Roger Waters: Amused To Death album review
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Roger Waters – Amused To Death
The Ballad of Bill Hubbard
What God Wants, Part I
Perfect Sense, Part I
Perfect Sense, Part II
The Bravery of Being Out of Range
Late Home Tonight, Part I
Late Home Tonight, Part II
Too Much Rope
What God Wants, Part II
What God Wants, Part III
Watching TV
Three Wishes
It’s a Miracle
Amused to Death
Roger Waters’ second solo album, 1987’s Radio K.A.O.S., was a set of great songs sunk by a rotten production and outsold by the reconstituted Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, released the same year.
All Waters’ frustration was poured into this follow-up. This time he heaped scorn on humanity’s fixation on TV while the world went to hell around it. The comparative restraint of Too Much Rope masked a fury that boiled just below the surface. And when he did cut loose, as on The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range, it proved that his righteous ire burned as fiercely as ever.
As the flamenco-tinged Late Home Tonight sweetly laments the dehumanised, mechanised death industry of the first Gulf War, and Don Henley duet Watching TV mourns a tragic heroine of Tiananmen Square, it’s pin-point powerful stuff. ‘Give any one species too much rope and they’ll fuck it up,’ Waters summarises on Too Much Rope. Thankfully, in retrospect Amused To Death doesn’t suffer the same fate.
“My view is that I’ve been involved in two absolutely classic albums – The Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall,” Waters said when the album was released. “And if you haven’t got Amused To Death, you haven’t got the full set.”
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in September 1992
- Tubular Bells II – Mike Oldfield
- Mondo Bizarro – Ramones
- Nerve Net – Brian Eno
- Paul Weller – Paul Weller
- Copper Blue – Sugar
- Kingdom of Desire – Toto
- America’s Least Wanted – Ugly Kid Joe
- Bone Machine – Tom Waits
- Slide On This – Ronnie Wood
- Sweet Oblivion – Screaming Trees
- Comfort – Failure
- Hollywood Town Hall – The Jayhawks
- Blind Melon – Blind Melon
- Broken – Nine Inch Nails
- Here Comes Trouble – Bad Company
- III Sides to Every Story – Extreme
- Tomb of the Mutilated – Cannibal Corpse
- Us – Peter Gabriel
- Back To The Light – Brian May
- Core – Stone Temple Pilots
- Dirt – Alice in Chains
- The Triumph of Steel – Manowar
What they said…
“Waters depicts humankind as ‘the monkey in the corner’ and rails against the Tiananmen Square massacre and the Persian Gulf war in a jumble of strident fury, confusing irony and mixed metaphors (‘Give any one species too much rope, and they’ll fuck it up‘). But self-importance doesn’t equal profundity, and the world’s most mind-blowing engineering couldn’t cover up the deterioration of Waters’ singing and melodic sense since his days with Floyd.” (Chicago Tribune)
“The meticulously crafted music is bold and robust, with same panoramic sweep as The Wall, Waters’ magnum opus he created while with Pink Floyd. Jeff Beck solos on guitar throughout, while the vocal contributions of Don Henley and Rita Coolidge help to sweeten Waters’ stern – and bleak –worldview; how else to view a lyrical sequence of resignation like ‘And the Germans killed the Jews/And the Jews killed the Arabs/And Arabs killed the hostages/And that is the news’?” (Paste)
“Damned if Roger Waters’ 14-track rumination on some of our choicest social ills doesn’t score some serious points, especially in Late Home Tonight, which, with music that evokes both a kiss at a drive-in and the peace of the wide-open sky, shows us an American pilot soaring toward Libya to bomb children, giddy as an exuberant teen with the sheer joy of flight. Not all the tracks on Amused to Death strike their targets so cleanly, but those that do give this record unusual depth.” (Entertainment Weekly)
What you said…
Greg Schwepe: Being a big Pink Floyd fan, I also sought out the solo albums of its members. Since David Gilmour’s came first, they ended up in my collection ahead of the Waters ones. And truth be told, I kind of bought the Roger Waters ones just to finish off the collection if I saw a used CD at the local “previously played and/or read multimedia retail establishment.” While the Gilmour ones get played regularly, the Waters ones were just an occasional listen. So, the choice of Waters third solo album Amused To Death after his ouster from Pink Floyd was a good reason to revisit this one.
This album contains many of the same hallmarks that his first two solo albums did. First, a whole lot of cool sonic soundscapes playing in the background to propel the story and make the listener put on a set of headphones! “Oooh, explosions!” “Hey, that sports announcer sounds familiar…” Read some interview and Waters said that kind of stuff would always be on his albums.
Second, we have lots of female background vocals which augment the overall musical vibe. Is this really a Waters hallmark? Not sure, but I just like it!
Thirdly, we have yet another kick ass guitarist playing on Amused. Where we had Eric Clapton on Pros and Cons…, we now have Jeff Beck. So distinctive is his tone that by the time he hits the second note on his Strat, you know its him. If nothing else, this is worth the price of admission.
And lastly… big surprise, this album is yet another theme or concept album, filled with Rogers’s social and political commentary. The listener can agree or disagree with Roger’s point of view, dissect every lyric and thought to the “nth” degree, or just sit back and take it all in. I’m in the camp of the latter. “Thanks for the heads up Roger, but I’ll just listen and take it all in.” My guess is many listeners are in the same camp as me as it’s kind of exhausting to follow all this along and “get it.”
And because this is a concept album, you have many recurring themes running through the album, with Pt.I, Pt. II, Pt.III as part of the title, to help you figure it out in case you weren’t paying attention. My favourite tracks are The Bravery of Being Out of Range and the title track, Amused To Death.
As an aside to the review of this album, I would bet that only hardcore Pink Floyd fans are the main purchasers of Waters’ solo work, this album included. For him being labelled the “lyrical genius” of Pink Floyd by some, I find it interesting that none of his solo albums resulted in something the average music listener could recognize or name. Case in point, while Paul McCartney, Don Henley, or Sting never released anything way better than their prior band’s output (but that’s a discussion for another time!), the average music listener could probably at least name one of their solo songs!
Maybe Waters didn’t want to? Or need to? Or, it just doesn’t matter? And then again, Pink Floyd was so “faceless” that the average music listener probably wouldn’t know who “Roger Waters” is. I remember mentioning to people that I had recently “seen Roger Waters in concert…” only to get this puzzled look and me having to explain “um, he was one of the guys in Pink Floyd” and then get an “Oh…” response back with the puzzled look still in place.
Overall, if you’re a Pink Floyd fan like me, you’ll probably like this, which I did. As I mentioned in the beginning, it follows many of the same formulas that were successful for Waters while in Pink Floyd. If you’re looking for that stuff…it’s all here. But grab your headphones if you want to get the full experience. 8 out of 10 on this one for me.
Shane Reho: This is one I’m excited to see get the Album of the Week nod. I’ll start with a short story. I was in Pittsburgh for the opening night of Roger’s This Is Not a Drill tour in 2022 and someone was talking about wanting to hear the usual Pink Floyd stuff (not that there’s anything wrong with that) who then proceeded to give me a dirty look after I suggested that it’d be quite alright if he played this whole album. For someone as polarizing as Waters is, I guess it’s bound to make his solo work difficult for some. Not for me.
Waters once said that he considers this part of the “full set” along with The Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall. That might be a reach, but not a far one. I’d say The Wall, The Final Cut and this make more sense as a trilogy. Overall, this is probably the best Pink Floyd solo album. There really isn’t a bad song here. Ballad of Bill Hubbard sets the tone quite well, and along with What God Wants Part 1, really gives Jeff Beck room to shine. Perfect Sense and The Bravery of Being Out Of Range remain as true as ever, perhaps more so in the case of Bravery with the increasing usage of drone warfare. Same goes for Too Much Rope and all three parts of What God Wants.
The heart and soul of this album are probably Watching TV and Three Wishes. While its Tiananmen Square references might be dated and the Chinese history lesson in the second half might be awkward, Watching TV might be the most beautiful track in Waters’ solo catalogue. Besides, who would expect to find Don Henley on a Roger Waters album?
It’s A Miracle and the title track don’t do as much for me as songs, however, the title track brings the album’s theme of humanity finding war entertaining to a suitable close. Maybe I’m being overly kind as a Pink Floyd devotee, but I’m giving this at least a 9/10.
Mike Canoe: Amused To Death is not the verbal pranging and bitter haranguing that I thought it would be. Admittedly, I haven’t really delved deep into the lyrics and don’t know much about the songs beyond what I read on the album’s Wikipedia page. Of course, the album sounds amazing as most Pink Floyd-related albums do and there’s a lot of beauty in the music and, as usual, I’m a sucker for choral and/or gospel vocals like the title track, Three Wishes, the Perfect Sense suite, and Too Much Rope.
If you told me the guitar solos were played by David Gilmour, I would believe you. Perhaps most important of all, Roger Waters sings in a gentle voice like he’s narrating a children’s story from long ago rather than angrily shaking his finger at us. He might still be a seething scold but on Amused To Death he doesn’t sound like one.
John Davidson: Waters manages to say everything he has to say on his core obsessions and musical themes in the first two songs. Everything after that is both more of the same and wearily disappointing (which is consistent with most of Waters’ work after The Wall).
The Ballad Of Bill Hubbard is a moving anti-war statement embellished by Jeff Beck’s excellent guitar work. What God Wants is the sort of punchy anti-establishment marching tune that makes you want to put on a V For Vendetta face mask and storm parliament.
Sadly that pugnacious energy is squandered as the rest of the album drifts through maudlin echoes of the same themes but with less interesting tunes. The only one that comes close to evoking the same elements is Watching TV, where Waters’ cynical lyrics are aimed squarely at the audience who suddenly care about *insert trouble spot here* because they saw pictures on TV.
Given how topical that is (there have been no shortage of examples over the last few years though TV has been replaced by Twitter and Tik-Tok) he could have skewered the topic and remained utterly relevant but somehow he misses the target. 5/10.
Gus Schultz: I’m not really too familiar with Waters’ solo stuff, so I quickly run through his material. This album does seem to be the better of the lot but nothing on it really caught my attention. Sure it’s very well produced and recorded, but the soundbites, dialogue and various background sound effects get a little long in the tooth, the same sort of sound he pushed Pink Floyd into with The Wall and The Final Cut which I’ve always thought were like Roger Waters solo records with the exception of some great Gilmour songs.
I think it’s well known that Roger Waters was more into an avant-garde style of songwriting and arrangement, while Gilmour was the musical talent of the band. I don’t think I would invest too much time listening to this LP or any other of his solo recordings, although it may be a decent listen with headphones or a great hifi system on lazy day.
Gary Claydon: In which not-so-jolly Roger regales us (yet again) with his musings on all the usual subjects – religion, war, capitalism, death, the media etc.
Whatever you think of his opinions there can be no doubting his sincerity but with the best will in the world, he has become increasingly difficult to listen to down the years. Not only have some of his views started to sound a little flakey at times, it’s also hard work listening to somebody constantly banging the same old drum, regardless of how skilled an orator they might be.
There are a couple of strong tracks on Amused to Death. Opener The Ballad of Bill Hubbard is genuinely haunting and is followed by the more upbeat What God Wants Part 1 which, if my memory serves me right, was originally banned by the BBC due to its lyrics. The more straight-ahead rock arrangement of The Bravery of Being Out of Range works quite well.
Elsewhere, though, things just seem to meander rather aimlessly through a morass of miserablism. Waters’ signature cynicism and sarcasm abound but, I dunno, seems to be delivered with slightly less conviction than usual, as if even he acknowledges that we’ve been down this road before.
Musically, Amused to Death is very good, which is unsurprising given the truly stellar quality of some of the names on the list of contributing artists. It’s a veritable cast of thousands, akin to reading the end credits on the latest summer blockbuster. Some of the most fun to be had here is the ‘star spotting’ element and there are some excellent contributions, especially in the guitar & backing vocal departments.
The production, using ‘Q’ sound, is up to Waters’ usual high standards. I’ve enjoyed listening to the 2015 reissue this week. I’d only ever heard the original mix and the reissue certainly improves on that. Amused To Death is certainly a good ‘headphones’ album but, like all such albums, it’s very easy to get caught up in the sound effects and tricksy production rather than the music itself. This would be less of a problem if the songwriting was a little stronger, more capable of holding your attention.
LIke all of Roger Waters’ post-Floyd work, Amused to Death is frustratingly flawed and cries out for the sort of counterbalance, the lightness of touch and more melodic approach, that his former bandmates provided.
Keith Jenkin: The best Roger Waters album in my opinion, from a somewhat under-productive solo career. It’s no coincidence that it’s the one that sounds closest to his best work with Pink Floyd. An extremely prophetic record (inspired by Neil Postmas’s book Amusing Oursleves To Death) where thirty-odd years on we are seemingly never far from our screens.
Great supporting guitar work from Jeff Beck. If I have a complaint, there are not quite enough earworms here for the album to get that many regular plays these days. Worth mentioning that you have captioned this with the artwork for the 2015-released James Guthrie remix, which to my ears at least was a notable upgrade on the original.
Craig Glenn: It had one good song. It is far below The Pro’s & Con’s Of Hitch Hiking but above Radio KAOS, which brought Roger into his era of irrelevancy.
James Southard: Great album. Some really good songs. Ballad Of Bill Hubbard, What God Wants, Watching T.V and the title track are all worth replays.
Andrew Bramah: A wonderfully atmospheric album. Especially in surround sound. Easily his best with some haunting guitar from Jeff Beck.
Greg Zito: This guy sucks without Pink Floyd. Saw him once and people peed or got a beer during his solo songs. The Final Cut is garbage save Not Now John, the only Gilmour tune.
Philip Qvist: Proof that Pink Floyd in their prime were greater than the sum of their parts. Roger Waters may have been the chief songwriter for Pink Floyd, but he needed the rest of the band just as badly as they needed him.
Jeff Beck’s guitar work on The Ballad Of Bill Hubbard and What God Wants Part I are some of the highlights on Amused To Death, while other good songs include Watching TV and the title track. However, this is not an easy album to listen to – and all I could think at the end is that this guy really needs some serious counselling.
Pink Floyd were a great band when all were on board, but as solo artists they didn’t come close to matching that quality – and Amused To Death is an example of that.
Bill Griffin: I like Roger’s solo albums but his best one will always be his first one, The Final Cut. Without input from the other members of Pink Floyd, his material generally lacks something in the arrangements. The Bravery of Being Out of Range is a really great title though. I can’t go any higher than 6 for this one or any of his solo albums and the effects are what elevates them from a 5 or less. I’ll give him credit for always having technically incredible-sounding albums.
Jim Carson: Amused to Death by Roger Waters is an ambitious concept album critiquing media manipulation, consumerism, and the numbing effects of endless entertainment. Though released in 1992, its themes of desensitization and societal obsession with screens resonate even more in today’s algorithm-driven social media world.
Waters’ cinematic sound combines dialogue snippets with sharp, provocative lyrics and dramatic orchestration, evoking Orwellian ideas as songs like The Bravery of Being Out of Rang” challenge authority, technology, and the commodification of human lives. Jeff Beck’s haunting guitar solos add depth to the album’s dark tone, yet overall, the album feels somewhat limited musically. While the concept is profound, Amused to Death would have benefited from a collaborative polish – highlighting the essential role his Pink Floyd bandmates previously played in balancing his ideas with broader musical appeal. Still, it’s a dense, thought-provoking work that urges listeners to question rather than passively consume.
Wesley Winegarden: Musically this album is fantastic, Jeff Beck’s playing is top notch and the vocals of Katie Kissoon, Doreen Chanter and Rita Coolidge, whose tender vocals on the “Amused To Death track are very addictive.
Lyrically, I can’t help but think “I have heard it all before”. Waters rambling on about capitalism, America, war, religion and television is what he’s been doing since The Wall was released (although he does throw some vitriol at Kubrick and Andrew Lloyd Weber this time which is new).
The premise of the final song where Aliens find humanity huddled around their televisions while the world crumbles, drawing the conclusion that humanity amused themselves to death, is interesting, but it never really took hold on the rest of the album.
Sonically it’s the best of Roger’s solo albums, and there are some interesting ideas, sarcastically hidden in the lyrics, but as a “rock opera” it doesn’t really work. 7/10.
Final score: 6.94 (79 votes cast, total score 549)
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