Michael Landau talks about the “bizarre” time he sessioned for Pink Floyd
“The first thing I asked was. ‘Why the hell are you guys calling me?!’”
Credit: Jun Sato / Dave M Benett / Getty
Michael Landau has opened up on the time when he was invited to play on Pink Floyd’s 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
Landau was asked to perform the opening guitar parts on the fourth track, One Slip, which featured a classic dotted 8th note delay effect that was typical of David Gilmour’s style. Landau recalled his shock and nervousness when he got the call from Pink Floyd’s producer Bob Ezrin in an interview with Guitar World.
“The first thing I asked was. ‘Why the hell are you guys calling me?!’ After I got over the initial shock I went to the studio and I was really nervous, you know? David Gilmour was sitting there in the control room – I played a classic dotted 8th note Gilmour-style line and he really liked it! We were done in about 30 minutes and for the rest of the afternoon David showed me all the amps and guitars he’d brought for the recordings – that was memorable for sure!” Landau said.
Landau also shared that Gilmour showed him his own rig, which consisted of two Marshall stacks and a few pedals. “I remember it wasn’t over the top loud, just a nice full fat tone. He was very kind, I could tell he really loved playing the guitar,” Landau said.
Landau’s contribution to A Momentary Lapse of Reason was one of the highlights of his storied career, which spans over four decades and hundreds of albums. He has also released several solo albums, including his latest effort Liquid Quartet Live, which was released in 2020.