Although fans got an early taste of Pink Floyd’s upcoming The Later Years box set with the live Knebworth version of Wish You Were Here and the early version of High Hopes, Gilmour era fans have probably reserved most of their anticipation for the remixed and ‘updated’ A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Last night, at midnight, a new version of One Slip, with Nick Mason on drums and additional Richard Wright keyboard parts, was released on streaming services … and it’s glorious. 

Rumors of a reworked, unreleased A Momentary Lapse of Reason with Nick Mason on drums had circulated for years. So when Brain Damage had the chance to ask Mason, during the AOL Build Series interview on the The Early Years Box Set (almost exactly three years ago) if such a thing existed – and whether it would ever see the light of day – Mason’s answer was encouraging: even though he had completely forgotten about it, he had in fact already re-recorded the drum parts for A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Mason stated that the band would consider anything: a remixed release with those new drum parts looked like a remote possibility now. 

In just three years that remote possibility – with the added bonus of additional work from Richard Wright – began to materialize and has been working its way through streaming services, toward its full release on November 29th. 

When you listen to the remixed version of One Slip, the first thing you will notice is a more pronounced rhythm section and a more serene keyboard part. The new version has a more regal quality, a trait that is indebted to the distinctive presence of Mason and Wright and the ghosts it summons: during the Gilmour era, The Division Bell pulled together the creative input of Pink Floyd’s three members with the most pronounced strength, but just as The Endless River weaved that together with exquisite distinction, so does this version of One Slip – and presumably, the rest of the remixed version of A Momentary Lapse of Reason on The Later Years. It really pulls the entire era together elegantly without displacing the original mix of A Momentary Lapse of Reason – which will always hold a unique place in history given the circumstances around it and the distinguished team of musicians that helped construct it.

Which brings us to drummer Jim Keltner, who recorded the original drum parts on this track. Let us not forget the bona fides that Keltner brought to the table in the original recording of One Slip (and the other A Momentary Lapse of Reason tracks he worked on: Yet Another Movie and On the Turning Away). Keltner has worked with three Beatles, Eric Clapton, the Steve Miller Band, Traveling Wilburys, Ry Cooder, Joe Cocker, and Neil Diamond, among others. His work on the original version of One Slip is exquisite; Keltner and Mason are each great drummers – ironically, this new mix of One Slip makes you appreciate how great both drummers are – and how two great drummers can be such distinct and powerful driving forces in a song’s sound.

When you spin the new version of One Slip, you hear Mason’s drums for the first time 39 seconds into the track – and the last beat of that initial drum fill is signature Mason: an epic beat that ushers that marked Pink Floyd vibe and cadence as the song makes way for Wright’s newly dispatched keyboards parts (which are apparently grafted from live performances from the late 80s, but we will hopefully see these kind of details when the full box set is released with its liner notes). 

The new version of One Slip has a booming quality, breathes differently (more easily?), and offers up a more natural sound. It is warmer sounding than the original: originally the song had a gracefully cold quality, perhaps a manifestation of the environment the music was produced in. This version projects the security and comfort that would betide Pink Floyd as commercial and artistic success secured the Gilmour era’s legitimacy during the A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. 

If you’re one of those fans that plays A Momentary Lapse of Reason frequently, it will take a few listens to make the adjustment and absorb this material in this fuller Pink Floyd dimensionality. This remix is a much better manifestation of Pink Floyd’s skillful sound balance of calm and urgency (think Run Like Hell to make sense of that) – this does not diminish the contributions of those who recorded the original version, it just underscores how the synergy of the three last members of Pink Floyd came together to produce a unique brand of sound in the band’s catalog. 

This version of One Slip makes the original version of the song sound like a performance looking for itself – a perfect execution looking for something – and the place it needs to land is precisely where this version of One Slip begins. 

You can order The Later Years at the links below. For more news about The Later Years, visit www.pinkfloyd.com. 

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