1992 - Amused to Death

[J Ed]

there was an allnew Floyd related studio album while the world was breathlessly awaiting the Division Bell

Roger Waters Amused to Death arrived out of nowhere in 1992
first promised as a sequel to Radio KAOS 5 years earlier the new album turns out to be a satire on relatively recent Gulf War cable news coverage
yet nobody ever accuses it of being Radio KAOS leftovers, because:
1. it doesnt actually include Going to Live in LA or any other known KAOS leftovers
and
2. it sounds more like a Floyd album than did its predecessor did thanks to Jeff Becks guitar and a few moments in WGW pt III and Its a Miracle so its better

Roger promises a tour if his new album sells a certain number of copies, and apparantly it takes 7 years to reach this goal ... I confess Id forgotten all about it by then and missed the tour, but I did buy the album the day it came out and cranked it up to 11 and put it on a repeat loop and drove all my roommates out of the house with it

and so far its taken 20 years and counting for Roger to put out an album of Amused to Death leftovers

discuss

[danielcaux]

The album art was definitively an improvement over both his previous solo albums.
So it was the sound and production.
So it was the songwriting.
So it was the concept.

The main nonprovement was the editing, way too much filler was left in, either in the form of entire mediocre songs or in the sloppy arrangements of the songstructures of some of the decent ones.

The other was the quality of the lyrics, contrary to popular belief, they took a nose dive here. The poetic lyrics of yore were all but completely gone.

Anyway on a more historical note, in 1992 I didn't know at all who Roger Waters was or that this album even existed, it took me like 7 years to catch up. Back then I was into Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, Roxette, MJ's Dangerous and a little bit of Jon Secada

[Jimi Dean Barrett]

Here's where getting into Pink Floyd in school, 1990 paid off.
I remember Tommy Vance, back on "The Nightfly" (When VH1 was worth it) playing the video for WGW. And I've still got the single somewhere. I remember playing it to a friend that didn't want to hear it. So I put it on and left the room and came back when it finished. He still hated it.
I remember the epic Q "Who The Hell Does Roger Waters Think He Is?" (When Q Magazine was worth it) and I remember going around to a friends house to hear it on a tape. (And being excited over seeing the record label logo on the tape)

I still listen to it. If Pink Floyd had stayed together and record TPACOH and Radio Kaos, then this album would have bought them back from the brink critically. The same Roger would have made TDB better.
His voice isn't as bad as it was on Kaos. I agree about the editing.
I never bought his follow up single.
What date was this album actually released anyway? And I'm happy I used this site to get ATD added to Q's "Top 50 albums" (I think it's around the 31-34 position)

Jeff Beck was easier to listen to than Eric Clapton. Q sound effects on the album were first rate. But I see what people mean about editing.

One thing that seems sad these days, was from hearing ATD I actually thought Roger was going to at least make a follow up sometime. Before 1999 at the least...
What was the exact date the album got released? If Roger wants to do anything about the album, I would of loved a 20TH anniversary edition. The album, demos and outtakes. Maybe even a DVD documentary and the videos for the album. (WGW and Three Wishes, not seen the video for The Bravery of Being Out Of Range)
He's missed that chance as well!

[J Ed]

What was the exact date the album got released?

according to AllMusic.com and various other online sources: September 1, 1992

[RonToon]

Roger promises a tour if his new album sells a certain number of copies, and apparantly it takes 7 years to reach this goal.

Actually the goal was never reached. Roger simply decided to tour 7 years later and only included a few songs from the album unlike the full presentations of his latest works in previous tours.

[Flying pig437]

I'd actually prefer to see this in it's entirety than The Wall but that's only 'cause I hate The Trial so much. Plus he doesn't have to sing on it so much like he does on the Wall so he could abandon the backing tapes.

[moom]

The album art was definitively an improvement over both his previous solo albums.
So it was the sound and production.
So it was the songwriting.
So it was the concept.

That, but I also it was the last 4 tracks shorter. What God Wants, part III has a perfect ending. Otherwise, the album drags.

[moodyblue]

What God Wants, part III has a perfect ending. Otherwise, the album drags.

I am amazed at you saying that!
To my mind, this was the closest Roger ever got to replicating the heights of his PF writing.
Musically it's also very emotive across the album.
The one and only time he got a guitar player with expression playing on his albums. Jeff Beck did a wonderful job.

[jtull]

The one and only time he got a guitar player with expression playing on his albums.

What about Eric Clapton? The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking..?

[moodyblue]

The one and only time he got a guitar player with expression playing on his albums.

What about Eric Clapton? The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking..?

Good point. What I should have potentially said was that is was the one and only time he got someone who moved closer to what Gilmour brought to Pink Floyd. It sounded more like a PF album than his other three by a distance. The album for me was richer in production and sound to boot.
Beck played some beautiful guitar parts on ATD which added atmosphere in a different way to what EC did in terms of what PF evoked to my ears.
EC did indeed enhance Roger's first album and did a bloody good job as of course, only EC could only do but it was a left turn in so far as style and possibly where 'mood' was concerned.