Roger Waters - The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking

[oz1701]

Despite years as a Floyd fan, I only heard this for the first time recently. I'd put off listening to it due to the negative things I'd heard about it, so I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got a copy. A really strong album lyrically and musically, probably Roger's best solo work.

It's interesting to pick the lyrical and musical references to The Wall and The Final Cut. To my ears, these three albums sit together well as a trilogy.

yeah i think there is a musical connection between them too.

[David Smith]

Isn't it strange how different people can be so strongly into the same band and yet hold radically opposing views as to the merits of specific tracks or albums?

Absolutly. As i said i'm a huge fan of this album so it means there are a number of other songs that we're on the same page on, just to my ears those two sound really bad. Even weirder seeing the album scakle that you mentioned there, with some people treating Amused to Death as like the second coming and others like me who just don't get what the fuss is about, but at the same time i would defend the division bell which a lot of fans can't stand

[romdos]

I never could get into this album... and I did try, but even after walking away from it for a few years, and going back to it, I just never really cared for it much...

[oldhippy]

The whole album make me want to

[Zack]

Yeah, I agree that most of Roger's solo stuff is fairly musically uninteresting, especially "Amused To Death" and those two internet-only songs he released a couple of years ago. Even the semi-solo "The Final Cut" is quite musically dull. For me, "Pros & Cons" is the one exception, where the music absolutely held its own with the lyrics and concept.

Sorry Pat, I disagree and think the lack of melodic interest torpedoes what could have been a great album. He cops John Lennon's simple Working Class hero throughout the entire first half (and it comes back at the end!), and swipes the melodies from Your Possible Pasts (Go Fishing) and In the Flesh (end of Dunroamin Duncarin), causing my college roommate to berate it as a "cheap copy of the Wall." That kid wasn't too smart (I think he's a lawyer now) but he had a point.

[crowman]

Sorry Pat, I disagree and think the lack of melodic interest torpedoes what could have been a great album. He cops John Lennon's simple Working Class hero throughout the entire first half (and it comes back at the end!), and swipes the melodies from Your Possible Pasts (Go Fishing) and In the Flesh (end of Dunroamin Duncarin), causing my college roommate to berate it as a "cheap copy of the Wall." That kid wasn't too smart (I think he's a lawyer now) but he had a point.

To me, the use of musical elements from The Wall and The Final Cut is just part of Pros and Cons' history with those two albums. It was written at the same time as the Wall, and to me is an extension of the Wall's story - specifically the "ooh babe" refrain in Go Fishing. To me the three albums are a trilogy, and any shared musical elements make perfect sense.

As for Working Class Hero, well Roger was never shy about using bits of Plastic Ono Band: songs called Mother, "Remember when you were young", the intro to Gunner's Dream (Isolation) and "Shine On" from Instant Karma. You can see the lyrical influence of Working Class Hero in "Dogs" too.

[MyImpossiblePast]

I don't want to bother with finding the CD right now, but here's the video. It's right on the crossing between 3:27 and 3:28. It's buried quite deeply in this mix, but it's actually a bit louder on the album. It really sounds more like a parrot than a woman speaking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6_-dmrUVwE

Jesus. That is painfully, horribly 80's. I wonder if it looked that amateurish at the time.

[CatherineMa14]

I love this. Never understood why people say its shite. An old friend of mine called the album some..er..unwelcome names that pretty much caused the downfall of our friendship . Well she was a bitch too. Anyway, I think it perfectly encompasses all the reasons why I value Roger as a songwriter - the lyrics are fantastic. I love the line "lets have a stab at the sexual revolution". The lyrics are passionate, ball-splitting maniacs of lyrics combined with a unique sound that suits Rog's voice. Again, I love this album.

[thehumanzoo]

I love Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, the Wall, the Final Cut, Radio KAOS and Amused to Death, but this is the one Roger Waters album I don't get. What am I missing? I've tried a few times, but all I hear is the strains of rather tedious sounding Eric Clapton noodlings which make every song sound like each other. I really struggle to distinguish one song from another.

Does anyone else believe that Clapton does not really work on this album or, at least, should have been far lower down in the mix?

[CatherineMa14]

I can understand why you feel that way. Its like Roger with Van Morrison on In the Flesh - it is very, very unusual. I don't know. I guess I like how different they are? It does sound odd, but for me that is cancelled out by the quality of the songs. Anyway. Don't want to repeat myself and bore everyone.

[MyImpossiblePast]

I think it's a great album lyrically, but like another poster mentioned, light on melody. It's just another illustration, as if we needed one, that Roger misses having a strong musical collaborator who's willing to be just as stubborn as himself. For Clapton, this was clearly session work and the resulting tour was honoring an obligation.

I remember listening to it as a teenager and my girlfriend at the time being utterly baffled by my love for it.

[CatherineMa14]

I can agree with that - but finding someone as stubborn as Rog?

[thehumanzoo]

Has anyone bothered waking up at 4:30am to listen to it? Perhaps that works...

[moom]

I can agree with that - but finding someone as stubborn as Rog?

Me My gran will prove.

[kitkat]

Crowman, I have no idea what you are talking about.

I know Plastic Ono Band album very well...being Lennon's best solo album....and I dont see ANY of the connections that you described.