33 lines
1.9 KiB
Plaintext
33 lines
1.9 KiB
Plaintext
Amused to Death Review in Miami Herald, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. 9/23/92
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It takes a lot more than the combined efforts of Jeff Beck, Don Henley,
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Rita Coolidge, Jeff Porcaro and Steve Lukather to prop up this boring,
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bloated bauble from Pink Floyd's mastermind, Roger Waters.
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At his best with ex-Floyd-mates, Waters fashioned himself as a cinematic
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composer, combining up-to-the-minute production techniques, lush pop-rock
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melodies and well-chosen soundbites from other media. When Waters' narrative
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worked, as on 1979's The Wall, one was willing to overlook the often overly
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s-l-o-w tempos and assorted lyrical gaffes (must the Japanese always be
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referred to as Nips or Japs in his songs?).
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Amused To Death, Waters' third solo outing since leaving the popular
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group, is, in some ways, his most satisfying work outside the band. It's a
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Miracle's languid melody captivates and benefits from the rounded drum tones
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of the late Parcaro. The mournful What God Wants Part III and the title
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track's ticking clock beat also feature melodically interesting foundations.
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But the rest lacks a strong enough melodic base to warrant further
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interest. And Waters is still covering the same ground he trod when he
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recorded The Final Cut with Pink Floyd in 1983. Amused's premise is that
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mankind is a willing prisoner (hence the title Amused to Death) of
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television's images. Thus, man lives vicariously through the combatants
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viewed onscreen (The Bravery of Being Out of Range). Waters' choice of old
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soldiers as protagonists played itself out on The Final Cut with far
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stronger music backing. Especially frustrating is the CD's lack of cohesion
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or a strong, central character to give shape to Waters' mass confusions.
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It's not enough that Amused sounds good. Lifelike sound effects are a
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given on a Waters record. Once upon a time the music mattered, too.
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- Howard Cohen
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Miami Herald, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. 9/23/92
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