Where to begin with this one? ‘Is This The Life We Really Want?’ is the first solo studio album by Roger Waters in nearly 25 years.
A man of many talents, Waters, the co- founder of Pink Floyd is not just that. A songwriter, bassist, vocalist, pianist, activist, philosopher and serial antagonist… the list spirals off into magnitudes comparable to that of his achievements.
With a series of honours under his belt, having accomplished the feat of the highest grossing tour of all time (not to mention belonging to the seventh highest selling musical act of all time), it would be easy to think that the years of success and fortune might have eventually penetrated the morally upright and ferocious left- leaning political principles that Waters has carried through his music for the last 50 years. Wrong.
From its opening the album lays down the stakes at play. The held back anger rings as true in Waters’ lyrics as it does in his typical vocal style; warbling tenderness breaking out into writhing howls. Waters’ message here is as political as ever. Particular attacks are aimed at President Trump, with the entrepreneur even credited for his samples on the album’s title track. Waters lyrics address predominantly humanitarian themes, as one might now have come to expect. The world’s wealth gap is framed heavily, as is the treatment of refugees by the world’s media.
Musically, the album belongs to the same stylistic school as that of ‘The Wall’, Waters’ swansong with Pink Floyd. Whilst before it has been suggested that Waters may have been trapped under the weight of his achievement and success with the 1979 album, here it feels like he truly has embraced its style and prowess, taking it under his wing and flying away with it. Crushing guitars, chugging basslines and a plethora of samples, sound effects and swirling production techniques make for a typically Waters-esque sound. That isn’t to say that the album exists outside of originality however.
Is This the Life We Really Want? is the fifth studio album by English rock musician and former Pink Floyd bassist and vocalist Roger Waters
This can be owing in no small part to the team of musicians that Waters has teamed up with to create his latest release. The names involved aren’t those that immediately fall into popular knowledge, but behind them they carry some serious experience. The most established name at play is David Campbell (otherwise known as Beck’s dad), lending his hand here in arranging strings. Campbell has been responsible in composing or arranging parts on no fewer than 450 gold and platinum albums worldwide spanning from Adele to Michael Jackson to Linkin Park. Here his delicate yet brazen strings are as thoughtful and resonant as the subject matter of the tracks that they are laid across.
Further lending his musicianship is Nigel Godrich. Previously dubbed the sixth member of Radiohead, having produced each of their studio albums, Godrich here too lends his hand as producer to Waters. The results are as to be expected. Each instrument carries masses of weight and presence, driving their ways through the crunching mixes with clarity and character.
Yet all the while never overcharging the other elements. Every aspect within the richly layered arrangements stand their ground superbly.
It is important to note here that amongst the album’s density lie a few touches of confusion. Waters rallying cry and call to arms can sometimes inflict its weight a touch too heavily on the music. The use of profanity may seem relevant when tackling the beast by the horns, but it is within his more gentle lyrics that the real messages and poetry are really spoken. In fact, it is the simplicity and beauty of the album’s final three tracks that really drive home its aims and tone. A rolling continuation of one another, this trilogy of closing tracks take the form of calmer love songs. Their smoother edges cap and crown perfectly the intensity of the album’s earlier form. A reminder that through the layers of toughness and chaos of modern life, it is the small emotions of love and nurture that can carry us to higher ground.
Author: Joe, York Store
Musically it owes a debt to a lot of other Floyd albums too, particularly Animals and specifically Pigs. Although there are references to Wish You Where Here (lyrically and in terms of some of the recorded dialogue), as well as the Wall.
I think it’s great, album of the year for me without a question 🙂