Pink Floyd!!

[SoulBiter]

I just received my album yesterday. I will listen to it this weekend and see what I think,

Interesting. I had to stop myself from hearing the original in my head as I listened. This really is a new album more than a reduex. Its going to take a few listens for sure to really experience it.

My one critique is not the contents but the vinyl does not play loud enough. I usually put albums on loud and then get housework done while I listen. But it doesn''t carry enough even when set my volume on max.

[SoulBiter]

I bought a new pressing of the remastered Live at Knebworth 1990. The album is very high quality 185 gram and recorded at 45 speed for the best sound.

[SoulBiter]

I just received my album yesterday. I will listen to it this weekend and see what I think,

Interesting. I had to stop myself from hearing the original in my head as I listened. This really is a new album more than a reduex. Its going to take a few listens for sure to really experience it.

My one critique is not the contents but the vinyl does not play loud enough. I usually put albums on loud and then get housework done while I listen. But it doesn''t carry enough even when set my volume on max.

So after a few listens, I have not warmed up to Rogers version. I wont got into many details but after the second listen it became obvious that at most of the parts where he speaks, he is speaking over the parts where the other band members would have been, as a way to tune Gilmore and other band members out, and replacing that with his thoughts and monologues. It falls flat for me. On the vinyl there is a side 4 (with no name) that is nothing more than 20 minutes of wandering thoughts and his describing sounds from some place where he is or has been. It was very odd.

[Menolly]

I saw cover band Brit Floyd doing their tribute to The Division Bell and Pulse this past Wednesday. The musicianship was incredible, and what we could see of the staging and light show was quite nice.

Unfortunately, the show started at 7:00 PM in an outdoor amphitheater, and sunset isn’t until 9:10 PM or thereabouts at this time of year. So, for only the last 40 minutes or so we’re the round projection screen and laser effects truly visible. But the lighting and staging at the end was incredible; I only wish we could have fully appreciated it throughout.

However, the amphitheater is in a local county mark where every bit can be heard by the neighborhood residents. I totally understand the need to end outdoor concerts by 10:00 PM, especially on school nights.

I also think the later Pink Floyd albums without Waters, while I adore Gilmour, are not my favorite. So, when they performed earlier pieces, I mean they opened with *Astronomy Domine*, which was awesome(!), I was completely enthralled. But the later works just didn’t really do it for me.

SD, Dam-Sel and I will be seeing Australian Pink Floyd in August at a different amphitheater. I have heard they tend to focus on earlier works than Brit Floyd, so I’m looking forward to comparing the two.

This photo was taken earlier in the show. I can only imagine how much nicer it would have been after sunset.

[peter]

There's a UK tribute band, Think Floyd, who get very high praise as well Menolly.

[sgt.null]

Checking in to see where I left off. After Easter I need to review Ca Ira. Me and the Pups.

You there Stevie G?

Sorry life got in the way.

[StevieG]

It’s a journey! I’m keen if you are

[sgt.null]

Marking this as to find it. Starting my listening to the Waters opera tonight for review.

[peter]

I saw the Pink Floyd Experience earlier in the year and was blown away by the quality of their performance. A stunning show of light and music that had it been translated to a bigger venue would have been all but indistinguishable from the original band.

[sgt.null]

Roger Waters - Ca Ira. Opera in Three Acts.

01) the Gathering Storm - Not much happens in this until the very end. It is pleasant enough. Null Rating : 3 out of 10.

02) Overture- the Floyd birds return! Starts a bit slow. But the pace picks up around 2:30. Love the swell at the end. Null Rating : 5 out of 10.

03) A Garden in Vienna 1765 - The lyrics sound like Roger. But not much more than an intro three songs in. Null Rating: 4 out 10.

04) Madame Antoine, Madame Antoine - this is what I've been waiting for. Great vocals by the mother and the princess. But the Honest Bird's lyric elevates this. Pure Roger lyrics.

Little princess, so sure you are right
But your endless day is their endless night
You can preen in the limelight
In your diamonds in pearls
But the children go hungry
In that other world

Null Rating : 8 out of 10.

05) Kings, Sticks and Birds - and this brings the energy back down. Feels like I'm being lectured to. Null Rating : 4 out of 10.

06) Honest Bird, Simple Bird... - Lovely. Stunning. Starts off great with Marie singing, then elevated when the male choir comes in and Marie warblers like a bird! And the a children's choir interplay with the men's choir. I usually don't like children's choirs, but it works here. As Roger seems to always know how to use one. And this is secretly a a Roger list song part way thru.

MALE CHORUS & CHILDREN
No more singing in the fig tree
No more singing in the pear tree
Someone’s hanging in the olive
There's someone hanging in the olive tree
Singing in the fig tree, that's forbidden
Singing in the pear tee, that’s forbidden
Singing in the olive, that's forbidden
Someone's hanging in the olive treej
Someone's hanging in the olive tree

Null Rating : 9 out of 10.

07) I Want To Be King - starts off great with the kids singing about their wanting to King. Some clever word play. Some funny line reading. But the energyis killed by a slow ending. Null Rating 6 out of 10.

08) Let Us Break All the Shields - I really like the epic sweep of this song. Great lyrics. Is this available to watch? I want to see it. I'm going to play at least some of this for Julie. The poet in me loves the title of this one and th÷ imagery.

The pigs eat the acorns
The rich eat the pork
The poor eat the olives and spit out the stones

Null Rating - 8 out of 10.

09) the Grievances of the People - too plodding. I felt everyone of the 4:39. The kid's choir was the only (brief) respite. I'm sure its necessary for the plot. But for me it felt too preachy. Null Rating : 5 out of 10.

10) France In Disarray - This seems like a point A to B song. Simply to move the plot along. Null Rating : 4 out of 10.

11) To Laugh Is To Know How To Live - A bit heavy handed. Although I do like the interplay between the two leads here. Null Rating : 6 out of 10.

12) Slavers, Landlords, Bigots at Your Door - Wow. I really want to see this number on stage. Again love the children's choir.
Love the use of Equality and Fraternity in the lyrics. The rhyme of Loan Sharks with Honeyed Tones Like Skylarks. Rogervl has the epic sweep of opera down with this number. Null Rating: 8 out of 10.

13) the Fall of the Bastille - Seagulls? Though transitional, Roger wrote really nice lyrics. Very moody.

RINGMASTER]
Birds flock, when winter settles in
The Harlequin with dunce's cap and silver horn
All mournful, mocking eye and painted tear,
Has seen it all before
The sparrows hurl in the face of glazed imperium,
Then stunned, affronted, fall
Then, picking up perch braggart on the wire and
Launch towards the south, towards the land of fire

Null Rating : 7 out of 10.

14) to Freeze in the Dead of Night. Roger's lyrics here are poetry. Null's Rating - 8 out 10.

REVOLUTIONARY PRIEST
To freeze in the dead of night
To burn in a law divine
Deep in the crucible brine
The sorrow and the rage entwine
And coil and climb towards the light
The quill is poised above the page
Words like falling rain slake the thirst and dowse the flames
Cooling in the crucible and idea forms
A nugget of belief in the hearts of the poor
That maybe in the dawn's new light
They have a right to the law

15) So To the Streets In the Pouring Rain - starts out so strong with the storming of the Bastille. I like the nod to the Man On the Flying Trapeze. But halfway thru it loses energy and becomes the Troublemaker's coda to end this act. Null's Rating: 6 out of 10.

End Act One

[StevieG]

Great start! I’ll compare how I rated it soon!

[sgt.null]

O saw Les Mis as a local production.
Getting a lot of vibes of that from this.

[StevieG]

The clock is ticking

[sgt.null]

After I send Julie off to work and feed the pups.

Lost the Watch and julie stayed up late.
Back to the grind.

[sgt.null]

ACT TWO

16) Dances and Marches - A bell (the division??) I actually was reminded of the Wall. The singing is strong. But again, I prefer the duets and this mostly a male solo. It moves us along. Null Rating : 6 out of 10.

17) Now Hear Ye! - while not much going on with the lyrics. I really like how the music Dances. I wanted to see how they choreographed this number. Really liked the rhythm. Null Rating : 7 out of 10.

18) Flushed with Wine - starts slow. Takes til about 1:40 to pick up. And it is redeemed with the interplay with the full orchestra and the dynamics between the singers. I really enjoy when it gets really loud. And there is a swell and the music moves. Null Rating : 7 out of 10.

19) the Letter - transitional piece. Null Rating : 3 out of 10.

20) My Dear Cousin Bourbon of Spain – there was a tenderness conveyed in the lyrics that made me believe in the relationship. Well done Roger. The music had the proper flourish. The vocals were very well done. Null Rating : 8 out of 10.

21) The Ship of State is All at Sea - had to listen to it twice. And still not sure I'm getting the meaning. I've got the lyrics in front of me. I enjoyed it in the abstract. And the lyrics are nice even if I'm having trouble connecting with them. Null Rating : 6 out of 10.

22) Silver Sugar and Indigo – love the title. Love the lyrics. Very clever. Nice punchy tune. Null Rating : 8 out of 10.

How can you sleep?
How can you think?
How can you live with no coffee to drink?
You'd better pray you don't have a sweet tooth
The price of sugar is through the roof
Robespierre, Brissot and Concordant all agree
We must set the blackbird free
But sugar and silver and indigo
Make even the wisest man "idiot!"

23) To The Windward Isles – "to slaves of sugar and despair," is a brilliant line. Wow. Wow. And wow. I was not prepared for that. This sounds like it came from a totally different musical. It is brilliant. I've run thru it three times to make sure I heard it correctly. I did not know Roger had this in him. It moves. It swings. It has rhythm and soul. It felt like a Broadway number. Call and response. Damn Roger. Null Rating : 10 out of 10.

24) The Papal Edict – this is the Roger I'm used to. More caustic. Condemning man and the Church about the slave trade. A necessary slow down from the previous high. Null Rating : 6 out of 10.

25) In Paris There's a Rumble Under the Ground - this is too wordy a number. Reminds me of the excesses of Amused to Death. Too Preachy. Too Strident. Too Long. This is just Roger lectucturing. Null Rating : 0 out of 10.

End Act Two

[StevieG]

My Dear Cousin was a huge surprise for me, perfectly using Every Strangers Eyes as the tune to convey a heart wrenching delivery.

To the Windward Isles - we were on the same page. Amazing.

I rated In Paris... as a 7. I can't remember it, so I might have to revisit it to see why you rated a 0.

[sgt.null]

Act Three

01) The Fugitive King – the birds!
"Rooks, melancholy, proclaim a schism"
Since we hear birds I looked up what Rooks sound like and that does appear ro be Rooks. They are related to Crows. I appreciate that Roger was committed to accuracy. I can't imagine that more than a handful of his fans cared to check. But as you may recall I fed the myriad of birds that gathered at the prison for 24yrs.
.
I was really enjoying the solo, as the the lyrics are great when boom! The Queen coming in really works well. I love the interplay. Great number to start off with. Null Rating 9 out of 10

RINGMASTER
And high above
Homing in the restless sky
Rooks, melancholy, proclaim a schism between
God, sacred, and the Crown, profane
Between the heavens and the King
The dark horizon cracks a crooked grin
Admitting one small grain of change
Then two, then four, then bit by bit
Then tock by tick
All the old presumptions hove in range

KING
The King is afraid that his kingdom is slipping away

QUEEN
The Queen pines for the good times at Versailles

KING
He works on his locks to the sound of the ticking of clocks

QUEEN
The children play in a garden that's ringed with steel

KING
They wanted to visit St. Cloud to be able to
KING & QUEEN
Breathe in the air

OFFICER
The National Guard forbad them to leave

02) But the Marquis of Boulli Has a Trump Card Up His Sleeve – I admit to getting caught up in the storyline. I am French ony mother's side. They came to America by way of Canada. I do like the interplay, preferring it to solo numbers. But as I said. I also prefer the short puncher numbers. But I'm betting this plays well on stage. Stevie have you found a stage version available on video? Null Rating : 6 out of 10.

03) To Take Your Hat Off – love the Childrens Choir that's that starts and the juxtaposition of the horrifying lyrics of the guillotine. The military drumming is also spot on for the lyrics. Love the ending cannon fire to end the song. Null Rating : 9 out of 10.

04) The Echoes Never Fade from That Fusillade – needs to be half as long. Another plot point song. Null Rating : 5 out of 10.

05) The Commune de Paris – way too long of an intro over 1:30. Another plot point song. Null Rating : 5 out of 10.


06) Vive la Commune de Paris - nice touch starting with the Marseilles. Another I'd love to see on stage. Nice interplay. And very powerful chorus. No wasted moments either. Null Rating : 8 out 10.

07) The National Assembly is Confused - some good, the children's choir and the cannon fire. But it seems to be more of moving the plot forward. Null Rating : 6 out of 10.

08) The Execution of Louis Capet - really an aside. Which in a way is an indication of how France was treating the executions so an extra point for Roger making me ponder that. . Null Rating : 7 out of 10.

09) Adieu Louis for You It's Over - as we say goodbye to the King from different perspectives. We see that each is using him for a means. I like the different voices. And the fact that there is no actual grief. Null Rating : 7 out of 10.

QUEEN
It's always the terror you can rely on
To eat its way into your heart
Like rust and there to spy on
The blood, the blade, the speeches made
That mingle in your very entrails

10) Marie Antoinette The Last Night on Earth - foreboding. Knowing of course what happens. Very poetic. I detect some sympathy from Roger? Null Rating : 8 out of 10.

RINGMASTER
The widow now bereft, abhorred
Counts numbered days the summer long
In Temple Prison with her spawn
On pretext of 'unnatural acts'
With jests and jibes and guile and facts
The 'sans culottes' prune the tree
Now a sister to the dispossessed
The halt, like maimed and all the rest
Like a leaf on a pitiless sea
Shorn of family and rank
Humbled in the dank air
She mingles with the dancers macabre
And the ghostly dancers twirl
In that dread minuet
And beggar the illusions of that little Austrian Girl

11) Adieu My Good and Tender Sister - pretty and sad. Fitting as to what is happening. The tragedy. Null Rating : 7 out of 10.

12) Liberty – a lot to like. The Guillotine sound keeping time. The peoples remorse after the reign of terror. I love the interplay throughout. And the song moves along. No waste. Null Rating : 8 out 10.

13) And in the Bushes Where They Survive - and our journey ends. And its a perfect ending. Everyone comes together but it doesn't seem crowded. There is resolution. I like the callbacks. The mirror imagery. The final use of the children's choir. The bird imagery. Roger had a vision, adapted it to the French revolution. He didn't get bogged down. This ending song was perfect. Null Rating : 10 out of 10.

Null Rating for the Opera is 6.5.

I think there is a lot to love about the Opera. But it needs to trimmed to two acts. Lose the excess and it would be so much better. The high points are so good. But Roger tends to go on at times. And the further on it got the better I liked it.

[StevieG]

Nic one! I remember liking it more than expected, as well as struggling through some of the longer parts.

Ok, I’ll do a short review of Soldiers Tale. I don’t think it will be track by track. I’ll have a think about it.

[StevieG]

A Soldier's Tale

ASoldiersTale.jpg (6.33 KiB) Viewed 49 times

Released: October 2018
StevieG rating: 6/10



Roger Waters creates an English language adaption of Igor Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale, originally written by Swiss writer Charles Ferdinand Ramuz.

It tells the story of a soldier returning home to his girlfriend, on 10 day's leave from some army. On his journey, he comes across an old man, who happens to be the devil, and trades his violin for a book that promises to give him riches beyond his wildest dreams. As he reads the book he discovers that it tells of fortunes in the future, before they happen. This way, he can't fail to gain his riches. Meanwhile, the Devil cannot play the violin and so the soldier is invited to the devil's home to teach him.

The soldier is reluctant, but the devil convinces him with the promises of wine and food, riches and a soft bed. The devil promises to return him to his village with plenty of time to see his mother and his fiancé.

The devil returns the soldier to the same track he was walking down. The first scene is recreated except this time he makes it to his village. No-one is responding to his greetings. People stare and run away from him, his mother stares, screams and runs away. His girlfriend is married with children. He realises that 3 years have passed rather than 3 days. The town folk see him as a ghost.

The soldier berates himself for being such a fool to be scammed by the devil. He leaves the village and wanders aimlessly. He stumbles again across the devil, and tries to enact revenge. The devil reminds him of the book of wealth. Eventually the soldier gains wealth and riches, and of course realises that all he really wants is his old life.

The devil reappears disguised as an old woman. The soldier, in despair, flings the book to the ground. The devil gives him the book back, and then proceeds to give him his old fiddle. But the soldier can't play it any more. He shreds the book and hurls the violin away.

Once again, the soldier trudges on and finds himself in an inn. Here he hears that the King's daughter is sick, and anyone who can rouse the daughter from her bed will have her hand in marriage. The soldier makes his way to the palace. The devil is already there and mocks the soldier with the fiddle. The narrator informs the soldier that to free himself of the devil, he needs to lose all his money to the devil.

The soldier challenges the devil to a game of cards for money. The devil wins over all the soldier's money, which then frees the soldier - and the devil's triumph turns to weakness and dizziness and the spell is broken. The soldier takes the violin, and rouses the daughter by playing a beautiful tune on his fiddle. Finally the soldier wins. By playing the violin, the soldier reduces the devil to nothing. Before he leaves, the devil makes a proclamation that they will be safe as long as they don't cross the border and stay in the realm.

The soldier and his wife live happily in the palace. Eventually, she asks of his family and his past. She wants to visit his mother and the old village. The soldier is reluctant, and initially refuses. She begs him and eventually convinces him to go. The soldier believes that if he can see his mother again, meet his wife, THEN he will have it all.

Off they go. The soldier reaches the realm's border, crossing it. Waiting for him on the other side is the devil, and takes him off to hell.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Roger Waters rewrites the story in poetry, and it is very well written, as you'd expect. He narrates it and voices the characters in the story. It's interesting that the Soldier has a Yorkshire style accent, and the devil has a German accent!

Stravinski's music is played throughout the story and is intertwined with Roger's narration.

I'm not really a fan of Stravinski's music - it is discordant, strident, harsh. It conveys the scenes quite well, but I find myself skipping the music to get back to the story.

The story itself is a fairly typical "sell your soul to the devil" affair. It has a strong moral of being happy with what you have. No-one has it all, and the Soldier made the mistake of not realising this, twice.

Overall, it's an interesting exercise. Not entirely satisfying, but not a waste of time.