First off, my review copy here was a VideoCD ripped from the DVD ... and it only gets an 'A' in video quality due to the obvious compression, so the rating for the DVD should be adjusted accordingly to A+/A. Also, this rip/conversion to VCD appears to have put the sound just a *split-second* ahead of the video.

Okay, on with the show ...

'Wright Back In London' starts off with Dave Gilmour lending his guitar talents to the Soft Boys' 2001 performance of "Astronomy Domine," which is unremarkable except for the terrible sounding "woo-ooo-oo-ooo"s. This and what follows are something of a coup in the VOIO world; it's shot from high up on STAGE LEFT!!!!!!! Slightly higher than the Meltdown show and just as clear, this angle makes it appear that Gilmour has aged 10 years in the intervening 7 months. You get to see his bald noggin full-frame, perched on his curiously vulture-like neck, interspersed with his the rest of his body filling up the screen (make up your own joke here). To make a long story short, the video quality itself is damn good (as good as it gets if you snag a DVD copy) and our humble cameraman knew what to shoot and when (something many of your tapers apparently don't) so we'll just discuss the merits of the set list.

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a bit less abrasive than it is on the Meltdown show, with Dick Parry's sax being a bit quieter near the end and complementing the acoustic guitar nicely. I'm still not clear what everyone was laughing at between it and "Fat Old Sun" which is, as usual, a delight. "Coming Back to Life" is the same piece of boring McFloyd garbage it's always been, albeit with a nice "choral" intro (the choir being eight woo-woo girls up onstage ... surely some sort of record as far as Floyd is concerned). The juggling of the set list at these London shows appears to have paid off, especially with "Dominoes," which livens things up a bit more than "Terrapin" did. I don't want to call this section "funky", but it's as close to it as a Gilmour acoustic gig is ever likely to get.

Calm down Dave, that's not the Golden Corral bakery bell, just the intro to "High Hopes" ... the bulk of which is a truly excellent version, with slightly more downbeat piano work and an almost sinister quality to the whole thing. Thankfully, the pause as Dave gets the slide guitar out isn't nearly as annoying as it is on the Meltdown show, thanks to the chorus kicking in, and ends with a lovely cello outro where the taped orchestra normally goes. For reasons unknown there is a choral reprise of the outro shortly after the song ends, but I ain't complaining. "Je Crois Entendre Encore" and "Smile" are, like much of Gilmour's solo output, inoffensive but bland. This is about when the crowd goes wild as Rick Wright (looking healthier than Dave for a change, and quite a bit like a schoolteacher) comes out and takes a seat to play and sing "Breakthrough," one of the pleasant-enough-but-forgettable songs off his 'Broken China' album. Hilarity ensues as Dick Parry leaves the stage earlier than he's supposed to for some odd reason, causing Dave to stop the band and call him back as Rick desperately flaps his arms in a vain attempt to fly away. After this song is finished, Rick strolls over to the grand piano for a runthrough of "Wish You Were Here," a song that no one anywhere ever needs to hear or play again. The only bright spot of this by-the-numbers bit is the return of Gilmour's pooched-out Droopy Dog guitar face, missing in action for eight years.

At the beginning of the second disc, Gilmour introduces Robert Wyatt (who is invisible thanks to the viewing angle) for "Comfortably Numb." Despite a nice cello bit (substituting for the orchestration) and some menacing drum work, I just don't like this version. Wyatt's vocals don't impress me, there's another never-ending pause as Dave grabs his electric, and the abbreviated solo is robbed of any of the passion the live versions had from 1980 to 1994. "Dimming Of The Day" is inoffensive but not as bland as it was in 2001. The second half of "Shine On ..." is highlighted by nice slide work, but goes out with sax solo as in 1994. Ah well. "A Great Day For Freedom" sounds almost entirely like the 1994 versions before Dave (the digital video allowing you to see his sweaty forehead) runs through "Hushabye Mountain" quickly to finish up. All in all, a far better show than the Meltdown gig, but I still get the sense that these shows were a "you had to be there" kind of thing.

Aaaah, bonus material. The first four songs of the next night are presented, shot from the second row on the right ... the performance sounds a bit more confident than the previous evening, and you get to see every twitch of Dave's chubby little fingers. Only other notable difference is the better drum sound on "Coming Back To Life" which is nonetheless the same snoozer it ever was. After these come two MORE bonus tracks from the January 23 show in Paris, shot from the same low, up-front angle from the left side of the stage. Nice to have a bit of variety in there.

Now comes the funny bit, where Dave and Rick arrive at one of the shows, presumably a London date. Despite one waiting fans' plea of "MEETCHA PLEASE !", a bodyguard (who looks suspicously like Onyx Blackman from 'Strangers With Candy') hustles them past into the venue. Damn, that's harsh yo. Gilmour arrives by himself the next day, looking surly as hell (perhaps due to the very English weather) but pausing to silently sign a few autographs. His demeanor doesn't change, minus a sneeringly unpleasant look at one point, presumably due to the copy of 'Atom Heart Mother' we glimpsed earlier.

Phew, that's a long damn review. But it's a long damn video. If you're at all interested in Gilmour's acoustic solo gigs I'd have to recommend this above the Meltdown show (at least as far as illegitimate video goes) as it is shot a little better, with a more engaging performance all around and loads of extra stuff. If you don't like to be reminded of Dave's mortality though, you may want to sit far away from the TV.

'Comfortably Numb' (Jan. 16th)	'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' (Jan. 17th)
'A Great Day for Freedom' (Jan. 23rd)	Outside the Venue