PINK FLOYD - A Momentary Lapse of Reason 12" Vinyl LP Album

- Canada Gatefold Album Cover

David Gilmour is, for me, the calm center of Pink Floyd’s storm: an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose playing can feel gentle and devastating in the same bar. His earliest band period worth name-dropping is Jokers Wild (1964–1967), before he stepped into Pink Floyd in 1967 as Syd Barrett’s situation unraveled. From there his main performing era is Pink Floyd (1967–1995), including the post-Roger Waters years where the band continued under his leadership and released "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" (1987) and "The Division Bell" (1994), with a later studio coda in "The Endless River" (2014). Outside Floyd, he’s had a long solo run (1978–present) with albums ranging from "David Gilmour" (1978) to "Luck and Strange" (2024), and he even did a sharp side-quest in 1985 with Pete Townshend’s short-lived supergroup Deep End. And for one historic night, the classic lineup reunited at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London on 2 July 2005—one of those “you had to be there (or at least press play)” moments.

Nick Mason is Pink Floyd’s drummer, co-founder, and the one guy who never clocked out: his main performing period with Pink Floyd runs from 1965 to the present, and he’s the only member to appear across every Pink Floyd album. Outside the mothership, he’s had a very “I’m not done yet” second act: in 2018 he formed Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets (2018–present) to bring the band’s early psychedelic years back to the stage. He’s also stepped out under his own name with projects like the solo album "Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports" (released 1981), which is basically him taking a left turn into jazz-rock just to prove he can. And yes, he was part of that blink-and-you-miss-it full-band moment at Live 8 in London in 2005, when the classic lineup briefly reunited and reminded everyone why this band still haunts people.

Richard Wright (born Richard William Wright) is, for me, the understated genius of Pink Floyd: co-founder, keyboardist, and occasional lead vocalist whose textures are basically baked into the band’s DNA. His main performing period with Pink Floyd runs from 1965 to 1981 (including the early albums through the massive arena years), then he returned as a full member again from 1987 to 1994 for the later era tours and albums. In between those chapters, he didn’t just vanish into a fog machine: he released a solo album, "Wet Dream" (1978), and later "Broken China" (1996), and he also had a proper side-project moment with Zee (1983–1984), which produced the album "Identity" (1984). He passed away in 2008, but his playing still feels like the part of Pink Floyd that makes the air shimmer.

Bob Ezrin is the Canadian producer who taught rock to think in widescreen, properly. I heard his touch in the Alice Cooper band years (1971-1974) on "Love It to Death", "Killer", "School's Out" and "Billion Dollar Babies", then again when he steered Alice's solo debut "Welcome to My Nightmare" (1975). In 1973 he put Lou Reed's bleak masterpiece "Berlin" on a velvet operating table. He turned Kiss into arena-grade steel on "Destroyer" (1976), came back for the darker detour "Music from The Elder" (1981) and later "Revenge" (1992). In 1977 he framed Peter Gabriel's first solo album, and in 1979-1980 he helped Pink Floyd stack the bricks on "The Wall".

Carmine Appice - the New York bruiser who made hard rock drums sound like a street fight with swing. I first clock him in Vanilla Fudge (1966-1970), then he kicks the doors in with Cactus (1970-1971) and the super-trio Beck, Bogert & Appice (1972-1974). By 1976 he's in Rod Stewart's band (1976-1981), co-writing hits and proving chops can still smile. In the MTV years he fronts the kit for King Kobra (1983-1989; back again 2000-2001, 2010-present) and later Blue Murder (late 1988-1990). Offstage he even wrote the playbook - his Realistic Rock drum method became a rite of passage. Big hands, bigger backbeat - never polite, always loud enough to matter.