Roger Waters - In the Flesh Live

It's nothing short of remarkable that Roger Waters has built a successful career on obsessive ruminations on alienation, megalomania, and guilty fame, largely on the backs of one of history's most long-lived arena acts. The musical legacy Waters has shared with "another band" (as he sharply refers to his former Pink Floyd mates in this collection's self-penned liner notes) has served two distinctly different functions: part and parcel of the latter's nostalgia act; autobiographical foundation for the former's ongoing, if decidedly egocentric, Rage at the World. That's essentially the rationale this live collection uses to lean heavily on Waters's Pink prime, from Dark Side of the Moon through The Final Cut. And if that frame sometimes overshadows the images of Waters's solo work--well, no one said he wasn't a pragmatic entertainer. Still, his cynical eye insures the juxtapositions work well; the Falkland-conflicted Britain of The Final Cut's "Get Your Filthy Hands off My Desert" and "Southampton Dock" is neatly bookended by Amused to Death's "Bravery of Being out of Range." There's a telling musical contrast with Floyd here, too, and it's one that goes beyond the album's stellar recording techniques. Waters's ensemble breathes new life into even the coldest of the Floydian dirges, while giving the hoary psychedelic romp "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" a welcome R&B groove. Waters concludes by offering up the previously unrecorded "Each Small Candle"--and an equally unexpected ray of hope. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com

Would not play on my equipment

This might be a great album, but because it's one of Sony's "Super Audio" CDs, I couldn't play it on my CD player or on my late model computers. Luckily, Amazon was happy to let me return it. "Super Audio," however superior the sound quality might be, seems to me to be yet another one of Sony's ways of preventing buyers from copying music onto their computers or portable audio devices. These play-restricted types of CDs should be identified as such by Amazon and their third-party sellers. May 17, 2008

Warning--mispackaged discs

This didn't play in 5 different CD players. Discs are marked "designed for use in Super Audio CD players only" but the outside case doesn't say that. I think Sony mispackaged this. We'll try to exchange for the correct format. February 16, 2008

A superb live effort from Roger!

Roger Waters' sixth solo release In The Flesh Live was released in December of 2000.
In 1999, former Pink Floyd bass player/singer/lyricist Roger Waters went on his first US tour in 12 years and didn't know how well he would be received. Surprisingly, Roger did very well on that tour as his ex-bandmates were not touring that year. At the time, Roger was going to record his first proper live album but there was a clause in Roger's deal with EMI in Pink Floyd that he couldn't re-record his OWN songs after he switched to Sony worldwide.
After Roger got the rights reversed, he set off on a second US tour based on the success of the 1999 leg and recorded and filmed the In the Flesh album/DVD, released in December, 2000 and December, 2001 respectively.
Personally, I think he performed better on the second North American leg than the 1999 leg but in retrospect, the final show in Providence should have been recorded but you can wish in one hand and pour out the other.
However, the performances from Oregon and Las Vegas on the album is good as it was that July night in 2000 I saw Roger.
Roger has a competent band of musicians like drummer Graham Broad and guitarist Andy Fairweather Low but also guitarists Snowy White (whom worked with Floyd in 1977 and 1980) and Texan Doyle Brahmall II (sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughan IMHO) and keyboardist Jon Carin whom ironically played with the post-Waters Floyd in 1987 to 1990 and 1994 and has toured with Waters again in 2006 and 2007 and in David Gilmour's solo tour in 2006.
The renditions of the numbers on In the Flesh don't sound too different than their studio versions (In the Flesh, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, Another Brick in the Wall(pt. 2), Mother, Welcome to the Machine, Wish You Were Here, Breathe, Time, Money, Brain Damage, Eclipse and Comfortably Numb) but some of the songs are slightly different than the way Waters' ex-colleagues played them (Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun).
Floyd fans are pleased to know that Roger included material from Animals (Pigs on the Wing(pt. 1) and a spirited Dogs) and The Final Cut (Get Your Filthy Hands/Southampton medley) which Roger's ex-bandmates don't play live (Animals is too venomous while The Final Cut is despised by Floyd members David Gilmour and Rick Wright).
The bass player's solo efforts are represented as well, with spirited versions of Every Strangers Eyes, Perfect Sense (pts. 1 and 2), The Bravery of Being Out of Range, It's a Miracle and Amused to Death. He did The Powers That Be on the 1999 tour but dropped it in 2000.
The album closes with the new track Each Small Candle which is a worthy song and sounds like an outtake from The Final Cut or Animals.
Despite charting at a lowly #164, this is a great live album and breath of fresh air in a climate that was infested with teen pop trash like Britney, N'Sync and Eminem and lame nu-metal!
This CD and its off-shoot DVD is highly recommended. December 24, 2007

Awesome Concert

I enjoyed this DVD very much. Roger Waters puts on one hell of concert. The quality is excellent. My favorite songs on this track are:
"Perfect Sense"
"Mother"
"Miracle"
This is a must for anyones library, especially if you collect "Pink Floyd". September 7, 2007

Wonderful Concert...

Although you can't really compare David Gilmour's Pink Floyd performances to Roger Waters', I think I'm leaning more towards Roger's :) The standout track here is "Dogs" :) May 28, 2007

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