Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse of Reason released

A Momentary Lapse of Reason Pink Floyd

Released: September 7, 1987 Peak: 3 US, 3 UK, 5 CN, 2 AU, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 5.7 US, 0.1 UK, 10.0 world (includes US and UK), 12.69 EAS Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Signs of Life [4:24] Learning to Fly [4:52] The Dogs of War [6:10] One Slip [5:05] On the Turning Away [5:42] Yet Another Movie [6:14] Round and Around [1:13] A New Machine, Pt. 1 [1:46] Terminal Frost [6:17] A New Machine, Pt. 2 [0:38] Sorrow [8:47] Total Running Time: 51:09 The Players: David Gilmour (vocals, guitar) Nick Mason (drums, percussion) Richard Wright (keyboards)

Rating: 3.361 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Pink Floyd in the Post-Roger Waters Years: This was the Pink Floyd album that divided its fans into two camps; those who thought the now-departed Roger “Waters unifying vision and lyrical ability” AM “was the heart and soul of the band and those that preferred “the kind of atmospheric instrumental music and Gilmour guitar sound typical” AM of Floyd in its heyday. With respect to those in Waters’ camp, 1983’s The Final Cut made it clear it was time for Waters to go. He was pushing music that lacked the accessibility of Floyd’s previous efforts. It played more as a solo album with the other members of Pink Floyd relegated to being session musicians. Compare the liner notes of The Final Cut and Waters’ first solo album, 1984’s The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking; about the only difference between the numerous players on the two albums is the absence of the other Floyd members on the latter (and the presence of some guitarist named Eric Clapton). When Gilmour and Co. decided to soldier on as Pink Floyd, Waters did a lot of whining about who had rights to the name and even took his ex-bandmates to court. And the Winner Is… David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright retained the name Pink Floyd but Waters has incessantly dismissed his bandmates as inconsequential to the band’s sound. One thing was abundantly clear in 1987, though. Fans much preferred Gilmour and Co. to Waters’ solo efforts. In June of that year, Waters’ released Radio K.A.O.S. It failed to reach even gold status. Several months later, Pink Floyd released A Momentary Lapse of Reason, which would go on to sell 10 million copies worldwide. To be fair, Waters’ album is the most accessible of his career, spinning album-rock hits like “Radio Waves” and “Sunset Strip.” However, they just couldn’t beat Pink Floyd – and it wasn’t just the name. The reality is that while Reason could be viewed as a “David Gilmour solo album in all but name,” AM it offered up exactly what album rock radio wanted; big anthems that would rock stadiums alongside the band’s stellar classic rock catalog. Heck, regardless of whether you attach the name ‘Pink Floyd’ to it or not, songs like “Learning to Fly,” “On the Turning Away,” and “One Slip” were perfectly suited for radio stations needing some nice slabs of mainstream rock. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Signs of Life Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour, Bob Ezrin Released: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 2019 reissue) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 9.93 streaming About the Song: This is a great, moody instrumental to kick off the Momentary Lapse of Reason album. It evokes the image of a row boat sloshing about in a calm lake.

Learning to Fly Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour, Bob Ezrin, Anthony Moore, Jon Carin Released: single (9/7/1987), A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 11/22/1988), Pulse (live, 5/29/1995), Echoes (compilation, 11/6/2001), A Foot in the Door (compilation, 11/7/2011) B-side: “Terminal Frost” First Charted: 9/5/1987 Peak: 70 BB, 13 AR, 34 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 133.5 video, 137.36 streaming About the Song: A

The Dogs of War Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour, Anthony Moore Released: promo single (9/8/1987), A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 11/22/1988) First Charted: 9/26/1987 B-side: “On the Turning Away” (live) Peak: 30 AR, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 12.54 streaming About the Song: A

One Slip Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour, Phil Manzanera Released: single (6/13/1988), A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 2019 reissue) B-side: 9/26/1987 First Charted: “Terminal Frost” / “The Dogs of War” (live) Peak: 5 AR, 50 UK, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.0 video, 12.47 streaming About the Song: A

On the Turning Away Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour, Anthony Moore Released: single (12/7/1987), A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 11/22/1988) B-side: “Run Like Hell” (live) First Charted: 9/26/1987 Peak: 11 AR, 55 UK, 48 AU, 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 16.0 video, 50.95 streaming About the Song:

Yet Another Movie Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour, Patrick Leonard Released: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 11/22/1988) Peak: 28 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 9.68 streaming About the Song: A

Round and Around Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour Released: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 11/22/1988) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7.24 streaming About the Song: Instrumental.

A New Machine, Part 1 Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour Released: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 2019 reissue) Peak: 38 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.46 streaming About the Song: A

Terminal Frost Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour Released: B-side of “Leaning to Fly” (9/7/1987), A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 2019 reissue) Peak: 38 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 9.79 streaming About the Song: Instrumental.

A New Machine, Part 2 Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour Released: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 2019 reissue) Peak: 38 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.96 streaming About the Song: A

Sorrow Pink Floyd

Writer(s): David Gilmour Released: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (9/7/1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (live, 11/22/1988), Pulse (live, 5/29/1995), Echoes (compilation, 11/6/2001) First Charted: 3/5/1988 Peak: 36 AR, 23 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 24.22 streaming About the Song: A

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by William Ruhlmann WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/22/2008; last updated 8/25/2025.