Customer Reviews

In the Flesh: Live

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4 star:		(27)
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2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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These [the cd's] were compiled from a handful of shows: Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Irvine, California; and Portland, Oregon (the Portland show will be released in its entirety in a special DVD in the spring), and James Guthrie (the man we can thank for The Wall Live) did a great job here in choosing the best performances from each of these shows to compile the ultimate representation of this past year's tour. The explosive opener, "In the Flesh," gets us right into it, beginning an all-too-short but oh-so-sweet string of songs from The Wall, which Roger has always considered his greatest work. Doyle Bramhall and Snowy White, the two lead guitarists on this tour, leave stinging solos on "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2," thus pumping new life into an old and often wearing radio staple. "Mother" is also simply amazing, with Doyle adding his own unique flavor to Gilmour's powerful solo, and Katie Kissoon and P.P. Arnold singing Gilmour's verses are another great tweak to this Floyd classic.

Then it's on to Roger's traditional live representation of probably the least-listened Floyd album, "The Final Cut." Although I was hoping for "The Gunner's Dream" or the title track, I figured Rog would revert to this little acoustic segue, just as he did on his '87 KAOS tour, and I suppose it fits better into the flow of the performance. This is a touching set of acoustic tracks that really speaks to the heart of Roger's traditional anti-war sentiments. They lead us nicely into Pigs On the Wing (I was hoping for a Snowy White electric solo bridging parts 1 and 2, but hey, you can't always get what you want).

Now for one of the major highlights of this set. "Dogs" is 16 plus minutes of absolute sonic brilliance. Turn the volume up for this one. Jon Carin again shows his many talents, opening the track with acoustic guitar and vocals and immediately moving into the keyboard section, the guitar still hanging around him. If you're reluctant to hear the sometimes Stevie Ray Vaughan-like Doyle Bramhall II play Floyd tunes, you should put that worry to rest here. He absolutely tears through this Floyd classic, stomping all over the album version (as good as that was!) by nailing all of Gilmour's notes and adding a bunch of string-twisting and mind-bending of his own. It's an absolute must hear, and his unique blue-note vocals are an excellent replacement for Gilmour's.

From there we move into the WYWH section of the show which closes set one. Welcome to the Machine is great, with a few nice touches to complement the album version, and the title track of that album, Wish You Were Here, provides one of the points for which Gilmour fans can stand firm upon. His vocals are missed here, if you expect the straight album sound, but it is refreshing to hear the songwriter himself sing his own song. The crowd never failed to join in word for word on this one. Doyle's relaxed and touching solo is an excellent example of his amazing versatility here, too.

Shine On is another highlight of this set. Although Snowy White is not David Gilmour and does not do a perfect job with the opening notes, he more than makes up for it later on into this long track in one of his many duels with Doyle, and again, it's great to hear Roger's voice on his own song - he actually had the lead vocals on the original album version, too. This is a touching tribute to Syd, complete with a Syd collage backdrop which will hopefully be seen on the DVD. (Another thing that merits mention here is that Jon Carin, who has already played acoustic guitar and keyboards while singing at the same time, plays slide guitar on this track - simply an amazing musician, and a great guy as it turns out).

On to set two - am I ever long-winded!

Roger opens it with a Floyd classic, and the first song he ever wrote that appeared on an album, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun." Borrowing the vast majority of the lyrics from an ancient Chinese poet, the nicest addition here to this traditionally acoustic number is the sudden explosion of sound from Doyle's guitar in a newly-added electric solo - this is another performance that just rips through your stereo.

Next it's onto a great medley of Dark Side material. Doyle's affections for "Breathe" can be heard in his refreshing vocals on this track, and the band performs all of these songs masterfully. Time is another great highlight of this set, with Roger taking Gilmour's vocals for the first time ever, and it's wonderful to hear him on his own song again. Doyle, who sang the entire song himself only in the first few shows of the '99 leg, takes Rick Wright's vocals well, and also contributes a blistering solo. Money, which has grown old and weary on the ears of most loyal and long-standing fans, is strengthened here by a refreshing solo from Andy Fairweather-Low (part of a three pronged guitar attack on this song), which Roger mentioned in a recent interview as being the highlight that everyone in the band looked forward to every night.

Finally we get some solo material. Every Stranger's Eyes is my favorite track off the Pros and Cons album, and even though Rog lip-sync's the final high-note verses (and it's no big deal - it's obvious, but it still sounds great!), the song is filled with emotion. We then move into what Rog considers one of his three best works (right there with The Wall and Dark Side), material from his '92 release, Amused to Death. Perfect Sense Parts 1 and 2 simply must be heard, and P.P. Arnold has an overwhelming voice that brought more than a few fans to tears in these shows....

The Bravery of Being Out of Range is nice but lacks the power of the original version (maybe it would've retained that had Doyle played lead on this one?), and it's odd to hear Rog up there playing lead electric guitar. It's a Miracle is a soothing and meaningful inclusion from the ATD album (with a great replication of Jeff Beck's original guitarwork by Snowy White to close it off), and Amused to Death itself is also terrific. Then we get the usual closer of Brain Damage/Eclipse, which still raises the hair on the back of my neck.

Comfortably Numb is another of the biggest highlights of this set, with Doyle and Snowy playing a note-perfect dueling solo to cap off the show and bring the crowd to its feet (those who weren't already standing, anyway). I'm disappointed that Roger's introduction to Each Small Candle was cut off here, but the performance itself is outstanding. It's a touching and haunting track about a story from the recent struggles in Kosovo, done in the traditional Roger style that sounds, to borrow the description of a friend, "like a cross between Us & Them, Amused to Death, and Brothers in Arms by Mark Knopfler. Can't wait to hear that and the other tracks from his new album, if that comes out during my lifetime.

ALL IN ALL, an essential set for any fan of Roger or the Floyd, and if you're interested in a starter set for Floyd material, this isn't a bad choice. It features the band leader reclaiming the bulk of the material that is rightfully his - his children as he calls them - and stringing them together in a magnificent performance with a tight and intensely "live" band.

And in the interests of the customer, Roger made sure to keep the price as low as most single CDs. Read the liner notes to this and you'll see where Roger's inspiration comes from: a connection with the fans, something overwhelmingly present in this set and obviously lacking in the football stadium concerts of his old bandmates...

Roger Waters' latest double live album, "In The Flesh," documents Waters' 1999-2000 North American tour, and serves as a fantastic memento. I had the great privilege of seeing Mr. Waters and his fleet of top-notch musicians four times over a period of two summers, and was looking forward to a live document from the tour. I was not disappointed.

"In The Flesh," engineered by James Guthrie, who was responsible for the recent live Wall album, "Is There Anybody Out There?" is an incredible sounding recording. As Guthrie describes it, it "breathes." It has considerable depth and warmness. The songs themselves are executed brilliantly. Notable tracks on the first disc include "Dogs," which receives a full, unabridged workout and great guitar interplay between Doyle Bramhall II and Floyd-vet Snowy White, and "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun," which is given a very trippy re-working and may be the gem of the album.

The second disc is devoted, in large part, to Waters' solo work, including a chunk from Waters' 1992 masterpiece, "Amused To Death." The album closes out with a strong new composition from Waters entitled "Each Small Candle," which Waters performed as an encore for all the shows on the 2000 leg of the tour and which is expected to surface on a forthcoming studio album from Waters.

It is expected that a companion DVD will soon follow.

This, Roger Waters' first album release in 8 years is a must own for any fans of his music or of classic Pink Floyd material. To be honest, I am a huge David Gilmour fan and was prepared to be disappointed with the guitar work on this album. I needn't have been. The triple guitar attack of Doyle Bramhall II, Snowy White, and Andy Fairweather-Low (augmented by Jon Carin and Roger himself) is a very potent axe outfit. Thus, not only is the solo work great as expected, but (unlike The Wall In Berlin) the Pink Floyd material actually sounds like Pink Floyd. As I mentioned the guitarists are competent, Jon Carin and Andy Wallace easily handle the keyboard parts, the backing vocalists are great, and Graham Broad is perhaps a better drummer than Nick Mason. Also, Roger himself is playing great and obviously enjoying performing for the first time in perhaps 25 years. His vocals may be occasionally rough around the edges, but as always he phrases them so that they come off as emotive and meaningful. The backing vocalists are also excellent, and it's hard not to be moved by PP Arnold's vocal break during Perfect Sense.

If you are wondering who plays what I will attempt to clarify that for you. The lead guitar work is handled mostly by Bramhall, who, despite his traditional blues stance, fills in ably for not only Gilmour but also Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton (on the solo material), and occasionally by Snowy White (Shine On, etc.). Andy Fairweather-Low is relegated to the role of rhythm guitarist for most of the songs, with occasional exception, such as his solo on Money. Roger plays bass or electric/acoustic guitars on many of the songs, as well as taking the lead on the Bravery of Being Out of Range. Jon Carin plays acoustic guitar on Dogs and slide on Shine On. Roger sings all of his parts, as well as Dave's parts on Welcome To The Machine, Time, and Wish You Were Here. Bramhall sings the rest of Dave's parts (except for Jon Carin's vocal on Dogs and the backing vocalists singing on Mother), as well as Rick Wright's parts on Time.

The best performances include a rip-roaring opening run through In The Flesh (not In The Flesh?); a great rendition and unique arrangement of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, with White for the most part (with a lot of help from Doyle) tearing through the song's ultra-awesome guitar parts; Dogs (Jon Carin sounds amazingly like Dave vocally on this track) in it's first official live incarnation; the new arrangement of Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun, and all of the included songs from Amused To Death. Each Small Candle, the new Waters composition, is a definite step in the right direction as well. All of the solo material is better and more powerful when performed live and many of the old Pink Floyd warhorses are given a different take with altered arrangements (particularly Set The Controls, Welcome To The Machine, and Shine On). So if you're fearful of hearing yet another rendition of Money or Another Brick In The Wall Part 2, then put your worries aside. Also, there is more improvisitation here than there have been on previous tours of Roger's, where his band often tended to play the songs exactly as on the album. In addition, Each Small Candle is a powerhouse, featuring a stellar arrangement and musicianship, as well as the expected emotional impact of the Waters lyric. Fans starved for any new material for Roger will not be disappointed in this track. The only point where I missed Gilmour's presence, other than the expected solo spot on Comfortably Numb, was on Wish You Were Here. The opening guitar part on this song, simple as it is, is incorrectly and sloppily played. However, this is nicely balanced out by an electric guitar solo during the middle of the song. There are other times on the album when the guitar is not exactly right, or the new renditions of his vocals are less than perfect, but all in all, Roger and his band fill in competently.

There are several interesting things on this record that Roger and Floyd freaks will be interested to know. For one thing, Breathe actually contains the unlisted Speak To Me, which means that Roger got out of paying Nick Mason any royalties aside from the obligatory Time. Also, as many fans know, Roger wanted to use HAL's speech and Dave's breathing sounds from the scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey where Dave disconnects HAL, but was denied doing so by Stanley Kubrick. This is why there is a backwards message on Amused To Death that pokes fun at Kubrick. Anyway, the dialogue and "breathing sounds" are intact here at the beginning of Perfect Sense Part I.

All I can say in closing is buy this album if you are a Roger Waters or Floyd fan if you haven't already. You will not be disappointed by any facet of it, and it will be a welcome addition to your collection.

I couldn't stand Roger Waters. I didn't like him with Pink Floyd and I definately didn't like him as a solo artist. I thought he was nothing more than a whining,moaning, groaning, complaining child. After Pink Floyd, I hated his lyrics. The Wall, in my opinion, exposed him as an angry, hateful individual that wanted to take out his frustrations on everyone else. But lo and behold! My friend across the street is a very big Pink Floyd fan. He gave me copies of Roger's The Wall Live In Berlin and In The Flesh. Since I was sitting up late one night and there was nothing on the TV, I popped in The Wall. I thoroughly enjoyed it and got a whole new opinion and attitude toward Mr. Waters. The next night I popped in In The Flesh. I was totally blown away by his performance and gained a lot of respect for him. The documentary at the end of The Wall DVD was excellent. It showed Roger as a very cool, calm and collected individual. His solo versions of Pink Floyd tunes on this album are out of this world. He does a very good job on everything he did both in The Wall and this album. I am truely impressed with the way, unlike other musicians, he shared the stage with other performers and musicians. He didn't appear to take the attitude that "this is my show and don't you forget it." He shared the spotlight with others which is not seen very much from other musicians. I would highly recommend this album to any Pink Floyd or Roger Waters fan. Check it out, you won't regret it. After seeing the DVD, I had to purchase this album and I do not regret it for a minute.

I was fortunate enough to attend one of Roger Water's In the Flesh shows. It was a great concert, and this is a great live album. Its nice to find one that is true to the concert I remember. Admittedly if you are a "popular" Pink Floyd fan, you might not enjoy it. But if you have a soft spot for their Animal's album you're going to love tracks 7 and 8 on disc one! As far as I am concerned Roger was the heart and soul of Pink Floyd. They may still have a polished expensive sound without him, but his vocals are the finest. I especially enjoy Perfect Sense through It's a Miracle on disc 2. The HAL opening of Perfect Sense is just fantastic! My only regret is that this album does not contain What God Wants. When I heard it live it was enough to send me to the music store to pick up Amused to Death and further explore Roger's solo efforts.

In conclusion, if you only like Dark Side of the Moon and Wish you Were Here. You probably won't like this album. You will probably think that playing the songs in a different way is butchery. However, if you like Animals and Roger's quirky sense of being, you should love this album! Don't forget to give Amused to Death a try too if you haven't already!

If you're into Roger Waters and/or Pink Floyd, check out this CD. It's a double live album culled from the recent live shows he did (late 99 and early 2000). At first I thought, "you know, why do I need yet another live album with the same songs again?" I was supposed to see Waters here in Dallas, but due to a scheduling problem, I couldn't. I **REALLY** wanted to go, too. Anyway, I said if they did a live album, I'd get it, and I did. I was not disappointed - this has some great production values, and he covers a ton of material. He goes back to Floyd's "A Saucerful of Secrets" in 1968, covering the Floyd albums Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall, & The Final Cut. He also hits his first and third solo albums (Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking & Amused To Death). There's a bunch of great sounding stuff on here, so if you're into Waters, check it out.

Most of classics from Pink Floyd and Roger's solo works were covered in this 2CD set. The band did a decent job at recreating and at the same time injecting some fresh ideas to these enduring classics. I especially enjoyed the performances of two outstanding guitarists, Doyle Bramhall II and Snowy White. Majority of work load was put on Doyle's shoulder and he is simply brilliant. Of course, White is White. What is really interesting in this guitar pair is the ovbious contrast between them, young/old, lefty/righty, fender/gibson, fiery/calm and if you've seen the DVD, you'd notice that even their guitars were strung differently -- Doyle strings his guitar upside-down. They use their differences to compensate each other not to compete, which makes some songs really rock as beautifully as it could. Other musicians participated, mostly mainstays of Roger's solo career, also did a wonderful job, I think. This album is a celebration of music created by Roger and pals, pop cultures cultivated by Pink Floyd and most of all, it's a celebration of musicianship. Whether you like David over Roger or you like to project these two on Paul Mcartney/John Lennon analogy, it's a must listen, simply because the album is full of good music.

If you are not moved by "Each Small Candle" you are dead and too lazy to lie down. This album sounds incredible; I was instantly transported back to this summer and the quadraphonic heaven of the shows. These songs are like old friends; it's really nice to have my old friend Rog singing them again. I love the adult contemporary version of "Set the Controls," - very different. The Amused to Death is worth the price of purchase alone. Go out and get it!

This is aimed at a large demographic, of which I'm a member: Pink Floyd fans who don't care about Pink Floyd without Waters, nor Waters without Pink Floyd. Mostly we bailed out at _The Final Cut_ (I bailed with _The Wall_), and after listening to Roger's solo work, _Pros and Cons of Radio Amusement_ etc, we said, "No thanks." Now Roger wants us back, and he offers a small sampler of his post-Floyd material, cunningly sweetened by being integrated with better-known Pink Floyd-era material.

The first disk is all Pink Floyd material, though the two tracks from _The Final Cut_ are solo Waters in all but name. Guitarist Doyle Bramhall II opens with a note-for-note Dave impression on "In the Flesh". This exact imitation of the Gilmour sound seems meant to demonstrate that Waters doesn't need his former collaborator. But the very perfection of the Dave imitation (also convincing on other Gilmour work-outs like "Dogs" and "Comfortably Numb") seems a little ... sterile. I'd have preferred Bramhall to re-think some of that music, to bring something new to it. Which doesn't happen.

The cover versions are comparable to The Other Three's (Gilmour-Mason-Wright's) versions on _Pulse_: good, with little gained from live performance. An exception is "Mother", from _The Wall_. In its original form "Mother" struck me as filler, more tuneful than most of _The Wall_ but that's not saying much. In this version "Mother" gets a new lease of life. The main difference is that "mother's" lines are handled by chanteuse Katie Kissoon, so that what was a song in which a middle-aged man whines about his mother turns into a dialogue in which the mother has a voice too. That small difference makes a huge difference.

And with Kissoon singing it sounds much better. In fact the backing singers, Katie Kissoons, Susannah Melvoin, and the legendary PP Arnold, are one of this album's strengths, bringing warmth and a discreet groove to some music that badly needed those qualities.

But even with their efforts, and those of Waters' fine backing band, the two tracks from _The Final Cut_, "Get Your Filthy Hands off my Desert" and "Southhampton Dock", still don't really convince me. They have adequate but uninspired lyrics, and they have no tunes. But at least they sound better here than they did on _The Final Cut_. Wisely, after two tracks Waters abandons shaky _Final Cut_ territory for stronger ground: two tracks from _Animals_, followed by two from _Wish You Were Here_. These are possibly a little better than the live versions on The Other Three's _Pulse_ and _Delicate Sound of Thunder_, though generally not as good as the studio originals.

There are some advantages; occasional variants in music some of us know a little too well, and the backing vocals really do add a welcome touch of (not terribly deep, but good just the same) soul. Unfortunately the warmer, funkier approach doesn't work so well with one of Water's earliest classics, the psychedelic "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun". In its original version on _Saucer Full of Secrets_ and even more on the _Ummagumma_ version, this was a chill-out classic: haunting, strange, mellow but icy cold. It doesn't respond well to "warmth", let alone the smoothed-over funk feel it is given here, and unfortunately this version doesn't work. It's an unexpected detour into the land of cheese.

The second CD sandwiches post-Floyd solo songs between highlights from _Dark Side of the Moon_. The _Dark Side _ covers are fine, not very different from The Other Three's cover versions, not adding much to the original studio versions. However the music from _Pro and Cons of Hitchhiking_ sounds better than it did on the original album. I'm still not grabbed by it, though. "Perfect Sense" is better, with a decent chorus, and "The Bravery of Being Out of Range" is nasty and pretty good. "It's a Miracle" and "Amused to Death" are both unmemorable. (Why not "What God Wants", surely his best post-Floyd song?)

Part of the problem with these post-Floyd tracks is that Waters came to overrate his own lyrics, and decided to concentrate on words to the detriment of his music. Unfortunately, while the lyrics aren't bad, I don't really care about The Thoughts of Chairman Waters. I used to like The Tunes of Bassist Waters. Look, if Schopenhauer made an album I still wouldn't listen to it twice, not if the music was as ordinary as this. And Schopenhauer's pessimism is a lot better written than Roger's.

We go out with the last three tracks of _Dark Side of the Moon_, "Comfortably Numb" with another good Gilmour impression, and finally a new song, "Each Small Candle", which expresses warm and positive sentiments, which is nice. Not much tune, but.

Summary? Waters can assemble a group of musos who play Pink Floyd covers as well or better than The Other Three. One song, "Mother", is much improved by the new arrangement. The post-Floyd Waters songs sound much better with this band than they did on their original albums, but they're still not very gripping. In every way Waters' new material is eclipsed by the superiority of the classic Pink Floyd material.

So I've heard Roger's invitation to explore his post-Floyd work, and on the whole I still say, "No thanks". I've given this release four stars, despite the only mildly enthusiastic tone of this review, because as an album of covers it's always pleasant listening, especially when the backing singers are in full flight. And while the sampler of the later Waters hasn't sold me on that body of work, I'm still pleased to have a few of those songs played by a good band, and made more bearable by being surrounded by better songs.

Cheers!

Laon

From the man who threw everything but the kitchen sink and a bag of cats into Pink Floyd's The Wall, comes a live set recorded during last year's jaunt around the States. (Many local fans endured a soggy, yet brilliant performance at Montage last summer.)

As concert recordings go, In The Flesh is an excellent career overview of one of the most unusual and talented performers in music today. The pacing is a bit shaky with slow, dirge-like acoustic songs being followed quickly by more upbeat tracks, but that's what Roger Waters is all about - contrast.

All the classic Pink Floyd warhorses are trotted out, including Another Brick In The Wall, Money, and the umpteenth live rendering of Comfortably Numb (Enough already!). But there's also plenty of lesser-known material here to please the diehards, such as the ancient Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun, and a full 16:00 version of Dogs from 1975's Animals album.

Unfortunately, there's nothing from the Radio KAOS album, which was one of Waters' stronger efforts and would adapt well to a live setting. The closer, Every Small Candle, is a brand new track that fits in well with the tone of the album, but adds nothing new.

The sound quality on In The Flesh is excellent, which should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Waters' devotion to detail. The CD booklet contains a long diatribe on the pitfalls of playing live and the compromising efforts taken to get the message across. It's something that obviously displeases Mr. Waters.

The world probably didn't need a live Roger Waters album, but this is great music and it's a required addition to any Pink Floyd fans' collection.