Amused To Death

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.

What ever they did, they somehow made this fantastically sounding production sound even more fantastic. The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range being the most different. It's got these great synth parts and guitar work that's not on the original. No wonder it won the Grammy for Best Surround Sound Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. As for the album itself. I think this is Roger's best solo album. It always had an amazing production. The lyrics are his absolute best. The songs brim with emotion and audio dynamics. Such a well thought out piece of musical art. Jeff Beck does some wonderful guitar playing on the album, particularly on The Ballad of Bill Hubbard, where he pulls licks out of his strings that make the instrument sound like a sentient creature baring its soul. I've been able to go back to Amused to Death again and again over the last 24 years and now James Guthrie just injected new life into the old romance.

In my humble opinion a classic piece of work by Roger Waters .Played this late last night on headphones, taken aback by it. You really have to listen to it in its entirety all at once, not hard to do as one becomes completely absorbed in it. Will not go through the tracks separately as they are ALL outstanding ,excellent work by Jeff Beck here! I I noticed two reviews giving ONE star to this cd, some talking with reference to it being better if Gilmore was involved?? This is Rogers' OWN work??? One reviewer stated it was BORING!!! Try and figure that out??? (I know every one is entitled to their own opinion, but left me dumbfounded, and yes I do have ALL the Floyd albums ,,and Gilmore's albums which I find nowhere near as rewarding to listen to again chacun a son gaout. I have purchased Waters other solo cds too and am looking forward to enjoying those . Reading through the lyrics, astonishingly good work. I have to completely recommend this cd, a MUST have to anyone's music collection!! ( I feel I can justify my opinion as I have over 1,000 cds in my collection).

This is a stunning piece of work. If you haven't heard it - and are reading this out of interest - buy it without hesitation and LISTEN to a brilliant man at the height of his powers. As one reviewer has already said, "the best record Pink Floyd never made". Infact, had this record been graced with the Pink Floyd name, it's sales may have neared DSOM, and in doing so, possibly enlightened enough minds to challenge the very complacency that this record rails against. Impossible to skip through, and made to be heard in one sitting, the conclusion brings a tear to my eye everytime. On occasions I have even been moved to break into spontaneous applause. Nineteen years have not diminished it's sparkle. The time passed has actually heightened it's relevance. To know about everything 'Amused to death' touches on is one thing - but that Waters turned all his understanding into this record is an astonishing achievement.

Amused to Death is a great rock album. Angry sentiment and sheer emotion are leveled at a range of issues; from the seriously dangerous religious fanatics in the world, to the then new hi tech weaponry being watched live on TV, to the Tienanmen Square protests, and monkeys and much, much more. The highlights for me are What God Wants, Perfect Sense, Bravery of Being out of Range, Too Much Rope, Watching TV, It's a Miracle, the rest are good songs but those mentioned are total classics. As well as documenting very well a period of the outbreak of the Gulf war and the end of the Cold War, the musical delivery is very good hard rock; heavier than anything the Floyd did, and at times very referential to the Floyd. This is up there as one of the best albums Waters made, whether with the Floyd or otherwise, great intelligent songwriting, powerful rock delivery. 4.5 stars to be precise!

Having owned the original press of this (and sold it for a substantial sum on ebay 2 years ago) I was delighted to see this reissued, it is by far and away superior to the original press in my opinion, the audio is stunning, deep and clear and totally immersive, was unsure about the new artwork at first but it certainly doesn't detract from this fabulous release Also a thumbs up to Amazon returns, there was a flaw on the last track of side 4 that clicked all the way through, Amazon instantly refunded me and I had a replacement in 2 days that was perfect, and unlike most other vinyl suppliers I could return foc. New vinyl seems to be a lottery these days and faulty returns soon add up. In summary one of my favorite albums stunningly reissued on heavy weight vinyl, on the pricey side but worth every penny.

Great album

The album is OK. The sound quality for the MP3 which I purchased is not that good in my opinion, which lets it down for me. I have The Division Bell and Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd remastered in 2011 and the sound quality was awesome which is why I purchased this album seen as I already own the original version and I was lead to believe that it was gonna be something fantastic. I appreciate that MP3 sound quality will never be the best, but when other artists can release albums with fairly decent Sound Quality I would of expected better from Roger Waters's Camp, but this is quite dire. If Roger had released something new and the sound quality was the same it would of been OK. But it's not. The album get 3 stars because the songs are classics and the MP3 sound lets it down. If the sound had been better I would of given it 5 stars.

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!

Amused to death es la gran obra del que antaño fuera la cabeza pensante de Pink Floyd, después de que Roger Waters abandonó el grupo sólo ha editado 3 discos de rock y una ópera. El primero "The pros & cons of Hitch-Hiking" sigue muy en la onda de "The final cut", luego "Radio Kaos", para mí el más flojo de su discografía y por último esta maravilla donde Roger Waters vuelve a demostrar que no sólo es un gran letrista si no también un gran compositor. Un disco conceptual a la misma altura que Dark Side of the Moon, Animals, Wish you were here y The Wall. No es un disco fácil de querer, requiere atención y dedicación porque además el disco funciona mejor como un todo que por canciones. Como viene siendo habitual en los discos conceptuales de Waters, el disco tiene forma cíclica abriéndose y cerrándose con las palabras de un veterano de guerra que narra el dramático hecho de tener que dejar a un compañero herido en tierra de nadie, en los 70 minutos que hay en medio nos encontramos haciendo zapping frente al televisor mientras se nos invita a reflexionar sobre la frivolidad del entretenimiento actual, el uso de las religiones para justificar guerras, la vanalización de la violencia en la tele y por extensión en la sociedad, la sociedad de consumo y la voracidad del capitalismo, los conflictos de Oriente Medio, etc. Una disección de la sociedad que si bien este album salió al mercado en los 90, desgraciadamente no ha sufrido con el paso del tiempo si no todo lo contrario. Escuchar este disco de principio a fin es como disfrutar de una buena película. Aquellos que se alejaron de Waters por preferir más el estilo Guilmour les recomiendo que le den una oportunidad, no es un disco fácil, pero una vez que entras en su juego, resulta maravilloso. Musicalmente Waters consigue ser tan interesante con la música como con la letra, algo que no había conseguido en mi opinión en Radio Kaos, la producción es impecable y los músicos también, no hay Guilmour pero si un Jeff Beck haciendo un trabajo exquisito, y el resto de músicos idem. También es un disco recomendable para audiofilos, la versión en estéreo que además de remasterizada, en este caso también ha sido remezclada, (añadiendo algunos detalles como el computador hal de 2001 que en la versión del 90 no había podido ser utilizada por que Kubrick no lo permitió, ahora ya está) conserva el Qsound que aporta una tridimensionalidad muy cercana al sonido surround. Si la grabación original ya era de referencia, esta nueva versión es absolutamente brillante (la versión en vinilo es magnífica, un vinilo silencioso y una dinámica excepcional, el mejor vinilo que he escuchado), la versión en SACD se ha realizado con el mismo esmero y contiene una mezcla surround 5.1 de James Guthrie que todavía amplía más el sonido envolvente (esta misma mezcla se puede conseguir en la edición de CD más Bluray), recomendable absolutamente a cualquiera que tenga un home cinema decente. Ojalá todas las ediciones y grabaciones se hiciesen con el mismo mimo. Una joya que recomiendo a cualquiera

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.