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Roger Waters - Amused to Death CD (album) cover

AMUSED TO DEATH

Roger Waters

 

Crossover Prog

3.93 | 553 ratings

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russellk
Prog Reviewer
2 stars Tired, overwrought and bitter, this album draws my appreciation but not my enjoyment.

WATERS still has something to say, seemingly. Although, frustratingly, his message sounds remarkably like the message he's been peddling since 1973: war, madness, politics and the comparison of humans to animals, all connected by TV sfx. Sound familiar? 'Amused to Death', while clever, covers no new ground either lyrically or musically. A star-studded cast are put through their paces, and many perform brilliantly - listen to those guitars - but only ROGER WATERS could miss the mark so badly in his estimation of what the public want. Actually, many of us would rather have something that doesn't sound like an unsubtle caricature of itself.

Speaking of sound, the rasping, broken remnants of WATERS' voice are a musical tragedy. Not only can I not stand to hear his recycled message, the voice it's delivered in is practically unlistenable. Every time I hear WATERS declaiming in that breathy spoken voice, or desperately attempting to slide towards a note, I shudder in remembrance of the disaster that was 'The Final Cut'. This is the inevitable consequence of trying to do everything yourself.

I don't mean to make it sound like I see nothing of value here. There's some nice funk, some nice art-rock and a couple of excellent solos, without coming remotely close to firing the listener's soul. And it's an impressive concept, worthy of installation in a gallery, along with a few Jackson Pollock works that really can't be distinguished from each other. There's no doubt that this album has more merit than the abysmal 'Pros and Cons' and 'Radio KAOS'. A shame, though, that such a creative man appears to have lost it so badly. ROGER WATERS is a classic example of a musician who should have remained a faceless member of a band.

russellk | 2/5 |

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