Roger Waters - Flickering Flame - The Solo Years Vol 1

[ZiggyZipgun]

His 1999 show near Pittsburgh was the first big concert I attended. As a show, with the big (rectangular) screen, surround sound, and seeing Roger Waters, it was pretty cool - but even as a teenager, I thought it sounded like a cover band, and was pretty sure he lip-synced to original studio vocal on "Every Stranger's Eyes". I remember him launching his website around that time, and talking about "working on a new album"...


(thanks, Wayback Machine!)

He debuted "Each Small Candle" shortly after I saw him, which I soon heard on bootlegs and then the In the Flesh album. Then this came out with "Flickering Flame", and I was really looking forward to both of those forming the basis of a new album.

Then nothing.

Then "Leaving Beirut/To Kill the Child" (where were all of those angry Republicans when he was singing about George W. Bush?) - they still could've been rolled into one album. Considering Animals was just two songs that didn't fit into Wish You Were Here, plus two tracks cooked up in the studio, I would never have guessed that it would be another 15 years before he'd put something out, and that it wouldn't include any of these, or "Crystal Clear Brooks", etc. I know he put a lot of work into Ca Ira (though I'll never know why), and that's he's probably spent a lot of time in divorce court, but...sheesh. I wonder if soliciting input from his fanbase scared him away for a while.

[Jimi Dean Barrett]

Aww, Ziggy! I remember that website message!
It's only been this thread that reminded me about this.
OK, so Roger didn't have "HITS" like you could spin from Phil Collins. But there was a lot that didn't sit with me. What is a DEMO doing on a best of? And what was wrong with including the title track (and also single) of TPACOHH? Especially as that was the most memorable thing Roger did solo!
So many open goals. The Vol. 1 can only be seen as a joke.
Get over the disappointment and it's as good as any introduction to Roger.
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