Roger Waters - Amused To Death (2LP, 33RPM, 200g)
A1 - The Ballad Of Bill Hubbard
Vocals – Alf Razzell
A2 - What God Wants, Part I
A3 Perfect Sense, Part I
A4 Perfect Sense, Part II
B1 The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range
B3 Late Home Tonight, Part II
B4 Too Much Rope
B5 What God Wants, Part II
C1 What God Wants, Part III
C2 Watching TV
C3 Three Wishes
D1 It's A Miracle
D2 Amused To Death
2 LPs, Gatefold jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 200g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Analogue Productions
Original Label : Columbia
Recorded 1987–1992 by Nick Griffiths
Engineers : Hayden Bendall, Jerry Jordan, Stephen McLaughlan, Sean O'Dwyer, Andy Bradfield, Brian Burrows, Chris Brown (8), Dary Sulich, Jeremy Wheatley, John Lowson, Marc Moreau, Mike Bosley, Ross Donaldson, Roy Sweeting, Steve Heinke
Produced by Patrick Leonard, Roger Waters, Nick Griffiths
Remastered and Mixed by James Guthrie
Tracks :
2. What God Wants, Part I
3. Perfect Sense, Part I
4. Perfect Sense, Part II
2. Late Home Tonight, Part I
3. Late Home Tonight, Part II
4. Too Much Rope
5. What God Wants, Part II
2. Watching TV
3. Three Wishes
1. It's A Miracle
2. Amused To Death
Awards :
Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album
« War is Roger Waters' great muse, the impetus for so much of his work, including the semi-autobiographical 1979 opus The Wall. The Final Cut, his last album with Pink Floyd, functioned as an explicit sequel to The Wall, but 1992's Amused to Death acts as something of a coda, a work where Waters revisits his obsessions -- both musical and lyrical -- and ties them together with the masterful touch of a mature artist. Certainly, Waters' narrative of a society filtering all manners of ugliness through a television screen isn't as sci-fi silly as that of its immediate predecessor Radio K.A.O.S., but a greater point in its favor is that it's a richer affair than that stiff, synthesized relic of the late '80s. Working with Patrick Leonard -- a veteran collaborator of Madonna's who also dabbled with the latter-day David Gilmour-led Pink Floyd -- Waters gives Amused to Death forward momentum, an aspect conspicuously absent from the still, meditative The Final Cut and Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, both of which seemed to be comprised of song poems. The tunes on Amused aren't quite hooky or melodic but they do have structure, as does the production by Waters, Leonard, and Nick Griffiths. The tapestry of found sounds, choirs, televisions, washes of organ, lonely acoustic guitars, and blues leads by Jeff Beck does recall Floyd at their '70s peak, but Amused to Death sounds grander and more expansive; it's a creature of the CD age, using up every one of its available 72 minutes. At this length, it's a mere ten minutes shorter than The Wall, and although it can sometimes feel indulgent, it never feels excessive. Unlike the other two Waters solo albums -- or The Final Cut, which is a Waters project masquerading as a Floyd album -- Amused to Death feels cohesive and complete as an anti-war rock opera. If it winds up being Waters' last original rock album, so be it: it is a masterpiece in the sense that it brings together all of his obsessions in one grand, but not unwieldy, package. » AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
"In some ways, this is even better than The Wall. Waters got a lot of top performers to play on the album, usually behind his singing and speaking of the lyrics .... Guitarist Jeff Beck is heard frequently in the album, with his special virtuosity on eight of the tracks. ... (Waters is) certainly at his cynical best here - and without him Pink Floyd — never mind the general doom and gloom — wouldn't have been the top rock group it is and was." — Audiophile Audition, Jan. 12, 2016.
"Despite the bombast and conceit, this long-time audiophile favorite sounds outstanding in this 200-gram vinyl edition. Back in the day you needed some pretty heady drugs to make DSOTM sound this good, and the stellar line-up of musicians, with Jeff Beck on eight tracks, makes for a pharmaceutical-free audiophile amusement ride. The LP surfaces are dead quiet too, allowing you to hear every nuance of cricket chirp and dog bark." Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi +
"I have the original double vinyl issue of this, that until recently went for upwards of $600, and this reissue beats that one in every possible way ... The QSoundTM "surround sound" is more intensely drawn, dynamics are staggering, deep bass is monumental and the depth and width of the cinematic soundstage is beyond that of every other record I can think of in my collection. The 200g QRP pressing I got (sealed) was perfectly quiet and flat and after sitting through all four sides I felt as if I'd experienced a 3D IMAX movie, only with greater sonic intensity and dimensionality." Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com.