AMUSED TO DEATH

For sure, this is Waters' masterpiece - at least for me personally. Looking at the theme of this album which was dedicated to Private William Hubbard (1888 - 1917), Eighth Batalion of the Royal Fusiliers, City of London Regiment, this must be a very emotional album for Roger Waters. Who cares with what has happened in the past? At lest, Roger does! As my spiritual guru taught me: "If you wanna succeed in life, you have to understand history and learn people characters, comprehend them and take the best parts with you and know how to manage the worst parts when you deal with people with such behaviors", history means something for me. Oh yeah, I don't read a lot about history but it does not mean that I don't care about history. For one thing, Mr Waters taught me through his wonderful compositions that history does mean a lot!

Why liking this album?

It's better to start with what this album means to me. First off, when I looked at this album displayed at local music shop in Jakarta, I was in doubt on whether or not to purchase it. By the time I was not into internet heavily so the information about this album was not available for me. So I decided to buy the cassette version because it's cheap. I liked it at first spin so I purchased the CD couple of months later.

The way I see this album was very similar with Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut" and "The Wall" as it contains many reflections of what happened in the past and its meanings to life that went on. As for the Pink Floyd "The Final Cut", I love this album. It's not a plethora of credentials the band has earned with its previous albums but it's more on the music per se. If I was not given any information that this is a Pink Floyd album I still love this one. Two reasons that support my opinion: 1. I like the energy the singer sings throughout the album which basically has less music than vocal line. 2. The music is thematic even without knowing what's the story line of the album. In fact, I purchased this album in cassette version but I got trouble with the noise level that became obvious because this album has many silent parts. So, couple of years later I purchased the CD format. The result is remarkably different: now I can hear clearly the sighs and silent sound effects in its subtleties especially if I listen to it using earphones or decent stereo set at home.

The similar experience happened to me with "Amused To Death". Having it on CD format is much better than the cassette as I can eliminate all noises. The albums starts beautifully with "The Ballad of Bill Hubbard" (4:19) in which Alf Razzell telling the story of how he had to leave the wounded Bill Hubbard behind enemy lines. What a sad story! This ambient piece is augmented wonderfully with guitar work that at first listen was like the work of David Gilmour. It's not! When I looked at the CD sleeve, it's being played by Jeff Beck. Jeff plays emotionally and in line with the music characters of this atmospheric opening track.

The stream of music flows beautifully to next track "What God Wants, Pt. 1" (6:00) in an R&B style using female and male vocals plus blues-rock guitar work. The "Perfect Sense, Pt. 1" (4:16) and "Perfect Sense, Pt. 2" (2:50) continue in the similar style. My favorite track is "It's a Miracle" (8:30) which has a very tight composition, catchy melody, excellent lyrics and great ambient.

Two things that make this album excellent: First, on vocal line, Roger delivers his best vocal range like he did with The Wall and The Final Cut where he sings in high as well as low register notes brilliantly - some with sighs. His delivery is really top notch! Second, this album offers brilliant composition where the music does not necessary being complex but it's not as simple as pop or R&B music. For example Jeff Porcaro does not need to play dazzling drum work but he's played it "just enough" to fit the music and nothing more. Observe how he plays it at "It's a Miracle" which to me sounds very simple but it gives excellent nuance for the music.

Why (you are) NOT liking this album?

If you expect something complex and challenging, this is definitely not meeting your expectations. This album is the kind of music (and story) that fits a peaceful condition because it contains reflections about life at war. As most of Pink Floyd music are not complicated at all, you should not expect something complex from this key member of Pink Floyd.

Conclusion

Overall, this album represents Roger Waters' masterpiece and it has tight composition, great vocal line by Waters and backing vocals. I really love how he sings "It's a Miracle" emotionally. It's so wonderful! "We've got a warehouse of butter / We've got oceans of wine / We've got famine when we need it / Got a designer crime / We've got Mercedes / We've got Porsche / Ferrari and Rolls Royce / We've got a choice / She said meet me / In the Garden of Gethsemane my dear .".For those who like concept album with strong story line must have this album. This also applies to all of you who love Pink Floyd. It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

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