Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S.

Things were never the same for rock auteur Roger Waters after he split from Pink Floyd in the early '80s. While Floyd has soldiered on as a dumber, but still popular version of its old self, Waters has seen his own creative vision left mostly unrealized. Like his other solo projects, Radio K.A.O.S. too often falls flat without the hypnotic musical passages he enjoyed with Floyd. Not helping are the album's thin electronic sounds that haven't aged well since its 1987 release. Radio K.A.O.S. tells the quasi-sci-fi tale of a boy "vegetable" who can recieve radio waves in his head. Along the way, Waters attacks Reagan, Thatcher, nuclear war, commercial radio, and all the usual suspects. --Steve Appleford Amazon.com

Roger Waters - Back To The Regan Era 80's

This was Waters second solo album after leaving Pink Floyd. His first "The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking" was a big disappointment to me and I did not really care for it. "KAOS" would fare a bit better, but still suffers from Rogers rather maudlin writing style and the lack of his former cohort David Gilmour as a musical partner. "KAOS" is a concept album about a wheelchair bound boy who can receive radio waves through his head. The story unfolds through his correspondence with a DJ at KAOS radio station in Los Angeles. Jim Ladd (a DJ in real life) did the voice of the jock on the record. In the end the boy in the chair decides he is going to blow up the world, but then changes his mind. This album is not all that far from the theme of Waters last Pink Floyd album "The Final Cut" in which the globe is neutralized by nuclear war during the "Two Sunsets" finale. I thought Waters got better with each solo album he did which puts this one squarely in the middle. Going back to it after all these years there is a lot of 80's musical cliché's to be found which tends to date the material, but this is still a pretty good album from mister Waters. June 26, 2008

No, it's not PINK FLOYD, but it IS a great album

This is the first album Roger Waters put out after he left Pink Floyd (he had not announced his departured from Pink Floyd when "The Pros and Cons of Hithhiking" was released in 1984), and it came out at roughly the same time David Gilmour put out his first "Pink Floyd" album without Roger Waters (A Momentary Lapse of Reason).

Between the timing of each and the well publicized legal battles between Waters and Gilmour, comparisons of the two albums were unavoidable. Which one's "Pink"? The answer as it would turn out, was neither, but in absence of a Waters-Gilmour partnership within Pink Floyd, "Radio KAOS" is a solid effort from the brains of that unit.

The theme of Radio KAOS is similar to that of The Wall in that it's intended as a semi-linear story, although there are clearly gaps. While The Wall was semi-autobiographical, Radio KAOS centers on fictional characters, primarily "Billy", a handicapped kid who is a techno-wiz and manages to hack into government systems to communicate (among other things), and "Jim" a DJ at a Los Angeles radio station, who Billy makes contact with.

While the concept and characters are of some importance since they are referenced in parts of many of the songs, the songs also address more universal themes such as the economic realities of captitalism, politics as entertainment and the importance of something to call HOME. Standout tracks include "Radio Waves," "The Powers That Be," "Home" and "The Tide Is Turning".

Criticism of this album has often centered on the 80's-oriented production, which is a far cry from the smooth and organic sounds of most classic Pink Floyd. Waters himself has criticized the sound of this album, suggesting that producer Ian Ritchie talked him into a more modern sound which he now regrets. All in all, I agree that the production is a bit dated and vastly different from anything else Waters did with or without Pink Floyd. That said, the material still manages to rise above it and the overall result is still a much more listenable album than Waters' solo debut three years earlier, "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking". Not even sequenced drum machines and keyboards can drown out the incredible songwriting voice of Roger Waters, so this is far from a wasted effort. The now-dated production cost this album one star, but apart from that, this is a solid and vastly underrated effort from Roger Waters in my book.

June 25, 2008

Great CD!!!

I had seen this show in 1987. I had purchased this CD years ago, but, wore it out. So I had to get the CD again. I had given it to my neighbor (who had never heard it before) Now he wants one too. Great songs, Roger will always BE Pink Floyd. Any one who out there who has never heard this yet, Grab a CD and enjoy!! June 22, 2008

great album!

short but sweet album. catchy tunes and great lyrics. a cool concept with billy the computer. fav track? Home June 8, 2008

No more FREE ride

Not one good song on this album. Once Roger Waters spacy visions and weirdness ended and he realized that Pink Floyd was not his he lost his mind. He has done nothing remotely good since they kicked him out of the band. He didnt realize that riding David Gilmours coattails was the reason he had any success at all. Now he sits and wonders why he tanked his own career with his attempts to dominate men more talented than him. It didnt take much for PF to hook up a new bass player. April 30, 2008

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