The pros and cons of Roger Waters

All discussion related specifically to Roger Waters.
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David Smith
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Post by David Smith »

I have a rough guess now, i see it as something saying we should communicate with our friends rather than relying on entertainment (Too much rope told me this) and do something about the state of our world before we see the end of it, which by the way, will be televised.

Use people more than television is the bottom line.

What i am confused about is Three wishes, which i suppose is about people losing sight of what they want and rather than getting love (or communicating with another human passionatly) they choose other things. Not that the character chooses selfish things so that doesn't really fit in.

Any other ideas?
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Phew

Post by Stiggs »

It took me forever to find this, but in an older post of mine I asked who liked which Roger Waters albums the most. Thank you Real Pink In The Inside, who found a review of Amused To Deah from the internet. Here's a reposting of it for everyone else to read, and it did help me quite a bit in understanding the album a little better.

Amused to Death is a solid album both conceptually and musically, showcasing Waters as an artist who, like his work with Pink Floyd, conveys his thoughts and ideals with pinpoint accuracy so that they are engraved within his audience's mind. With this album, Waters touches heavily on the dangers of capitalism, the insensitivity of the human race, the ridiculousness of war, and the onslaught of mindless entertainment that encroaches on mankind on a day-to-day basis. Fitting all these aspects into 14 songs is a task in itself, but accomplishing this task alongside music that is forceful and appealing is extremely difficult, and still Waters succeeds in doing this throughout the duration of the album. "The Ballad of Bill Hubbard" is a moving spoken intro from Alf Razzell, a former member of Britain's Royal Fusiliers. A stab at the false sense of security that lies within religion is dealt with on the powerful "What God Wants, Pt. 1," and the cowardice of the world's leaders is addressed in "The Bravery of Being Out of Range," one of the albums most blatant tracks. Guest guitarist Jeff Beck rises to the occasion on a number of songs here, and both Rita Coolidge and Don Henley fill in behind and beside Waters on a couple of the longer tunes. Ending with the title track, a song that sums up the whole of the album with it's subtle yet hard-hitting demeanor, Waters proves that he can still reveal his conceptual ideas with pristine clarity, only on Amused to Death, the music is as equally entertaining and effective.
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Post by princessDungan74D »

hmmmmm.........
I hate pros and cons of hitch hiking. No offence, it is boring. I am glad it only costed 9.95$. Waste of my money. Me being of female gender I found it sexist. Sorry!!

Radio K.A.O.S really good. I really like this one the best solo album he has out.

Amused To Death-hmmm.... I like some songs alot but it is not the greatest out there.

I hope his next solo album makes me happy that I did not waste my money. :D

I like his Pink Floyd music better but that is just me. :D
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Post by nosaj »

I like his solo stuff...uh, well Ca Ira just looks good on the shelf - but the others I like - ok, PACOHH I like parts of.

Love KAOS & AMUSED 8)
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Post by Tenniru »

I rather like Waters' solo career. It's not quite as good as Syd's (I am yet to find a Rog song I can sing along with or dance to like Octopus, or as touching as Opel, or spontaneous as Word Song), but it's still nice.

Pros And Cons, I admit, I find boring. I have a LOT of trouble listening to it.

Radio KAOS... I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but I like it. It's just so... poppy... and catchy. I mean, I can TAP MY FOOT to a lot of the songs, and the lyrics are so universal that I can very easily relate to them. It grabs me by the neck from the first line of Radio Waves to the ending choir of The Tide Is Turning.
Also, the tour for the album was AMAZING.

Amused To Death is pure genius. It's amazing to think he improvized half of it. The lyrics are not yet dated (sadly), and confront the problems I see firsthand every day. But of all of his works, I relate to this the most.

In The Flesh: Live is a pretty great live album. Waters' re-workings and reinterpretations of the songs for his not-Dave voice go along nicely, his guitarists are wonderful, and a lot of his Floyd-singings are much more immediate and emotional than the "Dry Floyd" stuff. (Granted, his solo interpretations of Money, Comfortably Numb, and Breathe have always been very lacklustre comared to them; although the 1991 version of CN where Rog actually sings the chorus is quite nice.)
I really wish he put in the two 1999-only songs, though. The Powers That Be and What God Wants pt. 1.

Flickering Flame does an AWFUL job of representing Rog's best. Even assuming he somehow couldn't get the rights to put his own Floyd songs there, some of the songs he passes up... what the hell is the crappy original demo of Lost Boys Calling doing there when he can use his amazing finished version? And don't get me started on the "look, new material, BUY THIS" of this awful remake of Knockin' On Heaven's Door.
And you'd think he'd have enough time to FINISH the title track.
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Post by cRaB »

Every Roger Waters album IS a conceptual masterpiece. The idea which hides behind every album from the beginning to the end is incredible...And I'm not talking about TW eccetera. I'm talking now about Roger's solo career. Every album, was a concept album, from The Pros to Ca Ira
The Pros and Cons is my favourite (and not only because of the uncensored cover sleeve), conceptually, and musically: there's somethin which drowns you inside his nightmares.
It's a very visual album....with a very inspiring Eric Clapton.

Kaos was a great idea as well...but musically...eeerr
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Post by PublicImage »

I love Pros and Cons and Kaos, but I find it extremely difficult to get into Amused to Death. :?
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Post by wiped »

I've always viewed Waters as the "venom", "menace" - "dark side" of PF hence I prefere his Solo works to those of a waterless Pink Floyd. PF without Waters have always been "safe" to my ears ....
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Post by Mooner »

wiped wrote:I've always viewed Waters as the "venom", "menace" - "dark side" of PF hence I prefere his Solo works to those of a waterless Pink Floyd. PF without Waters have always been "safe" to my ears ....
Amazingly perceptive... and accurate.
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Post by The Gunner's Dream »

Pros and cons is his best solo album...it's truly beautiful, but it get's old.
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Post by WishIwasthere »

I loved Pros & cons. I sing with this in the car

Dislike KAOS. Too 80's.

and like Amused. It's got a cool concept.

I've got an idea about Rogers work on When the wind blows. I might start a new post.
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Post by DoctorFloyd »

I think Amused to Death is more floyd like than Radio Kaos (not heard Pros)..and in fact aside from that, I also found myself noticing very slight similarities between that and OAI.

KAOS I have not listened to that much, only twice, on its third run through now...I have yet to get into it as much as ATD.

Pros and cons, I have not heard at all.

I quite like Rogers solo career. For a long time I didn't pick it up, because I thought it would smack of the more dull and boring bits of the wall and final cut, but it turns out I am wrong, and am quite prepared to admit that.

Personally, I think Rogers solo career is more interesting than Davids, parts of OAI excluded.
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Post by nosaj »

It really isn't much of a solo career is it? I mean, how many people buy his albums not knowing he was in Pink Floyd? People buy a Peter Gabriel album, but might be surprised he was ever in Genesis.

Anyway, I sure hope the old bugger puts at least one more album out before he goes tits up! I know I'll buy...hell, I still have Ca Ira...though I don't know why...nice pictures I guess. :roll: