Roger Waters - The Pros & Cons of Going Solo

Psychedelic Paul wrote: Dellinger wrote: Indeed his pros are being able to do whatever he wants without having to please the rest of the band, or the rest of the band wanting to put their own stuff as well... but that's the con too. He doesn't get the input about how good something is, nor the restraint if something is not up to standard, nor has the possibility of receiving extra quality material to improve the albums. Even on the arrangement department... the songs may still be his, but the arrangements to those same songs done by Gilmour on guitars or Wright on keys could significantly improve at least some of the songs. About half of Amused to Death (my favourite solo album by Waters) would surely have benefited a lot by having had them in the band... another half of the album is just perfect and might not have fitted so well with them. And just about all of Is this the Life we Really Want would surely have worked so much better if it had been done with Pink Floyd... I mean, it sounds like a copy of Pink Floyd music, but without Gilmour's guitars, nor Wrights ambient parts, nor the long instrumental segments that would make the difference between an OK album and a fantastic album.   It's like I was saying to Cristi earlier: the best Roger Waters' albums are those where he's playing the music of Pink Floyd, such as:- "The Wall = Live in Berlin" (1990); "In the Flesh - Live" (2000); and "Us + Them" (2020)

Those live albums all have some wonderful versions of Floyd songs... and some other versions in which he rather ruins them... or at least falls a bit short. It took me years of listening to Floyd, but now I can really tell in the longer songs with important guitar roles that it's not Gilmour the one playing, and as subtle as the difference might be, it's enough to make those notably inferior. And Gilmour's vocals are often missed too (actually, Waters vocals are also often missed, since he just couldn't sing as he once did). I still need to get that Us + Them album... I'm mostly interested in how he played his own new songs, hoping he might have added a bit to make them more interesting.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: Dellinger wrote: Indeed his pros are being able to do whatever he wants without having to please the rest of the band, or the rest of the band wanting to put their own stuff as well... but that's the con too. He doesn't get the input about how good something is, nor the restraint if something is not up to standard, nor has the possibility of receiving extra quality material to improve the albums. Even on the arrangement department... the songs may still be his, but the arrangements to those same songs done by Gilmour on guitars or Wright on keys could significantly improve at least some of the songs. About half of Amused to Death (my favourite solo album by Waters) would surely have benefited a lot by having had them in the band... another half of the album is just perfect and might not have fitted so well with them. And just about all of Is this the Life we Really Want would surely have worked so much better if it had been done with Pink Floyd... I mean, it sounds like a copy of Pink Floyd music, but without Gilmour's guitars, nor Wrights ambient parts, nor the long instrumental segments that would make the difference between an OK album and a fantastic album.   It's like I was saying to Cristi earlier: the best Roger Waters' albums are those where he's playing the music of Pink Floyd, such as:- "The Wall = Live in Berlin" (1990); "In the Flesh - Live" (2000); and "Us + Them" (2020)

Indeed his pros are being able to do whatever he wants without having to please the rest of the band, or the rest of the band wanting to put their own stuff as well... but that's the con too. He doesn't get the input about how good something is, nor the restraint if something is not up to standard, nor has the possibility of receiving extra quality material to improve the albums. Even on the arrangement department... the songs may still be his, but the arrangements to those same songs done by Gilmour on guitars or Wright on keys could significantly improve at least some of the songs. About half of Amused to Death (my favourite solo album by Waters) would surely have benefited a lot by having had them in the band... another half of the album is just perfect and might not have fitted so well with them. And just about all of Is this the Life we Really Want would surely have worked so much better if it had been done with Pink Floyd... I mean, it sounds like a copy of Pink Floyd music, but without Gilmour's guitars, nor Wrights ambient parts, nor the long instrumental segments that would make the difference between an OK album and a fantastic album.

^ Well, it makes perfect sense to me, and nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more, a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse. Know what I mean?

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - November 11 2020 at 05:49

Cristi wrote: 5 stars for The Wall in Berlin  I sometimes disagree with album ratings, or reviews, but Live in Berlin got 2.25 overall here on PA and I agree.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - November 11 2020 at 05:51

These are my ratings for all of Roger Waters' albums:-

suitkees wrote: "Is This the World We Really Want" has passed under my radar, so it is one yet to explore...  ...I'm less impressed by his (or PFs) soundtrack work.

Edited by moshkito - November 10 2020 at 21:13

^ Yes, In the Flesh is my favourite Roger Waters album overall, but if I was to pick a favourite studio album, then it would be The Pros & Cons of Hitch Hiking.

Cristi wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: Cristi wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: Cristi wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: someone_else wrote: It is a decent album, even though the first 31 minutes are a somewhat dragging waltz. Radio KAOS is slightly better, but Amused to Death is obviously his best work. I find his last album also rather enjoyable. Overall, I'd choose In the Flesh (2000) as my favourite Roger Waters album.   https://youtu.be/NDTWsuyDYRM the live album?  Yes, it's a live album and it's one of the best concerts I've ever seen, having watched it again this afternoon.    I wasn't sure if I'm still allowed to post the full concert here, so I've provided the YouTube link instead. most of that live album is Pink Floyd, so I wouldn't mention it as relevant Roger Waters solo.  I don't know about you, but I've always considered The Wall and The Final Cut to be Roger Waters solo projects anyway, and not collaborative Pink Floyd albums. even on the Wall, Gilmour and Ezrin arranged a few things.  Waters has got 4 good albums, you can't just disregard them like that...