Roger Waters – Album Collection

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Roger Waters needs no introduction around the Middle East, reaching cult-like status after a few solo tours and of course, Pink Floyd still enjoying enormous popularity. On the eve of the release of Roger Waters – the anthology of his solo work – we take a look at the release

Pink Floyd are often cited as one of the most influential bands of all time for the recording industry – pioneering production techniques that are still used (albeit digitally) today –and their appeal remains almost universal. In fact, later this year, label EMI is re-releasing their entire catalogue.

Following a Waters-led ‘split’ (Floyd continued in various guises led by guitarist David Gilmour), he went on to make a number of solo albums and tour successfully. The new retrospective, released by Sony Music Middle East, is a collection of all his works and a live DVD.

Carrying on from his concept album-led days with Floyd, Waters developed his first solo album in 1984, The Pros & Cons of Hitch Hiking, written at the same time as demo as Pink Floyd’s The Wall (also written by Waters).

He followed up that with his second release in 1987, Radio K.A.O.S, a collection that is concept relating to Billy, a 23-year-old vegetable (mental state) who has no way of communicating. His third, and last, studio album was 1992’s Amused To Death.

Another concept album, this relates loosely as a commentary on political and social times, but told through a monkey flicking channels on a television. All of Waters’ concept albums, including those with Floyd, often relate to loss, isolation, love and social conformity, and these are no exception.

The collection also contains Waters’ three-act opera Ça Ira (French for “it will go”) the Opera was composed by Waters’ based on a libretto by French songwriters Étienne and Nadine Roda-Gil and was based on the French Revolution.

The last, and most recent, releases of Waters are also in this collection, the In The Flesh live albums. Released in 2000, these albums are a great selection of Waters live act, and include a number of Pink Floyd songs from the whole Waters era.

The  In The Flesh DVD is another great addition, covering all 24 songs on the audio album and giving a great insight

Waters’ longevity obviously helped by the Floyd-era songs, but what’s remarkable about this collection is how well his solo work holds up after all this time. On first listen many years ago, I had originally dismissed the works as self-indulgent, however, listened to as part of a collection of works, it no longer feels this way.

The addition of the In The Flesh DVD and audio is another great element to a brimming set. This really is fans of Pink Floyd who may not have got into Waters’ work yet, or any fans missing part of the collection.

Roger Waters Collection is out now in the Middle East via Sony Music Middle East. To win a copy of the set, click here.

Roger Waters - We Shall Overcome

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