01	The Ballad of Bill Hubbard						04:19
	02	What God wants, Part I						06:00
	03	Perfect Sense, Part I						04:16
	04	Perfect Sense, Part II						02:50
	05	The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range						04:43
	06	Late Home Tonight, Part I						04:00
	07	Late Home Tonight, Part II						02:13
	08	Too Much Rope						05:47
	09	What God Wants, Part II						03:41
	10	What God wants, Part III						04:08
	11	Watching TV						06:07
	12	Three Wishes						06:50
	13	It's a miracle						08:30
	14	Amused to death						09:06

Roger Waters
Amused to Death
Columbia (CK 47127)
UK 1992

Roger Waters, vocals, bass, synths, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar; with Jeff Beck, guitar; Luis Conte, percussion; Geoff Whitehorn, guitars; Andy Fairweather Low, acoustic, electric, & 12-string guitars, vocals; Tim Pierce, guitars; John Pierce, bass; Randy Jackson, bass; Graham Broad, drums; Patrick Leonard, Hammond, synths, keys; B.J. Cole, pedal steel; Steve Lukather, guitars; Rick DiFonso, guitars; Bruce Gaitson, guitars; James Johnson, bass; Brian Macleod, percussion; Denny Fongheiser, drums; Steve Sidwell, cornet; Randy Jackson, bass; John Patitucci, upright & electric basses; Guo Yi & the Peking Brothers, dulcimer, lute, zhen, oboe, bass; John Brundrick, Hammond; Jeff Porcaro, drums; Alf Razzell, Katie Kissoon, Doreen Chanter, N'Dea Davenport, Natalie Jacson, Lynn Fiddmont-Linsey, Jessica Leonard, Jordan Leonard, Jon Joyce, Stan Laurel, Jim Haas, various background vocals; the National Philharmonic Orchestra Limited; the London Welsh Chorale

Tracklist:
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 - 4:42
6. Late Home Tonight, Part 1 - 4:01
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 - 9:07

total time 72:31


bob

This album is Waters' masterpiece. Sure, by the time this came out Roger had already beaten the moody, anti-war concept album into the ground with The Wall, The Final Cut and his half of the soundtrack to When the Wind Blows, but he got better at it with each album, and applied all he learned to Amused.
I bought this disc while on a business trip to Dallas, and since there was nothing else to do after work (does anyone even live in the city? That place is a ghost town after 5pm) I took my CD player to a park and listened to the whole thing uninterrupted, giving it my full attention. I came away convinced that this was one of the most brilliant albums I'd ever heard.

The CD opens with "The Ballad of Bill Hubbard" (which, believe it or not, was actually played on classic rock radio around here). This atmospheric piece sets the stage with WWII veteran Alf Razzell telling the story of how he had to leave the wounded Bill Hubbard behind enemy lines. Behind this, Jeff Beck plays a perfectly emotional guitar part, showing that Roger had finally found the right replacement for David Gilmour. In his usual bookend style, Waters ends the album by having Alf return to tell about how he found Hubbard's name on a memorial to the dead forty years later and finally felt a sense of closure.

In between these tales, the album comments on modern society, and how we take everything - religion, warfare, protests - as entertainment to be watched on TV. There were some protests from religious groups about the lyrics to "What God Wants" - they didn't seem to understand that Waters was not criticizing God, but rather those who claim that God supports whatever their particular cause happens to be ("God wants clean up rock campaigns").

I could go on and on with analysis of this album. It's one of those discs that reveals its details over many, many listens. And then when you think you've got it all sorted out, a quick web search will turn up even more info (for example, the backmasked shot at Stanley Kubrick on track three, or the woman in the background talking about gassing her children on track 12).

As Brandon pointed out, this is a lyric-heavy album, and if you're looking for great musical chops you might be disappointed (although Beck's playing is excellent). The only songs that really "rock out" are "What God Wants, part I", "The Bravery of Being Out of Range" and the second half of the title track. But Waters' music (and Pink Floyd in general) has never been about chops - he prefers to use sparse music to set a mood, with effects and sound clips adding to that mood. And, of course, lots and lots of lyrics. Fortunately, most of those lyrics are very good. The last three tracks are pretty much perfect. I don't really go for "Watching TV" too much though - it sounds like Roger's attempt to do a Bob Dylan style acoustic protest song, but the lyrics are a little too goofy in places ("She had almond eyes and yellow thighs"?!?), and the music is just dull acoustic strumming.

Overall though, this disc is one of the things I'll reach for when I'm in the mood for a dark, quietly intense album. I've found that it makes an excellent soundtrack for long drives on empty highways on a cold winter day.

As an odd footnote - just before this album came out, I read a review (more of a preview) that said Roger was finally releasing an album with a happy ending. The extinction of the human race is a happy ending? Oh well, guess it depends on your point of view.


brandon

Roger Waters really got his rocks off on this one, spewing criticism about all manner of things, from television to globalization to war to organized religion (with an offhandedly acidic jab at Andrew Lloyd Webber to boot). Surprisingly enough, he also remembers to make a halfway decent album, with some good music on it. I find Amused to Death to be the album that The Final Cut should have been - it's in the same vocal-heavy, sparse-instrumental style, only done a whole lot better.
While it's definitely true that this album is too long, with way too many words (the lyric sheet spans nine booklet panels of tiny print!), there are some real gems in here, both vocally and instrumentally. Waters' voice is in fine form, though those that don't like it in the first place won't be convinced otherwise. He has assembled an enormous array of supporting musicians, most notably Jeff Beck on guitar. That said, be warned: approaching this album from a prog standpoint will be a disastrous experience, as the emphasis is definitely on the lyrics and vocals.

Continuing the tradition from The Final Cut and Radio K.A.O.S., Waters has made the last track on the album head-and-shoulders above the rest. Actually, the closing quartet of "Watching TV" through "Amused to Death" are probably the strongest music Waters ever did on any solo effort, getting a bit denser instrumentally and a bit more focused lyrically, and a lot more tasty melodically. In fact, aside from a few momentary instrumental highlights (a brief guitar solo here, a nice keyboard accent there), the only other real standout is "The Bravery of Being Out of Range", a hard-rock piece that is the only track where the band really lets it rip. Though admittedly some of the lyrics, such as those to "What God Wants", are really quite good - in the past I called this "Waters' finest lyrical output", and I still hold that sentiment to some extent.

Those that found themselves annoyed by The Wall and The Final Cut will want to avoid this album, as it sees Waters at his most indulgent. I usually find it difficult to sit through the entire album, it being so long and so windy, but for me those last four tracks are worth the price of admission; the closing title track never fails to give me chills.




This is a 24 karat gold disk, and it is using Sony's
"SBM" Super Bit Mapping. This makes it a part of
the MasterSound series!