Poll: How do you rate Roger Waters's "Amused to Death" album?

"This species has amused itself to death..."

The rules for this series: this poll is designed for people familiar with the album in question and with at least some familiarity with some of their other catalog (for comparison purposes). If the poll doesn't interest you, please kindly move on to a thread that does. Please simply consider how YOU would rate the album in question, in comparison with the rest of the Floyd's discography! And as always, a shout-out to member mrjinks for creating all the groundwork for this series.

Note: please use the same criteria for rating these solo albums as you would Pink Floyd as a band albums, so we can compare the results of this poll to, say, The Division Bell. A poll like this only makes sense rating the few - or only - albums of each solo member against something else - the logical choice is their works as a band. This will not change.

So, how do YOU rate this album?

Album history: "Amused to Death is the third studio album by English musician Roger Waters. It was released in September 1992, through record label Columbia.

A remastered remix for which Waters worked with James Guthrie was released in 2015." It featured a new cover.


Tracklist:
1. The Ballad Of Bill Hubbard 4:20
2. What God Wants, Part I 6:00
3. Perfect Sense, Part I 4:14
4. Perfect Sense, Part II 2:51
5. The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range 4:44
6. Late Home Tonight, Part I 4:01
7. Late Home Tonight, Part II 2:12
8. Too Much Rope 5:47
9. What God Wants, Part II 3:39
10. What God Wants, Part III 4:08
11. Watching TV 6:06
12. Three Wishes 6:52
13. It's A Miracle 8:30
14. Amused To Death 9:06




Previous polls:
Pink Floyd (updated 11/13):
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Currently 674 people have voted, with an average of 4.23.
A Saucerful of Secrets. Currently 377 people have voted, with an average of 3.80.
More. Currently 310 people have voted, with an average of 3.38.
Ummagumma. Currently 447 people have voted, with an average of 3.09.
Atom Heart Mother. Currently 482 people have voted, with an average of 3.73.
Meddle. Currently 525 people have voted, with an average of 4.70.
Obscured by Clouds. Currently 463 people have voted, with an average of 3.86.
The Dark Side of the Moon. Currently 644 people have voted, with an average of 4.75.
Wish You Were Here. Currently 785 people have voted, with an average of 4.77.
Animals. Currently 750 people have voted, with an average of 4.62.
The Wall. Currently 861 people have voted, with an average of 4.02.
The Final Cut. Currently 600 people have voted, with an average of 3.09.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Currently 451 people have voted, with an average of 2.97.
Delicate Sound of Thunder. Currently 263 people have voted, with an average of 2.87.
The Division Bell. Currently 508 people have voted, with an average of 3.29.
Pulse. Currently 357 people have voted, with an average of 3.36.
Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81. Currently 257 people have voted, with an average of 3.67.
The Endless River. Currently 483 people have voted, with an average of 2.51.

Syd Barrett:
The Madcap Laughs. Currently 242 people have voted, with an average of 3.81.
Barrett. Currently 169 people have voted, with an average of 3.79.
Opel. Currently 95 people have voted, with an average of 3.40.

Nick Mason:
Fictitious Sports. Currently 68 people have voted, with an average of 2.62.

David Gilmour:
David Gilmour. Currently 246 people have voted, with an average of 3.87.
About Face. Currently 119 people have voted, with an average of 3.31.
On An Island. Currently 142 people have voted, with an average of 3.43.
Rattle That Lock. Currently 113 people have voted, with an average of 3.35.

Richard Wright:
Wet Dream. Currently 67 people have voted, with an average of 3.39.
Broken China. Currently 36 people have voted, with an average of 3.31.

Roger Waters:
The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. Currently 227 people have voted, with an average of 3.19.
Radio K.A.O.S.. Currently 128 people have voted, with an average of 2.90.

Spoiler: The albums - ranked by average!

Updated 11/13
1. Wish You Were Here: 4.77
2. The Dark Side of the Moon: 4.75
3. Meddle: 4.70
4. Animals: 4.62
5. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn: 4.23
6. The Wall: 4.02
7. Obscured by Clouds: 3.864
8. David Gilmour - David Gilmour: 3.860
9. Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs: 3.81
10. A Saucerful of Secrets: 3.80
11. Syd Barrett - Barrett: 3.78
12. Atom Heart Mother: 3.73
13. Is There Anybody Out There?: 3.67
14. David Gilmour - On An Island: 3.43
15. Syd Barrett - Opel: 3.385
16. More: 3.381
17. David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock: 3.360
18. Pulse: 3.359
19. Richard Wright - Wet Dream: 3.35
20. David Gilmour - About Face: 3.31
21. Ummagumma: 3.091
22. The Final Cut: 3.088
23. A Momentary Lapse of Reason: 2.97
24. Delicate Sound of Thunder: 2.87
25. Nick Mason - Fictitious Sports: 2.65
26. The Endless River: 2.51

 

Went with "pretty solid effort". Almost "essential listening", but for the fact that it's a Roger solo album, so it suffers a bit vocally. But it's definitely among the best of the Floyd solo projects, and might just be the first album I'd recommend from that group.

 

Great album if you’re in a cynical, miserable mood.
Not ideal for parties, however.

 

I said one of the best, meaning one of the best post-Dark Side. Could have, should have been a Floyd album.

 

Worth recommending. His best solo album I think.

 

Quite simply, a work of genius and the greatest thing to emerge form the Floyd stable since the 70s. This album has gradually grown in stature over the years and I believe it will continue to do so. It is a musical journey - not one I take very often but when I do it always leaves me stunned. It grips me in the way that only Waters can and did with the albums that he contributed to so heavily whilst in Pink Floyd. Absolutely essential.

 

Essential listening. The Bravery of Being Out of Range, Watching TV and Amused to Death are the standouts, in my opinion.

 

A really strong effort and Roger's best solo effort, and my favorite Pino Floyd solo record that's not by Syd

 

I've always been too afraid to listen to it.

 

Turgid, aimless mess IMO. This might have been a half decent album, if RW’d had some strong musical personalities to help him flesh it out (as Floyd had done with the demo of The Wall for instance). But no - of course Roger knows best. Well, unfortunately he doesn't. There are some moments on this - it's no way as jaw-droppingly awful as Pros and Cons for instance - but overall it's missing a steady hand on the musical tiller. Having said that, the tracks he included on the In The Flesh live album worked superbly.

 

I'm going to give it top tier. One of the most intense listening experiences. Needs to be heard straight through.

 

I've wanted to like this album since I bought it the day it came out. I'm a Floyd freak and love Roger to death. I think the record is musically OK if very long and quite draggy. But the relentless bashing over the head about how awful things are is more than I can bear. I simply cannot abide lyrics like"God wants chain stores," "You don't have to be a Jew to disapprove of murder" or "She had almond eyes /She had yellow thighs." I feel like I'm being preached at for 75 minutes as if I don't already think war is pretty horrible. And that Marv Albert bit is indefensible.

"Not bad" is the best I can muster.

 

I went with "A Pretty Solid Effort."

Not too many years back, I probably would have ranked this album top-tier. However, there are a few factors that drag this album down.

First, RW's political stances around this time seemed strongly held, but not particularly ill-informed or hyperbolic. In recent years, I tend to think that he's shown his true colors and comes off much less an intellectual and much more a dogmatist. While some of these songs are still amazingly resonant, this later "reveal" does dim their glow a bit.

Second, the big re-release campaign around the faux remix hyped me up for a completely fresh take on the album and its songs... And we got two, maybe three songs that were dramatically altered while the rest were the same as on original release. Seemed a cynical move and was very disappointing in a way that married well (unfortunately) to point one.

Finally, and not least, it's a bloody depressing album. The Final Cut was dark, but it felt like a "this could happen if we don't get our acts together," cautionary tale. Amused to Death is more of a "last call, the game is up," experience. I realize this is a subjective reading, but this is a harrowing listening experience, so I stop short at "would recommend" while still acknowledging that it's a powerful bit of art.

As for the good, the use of recordings of Alf Razzel from "A Game of Ghosts," a '91 doc on WWI veterans, as the bookends to the album as a whole never fails to move me. It's well placed within the music and, for however powerful his words are just spoken in the documentary, I'm in full "ugly cry" mode by the time we get to the end of "Amused to Death." This is key usage and also why I still haven't listened to Is This the Life We Really Want? after listening to Nigel Godrich make an ass out of himself talking about putting voice recordings in the songs "because that's what RW/PF always did." What a cynical, crap reason to add this stuff when RW made a genuine, human connection that even penetrated the heart and mind of a 17 year old laying ears on this album for the first time back in the late '90s. I simply had no faith in the quality of the new album realizing this jag was at the helm... Anyway, back on topic.

Funny enough, there's a stark quality, almost an emptiness, to the production of this album that makes The Final Cut sound like a power metal album by comparison. That could sink some records, but it just works here. You feel like you're living in the TV white noise and catching a broadcast by accident every so often. Very surreal.

Anyway, I'm not going to monopolize the page. Just my thoughts. Still an amazing piece of work, but approach with care. This one changes you.

 

Hey, I was with you until you mentioned Pros & Cons, which I love despite its oddities, and is probably the only RW album I can bear listening to. 'Amused' seemed exciting when it first came out but for me it hasn't aged well and I have no particular desire to play it again. I agree, the few tracks off it I've seen him do live have been good though.

 

Why?

 

Absolutely agree with you that Alf Razzel’s commentary is extremely moving - it’s the rest of it I have a problem with. But do give ‘Is This The Life We Really Want’ a listen with an open mind, when you get round to it. It really is very good....

 

An hour he’ll never get back? I kid, I kid. I like it a lot, despite its flaws.

 

Like some others have already posted, Amused to Death is my favorite Waters solo album with Is This the Life...? following closely behind. I like Roger's stuff in small quantity, but it's always a worthwhile listen when it happens.

 

Sounds great but it's "messages" drag it down and make it a bit plodding. Also Roger Waters "sing like an old man" style isn't exactly musical poetry. I call it so-so overall, despite the sonic pleasures.

 

Essential listening. What God Wants, of course, will blow the listener away, but The Ballad of Bill Hubbard is intense. And Perfect Sense Part 1? Wow. "History is for fools....."

Lyrically, this could be rolled out pretty much any time. Part 2? Just as intense.

The Bravery of Being Out of Range: "You have a natural tendency to squeeze off a shot..."

I can't say enough about this album. Absolutely essential.

 

Then you'd better hurry up and listen or you won't be able to vote!

 

I remember seeing Waters live on his Dark Side tour when Perfect Sense was played. Along with Sheep, it was the highlight of the show. PP Arnold's vocals got arguably the loudest cheer of the night and the explosion at the end of Part II literally shook the floor as a giant pyro flame went up at the back of the stage. All the time, Waters is right in front of the crowd, pleading 'can't you see, it all makes Perfect Sense, expressed in dollar and cents, pounds, shillings and pence.' They were truly spine tingling moments. And those lyrics - 'little black soul departs in perfect focus. Prime time fodder for the news at nine.' Just epic.

Someone remarked that the Marv Albert commentary is indefensible. I truly believe that that was the intention.

As an aside, the original analogue vinyl cut of this album is something to behold and great demo material if you want to show of the prowess of your Hi-Fi to your mates.

 

I'm kinda with you on this. Now, mind you, "The Final Cut" is one of my favorite albums, so epic themes don't bother me at all, but I just couldn't get into ATD at all. Maybe I'll give it another shot tonight.

 

Way too long, and Waters voice spoils this album greatly.

For all that, there are some sparkling moments, so I went with pretty solid effort.

 

I think it's Roger's best attempt at making a Pink Floyd album on his own. It has some powerful moments but needed another creative voice to limit Roger's excesses. I do consider it the best solo album by any Floyd member.

It's not particularly easy listening, I have to be in the right mood for Amused To Death. In that regard, the album has less commercial appeal than the better Pink Floyd albums.

Its foundation would have provided one hell of a start on another all-time Pink Floyd classic if Roger and David could get along.