The Pink Floyd song David Gilmour “always liked”
No one needs reminding that David Gilmour is one of the most talented men in music. After joining Pink Floyd in 1967, he totally reshaped the band from their early days. As a vital puzzle piece in helping the group survive the tumult of Syd Barrett’s departure, Gilmour’s influence made them the art rock leaders they became.
Part of their evolution came down to Gilmour’s multi-instrumentalist talent. Standing as a kind of one-man band that could play every instrument necessary, he also took on a production role. On the band’s biggest and most defining albums, like Dark Side Of The Moon, The Wall, and Wish You Were Here, Gilmour was both in the studio and sat behind the desk as the true band leader.
But despite being one of the most respected names in music, it’s almost as if Gilmour still doesn’t quite get his dues. It would be impossible to understate his impact on Pink Floyd and music as a whole. His vision and production prowess pioneered the rock genre into new and exciting places. He gave fans hit after hit and even introduced the world to Kate Bush. It’s hard to think of many other singular figures that have given the world of music quite so much gold.
So when it comes to Gilmour’s own favourite Pink Floyd song, there is one track that he’s always held close. Forgotten in the face of the band’s bigger hits, the song is a perfect example of how the musician’s talents are still somewhat undervalued.
Their 1970 album Atom Heart Mother isn’t often considered the band’s best work. With only five tracks, the record made a real splash. Featuring the nearly half-hour long musical odyssey ‘Atom Mother Heart Suite’, along with the 15-minute long ‘Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast’, the record seemed like a key ready to unlock a new level of experimentation.
While the title track is held up as a shining example of the band’s pioneering spirit, that’s not the track Gilmour likes best. Overshadowed by the lengthier tracks, the musician picked out ‘Fat Old Sun’.
The folk-rock song is often brushed off as unimportant on the record. At the time of release, many deemed it unmemorable in comparison to the rest of the album, but it has always been special to the guitarist.
In part because it is utterly and entirely his work. David Gilmour plays every instrument on the track with the exception of the keyboard, as he invited Richard Wright in briefly to help out. But everything else, from the guitars to the bass to the drums, is done by Gilmour’s hands. “I played the drums on the original recording but the drums are so bad,” he said.
“I’ve always liked the song, one of the first I ever wrote,” he said in 2008 when reflecting on the record. To Gilmour, ‘Fat Old Sun’ stood out as one of their finest works and a key moment for him as a musician. “I tried to persuade the rest of the Pink Floyd guys that it should go on Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd but they weren’t having it,” he added.
While sadly left off the Best Of album, ‘Fat Old Sun’ stands as a kind of memory box for Gilmour’s 1970s talent, skill and unrelenting passion for his craft.
