Roger Waters IS THIS THE LIFE WE REALLY WANT. Columbia

Few artists today try to reflect today’s dangerous, confusing and often inhuman world in released, recorded music. Roger Waters is one of the few who does and I still believe that AMUSED TO DEATH is a classic of this genre (and indeed of any genre). His latest creation goes one step further in revealing his utter frustration in arguably his most angered tones. A prime example is ‘Déjà Vu’ which follows the muttered album intro of ‘When We Were Young’. An acoustic guitar gently strummed makes way for Waters’ distinctive voice which is heard with great clarity. It happens to be one of the most melodic songs here with a close resemblance to songs on AMUSED TO DEATH but the message is grittier, harder, angrier: “If I had been God/With my staff and rod/If I had been given the nod/I believe I could have done a better job/And if I were a drone/Patrolling foreign skies/With my electronic eyes/For guidance/And the element of surprise/I would be afraid/To find someone home/Maybe a woman at a stove/Baking Bread, making rice/Or just boiling down some bones.“ The song opens in conversational/contemplative style and builds slowly to a discordant crescendo before orchestral strings add an element of resigned calm and sadness.

Waters leaves few stones unturned as in his inimitable way he ponders the small child washed up on a Turkish shore in ‘The Last Refugee’. The state of USA politics is featured in ‘Broken Bones’ : “And oh/Mistress Liberty/How/We abandoned thee….We cannot turn back the clock/Cannot go back in time/But we can say: Fuck you, we will not listen to your bullshit and lies.” Then he tackles greed in the album’s title track ‘Is This The Life We Really Want?’ The song’s opening is slow and solemn with a snare drum featuring before Waters enters in a funereal, pensive tone: “The goose has gotten fat/On caviar in fancy bars/And subprime loans/And broken homes.”

The album concludes with the most hard-hitting song of this incredible collection. ‘Part Of Me Died’ is a reflection on several aspects of the world and more personal order: “The part that is envious/Cold hearted and devious/Greedy, mischievous/Global, colonial/Bloodthirsty, blind/Mindless and cheap/Focused on  borders/And slaughter and sheep/Burning of books/Bulldozing of homes/Given to targeted killings with drones/Lethal injections/Arrest without trial.” Waters has included a diverse array of sounds  to press home his messages in a way few artists can. The result is a dramatic and sometimes apocalyptic view of where we are today. The album will take a couple of listens before one realises that it is very close to the quality of AMUSED TO DEATH and therefore absolutely essential listening.

5/5

https://rogerwaters.com/