1984 - Roger Waters Releases The Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking

[nosaj]

Released April 30, 1984.

I've always felt the concept was a bit silly and weak, but there are some good songs and wonderful special effects.

[mosespa]

I think that it spends too much time on the a chord with the hammer on at the fifth...it could use a little more musical diversity, imo...it's my least favorite of his solo albums. But that doesn't mean that I don't like it.

*shrug*

[Hudini]

It does have some great moments but it's actually nothing spectacular if you ask me. I really like "Sexual Revolution", "Go Fishing" and "Every Stranger's Eyes", and the title track's not bad but the extended version sounds way better.

Although the concept was developed at the same time as "The Wall", it sounds like a bunch of leftovers from "The Final Cut", and for one "Sexual Revolution" is a leftover from "The Wall".

[J Ed]

I listened to this obsessively when it first came out, as there seemed as usual to be lots of little details to be discovered, and the whole dream cycle thang made it especially appropriate to overanalysis
and Claptons guitar is I think more appropriate to all the road trip imagery than what Gilmour would have done
in fact thats now my favourite aspect is all the road trip imagery, the hitchhiking in Europe, the moving to a house in the country, the truckstop epiphany ... all these experiences I can relate to
however aside from Go Fishing, Running Shoes and maybe one or two other bits I find it hard to get through the album now ... despite all the subtle sound effects theres almost no variation in the music over 45 minutes, and the title song has always sucked

the concert I saw in Maple Leaf Gardens in 1984 however was awesome, first ever live Floydian experience for ol J Ed
old Floyd material completely rearranged for Set 1, with a massive Clapton solo outro-ing out of Gunners Dream to close the set,
and the new album was accompanied by this massive wide screen original film projected across the whole width of the Gardens, live footage of the sexy hitchhiking lady by Nicholas Roeg, and new cartoons from Gerald Scarfe ... and its never been seens since
I really wish Roger would release a DVD of this tour ... I found the live presentation added a lot to a difficult album

[J Ed]

I should point out theres an excellent sounding boot from the 2nd leg of this tour
released by them Harvested folk under the name Radio City or Bust
it was from a radio broadcast of a full concert Radio City Music Hall NYC March 28 1985
unfortunately Clapton had left Rogers touring band after the 1984 tour, and theres only audience tapes of the shows with Clapton

[The Gunner's Dream]

I think that it spends too much time on the a chord with the hammer on at the fifth...it could use a little more musical diversity

You're referring to the leitmotif in A minor that recurs throughout the album? I think it does a decent job of tying the album together as a cohesive unit. Rick Wakeman's leitmotifs from his "Myths and legends of King Arthur" album were put to better use, but the effect is similar. Where the album lacked diversity was having so many songs in 6/8.

I just listened to the entire album from start to finish for the first time in probably two years. Waters vocals are generally very strong, on par with his vocal work from The Final Cut. The only song I found really dreadful was the title track. The chorus is just cringe-inducingly corny. There are a few rather forgettable tracks, but nothing as offensive as the title track. Running Shoes, For the first time today (1 and 2), Sexual Revolution, Go Fishing, and Every Stranger's Eyes are obviously the highlights of the album. I also agree with past complaints that Clapton's guitar playing, while technically adequate, is generally pretty generic and uninspired throughout the album.

[David Smith]

I think it is Waters finest lyrical work with the most interesting concept and most consistent set of lyrics. The album flows really well as an album, and save for the title track is to a fairly high standard throughout. Sure there are a few embarassing moments (the carnival bit has annoyed me ever since the second listen and when Waters screams 'we cut down some trees' is a tad needless) but i've always been a fan and think it a much stronger piece of work than either of Waters' other solo albums

[crowman]

I've posted along these lines elsewhere on the forum, but I'm a latecomer to Pros and Cons despite being a Floyd fan of 20 odd years. I was probably put off by the negative press it got in Schaffner's book, but when I finally bought it a couple of years ago I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, musically it doesn't scale the heights of The Wall, but it's Roger striking out on his own with a different sound. Interesting to hear the musical nods to Your Possible Pasts and Fletcher Memorial Home too, I see it as part of a trilogy with The Wall and The Final Cut.

[Hudini]

I see it as part of a trilogy with The Wall and The Final Cut.

Interestingly, if you recall the version of "Stop" from the movie, it incorporates parts of "Your Possible Pasts" and "The Moment of Clarity", that will later resurface on "The Final Cut" and "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking", respectively.

[danielcaux]

the new album was accompanied by this massive wide screen original film projected across the whole width of the Gardens, live footage of the sexy hitchhiking lady by Nicholas Roeg, and new cartoons from Gerald Scarfe ... and its never been seens since.

It's not great but at least you can watch some of the cartoons again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MOuIz2CFGE

I used to hate the title track too, found it corny and stupid, but at some point I began to like it, don't know why. I guess is the one song from the album that captures, with its musical style, the mood and feeling of being on some lost southern road in the USA, and the use of 80s sax goes well with that tacky album artwork (right know I'm listening it and that "Oh babe I must be dreaming" moment sounds like something straight out from The Wall!). Still by no means I consider it a good song, is just that I don't despise it anymore like I used to.

Unlike David Smith I really don't get this album, found its concept dumb and the lyrics quite mediocre and unintersiting. Musically is also quite monotonous. The only song that I really like-like is "Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad/Running Shoes", and that's all.

[mastaflatch]

"Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad/Running Shoes", and that's all.

those 2 songs are arguably the best kick-off of an album Roger ever made. i prefer the Running Shoes bit but it wouldn't hit as good without ATWTA before it. the drums are perfect - how they sound, the snare rolls, the attack...Roger voice is glorious here and i really love the use of the orchestra midway through the song. another thing, the sax interventions on Running Shoes are way better than anything off TFC, the rest of Pros and Cons and Radio KAOS by a large margin. nice start followed by a somewhat disappointingly linear streak of songs. i like Sexual Revolution though but it's nothing to write home about in the context of Roger's output since '77.

[Zack]

Disagree completely. It's a horrid opening. Running Shoes, being really cool, rescues the album thank goodness.

P & C is my favorite Roger solo, though admitted lacking melody and an overabundance of "A." I agree the chorus to the title track is awful, with the backing vocal chicks taking the lead. Might have worked if he sung it himself.

I LOVED it in 1984-5 (saw the second leg of the tour). But I was in college at the time, and pretty much stoned. Still listen to it occasionally, and the concert too. But I also wonder if the poster who said there were no SB of the Clapton leg of the tour has ever heard "Let's Open The Doors of Perception," MSG New York, IIRC.

[Hudini]

Disagree completely. It's a horrid opening.

Now I disagree. "Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad" and "Running Shoes" are a very good opening for an album, the first being quiet and building suspension and the latter kicking it off right in the face. Too bad the rest of the album mostly relies on two melodies already heard in the opening songs. For me, "Sexual Revolution", "Go Fishing" and "Every Stranger's Eyes" save the rest of the album, but they are too far apart IMHO.

[drafsack]

The live shows were good and had three screens behind the band with back projections -

[qjamesfloyd]

I just read on Wikipedia, that in a 1987 press release for Radio K.A.O.S a film adaptation for Pros and Cons had been completed, but nothing has been heard of it since, does anyone know any more about this? I have copied it from Wiki below:

Possible film

A film based on the concept was proposed, and in 1987 a press release for the Radio K.A.O.S. album claimed a film adaptation had been completed, though nothing has been heard of it since. The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking screenplay was written by BBC/Radio Times Drama Award winner Pete Ward, who used excerpts from Waters' songs/lyrics (from 1967–1987) as background to his award-winning play, Yesterday's Triumph,[9] exploring the 20 year relationship of two close friends – one who attempts to fake mental illness to be with the other who's an institutionalised 'catastrophic schizophrenic'. Ward was commissioned to expand the plot and characters in The Pros and Cons around the album's 42-minute real-time dream sequence based on Waters' own dreams.