Rattle That Lock
by David Gilmour
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Sep 18, 2015
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 38
  3. Negative: 4 out of 38
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. SirNilesIV
    Sep 21, 2015
    6
    I disagree with the reviewer who gave this album a ten calling it "the best." If you haven't heard his first, and by far better, solo album, please do. It is actually a great record made in the mid seventies, I believe after, Wish You Were Here. There are a number of tracks on that album which are far superior both production wise and arrangement wise. This album is a little hacky, muchI disagree with the reviewer who gave this album a ten calling it "the best." If you haven't heard his first, and by far better, solo album, please do. It is actually a great record made in the mid seventies, I believe after, Wish You Were Here. There are a number of tracks on that album which are far superior both production wise and arrangement wise. This album is a little hacky, much like the Division Bell era Pink Floyd. Now if thats your thing, THATS COOL, but alas, for me it's not. I won't go into too many reasons why this album is lacking, but here are some (possibly TL;DR I know):

    -- His guitar work is trite and overly compressed. He still uses a strat mostly, but it's so processed that it sounds like an 80's digital version of a guitar. For comparison, go listen to Doyle Bramhall play David's parts for Roger Water's solo tours, it's like night and day.
    -- The backup singers are egregious church lady shells.
    -- The track order is all over the place with no pacing at all.
    -- The album art looks like a picture taken on Instagram with some script font over it and a random selection of words used as it's title-- why are there birds flying from a cage? What cage are you in David Gilmour?
    -- The lyrical vapidity is ever present from the first track on. Now I know, some of you will quibble if you are a Division Bell era fan (which I am not), so I get it.

    Long comment short, David Gilmour should go back to collaborating with interesting singers like he did with Waters. One of the best back to back albums from an aging rock star are those Robert Plant albums he did with Allison Krauss. They're killer and show what a real second or third act can look like.    … Expand
  2. alandaviddoane
    Sep 18, 2015
    6
    I liked four of the tracks on “Rattle That Lock” enough to listen to them again, “5AM,” “A Boat Lies Waiting,” “Faces of Stone” and “And Then…” It’s not terribly positive news that I only really like four of the ten songs, worse news that two of those four are instrumentals, and worst of all, the vocal tracks that I really like all feel like they were faded out just as they were reallyI liked four of the tracks on “Rattle That Lock” enough to listen to them again, “5AM,” “A Boat Lies Waiting,” “Faces of Stone” and “And Then…” It’s not terribly positive news that I only really like four of the ten songs, worse news that two of those four are instrumentals, and worst of all, the vocal tracks that I really like all feel like they were faded out just as they were really getting somewhere. For an album less than 52 minutes in total length, that is a bit baffling. (I should mention that the Deluxe Edition of the album includes some remixes that add nothing to the experience, except in the case of the title track and first single, “Rattle That Lock.” The “Youth Mix” is an extended version that runs nearly nine minutes and it does have much more energy and interesting segments than the torpid album version from which it sprang.)

    As far as its place in the pantheon of Gilmour solo albums, this fourth effort fits right in, with a couple of gems and some filler and some so-so singles. The release of the “Rattle That Lock” single had me concerned that that was as good as this album would get, and no, that’s not the case. There are better tracks on the album than that. But there’s nothing that either stakes out an intriguing new direction for Gilmour or really comes close to reaching the heights of his best, older efforts. If I thought that was going to happen, and I didn’t, I’d be disappointed. As it is, I’m delighted there are some good songs to be found here, even if they are somewhat hobbled by odd production choices. Fading out early is not an option in live performance, of course, and that’s probably where these songs will shine brightest, on the current tour in support of this album. On the evidence to be found on this album, I would jump at the chance to see him play these songs live.    … Expand
  3. s_balalajkin
    Mar 6, 2016
    6
    Not a great album, but a collection of good songs poorly stuck together.
    There is no underlying theme apart from that essentially British melancholy of the upper middle age upper middle class, no architectural strength except for the trademark Gilmour guitar-filled musical soundscapes.
    The first two songs give you an idea where this album could have been developed by Roger Waters, but    Not a great album, but a collection of good songs poorly stuck together.
    There is no underlying theme apart from that essentially British melancholy of the upper middle age upper middle class, no architectural strength except for the trademark Gilmour guitar-filled musical soundscapes.

    The first two songs give you an idea where this album could have been developed by Roger Waters, but this is no Pink Floyd. Which is a pity. Surely it could become a timeless meditation on Paradise Lost, but has become rather forgettable little piece with two or three truly great tunes and a couple of good lines of poetry that go nowhere and live little impression.
    Three and a half tracks (basically, beginning and the end) could be played together as a sort of mini-album, which becomes a lots more powerful, while the rest of the songs could easily belong to any other David Gilmour album, most likely "On an Island". For those who desperately want to know what music-loving aging multimillionaire feels in that isolated existential bubble of his. Fascinating stuff it is not.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

99
#99 Most Shared Album of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Q Magazine
    Oct 1, 2015
    80
    Reassuringly, Gilmour's cool and composed vocal delivery and liquid guitar solos dominate throughout. [Nov 2015, p.113]
  2. Rolling Stone
    Sep 22, 2015
    70
    Gilmour is, inevitably, most eloquent here as a guitarist.
    Read full review
  3. Consequence
    Sep 21, 2015
    58
    Heartfelt, if not always inspired musings are scattered throughout the record.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »