Customer Reviews

Amused to Death

5 star:		(195)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'm not unique in that I like Roger Waters and old Pink Floyd (Waters & Co. from DSOTM). But I seemed to be on a limb with many listeners concerning the new (1994 is new? -- David Gilmour and Co.) Pink Floyd. There is obviously strong camps for one or the other, and the customer reviews of any Pink Floyd CD brings this out rather vehemently. Me? I love them all, past, present, and future(?). All I have to do is listen to the first few guitar strings of ANY Pink Floyd cut, and I sit back in anticipation, knowing I'm listenening to one of my favorite groups. It doesn't matter to me if it's Roger or David. It doesn't matter to me if it's a cut from "The Wall" or from "Division Bell". It's Pink Floyd, whether it's the group or an individual.

As far as "Amused to Death"? The very first moment the sound began drifting from my speakers, I smiled. From the battle-weary old man mumbling remembrances through the satirical "What God Wants" and "It's a Miracle", I find Roger at his cynical best, and I begin waxing nostalgic. Here is the anger and the bite that I have missed for so many years. Here is the cynicism, both modern and old...and weary, so clearly resonating from Roger's anguished voice. Ahhhh, I wish...I wish....

The rumor mill continues, but if wishes were...heck, you know the old saying as well as I. The truly sad thing is, I don't know if I'll ever hear anything coming from either camp ever again. Roger has been silent since 1992, and David Gilmour since 1994. All I can do now is sit back and listen and remember a talented group of individuals who have given me hundreds of hours of pleasure. Between 1 and 10, I give "Amused to Death", perhaps Waters' best solo work, a solid 8. Thank you, Roger. And thank you, David. I miss all of you.

While one can certainly claim the Wall, 'Momentary Lapse' and 'Division Bell' were more commercially viable, no one who listens to 'Amused to Death' with an open mind can refute that the quality of Waters 1992 attempt beats them all hands down. In some ways, it even gives 'The Wall' a run for it's money.

Loosely based on a book by Neil Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death), Waters album centers on his perception of humanity during the tumultuous transition from the 1980's era of flash through the Gulf War and ending firmly entrenched in the dismal depression that was the early 1990's.

I personally find it most unfortunate that people feel the need to rate this album based on their perception of Roger Waters and his battles with David Gilmour. A true rating on any record should only be based on the music, lyrics, and contents therein, not commentary of how they judge someone's actions outside of the piece they are rating.

'Amused to Death', like most of Waters work, is not something for the casual listener. If you get this simply to have some background music in your car or ipod while working out, you will never really 'get' what this is all about and you may well not like it. While it has catchy songs that CAN be listened to independently, 'Amused' is not a typical rock album. Unlike most pop albums, 'ATD' does not spoon feed the listener one hit after another, rather it requires someone to sit back and allow themselves to become immersed in the experience.

I myself did not like 'Amused to Death' for a number of years because I kept trying to treat it like a normal record. One day I bought the cd put it in the player, turned off the lights and tried to go to sleep. Q-Sound is astonishing and the first thing I noticed was that sounds from the album were actually tricking my brain into thinking they were happening in real life. I had never noticed it before and I got more interested so kept listening. Song after song and finally at the end I was wide-awake and completely converted.

By the end of the title track I finally understood that 'Amused to Death' is like an essay. It does not make sense to pull the staples out of a multi page essay and read whatever in any order, nor does ATD work well if only one or two songs are listened to at a time.

Some don't get it. Some like the 12 or 13 pop tunes all jumbled together in no real order, so long as the guitar style and vocals are pleasing. Some like it when songs have no real meaning. Before ATD I would have been one of them.

It requires a bit of effort. It requires one to allow themselves the time to listen to it, but also I can honestly say that if anybody who can appreciate Pink Floyd tried ATD in that way, they'd never look back!

I decided to buy the CD after reading several excellent reviews and especially when a Junior High School History teacher highly recommended it (he uses the CD in his classroom to critique American culture).

I was not disappointed! A beautiful album conceptually, lyrically, and musically. The use of duets and background vocals may be the best I have ever heard. Several of the songs brought me to tears with their poignant message and riveting melodies. "The Bravery of Being Out of Range" and the title track are stunning vocally and in terms of their scathing messages.

Warning: This is definitely not a CD for the mainstream. However, any Pink Floyd fan should enjoy it immensely. I had to listen and read along with the song sheet four or five times before I started to "get it". The lyrics and vocal harmonies will haunt you until you continue to listen and discover that Roger Waters may have a weak and whiny singing style, but he is arguably "The Finest Rock Lyricist of Our Time".

Nine years ago this CD really put my feelings following the Gulf War in perspective. In light of the terrible terrorist attacks this past Tuesday in NY, DC and Pennsylvania, one should listen to this album to gain some inner understanding and keep a balance between their anger and sorrow. Many of the songs on this album carry very powerful messages about ourselves and really makes us question where our values are truly centered.

Amused to Death is Roger Waters' most accomplished and pleasing solo work to date. Surprisingly some material on this album was written and even recorded during breaks from his previous album's (Radio KAOS) tour. In a change for the better, it has little remnants of predecessor. Also it sports a barrage of guest musicians. Most notably guitarist Jeff Beck on a few tracks and Don Henley (Eagles) singing backup on "Watching TV".

As far as the material on this album is concerned, Roger makes a subtle return to the sound of his days in Pink Floyd. Although the full spectrum of those golden days isn't found here, this is a truly touching piece. Without a doubt Roger Waters is one of the greatest lyricist in rock history and his genius is shown in full force here. He brings the social ills of the world to the attention of the listener in this song cycle. In typical Waters fashion a handful of stronger songs hold together a bunch of weaker ones to complete its form. Moments of brilliance include the slowly paced and dark "It's A Miracle". Personally, I think it's one of Roger's best songs and I still get all shivers down my spine when I listen to it. Other highlights include the two-part "Perfect Sense" and the touching acoustic "Watching TV". All in all this album is an epic journey somewhat comparable to his earlier works with the Floyd that proves he still can make a fantastic album. Worth a listen, even if you're not a Floyd fan.

Last fall, Roger Waters' song "What God Wants" was rising up the charts, and it caught my attention. I've always liked Pink Floyd, but not enough to go out of my way to get their solo projects, and I'd not heard any of Waters' work since he left the band. But "What God Wants" was a great song, sounding as Floydian as anything off of "The Wall," and on the strength of that song I bought Waters' "Amused To Death."

I've been listening to that album almost every day since then. I've been won over completely: the album is a masterwork, definitely one of Waters' best works. It's better than "The Final Cut" and perhaps better than "The Wall," too. The theme Waters works with is shocking and relevant. "Amused To Death" is a biting, angry statement on the decrepit state of our society. It may be a little hard to get through the first couple of listenings, simply because this is one of the most depressing albums you're likely to hear in a long time.

Waters' tenure in Pink Floyd helped cement the band's reputation for doom-and-gloom, as they cast the spotlight on the way our society is doing its best to erase any spark of Humanity from the common man. "Wish You Were Here", their tribute to ex-lead singer Syd Barrett, gives one version (not necessarily the only one) of how life in the fast lane can murder an up-and-coming artist; "The Wall" was the story of a young man who, through the pressures of an uncaring school, an uncaring Mother, and and uncaring society, grows up to become a hate-fostering Hitler wannabe (and when he actually shows some feelings, Society roars up to crush them); while "Animals" uses dogs and sheep to paint a dark picture of the way we have to kill to survive (Dogs), or else be led to the slaughter (Sheep).

But now, with "Amused To Death," Waters does his best to open our eyes and warn us that if we sit back and let the people on high tell us what to think, we'll lose our right to survive as a species. We're being carefully manipulated by governments, who use religion and television to make us think what THEY want us to think.

"What God Wants," in addition to being a damnation of the way money and religion are inextricably linked today (churches have to make money to survive; televangelists weep and moan and, through the power of television, persuade innocent viewers to open their wallets and shower them with cash), gives us the idea of God being used as an excuse to go war: "God wants freedom," "God wants war," "God wants famine."

Religion has always been one of the strongest weapons used by dictators (elected or otherwise) to persuade the masses; and since the coming of that black box known as television, people have been more and more willing to sit back and let others do their thinking for them. This is made especially clear in "Perfect Sense" and "The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range," which focus on that sham called the Gulf War (it's never mentioned by name) and the way it was presented to the public as a flashy video game: we sat back, watched things blowing up on TV, and cheered the pilots who delivered the bombs. (Even the pilots were carefully conditioned: "There is no right, no wrong/Only tin cans and Cordite and white cliffs and blue skies and Flight/The beauty of military life...")

If we reduce war - the slaughter of thousands who always die needlessly when we set out to "punish" someone like Saddam Hussein - to merely the latest in prime-time entertainment, then what have we become as a race? Have we indeed been given "Too Much Rope" to hang ourselves?

(By the way, Ted Turner's CNN has a standing order: in the event of a national crisis such as a war or an earthquake, its advertising rates immediately shift to a higher level so that it can make more money on its commercials. After all, more people seemed to pay attention to CNN than the major news networks during the Gulf War - so what better place for the advertisers to run their commercials? What IS the difference between the Gulf War, where we see video cameras mounted on the tips of ballistic missiles, and movies like "Top Gun," when both are broadcast on TV solely to sell us detergent, cars and beer?)

And what's more, this reduction of Humanity to mindless drones is being done in the name of God - ALL religions are doing so. So-called "holy wars"...Presidents asking for blessing on their "police actions"...priests on TV condemning those who dare question the righteousness of what they tell us to do...they all say the same thing. They don't want us to THINK FOR OURSELVES. Just sit back, watch the TV, and shell out cash.

This is the warning of "Amused To Death." From places like Tiananmen Square, where people were massacred (we saw it live on TV, of course - but our government still hasn't officially acknowledged it and still kisses up to China); to our own country where people can't afford enough to eat or keep warm; to anywhere in the world that there is pain and suffering - we know it's happening, and yet our country would rather switch the channel and watch something happier. The only way to bring things to our attention today is for someone to die on TV ("...because she died on TV.")

And that's why this album is such a depressing work: because it's all TRUE. It opens our eyes. We KNOW that these things are happening as we speak.

This message is one we've all heard before, of course. But until there's no more war, no more suffering, no more sadness, it's a message that should be repeated again and again - until we actually get off our duffs and DO something about it.

'Amsused To death" is easily Waters' best solo stuff to date. In this effort Waters takes his rage out on actions surrounding the Persian Gulf War(1)and the politics that go along with capitalist society. Jeff Beck is recruited for certain spots and delivers astounding solos and guitar work. His presense give Waters'sometimes lifeless grooves the heat they need. Waters hits his mark in his lyrics that range from the hypocracy surrounding the Persian Gulf War (1) to the ultimatly evil dogma of capitalism. The ever changing professional lineup of the Bleeding Hearts Band delivers the music with perfection, but the real story here is Waters' poignant lyrics and his simple yet effective melodies. They all work together just as this effort from the veteran artist works. Roger Waters manages to focus his anger to a white hot laser of contempt for the powers that be and melds it with a cohesive set of melody themes and spry musicianship. It all comes together here Waters'fans. "Amused to Death" is easily his best effort to date. To date, that is. I can't imagin what he's working on with all that's happening in the world to date SINCE "Amused to Death".

Roger Water's opens "Amused To Death" by the spoken words of Alf Razzell, recorded during a recent telecision interview about his unenviable assignment of obtaining identification from the battlefield dead during WWII:

[Alf Razzell:] "Two things that have haunted me most are the days when I had to collect the paybooks; and when I left Bill Hubbard in no-man's-land. I was picked up and taken into their trench. And I'd no sooner taken two or three steps down the trench when I heard, "Ho Hello Razz, I'm glad to see you! This is my second night here,", he said "I'm feeling bad." And it was Bill Hubbard, one of the men we'd trained in England, one of the original battalion. I had a look at his wound; rolled him over and I could see it was probably a fatal wound. You could imagine what pain he was in, he was dripping with sweat; and after I'd gone about three shellholes, traversed that, had it been...had there been a path or a road I could have done better. He pummelled me, 'Put me down, put me down, I'd rather die, I'd rather die, put me down.' I was hoping he would faint. He said 'I can't go any further, let me die.' I said 'If I leave you here Bill you won't be found, let's have another go.' He said 'All right then.' And the same thing happened. he couldn't stand it any more, and I had to leave him there, in no-man's-land."

and this is how Roger Waters closes the CD:

[Alf Razzell:] "Years later, I saw Bill Hubbard's name on the memorial to the missing at Aras. And I...when I saw his name I was absolutely transfixed; it was as though he...he was now a human being instead of some sort of nightmarish memory of how I had to leave him, all those years ago. And I felt relieved, and ever since then I've felt happier about it, because always before, whenever I thought of him, I said to myself, 'Was there something else that I could have done?' [background: "I'd rather die, I'd rather die..."] And that always sort of worried me. And having seen him, and his name in the register - as you know in the memorials there's a little safe, there's a register in there with every name - and seeing his name and his name on the memorial; it sort of lightened my...heart, if you like."
[woman:] "When was it that you saw his name on the memorial?"
[Alf:] "Ah, when I was eighty-seven, that would be the year, ninete...eighty-four, nineteen eighty-four."

Not cheerful, not happy but incredibly powerful the same way that "The Final Cut" is. If you want a nice mindless romp, look under 'Brittney Spears'. If you desire a powerful, intelligent statement from a man who lost his father to the trenches of WWII, you have found it.

What can be said? Words can't describe the feeling I get from listening to this album! From the opening "The Ballad of Bill Hubbard" where Jeff Beck's guitar achieves a level of emotion unbelievable when coupled with Alf Razzell's wrenching monologue (Alf is a World War II veteran who had to leave a friend to die in no mans land). Then Roger moves into What God Wants. Pure genius, though some Christian (and people of other religions for that matter) may find it offensive. It really conveys an emotion that is amazing. Then as it goes on, "Perfect Sense", and "The Bravery of Being Out of Range" follow suit. All throughout the album the music blends seemlessly with the lyrics. All songs are masterpieces. The music is full and well textured with Jeff Becks guitar and great synth, piano, bass, and vocals. Some people were a little scared, I think, by Roger's vocals, but they match so well with the music. I don't think Pink Floyd could come up with anything close to this level of musical and lyrical genius. What am I thinking? Of course they couldn't! The lyrics are superior as is the music. Who can forget the tragic story of Alf, or the sad story of the woman who's attempt at the suicide of her family ended up killing her children and sadly leaving her to live a depressing and guilt-ridden existence? The small things, as always, polish this recording. This album really showed a change in Roger's music from earlier works. It's a must have for anyone, not only Roger Waters' fans or Pink Floyd fans. Any fans of good music and lyrics will rejoice in this journey into modern life. It may be depressing to some, but nestled in that depression lies a little hope for us yet.

In my opinion this is Waters' best solo album. It has strong similarities to Radio KAOS and The Final Cut in the sense that Roger likes to consider modern issues very seriously, perhaps too seriously, and seems obsessed with the harm mankind does to his own chances. The great thing about Waters, in my opinion, is his ability to produce an album which tells a story, compared to eg the Division Bell, which make no mistake I consider to be a very fine album, but does feel rather too much like Comfortably Numb repeated over and over again. Let's get this straight, the Floyd are fantastic even after Waters and so is Waters himself - one of the most imaginative and creative song writers we have ever seen. Anyone who could almost single-handedly write "The Wall", one of the all-time classics, must be a hero. The way that Roger brings in people like Jeff Beck, Andy Fairweather Low and other fine artists to such superb effect is a true testimony to his vision, song writing ability and creativity. It's probably true to say that only now that Pink Floyd are no longer with us can we realise why they were so great. Undoubtedly Waters was the creative force, but it would be wrong to underestimate the down to earth qualities of Gilmour and the others. Let's hope that Waters and Floyd continue for many more years. Even more, why not follow the Eagles and do a "Hell Freezes Over" tour.