Amused to Death

Amused To Death A concept album of the utmost musical, poetic, aesthetic, intellectual and emotional quality capable of sending shivers down the spine and bringing tears to the eyes of a 50 y.o. cynic. I find no sense in dissecting the album with an analytical scalpel since I am unable to "focus" on specific "trees" while being in utter awe of the vast and wonderful forest in front of me. OK, you guessed it ... I kinda like this album (to put it mildly). So, can I provide some practical input for those of you (still?) pondering the purchase of this masterpiece? Let me try: The sound quality of the SACD is simply amazing ... a true reference recording (if that's your cup of tea). I also have the original vinyl issue from way back then and the Sony gold CD version. All three are great ... 'nuff said. The packaging of the Analogue Productions Hybrid SACD reissue is definitely not on par with the musical content. Waters's Ca Ira and Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here SACD releases are significantly more appropriate to the respective musical content. Some extra written stuff, especially for this release, either from the Man himself or a short essay-type knowledgeable contribution would be most welcome. With regard to Amazon.com I have two comments: a) At the time of writing Amazon.com had the lowest price (probably) worldwide and ... erm ... I grabbed it, and b) Despite a small issue of a misunderstanding about the actual availability of the SACD, resulting in a delayed dispatch, Amazon's exemplary customer service came to the rescue thus providing world-class customer assistance. Kudos all around! To sum it all up: What, you still haven't clicked the "Add to Cart" button yet? Do yourselves a highest quality musical/cultural favour and get this album in any format ASAP.

Most rock bands often have little to say. Sad but true. That was not the case with Pink Floyd who were always pushing the limits either sonically, or lyrically, or both, and any true Floyd fan has to reckon with the fact that was largely due to Waters songwriting. Egos and dissension within the band persisted, and Waters went his own way. Many of his first albums were hit or miss. It can be safely said that none of them carried the momentum generated by the Floyd, forward. Until Amused To Death. I was amazed at how much this grew on me. If you've heard the Wall and it left you wanting more, or your frustrations with modern times have gone largely unanswered. This album, somewhat dated by the 90's, is also still extremely relevant, as Waters gets at the jugular or the heart of many matters. If the Wall bemoans the state, or the crime, from a first person vantage point. Amused To Death addresses the motive/motivation, attitudes, and zeitgeist from a narrative to near perfection.. I have found no other record that digs as deeply as this does into the problematic chronic muck of 1st world empire living. Though I don't subscribe to the politics that Waters does, I can say about Waters, One can be wrong about what's right for society, and still be right about what's wrong with society. His criticism is scathing and spot on and delivered as only he can do. This album is the finest extension/elaboration from what the Wall set out to communicate. I hope that Waters will someday soon set his hand to the plow once again and attempt to make a successor to Amused To Death, although I'm not sure it's possible. What a visionary.

I really like this album. I have listened to it about 30 times in just three or four weeks. The songs are very catchy. It has a message throughout, mainly that it is too easy to amuse ourselves in our comfortable living rooms while we drop bombs on the other side of the Earth. I wanted an album that sounded like Pink Floyd, and this fit the bill, thanks to Roger Water's voice and Jeff Beck on guitar. It is also one of the kongest albums I ever bought.

This album is amazing and I have been a fan since it came out in 92 when I was 18-years old. This was my first exposure to Waters solo work and I rushed out to buy Radio KAOS and The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, little did I know this would be all we’d get from him. When I started collecting vinyl 10-years later finding his other albums, even When the Wind Blows, on vinyl was easy, but this one remained elusive. Like a lot of albums released in the 90s, the original vinyl release has demanded a stupid price on the used market that I refused to pay – finally; however, I am able to own this, thanks to this great reissue. Waters best work that easily eclipses the post Water’s Pink Floyd albums. Released in an area when over produced concept albums had gone out of style, it didn’t make any waves — I knew no one that enjoyed it like I did, even massive Pink Floyd fan friends. Made too late or too early, as we are more amused now than ever, this album didn’t get the accolades it deserved. My only gripe is the cost – it should be about half the price (Nick Cave’s Murder Ballads reissue was only $25), but I was not going to miss out on this again.

C'est, de loin, le meilleur album solo de son auteur, un concept album inspiré d'un livre de Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, qui décrypte les us d'une société ultra-médiatisée, c'est Amused to Death de Roger Waters, aeuvre à la fois terriblement moderne tout en se situant dans une grande tradition à laquelle elle fait honneur, un opus de toute première bourre en vérité. Comme souvent avec Waters, un garçon tenu par ses obsessions, le développement du concept de l'album a commencé bien avant sa sortie, pendant la création de son précédent opus en fait, le controversé mais recommandé Radio K.A.O.S . Dans les faits, album sur la dangereuse décadence de la société occidentale (capitalisme, guerre, médias, mépris d'autrui, etc.), aeuvre sombre donc, on en a l'habitude avec le taciturne Waters, Amused to Death n'est pas exactement le genre d'opus qu'on conseillera à un dépressif chronique. Quoique la musique, souvent percée d'irremplaçables beauté, vient tempérer la noirceur du propos. Parce que côté composition, Roger s'est dépassé ! Dès l'introductif The Ballad of Bill Hubbard, un belle chanson d'ambiance dotée d'un puissant récitatif et de cordes émouvantes, on est pris par un tourbillon créatif qui ne se démentira pas, un rock progressif moderne et classique à la fois, de son temps dans le son mais encore héritier de la période dorée (les 70s !) dans la manière. La suite, entre rock épique (What God Wants Part I, The Bravery of Being Out of Range), et compositions plus nuancée (Watching TV avec la contribution vocale de Don Henley des Eagles, It's a Miracle et le moog magique du l'ancien collègue de Madonna, Patrick Leonard, l'éthéré Three Wishes, ou un magistral Amused to Death de conclusion), est un parfait panorama musical pour qui apprécie son rock exploratoire et mélodique. Avec un line-up "all-star" plus venu pour contribuer que se montrer (Jeff Beck, Luis Conte, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, Don Henley, etc.), une production absolument parfaite, riche de moult field-recordings texturants, claire et précise, et, donc, un ensemble compositionnel constituant l'indéniable sommet de la carrière de Roger Waters en solo, Amused to Death, presque l'égal des plus belles heures de son ancien groupe, c'est dire !, est un album plus que recommandé, obligatoire ! 1. The Ballad of Bill Hubbard 4:19 2. What God Wants, Part I 6:00 3. Perfect Sense, Part I 4:16 4. Perfect Sense, Part II 2:50 5. The Bravery of Being Out of Range 4:43 6. Late Home Tonight, Part I 4:00 7. Late Home Tonight, Part II 2:13 8. Too Much Rope 5:47 9. What God Wants, Part II 3:41 10. What God Wants, Part III 4:08 11. Watching TV 6:07 12. Three Wishes 6:50 13. It's a Miracle 8:30 14. Amused to Death 9:06 Roger Waters - vocals (all tracks except 1), bass guitar (tracks 2 and 13), synthesisers (tracks 2 and 4), guitar (tracks 5, 11 and 14) Patrick Leonard - keyboards (all tracks except 6 and 7), percussion programming (track 1), choir arrangement (tracks 2, 9-11 and 13), vocals (track 4), acoustic piano (tracks 11 and 13), Hammond organ (track 5), synthesisers (tracks 5 and 13) Jeff Beck - guitar (tracks 1, 2, 10-14) Randy Jackson - bass guitar (tracks 2 and 9) Graham Broad - drums (all tracks except 1, 5, 11 and 13), percussion (tracks 6 and 7) Luis Conte - percussion (all tracks except 2, 5, 9, 11, 13 and 14) Geoff Whitehorn - guitar (tracks 2, 8, 10 and 14) Andy Fairweather Low - guitar (tracks 2, 6-9, 11 and 12), vocals (tracks 6 and 7) Tim Pierce - guitar (tracks 2, 5, 9 and 12) B.J. Cole - guitar (tracks 3 and 4) Steve Lukather - guitar (tracks 3, 4 and 8) Rick DiFonso - guitar (tracks 3 and 4) Bruce Gaitsch - guitar (tracks 3 and 4) James Johnson - bass (all tracks except 1, 2, 5, 9 and 11) Brian Macleod - snare (tracks 3 and 4), hi-hat (tracks 3 and 4) John Pierce - bass guitar (track 5) Denny Fongheiser - drums (track 5) Steve Sidwell - cornet (tracks 6 and 7) John Patitucci - bass guitar (track 11) Guo Yi & the Peking Brothers - dulcimer, lute, zhen, oboe, bass (track 11) John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Hammond organ (track 12) Jeff Porcaro - drums (track 13) Marv Albert - vocals (track 4) Katie Kissoon - vocals (tracks 2, 8, 9, 12 and 14) Doreen Chanter - vocals (tracks 2, 8, 9, 12 and 14) N'Dea Davenport - vocals (track 2) Natalie Jackson - vocals (tracks 2 and 5) P.P. Arnold - vocals (tracks 2, 3, 4 and 10) Lynn Fiddmont-Linsey - vocals (track 5) Jessica Leonard - vocals (track 8) Jordan Leonard - vocals (track 8) Don Henley - vocals (track 11) Jon Joyce - vocals (track 13) Stan Farber - vocals (track 13) Jim Haas - vocals (track 13) Rita Coolidge - vocals (track 14) Alf Razzell - vocals (tracks 1 and 14)

Excelente album!

Roger Waters Amused To Death is a fantastic piece of work. Beautifully pressed on four 12" black 180g vinyl and to be played at 45 RMP. It sounds wonderful, a joy to listen to. Any Punk Floyd/Roger Waters fan should get this for their collection.

Sulla qualità artistica non c'è più nulla da aggiungere, album che ho sempre amato e di conseguenza ho deciso di acquistare la versione SACD, che dire spazialità,dettagli, presenza degli strumenti, voci migliori anche con l'ascolto in cuffia, la chitarra di Beck ha messo alla frusta i miei diffusori. La versione SACD vale ogni centesimo speso.