Five songs that prove David Gilmour is a guitar genius
Pink Floyd remain one of the world’s most ambitious, cinematic and innovative bands, creating songs, albums and shows that expand beyond what had ever been done before in music. It became more than just a sound for them; it was a feeling, emotion in every single second, true craftsmanship in whatever they put out.
There are no rules regarding how long a song should be, how layered it can be, or its structure. Any convention is forgotten as they explore the furthest reaches of their art to create something exciting for their audience. Part of the success comes from the band’s ability to come together and work out these pieces, but it also comes down to individual talent and knowledge of their instruments, as seen in David Gilmour’s guitar-playing ability.
He is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most significant guitar players of all time. He is very gifted in everything he does, taking from his influences well and knowing when to step beyond conventional to deliver something ground-breaking. He plays superhumanly and has subtle guitar techniques that feed into everything Pink Floyd offers.
This list goes into five of the most significant songs that cement Gilmour as the guitar-playing genius that he is. They highlight his ability to play in both conventional and unconventional settings, all of which led to the success of Pink Floyd.
Songs that prove David Gilmour is a genius:
‘Comfortably Numb’
Arguably one of the band’s most famous songs, the 1980 hit ‘Comfortably Numb’ is one of the greatest guitar moments of all time and one of the last great guitar moments that Gilmour ever did. The song is emotional at heart, and yet also plays out with a serene melancholy, reflective of being high. Somehow, the way David plays reflects this tone in a way that still has rock at the centre but is more lax in its approach.
Gilmour manages to blend the styles of various other guitarists in the ‘Comfortably Numb’ solo, which makes it impossible not to be impressed. He leans into effects, as Pink Floyd always did, which creates a backdrop of distortion and feedback that continues to give the track layers on layers.
‘Money’
This is one of Pink Floyd’s most loved tracks and arguably one of the greatest rock songs ever. Head on to any playlist of rock classics, and this is guaranteed to be on there, an accolade which David Gilmour’s guitar playing contributes towards massively.
It is one of the stand-out songs from the now iconic Dark Side of the Moon album, laced with funk, which has been injected into the track by Gilmour and his guitar. There are a lot of different components to enjoy about this song. The intro, verse and solo prove even further that Gilmour is one of the best to pick up a guitar.
‘Echoes’
Long songs separate the good from the great in music. Some artists don’t have the talent and versatility to keep a listener engaged for that period of time. In contrast, others can apply various parts to a song to keep everything moving along quickly and have time to become an incredibly abstract construct in the presence of their art. David Gilmour falls into the latter.
At 23 minutes long, ‘Echoes’ really gives him the chance to experiment with his guitar and play different parts of the song in different ways. The ethos of ‘Echoes’ continued to follow Pink Floyd around; it didn’t matter how little they conformed to what was expected; they would do what they wanted and do it well.
‘Breathe’
Gilmore has always described ‘Breathe’ as one of his favourite Pink Floyd songs. The track is an excellent example of the way Pink Floyd can manipulate sound so that it becomes transformative; it elicits a sense of weightlessness through psychedelic passages, the majority of which is thanks to Gilmour’s innovative guitar work.
Using his Fender Stratocaster, Gilmour has no problem taking the listener on a journey throughout this track, arguably more so than on any other Pink Floyd song. It’s not the most technical song ever written, but part of Gilmour’s genius was reading a piece and knowing when to hold back and when to give it his all. The song doesn’t need to be overly complicated; Gilmour adds to it perfectly.
‘Wish You Were Here’
This song was exciting enough to be made the title track of the band’s 1975 album and is widely considered one of the band’s most loved songs. The song is open enough to imply several interpretations, but Gilmour has said he cannot play it without thinking about Pink Floyd’s previous frontman, Syd Barrett.
His emotion can be heard easily throughout the song in every pluck of a string. Gilmour can make you listen to his guitar like it’s talking to you, taking comfort in your presence during a crisis. It’s one of his most engaging songs ever and quickly shows how much of a guitar genius he is.
