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Albums > Roger Waters > Amused to Death (1992)

 

"Don't look so surprised, it's only dogma ..."

There was speculation that Roger Waters would created a sequel to his 1987 album "Radio K.A.O.S." During breaks in his "K.A.O.S." tour, he recorded some material at Nassau's Compass Point Studios and The Billiard Room, the recording studio in his Barnes, West London, house. With a tentative release date of 1989, the album was to be named "Amused to Death," and even had an album cover design already in the works. Created by Gerald Scarfe ("The Wall," "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking"), it showed three men drowning in a martini glass. Those with even a passing knowledge of Pink Floyd, didn't have to think too hard to realize who the three represented.

Eventually, the project would be put on hold when Waters became disenchanted with his record label. A few years later, 1992, the album would finally be released. While the title, taken from Neil Postman's book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, was the same, Waters abandoned his original plans to continue the tale started in "Radio K.A.O.S."

Instead, the album would be a collection of numbers focused on the violent and political side of the world, including everything from World War I to the Tiananmen Square incident. It would reach the 21st position on the Billboard album chart in the United States.

The album was produced by Waters with Patrick Leonard, who had done work on the post-Waters Pink Floyd's "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" (1987), and sports many guests. Most notably, guitarist Jeff Beck makes appearances on a few tracks; Don Henley (Eagles) sings back-up on "Watching TV"; Rita Coolidge appears on the title track; and sportscaster Marv Albert shows up on "Perfect Sense, Part II."

Written by Craig Bailey

 

©1995-2007 Random Precision Media. All rights reserved.
Updated: Nov. 29, 2002

amused to death
title
"Amused to Death"

released
Sept. 7, 1992 (U.K.)
Sept. 1, 1992 (U.S.)

purchase
Amused to Death CD

Amused to Death gold CD

songlist

  1. The Ballad of Bill Hubbard (Waters)
    04:19
  2. Perfect Sense, Part I (Waters)
    04:16
  3. Perfect Sense, Part II (Waters)
    02:51
  4. The Bravery of Being Out of Range (Waters)
    04:43
  5. Late Home Tonight, Part I (Waters)
    04:01
  6. Late Home Tonight, Part II (Waters)
    02:13
  7. Too Much Rope (Waters)
    05:48
  8. What God Wants, Part II (Waters)
    03:41
  9. What God Wants, Part III (Waters)
    04:08
  10. Watching TV (Waters)
    06:08
  11. Three Wishes (Waters)
    06:50
  12. It's a Miracle (Waters)
    08:31
  13. Amused to Death (Waters)
    09:07

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