Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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65 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pink Floyd? Waters best solo?, May 14, 2000
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.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Post 'Wall' Floyd Related Album To Date!, March 12, 2006
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!
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of Roger Waters' solo albums, December 10, 1998
By A Customer
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.
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~ Roger Waters
~ Richard Wright
~ David Gilmour
~ David Gilmour
~ Roger Waters
by Roger Waters 
