Amused To Death

This record is a conceptual work. What did you expect from the former frontman of Pink Floyd? It is about the drift of foreign policy towards total entertainment for the people at home, not for population subjugation (complicity notwithstanding) but for profit---a serious danger in American society today. Amused to Death illustrates the consequences of entertainment-driven propaganda---what happens when people watch too much TV. This work was inspired mostly by the first Gulf War and the late Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman offered a capitalist/Huxleyan addendum to George Orwell's lamentations about state-driven, socialist propaganda and proletariat oppression (as in Stalinist Russia where people were oppressed to death).

Sonically, this record will blow you away! Roger Waters and Pink Floyd were especially well-known for delivering a cinematic experience on record. Utilized on Amused to Death, Q Sound was a 1980s/1990s method that enhanced the stereo listening field into something more 3-dimensional. Jet flypasts, thunderstorms, bombs, babbling TVs, and Islam-inspired protests virtually turn this listening experience into a cinematic dream. This is the ultimate CD for headphones. Studio musicianship is excellent, thanks to the likes of Steve Lukather, the late Jeff Porcaro, Randy Jackson, and Bruce Gaitsch. You'll even hear Don Henley, Rita Coolidge, and Marv Albert (!) lend their vocal talents to a few tunes. Jeff Beck's guitar work is out of this world! Listen to his solo on "What God Wants Part III" and chills will run down your spine.

You're not going to find a musical-lyrical balance that you might find on Dark Side of the Moon or even The Wall, nor will you find universal themes. This is heavy, lyric-laden stuff about something specific. Musically, this record may leave much to be desired (e.g. "Late Home Tonight Part II," "Watching TV"). But then again, there are redeemable moments, like when "It's a Miracle" segues into the title track. Lyrically, this record fails to disappoint. There's something so graceful within Roger's lyrics, it's almost like listening to a Peabody-awarded journalist (only it rhymes!). There's even some dark humor here, as Roger takes a crack at Andrew Lloyd-Webber in "It's a Miracle" (one of my favorite bits). This may not be for everyone, I realize. Music and art serve a purpose of enhancement (amusement) but also serve a purpose of incitement (action). Roger's work is most definitely the latter, and if you're more partial to this purpose, you will be moved by Amused to Death. During Roger Waters' infancy, his father died in World War II. Due in large part to this, Roger grew up seeing the hidden agendas and atrocities that most of us are conditioned to ignore. If you're a Waters or Floyd fan (and you don't take drugs to understand their content), you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. If not, this record may come off as totally dour and depressing.

Amused to Death is art rock at its finest. It's difficult to compare this to Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall; there are similarities, there are differences, but all are masterpieces.

1. The Ballad of Bill Hubbard - very moody, Floydish atmospheric music is the background to a World War veteran's tragic story. Sets the mood perfectly.
2. What God Wants Part One - Catchy to a fault, and so easy to sing along with, this is Roger's newest anthem and is every bit as good as Another Brick In The Wall. Ironic lyrics about how 'God' is used as an excuse by...well, everyone.
3,4. Perfect Sense Parts One and Two - The lyrics of the first part take a bit of decoding, but you'll get it eventually. And the second part will ring in your head for months. A sarcastic and ironic man explaining what he finally understands - the media's message and its connection to televised war.
5. The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range - ROCKS. Pounding drums and roaring guitars and Roger's angry voice make this the one truly full-fledged rock tune on the album. Nothing has ever been more fun to sing along with than "Does the recoil remind you...remind you of SEX old man what the hell you gonna kill next?"
6,7. Late Home Tonight Parts One and Two - Okay, this is the slow part. Lyrically heavy, musically light, a little on the boring side. The segue between them is great. The songs are likeable but don't compare to the rest.
8. Too Much Rope - Not bad either, but easily the worst track on the album. This is the right spot for the bad songs, though - after the perfect intro and before the roaring crescendo at the end. Bob Ezrin gets picked on.
9. What Gods Wants Part Two - A reprise of the first track, with every bit of the angry irony. Excellent track. The chanting televangelist at the beginning is eerie.
10. What God Wants Part Three - Could be the best song on the album. The ending gives the sense of everything coming to a frantic head and spinning out of control. Brilliant.
11. Watching TV - A good song, a nice acoustic bit with Eagle Don Henley co-singing the words. The verse about China is irritating but the song itself is good. The ENDING is great, as it sums up the point and startles you.
12. Three Wishes - The chorus is what makes this song. The verses are good but the chorus makes me sing along every time.
13. It's A Miracle - A miracle of a downer. This is the most sarcastic song around, calling the accomplishments of mankind a 'miracle' when they just exported Western culture everywhere else. End verse is hilarious.
14. Amused To Death - Well worth the wait. This song is perfect - it starts off with a whimsical lament that suddenly turns into a roaring foretelling of the end of the human race, 'grouped 'round the TV sets'. The sheer RHYTHM of the segue between the song's two parts is catchy as hell. "And the childen on Mount Rose strut their stuff/Is absolute zero, cold enough." And Roger's final screamed lyric says it all.

This album is an example of what happens when one man with a vision is allowed to explore it without anyone else's wishes getting in the way. Far superior to the Floydian offering two years later, The Division Bell, Amused To Death is Waters at his best, and the whole damn thing deserves a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM.