What does one write about Roger Waters’ undiminished masterpiece ‘amused to death’? An epic concept album recorded with renowned guitarist Jeff Beck (alongside contributions from the wonderful Andy Fairweather Low and Steve Lukather) that sees Roger desperately trying to make sense of an increasingly disparate and divided world via the classic Neail Postman novel ‘amusing ourselves to death’, a searing critique of TV and related culture. The result is an album that seems even more pertinent today as whole families sit glued to tiny electronic devices when they should be communicating with one another. Originally released in 1992, the album was reasonably well received, but Roger always felt it was underrated in comparison to his earlier, Floyd works and it is certainly an album that has gained a much greater reputation in the intervening years. Repressed here as a CD, CD/DVD, CD/Blu Ray, Vinyl and SACD (in other words, in every format you could possibly want), this long awaited new edition features updated (and infinitely better) artwork and a stunning 5.1 mix that leaves the original gasping in its wake. It may have taken a good deal of time, but James Guthrie has delivered the goods, crafting one of the best surround mixes of the extended Floyd canon (and, happily, you don’t need to buy a box stuffed with ephemera to get hold of a copy either!).
The Blu ray features no features apart from the audio mix, so video fans will be disappointed, but for those for whom the audio experience is everything, this is truly a remarkable mix. Although the album is virtually unchanged, one very welcome inclusion is the introduction of the HAL clip (oft used in Roger’s live shows) that was originally left off the album due to Kubrick’s refusal to give permission for it to be used. It means that, for the first time, ‘perfect sense part 1’ is presented as its author intended, and the sample certainly helps to bring a sense of dark awe to the track. The mix itself is a thing of beauty. James Guthrie and Joel Plante have worked wonders, subtly spreading the tracks whilst resisting the urge to go over the top. Sound effects originally recorded in Q sound, the follow up to the experimental holophonic sound system used on the Final Cut, now pan around the room (just listen for the sports announcer on ‘perfect sense part 2’) whilst the front speakers and sub-woofer deliver the album with a crystalline heft that makes it all sound brand new. A fine example of the work done is the whip crack of the drums that opens ‘the bravery of being out of range’, a song that really cooks on the ‘in the flesh’ DVD and which now sounds even better in its studio incarnation.
Throughout, ‘amused to death’ is an aural treasure-trove. The strings that swirl around the listener on ‘late home tonight part one’ draw you further into the heart of a song that originally felt far too busy to be constrained in 2d, whilst the tribal conclusion of the song is truly mind-blowing, the rhythms tearing around the song only to fade into the choral grandeur of ‘late home tonight part 2’ without ever feeling forced. This is how to do a surround mix. The speakers remain active throughout, but focus on creating a depth that was always more imagined than real in the original work. As the album progresses, the songs segue together with eerie clips and movie samples, and the mix does a fantastic job of bringing them to life, where in the past they sat quietly in the background, with the result that the album feels more alive than ever. It’s remarkable to note that the album now rivals Steven Wilson’s equally astonishing 5.1 version of ‘fear of a blank planet’, and it says much of the rampant ambition that drove Roger, that an album crafted some twenty three years ago sounds as if it could have been recorded yesterday.
It should be no surprise really that Roger Waters’ material excels in surround. As an artist who regularly employed surround in his live shows, this is no mere afterthought, but an intelligently arranged and wonderfully active mix that brings new life to an album that has aged incredibly well. With the theme more resonant than ever, this is a timely reissuing of an album that really didn’t get the respect it deserves, and this immersive mix will hopefully open up the record to a whole new generation of fans. It’s not flawless. Roger’s lyrics often employ imagery that is far too overt, which can become a little wearing, but his point is more than worth stating and it has only become more relevant in the intervening years. If you’re already a fan, or if you’ve yet to embrace this album, this surround mix is an absolute must, a sparkling, carefully arranged piece of work that adds a great deal of depth to an album that always seemed to suffer from a surfeit of ambition running up against a dearth of appropriate technology. With that balance now redressed, there’s a feeling that this is the album that Roger always wanted to release and it is surely deserving of the title ‘masterpiece’.
