''On an Island'' is the third solo studio album by

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

member

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

. It was released in the UK on 6 March 2006, Gilmour's 60th birthday, and in the US the following day. It was his first solo album in 22 years since '' About Face'' in 1984 and 12 years since Pink Floyd's 1994 album ''

The Division Bell ''The Division Bell'' is the fourteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 March 1994 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and on 4 April by Columbia Records in the United States. The second Pink Flo ...

''.

History

The album features

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming pa ...

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

, Pink Floyd keyboardist

Richard Wright Richard Wright may refer to: Arts * Richard Wright (author) (1908–1960), African-American novelist * Richard B. Wright (1937–2017), Canadian novelist * Richard Wright (painter) (1735–1775), marine painter * Richard Wright (artist) (born 19 ...

, early Pink Floyd member

Bob Klose Rado Robert Garcia Klose (born 1945) is an English musician, photographer and printmaker. Between 1964 and July 1965, he was the lead guitarist of the rock band the Tea Set, a group that would later become Pink Floyd. Although he recorded a few ...

and Pink Floyd session and touring musician

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary Moo ...

. Chris Thomas and

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Su ...

assisted with production. Engineering duties were undertaken by long time collaborator Andy Jackson. The lyrics were principally written by Gilmour's wife, writer

Polly Samson Polly Samson (born 29 April 1962) is an English novelist, lyricist, and journalist. She is married to the musician David Gilmour and has written the lyrics to many of Gilmour's works, both as a solo artist and with the group Pink Floyd. Life an ...

Recording

Much of the album was recorded in Gilmour's private studio aboard his houseboat Astoria. The track "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

" was heard briefly in an unmastered form on the

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

show ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a two ...

'' which retraced a trip on the River Thames that passed the houseboat. Other sections were recorded at David's farm in Sussex and

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

British Grove Studios British Grove Studios is a recording studio located at 20 British Grove in Chiswick, West London, and owned by musician Mark Knopfler. British Grove Studios was built by David Stewart, the studio's former manager, and commissioned by Knopfler as ...

. Orchestrations on the album were arranged by noted Polish film composer

Zbigniew Preisner Zbigniew Preisner (; born 20 May 1955 as Zbigniew Antoni Kowalski) is a Polish film score composer, best known for his work with film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. He is the recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis as we ...

and conducted by Robert Ziegler. The orchestra was recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music ...

by Simon Rhodes.

Singles

The album also produced two singles; the title track "On an Island" and "Smile", the latter peaking at #72 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "On an Island" also peaked at #27 on the

Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The ch ...

chart. Promo Single edits of " Take a Breath" and "

This Heaven "This Heaven" is a song written and recorded by former Pink Floyd lead singer and guitarist, David Gilmour. It is included as the sixth track from his third studio album, and his first post-Pink Floyd solo album, ''On an Island ''On an Island ...

" were issued to coincide with the US leg of the tour, while "Smile" was the second single in the UK.

Other releases

Copies of the album initially purchased from

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

in the US contained an exclusive bonus audio CD with the instrumental track "Island Jam" which was subsequently released on the CD single for "Smile" in Europe. The album was re-released in November 2006 with a bonus DVD of live tracks and other material. A 5.1 mix of the album was released as part of the deluxe edition of "Live In Gdansk"

Chart performance

''On an Island'' entered the UK charts at #1, giving Gilmour his first ever chart-topping album outside of Pink Floyd. It reached #1 on the European Chart, and #2 in Canada, Portugal and Iceland. It has also provided Gilmour with his first US Top 10 album, reaching #6.

Track listing

All music written by David Gilmour.

Non-album tracks

"Island Jam" "Island Jam" (6:33) (not to be confused with "Island Jam 2007") was recorded as the b-side to the "Smile" single. The track was produced by Gilmour.

Personnel

*David Gilmour –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

s (all),

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

(all except 1, 5, 7, "Island Jam"),

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional a ...

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

(2),

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(2, 3, 8, 9, 10),

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(3, 8, 9, 10),

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

(3, 8, 9),

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

(5),

cümbüş The ''cümbüş'' (; ) is a Turkish stringed instrument of relatively modern origin. It was developed in 1930 by Zeynel Abidin Cümbüş (1881–1947) as an oud-like instrument that could be heard as part of a larger ensemble. The cümbüş is s ...

(7), bass harmonica (7),

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

(7, 8, 9, 10),

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

(2) *

– bass guitar (2, 4, "Island Jam") *

– Hammond organ (2), co-lead vocals (3) *

– vocals (2) *

– vocals (2) * Rado Klose – guitar (2, 3) *

Chris Stainton Christopher Robert "Chris" Stainton (born 22 March 1944) is an English session musician, keyboard player, bassist and songwriter, who first gained recognition with Joe Cocker in the late 1960s. In addition to his collaboration with Cocker, Stai ...

– Hammond organ (3) *

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

(2, 3, 6, 10), percussion (7) *

– piano (3) *

– piano (3),

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

(8) *

– guitar (4, 6, 7) *

Leszek Możdżer Leszek Możdżer (Polish pronunciation: born Lesław Henryk Możdżer, 23 March 1971, Gdańsk) is a Polish jazz pianist, music producer and film score composer. Life and career Możdżer was born on 23 March 1971 in Gdańsk. He began to play t ...

– piano (4, 9) *

Ged Lynch Ged Lynch (born 19 July 1968, Blackburn, England) is an English percussionist and composer. Lynch had early commercial success drumming with the Ruthless Rap Assassins. In 1989 he joined The Icicle Works. He joined Shaun Ryder and Bez in Bla ...

– drums (4, "Island Jam") *

Caroline Dale Caroline Dale (born 1965) is a widely recorded British cellist who currently plays principal cello for the English Chamber Orchestra and London Metropolitan Orchestra. She has also performed music for numerous films and played with a wide range ...

–

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...

(4, 5, 7) *

Chris Laurence Chris Laurence (born 6 January 1949) is an English musician. Born in London, he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and primarily works with jazz and classical music. In the classical world he was principal double bass with th ...

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(5, 9) *

Ilan Eshkeri Ilan Eshkeri (born 7 April 1977) is a British neoclassical composer known for his concert music, films scores and artist collaborations. Early life Eshkeri was born to a Jewish family in London. During his childhood, he learned to play the ...

– programming (5, 9) *

– Hammond organ (6) *

BJ Cole Brian John Cole is an English pedal steel guitarist, who has long been active as a session and solo musician. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles, ranging from mainstream pop and rock to ...

–

Weissenborn Weissenborn or H. Weissenborn is a brand of lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s. These instruments are now highly sought after, and form the base for most non-resonator acoustic lap steel ...

guitar (7) *

–

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

(7), percussion (7), vocals (7) * Willie Wilson – drums (8) *Alasdair Malloy – glass harmonica (7, 9) *Lucy Wakeford –

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

(9) * Chris Thomas – keyboards (9) *

– orchestration (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) * Paul "Wix" Wickens – Hammond organ ("Island Jam")

Tour

Gilmour toured the album with Richard Wright, Phil Manzanera and long-time members of the live Pink Floyd band,

and

Jon Carin Jon Carin (born October 21, 1964) is a musician, singer, songwriter and producer who has been a longtime collaborator with the bands Pink Floyd and The Who, and the solo careers of David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, ...

Steve DiStanislao Steve DiStanislao is an American drummer. David Gilmour DiStanislao toured and recorded with Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, promoting his solo album '' On an Island''. The touring band featured Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright and occ ...

was brought in as drummer. The shows included the entire ''On an Island'' album plus Pink Floyd songs such as "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", "Echoes", "Fat Old Sun", "Arnold Layne", "High Hopes", "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb" among others. No songs from Gilmour's two previous solo albums were played. The tour is documented on the DVD/Blu-ray ''

Remember That Night ''Remember That Night'' is a live concert recording of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concerts at the Royal Albert Hall on 29, 30 & 31 May 2006 as part of his On an Island Tour. The title is taken from a line in the song "On an Island ...

'' and the live album & DVD ''

Live in Gdansk Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:On An Island David Gilmour albums 2006 albums EMI Records albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Albums produced by David Gilmour Albums produced by Phil Manzanera Albums recorded in a home studio