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Roger Waters - The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking CD (album) cover

THE PROS AND CONS OF HITCH HIKING

Roger Waters

 

Crossover Prog

3.08 | 404 ratings

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Tristan Zaba
4 stars Really 3.5

I actually love this album so much. Judged objectively, I can't say it's musically amazing like some of his other works, but the crazily convoluted concept makes for just as effective lyrics (which is really why we listen to Roger).

Before I get into the review I'll give everyone some background info. Most people know that after the fiasco that was the 1977 In The Flesh tour, Pink Floyd took some time off to recharge their creative batteries. Roger Waters went back home and made some really angsty demos in his shed that eventually became the wall. What a lot of people don't know is that he actually recorded all the demos for this album as well. When he came back to show everything to his band mates, he gave them the option to do one or the other, and whatever they didn't choose would be his first solo album.

And so Roger Waters did The Wall, The Final Cut, and took off to make this. You can hear exactly what he wants this album to be from the get-go; something to upstage The Wall (which it doesn't). It has more sound effects, more crazy screaming, a pretty interesting concept, and just generally a hell of a lot crammed into one album (lyrically at least).

Conceptually the album takes place inside dreams within dreams (think inception, but without a plot), going steadily deeper and deeper inside Reg's (the protagonist) psyche to show his deepest emotional weaknesses and fears. If you take a minute to think about going on a journey through Roger Waters' subconscious, you'll understand why this album is so f$%king weird. Furthermore, just like The Wall, The Final Cut, and Amused To Death, it's going to take you a while to interpret the lyrics and understand what you're listening to.

And so I leave only the music to be discussed, which is where this album suffers. I personally think that the delivery is impeccable and could not have been done better. However, the music itself doesn't have enough variance to be as strong as The Final Cut (which is what it comes closest to). In bits with heavy, confusing narrative, its seems as though Roger opts to keep it purposefully repetitive in order to not distract the listener too much from the lyrics. That being said, it does sometimes work. There are even short glimmers that reach the heights of The Wall.

Hopefully that makes you want to listen to the album, because I personally think it deserves more ears than it has. It's also the first Roger Waters album to be really humorous, and the only Roger Waters album ever to have a happy ending.

Tristan Zaba | 4/5 |

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