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A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in the UK on 7 September 1987 by EMI and the following day in the US on Columbia. It was recorded primarily on guitarist David Gilmour’s converted houseboat, Astoria.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason was the first Pink Floyd album recorded without founding member Roger Waters, who departed in 1985. The production was marred by legal fights over the rights to the Pink Floyd name, which were not resolved until several months after release.
It also saw the return of keyboardist and founding member Richard Wright, who had resigned from the band under pressure from Waters during the recording of The Wall (1979).
Unlike most earlier Pink Floyd records, A Momentary Lapse of Reason is not a concept album. It includes writing contributions from outside songwriters, following Gilmour’s decision to include material once intended for his third solo album. The album was promoted with a successful world tour and with three singles: the double A-side “Learning to Fly” / “Terminal Frost”, “On the Turning Away”, and “One Slip”.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason received mixed reviews; some critics praised the production and instrumentation but criticised Gilmour’s writing, and it was derided by Waters. It reached number three in the UK and US, and outsold Pink Floyd’s previous album The Final Cut (1983).
A Momentary Lapse of Reason was reissued again as part of the Later Years box set released in December 2019.
The album was “updated and remixed” by Gilmour and Jackson, with restored contributions from Wright and newly recorded drum tracks from Mason to “restore the creative balance between the three Pink Floyd members”.
Rolling Stone described this version as “more tasteful … [it] doesn’t drown in eighties reverb the way the original did …
Although none of the Momentary Lapse remixes will be dramatic enough to sway the band’s critics, they add clarity to what Gilmour was trying to achieve. A standalone album was released on 29 October 2021.