“Gilmour says, ‘I want to play on it’ – like, he doesn’t do this’”: Body Count rip through their Comfortably Numb reimagining on the Tonight Show, as Ernie C does his best David Gilmour
In an interview with host Jimmy Fallon, Ice-T recalled getting the approval (and assist) for the modern-minded reworking from Gilmour – while also getting the go-ahead from Roger Waters
Ice-T on Pink Floyd's Unexpected Approval for "Comfortably Numb" and His David Gilmour Collab - YouTube
More amazing still, Gilmour's participation came at his own behest, rather than that of Body Count.
Earlier this week, Body Count frontman, hip-hop icon, and cop procedural legend Ice-T dropped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss the fascinating collab, and the hurdles involved in making it happen.
While there, they also tore through the song onstage, with Body Count guitar hero Ernie C nodding to Gilmour's singular tone, while imbuing some funky and industrial flair of his own.
Body Count: Comfortably Numb | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - YouTube
Reflecting on how Body Count's Comfortably Numb re-working came to be, Ice-T told Fallon, “Rappers always listen to music for tracks they could rap over – breakbeats and things like that. I always liked the bassline to Comfortably Numb – I wanted to rap on it. Then I said, ‘Let's just do it with Body Count.’
“So I write the lyrics and we lay it out – I just [didn't] think about the politics. They go, ‘You have to send this to Pink Floyd to get it approved,’ and everybody said, ‘That's not gonna happen.’”
Indeed, upon sending the request to Pink Floyd's publishers, Body Count were told that the band allow neither samples nor reworkings of their songs. The case seemed to be closed, Ice-T said, until his manager got in touch with David Gilmour's manager.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
“David heard the record and was blown away – just by the lyrics,” he said. Approval after that on Gilmour's end came quickly, but then came the matter of the song's co-writer, Roger Waters.
“Now, I don't know what's going on with [Gilmour and Waters' relationship],” Ice-T explained. Waters, however, upon learning that Ice-T was the one reinterpreting the song, gave his own approval.
“You've got two people on opposite sides who approved the song, which made me feel really good, because that means the song is honest and real.”
BODY COUNT - Comfortably Numb (OFFICIAL VIDEO) - YouTube
Not even that unanimous approval, though, prepared the band for what Gilmour said after word came of his approval.
“Gilmour says, ‘I want to play on it,’” Ice-T recalled. “So, he plays on it, then says, ‘What's up with the video?’”
Of the collaboration, Gilmour himself said, “The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like [Ice-T's] new lyrics, they're talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary.
“Body Count's version of Comfortably Numb is quite radical, but the words really struck me. It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They've made it relevant again.”
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
