Live in Gdańsk

Infobox Album | ;!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
Name = Live In Gdańsk
Type = Live Album


Artist = David Gilmour
Released = 22 September 2008
Specific regions are detailed below
Recorded = 26 August 2006
Genre = Progressive rock
Classic Rock
Symphonic Rock
Label = EMI (UK)
Columbia (U.S.)
Producer = David Gilmour, Phil Manzanera
Last album = "On an Island" (2006)
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:39fwxzrkldte link]
* IGN Rating|8.4|10 [http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/912/912931p1.html link]
This album = "Live In Gdańsk" (2008)

"Live In Gdańsk" is a live album by David Gilmour. It is a part of his "On an Island" project which includes an album, tour, DVD, and live album. It was released on 22 September 2008.

It is a recording of the final show of his On an Island tour in 2006, where he played to an audience of 50,000 at the Gdańsk Shipyard to celebrate Poland's 1980 revolution.
The show is notable for being the only show on the tour to feature the song "A Great Day for Freedom", which appears on Pink Floyd's final studio album "The Division Bell" from 1994. It was last performed by Gilmour during his semi-acoustic shows in 2002.

Gilmour and his band were backed by the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zbigniew Preisner and Leszek Mozdzer on piano.

The album debuted at #10 on the UK Album chart and debuted at #26 on the US Billboard album chart.

Release

The currently confirmed releases dates for the album are as follows:

* Europe, Brazil, Israel, New Zealand - 22 September 2008 [http://www.davidgilmour.com/gdansk.htm] [http://blog.davidgilmour.com/2008/09/the-web-pass.html]
* North America, Argentina - 23 September 2008 [http://www.davidgilmour.com/gdansk.htm]
* Australia - 27 September 2008 [http://blog.davidgilmour.com/2008/09/a-few-things.html]
* Japan - 8 October 2008 [http://www.davidgilmour.com/gdansk.htm]

Some European countries such as Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany had the album available for sale on 19 September 2008 [http://blog.davidgilmour.com/2008/09/a-few-things.html] , although the official release date is 22 September.

Versions

The 4 different available versions of "Live in Gdańsk" are:

* 2 disc version containing the concert on CD
* 3 disc version containing the above plus a DVD featuring 114 minutes of concert footage, plus a 36-minute documentary
* 4 disc version containing the above plus a 5.1-surround sound mix of "On an Island" and 11 extra audio-visual tracks taken from various TV appearances [ [http://blog.davidgilmour.com/2008/06/on-an-island-51.html] ]
* 5 disc version containing the above plus an extra CD containing 12 bonus live tracks from the 2006 tour [http://blog.davidgilmour.com/2008/06/bonus-live-trac.html] as well as a wallet of memorabilia.

The DVD that comes with the 3 and 4 disc sets has the 5th CD tracks and "Wot's...Uh the Deal?" to download free of charge via a web-pass. The tracks are available to download at the rate of one song per month.

Exclusive to independent record retailers, the American version includes a bonus CD containing the track "Wots... Uh The Deal?", unavailable in Europe.

Track listing

Below are the official track listings for the different versions of the album.

Standard Edition

The standard 2CD edition is the most basic form of the album and is simply the recording of the Gdańsk show, omitting "Wot's... Uh The Deal?":
Disc 1
# "Speak to Me" - 1:23
# "Breathe (In the Air)" - 2:49
# "Time" - 5:38
# "Breathe (Reprise)" - 1:32 (Above tracks are from "Dark Side of the Moon" - Pink Floyd, 1973)
# "Castellorizon" - 3:47
# "On an Island" - 7:26
# "The Blue" - 6:39
# "Red Sky at Night" - 3:03
# "This Heaven" - 4:33
# "Then I Close My Eyes" - 7:42
# "Smile" - 4:26
# "Take a Breath" - 6:47
# "A Pocketful of Stones" - 5:41
# "Where We Start" - 8:01 (The above tracks are taken from "On an Island" - David Gilmour, 2006)

Disc 2
# "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" - 12:07 (Taken from "Wish You Were Here" - Pink Floyd, 1975)
# "Astronomy Domine" - 5:02 (Taken from "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" - Pink Floyd, 1967)
# "Fat Old Sun" - 6:40 (Taken from "Atom Heart Mother" - Pink Floyd, 1970)
# "High Hopes" - 9:57 (Taken from "The Division Bell" - Pink Floyd, 1994)
# "Echoes" - 25:26 (Taken from "Meddle" - Pink Floyd, 1971)
# "Wish You Were Here" - 5:15 (Taken from "Wish You Were Here" - Pink Floyd, 1975)
# "A Great Day for Freedom" - 5:56 (Taken from "The Division Bell" - Pink Floyd, 1994)
# "Comfortably Numb" - 9:22 (Taken from "The Wall" - Pink Floyd, 1979)

Track running times may vary by a few seconds depending on systems or software.

3 Disc Edition

The 3-disc edition contains the 2CDs above and the following DVD:

DVD (Disc 3)
* The album comes with a bonus DVD containing a 114-minute film of the concert featuring:
# "Castellorizon"
# "On an Island"
# "The Blue"
# "Red Sky at Night"
# "This Heaven"
# "Then I Close My Eyes"
# "Smile"
# "Take a Breath"
# "A Pocketful of Stones"
# "Where We Start"
# "Astronomy Domine"
# "High Hopes"
# "Echoes"
# "A Great Day for Freedom"
# "Comfortably Numb"

* "Gdańsk Diary" - a 36-minute documentary.
* Web-pass to download 12 additional live tracks and "Wot's...Uh the Deal?"

4 Disc Edition

The 4 disc version contains the above three discs as well as the following:

DVD (Disc 4)
Disc 4 contains the following:

* A 5.1 surround sound mix of "On an Island" (Audio only)

* Three never-before heard jams from "The Barn", January 2007
**Barn Jam 166
**Barn Jam 192
**Barn Jam 121
(All "Barn Jams" are written by Gilmour)

* "Shine on You Crazy Diamond"
* "Wearing the Inside Out"
* "Comfortably Numb"(From the Mermaid Theatre performance in 2006)

* "On an Island"
* "High Hopes"(From the AOL Sessions, 2006)

* "The Blue"
* "Take a Breath"
* "Echoes (Acoustic)"(From "Live from Abbey Road")

Deluxe Edition

Disc 5
The Deluxe Edition has a the double-album + the two above DVDs + a third CD containing the 12 live tracks that are available free of charge via the web-pass on the DVD from the 3 and 4 Disc versions, taken from the On an Island 2006 tour.

#"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" - 13:09
Venice, 12 August 2006 & Vienne, 31 July 2006
#"Dominoes" - 4:53
(Taken from "Barrett" - Syd Barrett, 1970)
Paris, 15 March 2006
#"The Blue" - 6:21
Vienne, 31 July 2006
#"Take a Breath" - 6:43
Munich, 29 July 2006
#"Wish You Were Here" - 5:17
Glasgow, 27 May 2006
#"Coming Back to Life" - 7:10
(Taken from "The Division Bell" - Pink Floyd, 1994)
Florence, 2 August 2006
#"Find the Cost of Freedom" - 1:27
(Taken from "4 Way Street" - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1971)
Manchester, 26 May 2006
#"This Heaven" - 4:27
Vienne, 31 July 2006
#"Wearing the Inside Out" - 7:32
(Taken from "The Division Bell" - Pink Floyd, 1994)
Milan, 25 March 2006
#"A Pocketful of Stones" - 6:27
Vienne, 31 July 2006
#"Where We Start" - 7:37
Vienne, 31 July 2006
#"On the Turning Away" - 6:06
(Taken from "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" - Pink Floyd, 1987)
Venice, 12 August 2006The Deluxe Edition also contains a twenty page booklet (the other versions have a 12 page booklet) and these items of memorabilia:
* Reproduction postcard
* Ticket
* Backstage pass and artist's pass
* A large double-sided poster
* A guitar plectrum
* Seven photographs

Vinyl Edition

LP 1:
# Speak to Me
# Breathe
# Time
# Breathe (Reprise)
# Castellorizon
# On an Island
# The Blue
# Red Sky at Night
# This Heaven

LP 2:
# Then I Close My Eyes
# Smile
# Take a Breath
# A Pocketful of Stones
# Where We Start

LP 3:
# Shine On You Crazy Diamond
# Wot's... Uh The Deal?
# Astronomy Domine
# Fat Old Sun
# High Hopes

LP 4:
# Echoes
# Wish You Were Here
# A Great Day for Freedom
# Comfortably Numb

LP 5:
# On The Turning Away (Venice, 12 August 2006)
# The Blue (Live from Abbey Road, August 2006)
# Echoes (Acoustic) (Live from Abbey Road, August 2006)
# Barn Jam 166
# Barn Jam 121 [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Gdansk-Vinyl-Boxset-VINYL/dp/tracks/B001C4Z6RK/ref=dp_tracks_all_1#disc_1]

iTunes Edition

#Speak To Me
#Breathe
#Time
#Breathe (Reprise)
#Castellorizon
#On an Island
#The Blue
#Red Sky at Night
#This Heaven
#Then I Close My Eyes
#Smile
#Take a Breath
#A Pocketful of Stones
#Where We Start
#Shine On You Crazy Diamond
#Astronomy Domine
#Fat Old Sun
#High Hopes
#Echoes
#Wish You Were Here
#A Great Day For Freedom
#Comfortably Numb
#Wot's... Uh The Deal?
(Taken from "Obscured by Clouds" - Pink Floyd, 1972)
and the following:
*"Wearing the Inside Out" video (from the Mermaid Theatre)
*"Take A Breath" video (from "Live from Abbey Road")
*Digital booklet [iTunes Store]

DVD Easter Eggs

There are hidden "Easter Eggs" (extras) on the two DVDs:

*Play the "Gdańsk Diary", at the very end (after the credits) the Wireman will appear, when he does - click your "Enter" button to see more from the documentary.
*On Disc 3 (the Gdańsk concert DVD), go to Track Selection and hover the cursor over "Echoes", after a while it will begin to blink, when it does hit "Enter" on your remote control. This will lead to a video of David and Rick explaining to the rest of the band how "Echoes" was written.
*Another hidden extra lies behind "Barn Jam 166". On the main menu of Disc 4 go to [Performances] > [Next] and highlight "Barn Jam 166", then hit the left-directional button on your remote control this will take you to another menu asking if you want subtitles or not. This is a video of Dave and Rick talking about jamming at The Barn.

Promotion

Television
Gilmour guested on Jools Holland's live TV show "Later! Live.... with Jools Holland" on BBC2 on 23 September 2008, originally to promote the new live album, performing the songs "Astronomy Domine", "The Blue" and "Fat Old Sun" but with the death of Richard Wright on the 15 September he changed his set to "Remember A Day" (One of Rick Wright's contributions to the A Saucerful of Secrets album) and "The Blue".

On Friday 26 September 2008, BBC4 held a David Gilmour Night, showing part of the "Gdansk" DVD and "Gdansk Diary" documentary.

US Cinemas
Selected US cinemas gave showings of the "Gdańsk" concert during release week.

US Radio
Westwood One aired a world première of the "Gdańsk" concert the weekend before release and included new interviews with David Gilmour.

Personnel

Tour Personnel

Musicians
* David Gilmour - Guitars, Vocals, Cümbüş, Alto Saxophone on "Red Sky at Night"
* Richard Wright - Hammond Organ, Farfisa Organ, Synthesizer, Vocals
* Jon Carin - Keyboards, Vocals, Lap Steel Guitar, Programming
* Guy Pratt - Bass Guitars, Vocals, Double bass, Guitar on "Then I Close My Eyes", Glass Harmonica on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
* Phil Manzanera - Guitars, Vocals, Glass Harmonica on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
* Dick Parry - Saxophones, Keyboards, Glass Harmonica on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
* Steve DiStanislao - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
* Zbigniew Preisner - Conductor, Orchestrations
* Leszek Możdżer - Piano
* Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra
* Igor Sklyarov - Glass Harmonica on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (Venice performance only)
Other
* Polly Samson - Tour photographer
* Anna Wloch - Tour photographer
* Steve Knee - Package design & artwork
* Peter Robson "FEd" - davidgilmour.com
* Marc Brickman - Visual design
* David McIlwaine - Wire-man sculpture

Barn Jam Personnel
* David Gilmour - Guitar, Lap steel guitar, Drums
* Richard Wright - Keyboards
* Guy Pratt - Bass, Guitar
* Steve DiStanislao - Drums, Double bass

Charts

References

External links

* [http://www.davidgilmour.com/gdansk.htm "Live In Gdańsk" at davidgilmour.com]