Gawd, I was being tongue in cheek, or did you miss the :o). I was going for lighthearted disagreement with the notion that they are too old to play or should hang it up because their music is too dated. I like the idea that some of the younger set might get a thrill if they see these guys in concert. Gilmour is a particular talent with the guitar. There are few that compare with him in that genre when he is at his best.
Richard. Like many guys our age, of course I am no longer a Floyd-ophile at home. I liste mostly Jazz, folk, blues and Classical nowadays and have not revisited the PF catalog on the big system in some years--since the SACD remaster of DSOTM.
I still love the band ---and like old Elton John , Eagles or ELP, I will hold the dial steady when their music is on the radio. My point was related to concerts mainly. I saw Gilmour's PF when they came to Madison and I would again with my kids if they came back. They are a rare treat. Just like Miles Davis, Coltrane and other classics, I have the entire collection of their work.
Like many people, lives, listening tastes and sensibilities/priorities change. Gilmour has evolved and grown into other interests in addition to music, like his charities. He always has a number of projects going at once. No surprise or offense there.
Astoria's mastering and recording equipment are all _still_state of the art as are Astoria's recording engineers They continue to hold the respect of many of the world's best studios and are looked at as pioneers in the pursuit of recording quality. Many current artists still record there.
According to those that knew them both, Gilmour's musical abilities and instrumental prowess are what saved Animals and The Wall from commercial disaster. Waters had become progressively dark and fragmented in his writing and Gilmour was left to assemble a musical framework to balance Waters narcissism and lyrical darkness. The Final Cut was more of the same. Gilmour and Mason had enough at that point and the well publicized end of Waters PF was at hand.
No, I am not a grey-hair-pony-tail-wagging retro-freak, just someone who followed the band and respect the hell out of their talent and what they were able to achieve in their prime.