Roger Waters Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
Since the CD jewel box carries a sticker reading, "From the creator of The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall," it is important to note at the outset that Roger Waters' Ça Ira is not a rock concept album or rock opera; indeed, it does not contain rock music at all. The music is best described as classical, played by a symphony orchestra and sung by opera singers. Nor does it contain an appearance by Waters as a performer. He is the composer, and he also co-produced the album. Ça Ira (the title "literally means 'it will go'" in French, notes Waters, though he provides the subtitle "There Is Hope") has been described as an opera, but, at least on record, it might better be called an oratorio. The difference between the two, of course, has to do with staging and theatrical content. Based on a libretto by French songwriter Etienne Roda-Gil (though written in English without any of his actual words), Ça Ira is set during the first phase of the French Revolution, from the storming of the Bastille in 1789, to the executions of King Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie Antoinette, in 1793. Although the stated purpose of the work is to celebrate the triumph of democracy over monarchy, the only distinct characters are the King and Queen. Otherwise, the major characters are abstract or generic. There is a narrator, called the Ringmaster (since the staging calls for a circus setting), and other characters include the Troublemaker and a Revolutionary Priest. In this recording, the character distinctions are blurred further by the reduced number of performers. Bryn Terfel, for example, sings the parts of the Ringmaster, the Troublemaker, and the King, and sometimes he goes from one part to another without a break. Three different choirs also appear, one of them a children's choir that sings in lower-class British accents. This provides one of the few ties to Waters' earlier work -- one can easily imagine the children suddenly breaking into a chorus of "We don't need no education" from "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2." They don't, however. Like other pop and rock musicians who have turned to classical music, such as Paul McCartney and Billy Joel, Waters turns out to have a fairly traditional idea of the form. Perhaps in aspiring to legitimacy, he has written a work that harks back to the Romantic movement of the 18th century, music that in some ways grew out of the French Revolution. And Ça Ira is certainly a legitimate classical composition. Whether it justifies its intentions is another question, however. If, as annotator Nick Sedgwick points out, the early years of the Revolution have not been treated much in the arts, that may be because they involved so much turmoil and led directly not to liberty, but to the Reign of Terror. As Waters closes his work, he cannot help using the sound of a guillotine falling as a percussion device, and that means that if, as he says, there is hope, it must be only in the long-term sense. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Roger Waters' tours of the U.S. during the summers of 1999 and 2000 were a pleasant surprise, since the reclusive rocker had not toured since 1987. In his liner notes to this two-CD set drawn from those performances, Waters does not shy away from discussing his antipathy to big concert venues. But he makes a distinction between stadiums and arenas, and he also notes that he found himself becoming more comfortable in the role of a frontman. This more personable Roger Waters isn't what comes across on the album, but the closer relationship he perceives to his audience is nevertheless palpable. As the man who wrote Pink Floyd's lyrics, he is far more concerned with their meaning than his old bandmates, and his singing is emphasized without robbing the music of its magisterial power. In fact, with a band boasting several guitarists to make up for the lack of David Gilmour, Waters effectively re-creates the sound of his Pink Floyd work, which dominates the set list. The album contains only five selections out of 24 from Waters' solo albums: one track from The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking and four from Amused to Death, with Radio K.A.O.S. left out completely. He does not choose the most obvious solo material, but he makes his selections work, especially "Perfect Sense (Pts. I & 2)" and "It's a Miracle," from Amused to Death. A new song, "Each Small Candle," finds him still obsessed with world problems, but seemingly more optimistic. Waters had seemed to allow his anger about Pink Floyd's continuance without him to keep him from claiming his own part of their legacy. His 1999-2000 touring changed that, and In the Flesh Live makes the point for those who couldn't get to the shows. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Roger Waters' second solo album is yet another conceptual narrative, one that tells the tale of a wheelchair-bound boy who tries to halt the threat of nuclear war through his use of the HAM radio. The story line isn't held together as tightly as his first album, and the whole fable seems a little too far fetched, even when taken lightly. Unlike The Pros and Cons album, the music here overrides the narrative, but not by much, highlighted by the upbeat pop single "Radio Waves." The last tune, entitled "The Tide Is Turning," is the only other focal point of the album, an honest-sounding ballad that relinquishes a glimmer of hope in an otherwise unpromising world. Waters' anti-war theme is stretched full across the album, but the music itself struggles to capture any attention, bogged down by half-whispers and flat-lined melodies that are only slightly resuscitated from time to time with some trumpet and saxophone. The novelty of Los Angeles disc jockey Jim Ladd wears off quickly, as he was obviously used to add some lightheartedness to the album's pessimistic undertones. Waters' use of imagery and thematic depth are absent from Radio K.A.O.S., leaving his superficial spiel with barely any sustenance, which in turn hinders the moral of the album so that it fails to reach its fruition. While both The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and Amused to Death convey his talented use of concept, imagination, and lyrical mastery, this album seems to be nothing more than a fictional tale with a blatantly apparent message. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Raymond Briggs' animated tale about an elderly British couple living out their last days after the bomb has dropped spawned this hit-and-miss soundtrack, with contributions from Squeeze, David Bowie, Genesis, and a lengthy coda from Roger Waters and the Bleeding Heart Band. Bowie's "When the Wind Blows" and Genesis' "The Brazilian" seem to carry the most flow musically, and the ten-part medley from Waters and his studio team has its moments, but for the most part it drags and sputters with boggy instrumental staleness. Only "Folded Flags" seems to associate with the movie's cold war theme the best, and some relatively smooth saxophone playing from Mel Collins helps to resuscitate things a wee bit. Dialogue from both characters is woven between each song, enhancing their naïve outlook and their false hope for the "powers that be." Hugh Cornwell's "Facts and Figures" and Paul Hardcastle's "The Shuffle" are short on amiability and come off as poorly manufactured, weakened by run-of-the-mill '80s rhythms. When the Wind Blows tries hard to bind ties with the actual movie, which is splendid in itself, but aside from a few effective tracks, the soundtrack remains quite pedestrian. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide
'The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking'
Release Date 1/1/1984
Tracks 12
Label Harvest
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
When dissected carefully, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking becomes a fascinating conceptual voyage into the workings of the human psyche. As an abstract peering into the intricate functions of the subconscious, Waters' first solo album involves numerous dream sequences that both figuratively and symbolically unravel his struggle with marriage, fidelity, commitment, and age at the height of a midlife crisis. While the songs (titled by the times in which Waters experiences each dream) seem to lack in musical fluidity at certain points, they make up for it with ingenious symbolism and his brilliant use of stream of consciousness within a subconscious realm. Outside from the deep but sometimes patchy narrative framework, the music slightly lacks in rhythm or hooks, except for the title track that includes some attractive guitar playing via Eric Clapton. David Sanborn's saxophone is another attribute, adding some life to "Go Fishing" and "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking." But it's truly the imagery and the visual design of the album that is front and center, since the importance lies in what Waters is trying to get across to the audience, decorated somewhat casually by his singing and the music. With Pink Floyd, the marriage of Waters' concepts and ideas with the talented musicianship of the rest of the band presented a complete masterpiece in both thought and music, while his solo efforts lean more toward the conceptual aspects of his work. With this in mind, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking continues to showcase Waters' unprecedented knack of addressing his darkest thoughts and conceptions in a most extraordinary fashion. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
This soundtrack album, credited to Ron Geesin and Roger Waters, contains various sound effects and musical fragments, plus a few folkish songs on which Waters accompanies himself on acoustic guitar and sings. The result is a precursor to some of Waters' and Pink Floyd's later work ("Breathe," for example, is suggestive of The Dark Side Of The Moon), but in an embryonic form. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
