Amused to Death is a concept album, and the third studio album by former Pink Floyd bassist/vocalist Roger Waters. It was released in 1992.
Roger Waters started working on Amused to Death in 1987 when he first wrote “Perfect Sense”. It was several years before the album was released and it is unknown how much the material was changed in the interim. The album’s artwork features a monkey watching television in reference to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The image on the TV is a gigantic eyeball staring at the viewer. According to Waters, the monkey was “a symbol for anyone who’s been sitting with his mouth open in front of the network and cable news for the last 10 years.” The album’s title was inspired by Neil Postman’s book Amusing Ourselves to Death. The album is organised loosely around the idea of a monkey randomly switching channels on a television, but explores numerous political and social themes, including critiques of the First Gulf War in “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” and “Perfect Sense”.
The first song, “The Ballad of Bill Hubbard”, features a sample of World War I veteran Alfred “Raz” Razzell, a member of the Royal Fusiliers (much like Waters’ father Eric Fletcher Waters had been in World War II) who describes his account of finding fellow soldier William “Bill” Hubbard, to whom the album is dedicated, severely wounded on the battlefield. After failed attempts to take him to safety, Razzell is forced to abandon him in no-man’s land. This sample is continued at the end of the title track, at the very end of the album, providing a more upbeat coda to the tragic story. The track also features the sound of several animals. The second song, “What God Wants, Part I”, follows and contrasts the moving words of Razzell by opening with the TV being tuned instead into an excerpt that sounds like it’s taken from a vox pop of a child who says, “I don’t mind about the war. That’s one of the things I like to watch – if it’s a war going on. ‘Cos then I know if, um, our side’s winning, if our side’s losing…” he is then interrupted by the channel change and a burst of ape-chatter.
“Perfect Sense” is a two-part song about a world where live transmissions of wars are the main form of entertainment. The first part of the song begins with a loud, unintelligible rant, and then a backwards message voiced by Waters: “Julia, however, in the light and visions of the issues of Stanley, we changed our minds. We have decided to include a backward message. Stanley, for you, and for all the other book burners.” The message climaxes with Waters yelling in the aggressive Scottish voice he used to depict the character of the teacher in The Wall. In the second part, famed sportscaster Marv Albert narrates a war as if it were a basketball game.
“The Bravery of Being Out of Range” includes a reference to a song written by Waters on Pink Floyd’s 1977 album Animals, “Sheep” (not to mention the spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”). In “Sheep”, Waters sings “I’ve looked over Jordan and I have seen…” Waters references and expands on this line in “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” when he sings “I looked over Jordan and what did I see/Saw a U.S. Marine in a pile of debris”. “Late Home Tonight, Part I” recalls the 1986 US air strike against Libya from the perspective of two “ordinary wives” and a young American F-111 pilot. At the beginning of “What God Wants, Part II”, Charles Fleischer (better known as the voice of Roger Rabbit) performs the greedy evangelist’s sermon. The song “Watching TV” (a duet with Don Henley) explores the influence of mass media on the Chinese protests for democracy in Tiananmen Square. Waters makes reference to Andrew Lloyd Webber in the song “It’s a Miracle”
Tracks
1 The Ballad Of Bill Hubbard (Roger Waters) 4:20
2 What God Wants, Part I (Roger Waters) 6:00
3 Perfect Sense, Part I (Roger Waters) 4:16
4 Perfect Sense, Part II (Roger Waters) 2:50
5 The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range (Roger Waters) 4:42
6 Late Home Tonight, Part I (Roger Waters) 4:01
7 Late Home Tonight, Part II (Roger Waters) 2:13
8 Too Much Rope (Roger Waters) 5:47
9 What God Wants, Part II (Roger Waters) 3:41
10 What God Wants, Part III (Roger Waters) 4:08
11 Watching TV (Roger Waters) 6:07
12 Three Wishes (Roger Waters) 6:49
13 It’s A Miracle (Roger Waters) 8:30
14 Amused To Death (Roger Waters) 9:06
Musicians
1 The Ballad Of Bill Hubbard
Drums (programming) | Patrick Leonard |
Guitar | Jeff Beck |
Keyboards | Patrick Leonard |
Percussion | Luis Conte |
Vocals | Alf Razzell |
2 What God Wants, Part I
Bass | Roger Waters |
Bass | Randy Jackson |
Drums | Graham Broad |
Guitar (solo) | Jeff Beck |
Guitar | Geoff Whitehorn |
Guitar | Tim Pierce |
Guitar | Andy Fairweather Low |
Keyboards | Patrick Leonard |
Keyboards | Roger Waters |
Background Vocals | Doreen Chanter |
Background Vocals | Katie Kissoon |
Background Vocals | N\’Dea Davenport |
Background Vocals | Natalie Jackson |
3 Perfect Sense, Part I
Bass | Jimmy Johnson |
Drums | Graham Broad |
Guitar | Steve Lukather |
Guitar | Rick DiFonso |
Acoustic Guitar | Bruce Gaitsch |
Pedal Steel Guitar | Brian John Cole |
Keyboards | Patrick Leonard |
Synthesizer | Roger Waters |
Percussion | Brian McLeod |
Percussion | Luis Conte |
5 The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range
Bass | John Pierce |
Drums | Denny Fongheiser |
Guitar | Tim Pierce |
12 String Guitar | Roger Waters |
Organ | Patrick Leonard |
Synthesizer | Patrick Leonard |
Background Vocals | Lynn Fiddmont-Linsey |
Background Vocals | Natalie Jackson |
6 Late Home Tonight, Part I
Bass | Jimmy Johnson |
Drums | Graham Broad |
Guitar | Andy Fairweather Low |
Percussion | Luis Conte |
Percussion | Graham Broad |
Cornet | Steve Sidwell |
8 Too Much Rope
Bass | Jimmy Johnson |
Drums | Graham Broad |
Guitar | Steve Lukather |
Guitar | Geoff Whitehorn |
12 String Guitar | Andy Fairweather Low |
Keyboards | Patrick Leonard |
Percussion | Luis Conte |
Background Vocals | Doreen Chanter |
Background Vocals | Katie Kissoon |
9 What God Wants, Part II
Bass | Jimmy Johnson |
Drums | Graham Broad |
Guitar | Tim Pierce |
Guitar | Andy Fairweather Low |
Acoustic Guitar | Andy Fairweather Low |
Keyboards | Patrick Leonard |
Percussion | Luis Conte |
10 What God Wants, Part III
Bass | Jimmy Johnson |
Drums | Graham Broad |
Guitar (solo) | Jeff Beck |
Guitar | Geoff Whitehorn |
Keyboards | Patrick Leonard |
Percussion | Luis Conte |
11 Watching TV
Bass | John Patitucci |
Guitar | Jeff Beck |
Acoustic Guitar | Andy Fairweather Low |
Acoustic Guitar | Roger Waters |
Lute | Gou Yi |
Piano | Patrick Leonard |
Oboe | Gou Yi |
Vocals | Don Henley |
12 Three Wishes
Bass | Jimmy Johnson |
Drums | Graham Broad |
Guitar (solo) | Jeff Beck |
Guitar | Tim Pierce |
12 String Guitar | Andy Fairweather Low |
Keyboards | Patrick Leonard |
Organ | John Brundrick |
Percussion | Luis Conte |
Background Vocals | Doreen Chanter |
Background Vocals | Katie Kissoon |
13 It’s A Miracle
Bass | Jimmy Johnson |
Bass | Roger Waters |
Drums | Jeffrey Porcaro |
Guitar | Jeff Beck |
Piano | Patrick Leonard |
Synthesizer | Patrick Leonard |
Background Vocals | Jim Haas |
Background Vocals | Jon Joyce |
14 Amused To Death
Bass | Jimmy Johnson |
Drums | Graham Broad |
Guitar (solo) | Jeff Beck |
Guitar | Geoff Whitehorn |
Acoustic Guitar | Roger Waters |
Keyboards | Patrick Leonard |
Vocals | Alf Razzell |
Vocals | Rita Coolidge |
Background Vocals | Doreen Chanter |
Background Vocals | Katie Kissoon |
Liner Notes
Producer – Patrick Leonard
Co-producer, Recorded By – Nick Griffiths
Arranged By (Choir) – Patrick Leonard (Tracks 2, 9, 10, 13)
Conductor (London Welsh Chorale) – Kenneth Bowen (Track 2)
Conductor, Arranged By (Strings) – John Dupree (Tracks 3, 4)
Conductor, Arranged By (National Philharmonic Orchestra Limited) – Michael Kamen (Tracks 6, 7, 8, 10)
Engineer – Haydn Bendall, Jerry Jordan, Stephen McLaughlin
Engineer (Assistant Mix) – Sean O\’Dwyer
Engineer (Assistant) – Andy Bradfield, Brian Burrows, Chris Brown, Dary Sulich, Jeremy Wheatley, John Lowson, Marc Moreau, Mike Bosley, Ross Donaldson, Roy Sweeting, Steve Heinke
Management – Kate Watkins, Mark Fenwick
Mastered By – Doug Sax, Ron Lewter
Remastered By, Mixed By, Recorded By (Additional) – James Guthrie
Technician (QSOUND™) – Buzz Burrowes
Art Direction – Deadskinboy Design
Artwork, Photography By, Cover (Front) – Sean Evans
Cover – Sean Evans
Copyright (c) – Columbia Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Columbia Records
Recorded At – The Billiard Room
Recorded At – Olympic Studios
Recorded At – CTS Studios
Recorded At – Angel Studios
Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios
Recorded At – Compass Point Studios
Recorded At – Devonshire Studios
Recorded At – Ameraycan Studios
Recorded At – Evergreen Recording
Recorded At – Johnny Yuma Recording
Mixed At – Devonshire Studios
Mixed At – Visual Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Published By – Pink Floyd Music Publishers Ltd.
Published By – Roger Waters Music Overseas Ltd.
Manufactured For – Analogue Productions
Manufactured By – Sony Music Entertainment
Lacquer Cut At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Quality Record Pressings