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Roger Waters is set to release “The Dark Side of the Moon Redux,” his re-imagined take on the classic album he made with Pink Floyd in the early ’70s. It’s set to drop Oct. 6.

Four versions of the album are available for pre-sale at the official store: CD, $15; transparent orange double vinyl (140 gm), $46; black double vinyl (140 gm), $42; and a gold cassette, $14.

“When we recorded the stripped down songs for the Lockdown Sessions, the 50th anniversary of the release of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ was looming on the horizon. It occurred to me that ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ could well be a suitable candidate for a similar re-working, partly as a tribute to the original work, but also to re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album,” Waters explained in a promotional email.

“I discussed it with Gus (Seyffert) and Sean (Evans), and when we’d stopped giggling and shouting ‘You must be ****ing mad’ at one another we decided to take it on.

“It’s turned out really great and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable. But it is a way for the 79-year-old to look back across the intervening 50 years into the eyes of the 29-year-old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, ‘We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us’.

“And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick (Mason) and Rick (Wright) and Dave (Gilmour) and I have every right to be very proud of.”

News of the project broke Feb. 4, when Waters spoke with the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung, and then with the U.K.’s The Telegraph a few days later.

“I’m the only one singing my songs on these new recordings, and there are no rock and roll guitar solos,” he told Berliner Zeitung.

“The new concept is meant to reflect on the meaning of the work, to bring out the heart and soul of the album — musically and spiritually.”

In addition to Waters, his long-time collaborator Seyffert plays keyboards on the new work; and Seyffert’s girlfriend, Bedouine, provides backing vocals.

The first track from the album, “Money,” is available to stream now:

Sony Music will release Roger Waters “The Lockdown Sessions” on vinyl and CD on June 2.

Recorded and filmed during Covid lockdown between 2020-21, Waters first released each track independently on social media as it was recorded. The entire collection, including a new version of “Comfortably Numb” recorded during his “This Is Not a Drill” tour, was made available on streaming services Dec. 9, 2022.

The collection includes five tracks from Waters’s time with Pink Floyd and his solo career: “Mother” and “Vera” from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”; “Two Suns in the Sunset” and “The Gunner’s Dream” from Floyd’s “The Final Cut”; “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” from his solo album “Amused To Death”; and the new recording of “Comfortably Numb.”

All were were produced by Waters and Gus Seyffert. Appearing on the recordings are Waters – Vocals, Guitar and Piano; Seyffert – Bass, Cellos and Vocals; Joey Waronker – Drums and Percussion; Dave Kilminster – Guitar and Rhythm Guitar; Jonathan Wilson – Guitar and Vocals; Jon Carin – Keyboards and Vocals, Lucius (Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig) – Vocals; Bo Koster – Hammond (on all tracks except “Mother”) and Ian Ritchie – Saxophone (“Two Suns In The Sunset”).

Pre-order “The Lockdown Sessions” here.

Sony Music today released Roger Waters‘s “The Lockdown Sessions” on all digital music platforms.

The collection of six songs were recorded remotely by Waters and his band during Covid lockdown; with the final track coming from a live show during his North American “This Is Not a Drill” tour:

1. “Mother” (from The Wall)
2. “Two Suns in the Sunset” (from The Final Cut)
3. “Vera” (from The Wall)
4. “The Gunner’s Dream” (from The Final Cut)
5. “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” (from Amused to Death)
6. “Comfortably Numb” (from The Wall)

The tracks were produced by Waters and Gus Seyffert. Appearing on the recordings are Waters – Vocals, Guitar and Piano; Seyffert – Bass, Cellos and Vocals; Joey Waronker – Drums and Percussion; Dave Kilminster – Guitar and Rhythm Guitar; Jonathan Wilson – Guitar and Vocals; Jon Carin – Keyboards and Vocals; Lucius (Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig) – Vocals; Bo Koster – Hammond (on all tracks except “Mother”); and Ian Ritchie – Saxophone (“Two Suns in the Sunset”).

Videos of the first five were originally posted by Waters on social media during ’20 and ’21. The videos were produced and directed by Sean Evans. “Comfortably Numb” was released last month.

“Our ‘Us and Them Tour’ lasted three years. At every gig we did an encore after the main show closed with ‘Comfortably Numb.’ The encore was always ‘Mother.’ I can’t remember why I decided to start doing other songs,” Waters says.

“At some point after the end of the tour, I started thinking, ‘It could make an interesting album, all those encores.’ ‘The Encores.’ Yeah, has a nice ring to it!

“Then I’m in England doing the Ginger Baker tribute gig one Tuesday night at the Hammersmith Odeon with Eric Clapton and the following Saturday marching from The Australian Embassy to Parliament Square to make a speech in support of Julian Assange, when bugger me, Covid. Schlummmm! For me it was Friday, March 13th, 2020. Lockdown! So much for the ‘Encores’ project. Unless,” he adds.

“We’ve tacked ‘Comfortably Numb’ on the end of the collection, as an appropriate exclamation point in closing this circle of love.”

Waters first announced his intention of releasing the collection under the title “The Lockdown Sessions” during a podcast appearance last month. “I’ve given all these things away,” he said. “They’re all out there. Anybody can find them on the internet.”

Sony Music released today “Comfortably Numb 2022,” a new recording of the Pink Floyd classic from Roger Waters‘s recent “This Is Not a Drill” tour.

The new track is available on streaming platforms.

“During lockdown I made a demo of a new version of ‘Comfortably Numb‘ as an opener for our new show,” Waters explains. “I pitched it a whole step down, in A Minor, to make it darker and arranged it with no solos, except over the outro chord sequence, where there is a heartrendingly beautiful female vocal solo from Shanay Johnson, one of our new singers.”

The accompanying video was produced and directed by Sean Evans. Photography by Kate Izor.

The track was produced by Waters and Gus Seyffert. Appearing on the track are Waters, vocals; Gus Seyffert , bass, synth, percussion, vocals; Joey Waronker, drums; Dave Kilminster, vocals; Jonathan Wilson, harmonium, synth, guitar and vocals; Jon Carin, synth, Vocals; Johnson, vocals; Amanda Belair, vocals; Robert Walter, organ/piano; Nigel Godrich, strings, amp and backing vocals from Roger Waters The Wall Sessions.

Waters’s “This Is Not A Drill” will tour Europe in 2023 with 40 shows across 14 European countries, starting in Lisbon on March 17, 2023, at Altice Arena.

Listen to the track now

Watch the video: