrier, but not particularly interesting. One Slip is brighter, and a much more exciting listen, but it's followed by the slow, tedious On The Turning Away. Yet Another Movie has the feel of something trying to be an epic track and failing. Terminal Frost is an uninspired instrumental, bookended by the two parts of the strange A New Machine. The closing song, Sorrow, feels overblown and plodding.
I haven't looked at how others rate this in the Pink Floyd catalogue, but it's a shadow of previous work, and feels like a contractual obligation. I doubt I'll revisit it. While not actively bad, it's generic 1980s rock, lacking the spark and originality of Floyd's 1960s and 1970s work.
2* - a very disappointing album from a former favourite.
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