On an Island

On an Island
Studio album by David Gilmour
Released 6 March 2006
Recorded 2001–05
Genre Post-progressive, art rock, baroque pop
Length 51:36
Label EMI (UK)
Columbia Records (US)
Producer
"Island Jam" produced by:
  • David Gilmour
David Gilmour chronology
About Face
(1984)		 On an Island
(2006)		 Live in Gdańsk
(2008)
Singles from On an Island
  1. "On an Island"
    Released: 15 February 2006
  2. "Take a Breath"
    Released: 3 March 2006
  3. "Smile"
    Released: 13 June 2006
  4. "This Heaven"
    Released: October 2006
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic67/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]
The Guardian[4]
musicOMH[5]
Mojo[6]

On an Island is the third solo album by Pink Floyd member David Gilmour. It was released in the UK on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the US the following day. It was his first solo album in twenty two years since 1984's About Face and twelve years since 1994's Pink Floyd album The Division Bell.

History

The album features Robert Wyatt, Jools Holland, Georgie Fame, David Crosby, Graham Nash, late Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, early Pink Floyd member Bob Klose and Pink Floyd session and touring musician Guy Pratt. Chris Thomas and Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera assisted with production. The lyrics were principally written by Gilmour's wife, Polly Samson.

Recording

Much of the album was recorded in Gilmour's private studio aboard his houseboat Astoria. The track "Smile" was heard briefly in an unmastered form on the BBC2 show Three Men in a Boat which retraced a trip on the River Thames that passed the houseboat. Other sections were recorded at David's farm in Sussex and Mark Knopfler's British Grove Studios

Orchestrations on the album were arranged by noted Polish film composer Zbigniew Preisner and conducted by Robert Ziegler. The orchestra was recorded at Abbey Road Studios by Simon Rhodes.[7]

Singles

The album also produced two singles; the title track "On an Island" and "Smile", the latter peaking at #72 on the UK Singles Chart.[8] "On an Island" also peaked at #27 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[9]

Promo Single edits of "Take a Breath" and "This Heaven" were issued to coincide with the US leg of the tour, while "Smile" was the second single in the UK.

Other releases

Copies of the album initially purchased from Best Buy in the US contained an exclusive bonus audio CD with the instrumental track "Island Jam" which was subsequently released on the CD single for "Smile" in Europe.

The album was re-released in November 2006 with a bonus DVD of live tracks and other material.

Chart performance

On an Island entered the UK charts at #1,[8] giving Gilmour his first ever chart-topping album outside of Pink Floyd. It reached #1 on the European Chart, and #2 in Canada, Portugal and Iceland. It has also provided Gilmour with his first US Top 10 album, reaching #6. The album has achieved platinum status in Canada and has sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide.

Track listing

All music written by David Gilmour.

No. TitleLyrics Length
1. "Castellorizon"  Instrumental 3:54
2. "On an Island"  Gilmour, Polly Samson 6:47
3. "The Blue"  Samson 5:26
4. "Take a Breath"  Samson 5:46
5. "Red Sky at Night"  Instrumental 2:51
6. "This Heaven"  Gilmour, Samson 4:24
7. "Then I Close My Eyes"  Instrumental 5:26
8. "Smile"  Samson 4:03
9. "A Pocketful of Stones"  Samson 6:17
10. "Where We Start"  Gilmour 6:45

Non-album tracks

"Island Jam"

"Island Jam" (6:33) (not to be confused with "Island Jam 2007") was recorded as the b-side to the "Smile" single. The track was produced by Gilmour.

Personnel

Tour

Main Article: On an Island Tour

Gilmour toured the album with Richard Wright, Phil Manzanera and long-time members of the live Pink Floyd band, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin. Steve DiStanislao was brought in as drummer. The shows included the entire On an Island album plus Pink Floyd songs such as "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", "Echoes", "Arnold Layne", "High Hopes", "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb" among others. No songs from Gilmour's two previous solo albums were played. The tour is documented on the DVD/Blu-ray Remember That Night and the live album & DVD Live in Gdansk.

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart 2
Norwegian Albums Chart 1
UK Albums Chart 1
US Billboard 200 6

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
France (SNEP)[10] Gold 50,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Platinum 300,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Accolades

The song "Castellorizon" received a Grammy Award nomination for best rock instrumental.

The album has achieved platinum status in Canada for shipping 100,000 units.[12]

References

  1. ↑ On an Island at Metacritic
  2. ↑ On an Island at AllMusic
  3. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/9449331/review/9777389/on_an_island Archived 24 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ John L Walters (24 February 2006). "CD: David Gilmour, On an Island | Music". The Guardian.
  5. ↑ Hubbard, Michael. "David Gilmour – On An Island". musicomh.com/.
  6. ↑ Blake, Mark (2008), Raves from Dave, Mojo, p. 48
  7. ↑ http://www.davidgilmour.com/music_island.htm
  8. 1 2 "David Gilmour | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  9. ↑ On an Island at AllMusic
  10. ↑ "French album certifications – David Gilmour – On An Island" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  11. ↑ "British album certifications – David Gilmour – On An Island". British Phonographic Industry. Enter On An Island in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  12. ↑ "Canadian certifications – On an Island". Music Canada.
Preceded by
Corinne Bailey Rae by Corinne Bailey Rae		 UK number one album
12–18 March 2006 		Succeeded by
Corinne Bailey Rae by Corinne Bailey Rae
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