THE PROS AND CONS OF HITCH HIKING
Roger Waters
•Crossover Prog
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3.06
| 404 ratings | 40 reviews | 16% 5 stars
Good, but non-essential |
Studio Album, released in 1984 Songs / Tracks Listing - The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (Parts 1-6) (19:38) : - Roger Waters / bass, rhythm guitar, vocals, composer & co-producer
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ROGER WATERS The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking ratings distribution
(404 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(16%)Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(33%)Good, but non-essential (33%)Collectors/fans only (13%)Poor. Only for completionists (5%)
ROGER WATERS The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking reviews
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Collaborators/Experts Reviews
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
At first this album was just as complicated to get into as Final Cut which was really also a solo project from him. But unlike The Final Cut, this one has a sort of humour totally absent in Floyd music and although not immediately apparent, in concert (with Clapton doing all of the Floyd classic in the second and me in the fourth row) one was surprised to see how that strange album came to life, made sense, especially with the animations and inflatable characters in the background to underline the key moments of the album.
Roger's storyline is not one of great interest and certainly wouldn't fit the Floyd scheme, especially with some members more interested in some non-musical activities; it was wise of Roger to make this album a solo project. I don't think this would've fit either Dave or Nick. An over-looked classic especially in the very poor 80's.
PROG REVIEWER
That said, I'm not really sure what this album is about: a musical mid-life crisis, a long scratch of the playwright's itch, a purging of more inner demons? It could be seen as the last in a trilogy begun with "The Wall", since the three works sound so similar, and yet that comparison diminishes Hitchhiking. "The Wall" was monumental, The Final Cut parochial, and Hitchhiking inconsequential. It ends where it began, back in the warm arms of an immeasurable ennui, smug despite having delivered on none of its promise. You can tag along if you want to, but I can think of more cons than pros.
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
PROG REVIEWER
On musical grounds there is, for the most part, much better to be found. ERIC CLAPTON sounds mechanical here; it seems that rather than feeling anything he's playing, all he's been hired to do is to "outdo GILMOUR". Perhaps on technical merits he might have pulled that off--but the result is that he sounds completely devoid of all emotion, which renders his work null and void. The saxophone certainly does not come up to the standard of Dick Parry. I can't really remember what MICHAEL KAMEN did here, but my suspicion is that his best FLOYD-related effort was The Final Cut, so if his work interests you, I suggest that instead. This album, frankly, is not much more than a demo, and is drop-dead boring from a musical standpoint.
The other problem comes in with the concept. This should have never seen the light of day, period. Trust the judgment of RICHARD WRIGHT, NICK MASON, and DAVID GILMOUR; there's a good reason they didn't take this one on instead of The Wall when ROGER presented both of them...because it was awful. Maybe ESE/MoC could've been adapted and put with something else, but otherwise, this was a mistake. For one thing, although it might be good from some high-brow "art" standpoint, this thing is so incoherent that it loses a great deal of power right there. While it can take a lot of intellect to create something that abstract, to be sure, there IS something to be said for actually making a connection with the audience--and that's sorely lacking here.
The other problem I have, frankly, is the absolutely disrespectful, if not violent attitude I hear, as a woman, listening to this. Let me note here that I am NOT some kind of raging feminist; rather, I am egalitarian in philosophy. Maybe some women find the mixture of violence and sex to be a turn-on, but not me. "Yeah, but tonight lie still / While I plunder your sweet grave": sounds like the female character here is getting no choice in the matter. Frankly, this gets into EMINEM territory--and on a FLOYD-related record? What gives? I have absolutely no use for someone's misogynistic fantasies. Supposedly ROGER dreamed this, and I DO know a person has no control over what happens in their dreams--especially the dreams that come from the lower mind such as this one--so let me make it clear, I am NOT blaming or accusing the real-life individual in any form or fashion. But, I DO think ROGER should've used his brain before he wrote this one down and sold it.
To sum it up in one sentence: The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking is a near-complete disaster that should have never been released.
PROG REVIEWER
PROG REVIEWER
The album itself is similar in style to "The Wall" and "The Final Cut" in that it is more like one long song, broken up into short parts. And yet there are no real 'singles' here, and you truly need to listen to the record straight through to fully appreciate it. I am never left disappointed when I do.
I am also the furthest thing from being a 'fan' of ERIC CLAPTON, but his guitar work is most impressive on this album. Must be nice to be able to so easily replace one legendary guitarist with another. CLAPTON's coda hook, which resonates throughout almost every song is highly addictive. I cry though when I think that DAVE GILMOUR could have been playing the guitar on this album. The tone and sound that he could have brought to this work would have been something to behold. Think, an even MORE melancholic and depressing sound than what you hear on 'The Fletcher Memorial Home' or 'Comfortably Numb'...
The album is also very saxophone heavy, so consider yourself forewarned. I think this instrument echoes WATERS' moody music quite well, but it might not be for everyone. Also the title track 'Pros & Cons - Part 10' is extremely weak and poppy, complete with sixties-like female backup singers doing the 'shoo-wop'.
For the average prog listener, this album warrants 3/5 stars, if only because it is stylistcally similar to the narrative dominated "The Final Cut." (i.e. not for those with a short attention span!) If you are a ROGER WATERS fan, or a later FLOYD fan ("Animals-The Wall-The Final Cut") then you will adore this album, and it would deserve 4/5 stars. By far "Pros & Cons" is my favourite WATERS solo album and an unappreciated musical gem of the lean, pop oriented 1980's.
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
Rating: 4.5 stars
PROG REVIEWER
So what's wrong with it? First, it's every worrying trend in the Floyd's post WISH YOU WERE HERE music inflated, exaggerated and rolled into one. Elaborate orchestration over synths, the alternation of quiet and loud passages with the increasingly annoying 'surprise' effect, WATERS' concomitant whisper or shout - by this time he seems to have forgotten that anything between the two exists - and the abandonment of music for message. WATERS seems to think people are prepared to pay bucks to listen to him get angry about stuff. His label execs ought to have said to him: 'go take a listen to Grantchester Meadows, Roger, chill out, then come back and do this again.'
STEVEN WILSON might well have been describing ROGER WATERS when he wrote: 'The music ... makes you wanna rage, but it's made by millionaires who are nearly twice your age.' To be honest, I found this material unconvincing when it was first released, and downright offensive when I listened to it today.
An album for which the 'Poor, only for completionists' label was made.
COLLABORATOR Crossover/Symphonic/RPI Teams
Waters' debut is very similar in style to Pink Floyd's The Final Cut, which many consider a Waters solo effort since he was the dominant force behind it. So, the album is filled with lots and lots of lyrics delivered in Waters' trademarked style. Musically it's more upbeat than the depressing The Final Cut or The Wall, although it has its usual biting moments of paranoia and such. Michael Kamen does a nice job on the piano and Eric Clapton performs lead guitar. Though this is not Clapton's best work, he makes a suitable "replacement" for Gilmour, thus giving The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking that Waters-era Pink Floyd feel. An interesting addition to this work is a group of "actors" who read lines between and during some of the short musical interludes giving this album the feel of a musical drama. Some of the "actors" include Jack Palance, Cherry Vanilla, and Madeleine Bell. Waters of course plays the main role.
I find the major downside to this album to be, like most of Waters material, a lack of musical development. It is literally bombarded with endless lyrics which often take front stage. The music itself has some promise but never fully develops because it plays a minor backing role throughout the whole album. Roger, you've got Eric Clapton! Why not really use his skill to make something amazing? Instead Clapton fills in short solos between Roger's endless verses. Another problem is trying to figure out what it's about. Apparently it's about a man's mid-life crisis, but there's so much else thrown in and it wanders on so much that the concept is basically lost.
Not as depressing as The Wall or The Final Cut, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking is still a worthwhile purchase for the Pink Floyd fan. For the rest of you, good but hardly essential. Three stars.
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
While "The pros and cons of Hitchhiking" was nominally Waters first solo album, "The wall" and "The final cut" were of course very much his babies. Even prior to that, along with the other members of Pink Floyd, he had enjoyed a lengthy solo spot on the "Ummagumma" album.
At the time of its release, this album generated a certain amount of controversy (and continues to do so), with many considering it politically insensitive, mainly in terms of the lyrics but also the sleeve illustration. Waters of course maintains that they misunderstand the message.
The album titles take us in real time from 4:30am through to around 5:15am, each track having a narrative sub-title. The line up of musicians is impressive to the point of indulgence, including as it does such luminaries as Eric Clapton, Andy Bown and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to this, we have a list of "actors" which includes Water playing the part of "a man".
At times it is hard to distinguish this album from "The wall", "4:37 - Arabs with knives. . ." even including the accented "stand still laddie" type shouting. This is perhaps forgivable, as "The pros and cons.. " was written around the same time as "The wall", Pink Floyd choosing to record the latter when given the option.
While there is a certain appeal to the music here, for me it is far too one dimensional. Each song seems to take on the same doomy character, with Waters ranting on remorselessly. The verbosity of the lyric sheet makes it clear that this is not to be an album with lengthy instrumental breaks, and indeed we find ourselves listening to Waters voice virtually from beginning to end. Eric Clapton does his best to infuse some interesting guitar work, but for me even this is of dubious merit. Clapton's guitar prowess is beyond question, but his cold bluesy style does not fit well with Waters compositions, which cry out for the warm emotion of David Gilmour's style.
Above all though, what the album really needs is a "Money" or "One of these days" to liven things up. Even something along the lines of "Another brick in the wall" would break the tedium.
It is a pity really, as this could have been a good album. Had Pink Floyd decided to take this Waters creation on and been permitted to develop it democratically, perhaps we would be hailing this as another bright star in their catalogue. As it is, I hesitate to recommend this to anyone other than devoted fans of Waters. Even then, I would suggest listening to no more than two or three tracks at a time.
PROG REVIEWER
Roger Waters, for a considerable long time, was the main thinking force behind Pink Floyd and during that time the band sound slowly changed from the trippy, psychedelic, experimental and rather detached space rock they developed in the late 60s and early 70's to a more bluesy, focued and emotionally deep music, which, to this day, does not have a better definition than Pink Floyd music.
After leaving Pink Floyd, Roger took those blues influeces (and the lots of unsolved emotional issues) even further, which can be sees pretty clearly throughout his first (actually second, but does Sounds from the Body even count as a music album?) solo album, called The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, that was actually composed at the same time as The Wall. Due to that, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking have some melodies that are quite similar to The Wall and to the Final Cut song The Fletcher Memorial Home. It is also importanto to note that in The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking the guitars are definitely the main instrument, possibly because Eric Clapton is the lead guitarrist (that may be also why there are so many blues influences here, but oh well . . . )
This alsbum is also a concept album about a man that as dreams and nightmares about several different subjects, most of which concern marital issues / sex / women in three places: (West) Germany, England, and USA.
It is also important to note that, despite the naysayers dismiss this album in almost as many ways there is, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (and most of Roger Waters solo albums) are quite influential among recent progressive rock and progressive metal acts. Two very well-known progressive metal bands, Pain of Salvation and Riverside, are quite influeced by it, specially concerning the emotionally deep / troubled lyrics.
One last thing: many (also) throw rocks at Roger's solo career because of his singing. OK, I got to admit that Roger Waters is not the best singer there is, but his vocals fit perfectly in the music he presents us, specially when you consider the lyrics.
Grade and Final Thoughts
Roger Waters's solo albums, along with the whole Pink Floyd discography, are albums that I was raised listening. I literally listened them since I was just some months old, although The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking I only listened recently becase my father lost the album in his collection until recently, so it is really hard for me not to like this kind of music. Besides, this album does contain very good music in it, so the grade is 4 stars.
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
Waters continues the extreme quiet-loud, whisper-shout dynamics of The Final Cut and reveals that he has lost any remaining song writing skills he once had. Also his voice has lost all dynamics, tone and melodious qualities. It has become a grating listen, as can be witnessed on the finale of the odious kitsch of Go Fishing.
The music remains interesting for about 5 minutes, the first two tracks still promise a daring album of the level of the Final Cut, but the 40 minutes that follow don't bring anything new to this mix of mid-paced blues clich�s, recitative drivel and tasteless gospel/soul background vocals. The well known single The Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking is the only sequence with a bit of melody and probably the ultimate bottom point of anything baring Waters' name.
This album has never gotten more then 5 spins over the 25 years since it was released. When listening to it for this review I've been desperately searching for a reason to give it more then 1 stars but I haven't found any. Even with a mediocre album like Aboutface, Gilmour wins the first round against Waters with ease.
PROG REVIEWER
I would still dedicate my utmost admiration for Roger's contribution to one of my most beloved band and so many masterpiece songs he has written. This being said, I am unfortunately not really passionate while I am listening to this album.
A concept album which is not clear to identify?Some fine acoustic passages � la "Wish You Were Here" (the track) while displaying "Running Shoes" but with very much less emotion as far as I am concerned.
I have been used to describe my feelings about music on this site just as I feel it. When an unknown band releases a great album, I grant them for it. When a great band releases a great album, I grant them for it.
And when a giant releases a so and so work, I can only express what I feel: some disappointment. Even if in Rodger's case, my admiration was stopped after the great "Animals" album.
This album is not bad, but it doesn't offer any passion (just like "The Final Cut" - what a title!). Unemotional vocals like during the bluesy "Sexual Revolution", non-existing great instrumental parts overall (if you would except the good guitar work during the title track). That's the bill I got here. To be fully honest, I would say that "Every Strangers Eyes" does hold emotion, skills and passion as a good old Floyd song. But this is only one out of many.
What has to be granted to Rodger with this album, is that he invented the real time music (since the album starts at 4:30 AM and ends at 5:11 AM , some forty minutes or so later). The successful 24 hours series might well have borrowed from here!
It is a shame that Clapton is not better used on this work. He ought to have been put more on the front line, in my opinion. The whole music reflected here is just average.
I can't really recommend this album. Nor to Floyd fans, unless they are keen on "The Wall" and the follow up album ("The Final Cut") which was just a left over of songs that should have appeared on the original project of a triple album and were rejected by the other band members.
Two stars.
PROG REVIEWER
After finishing The Final Cut, Pink Floyd didn't even bother to tour the album, and Roger went straight into the studio to work on this. At this point, Roger was clearly convinced that, not only was he great than Pink Floyd, but he was so beloved and popular that he could take whatever abstract rant he had in mind, set it to a minimal amount of melodies, and the public would gladly take it and ask for more. Apparently, Roger somewhat succeeded in that vein, as this album has amassed a sizable cult following to this day. You know what, though? I don't care. This album BLOWS.
The instinctual reaction of a thousand Roger-holics may be to flame me with accusations of being a simpleton who only likes "catchy pop songs." This is, of course, a ridiculous claim, as any reasonable reading of my reviews will show that my tastes go far beyond such things. I also want to specifically point out that I often enjoy it when rock albums have obscure concepts, and I take enjoyment in attempting to uncover not only the superficial concept (or the plot) but also the deeper, "abstract" meanings behind them. Furthermore, I've found that it's easier for me than for most others to uncover the meanings of such albums: I understood the plot of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway after just two listens (and had a good grasp of the deeper, spiritual ideas within just a few more listens), and I've even glimmered meaning and substance from the majority of Yes' Tales From Topgraphic Oceans. It says something, then, that for the most part, I don't know WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON in this album. Apparently, it's a bunch of surrealistic dream sequences with a common theme of marital infidelity, rife with Roger's weird lyrical twists (though these are VASTLY inferior to his work in Floyd). At least the concept of The Final Cut, the pain of losing a loved one to war when you know that it won't mean anything in the long run, is something that a great many families can relate to. But this ... um, who exactly is supposed to relate to this? Well, I guess if you like to cheat on your spouse, but do you think about being attacked by Arabs in the process? Um. Guh. And fans of this here album love to go on about how Roger's emotions just poor out all over the place ... huh? I get a nice emotional twinge in the penultimate track, "Every Stranger's Eyes," but I can't get myself to care about the rest of this album's subject matter at all.
This could be forgivable with strong music, but compared to the ones on this album, the melodies on The Final Cut were Beatles-quality. In addition to liking that album's lyrics and concept a lot, I really liked some of the melodies, and there were a lot of neat twists that I enjoyed. Here, though, the only significant element in this album's favor is the presence of Eric Clapton, whose gimmick-free but emotionally charged and technically flawless style of playing is totally different from Dave's but sounds just fine to me. There is a lot of enjoyable guitar work on this album, and the fact that Eric's able to come up with so many good solos, given how little he had to work with in the "meat" of the songs, only speaks to his credit.
In any case, if you're a really big Roger fan, you might love this, and if you do, more power to you. But for the rest of us ... just stick to The Final Cut. Or even A Momentary Lapse of Reason ...
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
It's a fortune that when Waters went to present his two new concepts to the band thay have chosen to use The Final Cut. The concept of Pros and Cons is more complicated, in some sense more progressive, maybe, but it leads nowhere. All the songs are based on acoustig guitar and Waters "wallish" voice and screams but the result is really poorer than The Final Cut , and one of the reasons is Eric Clapton at his worse.
There is some good song like "Running Shoes" or the last two tracks, but all the rest is very repetitive and sometimes boring. It lacks of keyboards and the use of a "Dobro" guitar by Clapton gives it a touch of country-western instead of blues as it was probably in the intentions.
The lowest moment is the title track that I think lacks also in songwriting.
I have to admit that I like it with my heart of Floyd fan, but I can't suggest it to non Floyd addicts. It has Waters voice, it has gimmicks and some good moments, but the overall result is a poor album based on an uncomprehensible concept.
Clapton is a great guitarist but he doesn't fit well in Waters music and at the time when the album was recorded he was, I think, still recovering from his personal troubles, so he wasn't surely at his best.
Fans only is the right definition. Two stars.
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
It certainly didn't take Waters much time to materialize his concept and only a year after the release of The Final Cut came The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking. Being a huge fan of the last true Pink Floyd album, it really doesn't make sense for me to feel this offended by this material. It does sound a lot like a continuation of the themes available on The Final Cut, but that's only something that could be proposed by people who don't listen into the great attention to songwriting that was available on that record. The same can honestly not be said about this shallow release.
The instrumental arrangements sound completely superficial and the concept is flawed. The more I listen to this album, the more I get reassured about the weakness of this release and there isn't a single moment here that comes even remotely close to the great past of the artist. At the same time, I really can't give it the one star rating since I'm sure that his fans actually happen to enjoy some of this material. Therefore a weak collectors/fans only release.
**** star songs: 4.30 Am (Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad) (3:11) 4.47 Am (The Remains Of Our Love) (3:08)
*** star songs: 4.33 Am (Running Shoes) (3:22) 4.37 Am (Arabs With Knives And West German Skies) (2:21) 4.39 Am (For The First Time Today, Part. 2) (2:44) 4.41 Am (Sexual Revolution) (4:49) 4.50 Am (Go Fishing) (6:49) 4.56 Am (For The First Time Today, Part. 1) (1:48) 4.58 Am (Dunroamin, Duncarin, Dunlivin) (3:03) 5.01 Am (The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking Part 10) (4:36) 5.06 Am (Every Strangers Eyes) (4:48) 5.11 Am (The Moment Of Clarity) (1:28)
PROG REVIEWER
This album was actually, in demo form, trailed to the rest of the Floyd when they got together to record the follow-up to Animals, when they were in the direst possible financial straits owing to being ripped off left, right, and centre by Norton Wahlburg. He also played them a demo of "Another Brick", and the rest is, of course, history.
Waters was, though, sufficiently interested in the project to resurrect it for the first part of his plan for world domination on his own. He assembled a rather stellar cast, the most stellar, of course, being Eric Clapton on lead guitar, and, by God, what a contribution the great blues guitarist makes. The whole album, as a result of this contribution, is a damn sight better than it ever would have been in his absence, and he lends to it a thoroughly, well, bluesy feel, dark, almost satanic in places, but also wonderfully evocative and moody.
Only one of the tracks survived to make it to subsequent Waters solo tours, this being the incredible and exceptional 5:06 a.m. (Every Stranger's Eyes), and it is here that you listen to this and really do wish Clapton had stayed a little bit longer (he left the project on the US leg of the subsequent, and not overly financially successful, tour) to see where the collaboration would have gone. It is a track that is steeped with emotional bitterness and sexual repression, and, as with much else on the album, it is, actually, nice to hear Waters pull together a concept that has little to do with politics, the war, or dear old dad (and I say this as a huge fan of the man and his music/lyrics, by the way).
The story, such as it is, centres around a chap driving along picking up a rather luscious female hitch-hiker (the cover, at the time, really upset the rampant feminist movement), and, in real time, tells us of his desires and dreams surrounding said female, most of which are utterly put down or repressed. One critic, in a very enthusiastic burst at the time, said that Waters would make a fine "quack". Most of the rest of the population actually thought he should go and see one.
As with much else of what the great man has done, it is impossible to single out too much as standout, because it is a continuous narrative that needs to be listened to in the round, but I, for one, absolutely love the female backing vocals and the whole blues ethos of the album. For no better example of these put together, listen to 4:47 a.m. (The Remains Of Our Love). The single from the album, the title track, is also huge fun.
However, as much as I enjoy this album, you have to say that, on this occasion, Gilmour, Mason, and Wright were right to reject it as a project. In hindsight, I regard this, and the follow up Radio Kaos, as a man unburdening himself from the rigours of a band he ended up hating, finding himself as an artist in his own right, and building himself up in both ways to the utter masterpiece that Amused To Death was and remains to this day.
It is all rather too bitty to be described as a classic, and an album which I listen to only occasionally these days. But, when I do, I am reminded that it is a good album, and hearing David Sanborn's exceptional saxophone on 4:50 a.m. (Go Fishing) and the whole blues feel, you wonder just what he would have come up with had he continued to develop this theme and way of writing/playing. I think it would have been exceptional.
I will not pretend that this is an essential album for Pink Floyd fans. It is not. What it is, though, is a very good album that will be enjoyed by those who enjoy something "out of the prog box", and class musicianship throughout. Oh, and Clapton/blues fans as well.
Three stars for this. It would get a lot better, but it wasn't such a bad start, you know.
PROG REVIEWER
A horrible album and a major disappointment after the tremendous highs of the last few Floyd albums. And the ironic thing is, Roger's got no-one to blame but himself this time round.
If this is how he saw the future of Floyd then I'm glad it ended when it did.
'The Pros and Cons of Hitch-Hiking' must sound alien to any citizen of Britain. There's some awful raw guitar played by Clapton and even worse David Sanborn saxophone which screws my eyes up each time I hear it. As if that wasn't bad enough, there's plasterings of Hammond organ by some guy called Andy Brown.
What was the point of this tosh? Fair enough, the front cover is pretty cool, but sound wise, this is just an ugly album. The only highlight is 'Go Fishing', but even that is ruined by the 'in your face' saxophone which literally screams at you like an air raid siren. The low point is the title track itself which has an overbearing female chorus which really grates my brain and has me reaching for the abort button.
A major letdown after the last Floyd album 'Final Cut' from the previous year. Only the lyrics gain this an extra star.
What went wrong Roger?
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
I like the music, even when it sounds like a mixture of The Wall and The Final Cut, so it didn't surprised me that some songs sounded so familiar, especially 4.47 Am (The Remains of Our Love) that for some moments was almost a copy of Mother, but I like his music and that unique mixture of whispers and screams so usual in ROGER WATER'S compositions.
Amazingly, I managed to listen the whole album without wanting to press the skip button in any moment because that rare brand of Prog Blues and whining always attracted me, and despite the poor concept that I'm sure FLOYD would never had accepted, the music itself narrates a story that sounds better and more coherent if you avoid paying attention to the lyrics and just concentrate in the melody and the voice just as another instrument that blends perfectly.
Of course, it's necessary to mention the amazing work of Eric Clapton in the lead guitar, Andy Brown in the Hammond and 12 string guitar without whom, the album would had lost a lot, but mainly David Sanborn and his wizardry with the Sax that adds that sound no PINK FLOYD related album should lack off.
Not a masterpiece, but surely a great addition to any Prog collection, so I will go with 4 solid stars with a special mention to 5.01 Am (The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking part 10), one of Roger's best song ever, with the addition of a Clapton that really rocks and solid Hammond passages.
PROG REVIEWER
PROG REVIEWER
Fun, funny, proposing, serious and not, and of course very important, Roger Waters sings about SEX and LOVE (beyond the Walls' "love story"?) as his main topic/concept , that's why the suggesting art/cover . Politics and human condition are his recurring issues, so they are part of this story also (there is a story, somewhere) but at last, secondary in this, his first after-Pink record!
When it comes to primal needs a lot of things turn out to be secondary, so Roger Waters plays his way through an abstract "Sex/Love Story" with the usual passionate detachment he is well known for.
Adding up to that, it is a treat to listen to Waters' "non-Prog" musical language, in an attempt to be "de-Floydsied" and reconstructed from scratch.
It is also a huge "Bonus" to find out how Waters sounds with no other than "God" himself, Eric Clapton, which raunchiness adds up to Waters well based and primary idea of the "Blues" as the place where everyone is invited, when they feel like it.
So? Should you let this work be in your collection even though it is not a PF "masterpiece" and its greatest moments are as great as those of the Pink??
I had fun with it, ***3.5 PA Stars.
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
PROS AND CONS, as it was initially referred to, was in competition with the themes that would become "The Wall," with the band members finally coming to the conclusion that the theme "Bricks In The Wall" suited the band's next move musically speaking and thus ROGER WATERS, the main songwriter of both concepts put PROS AND CONS on hold for a future date. As "The Wall" came and went and became yet another smashing success, the tension had reached the breaking point and by the time that "The Final Cut" was gestating, the band had all but broken up in spirit except they didn't quite know it yet. Once again WATERS pressed to pick up the PROS AND CONS theme as the next Floyd album. It was rejected which probably contributed to his leaving the band a few short years later.
In his own time, while officially still part of Pink Floyd, at least in name only, ROGER WATERS finished his own musical vision that evolved into what would ultimately be titled THE PROS AND CONS OF HITCHHIKING. Never one to shy away from various topics ranging from exploitation, oppression, alienation, war and insanity, on his first solo album WATERS envisioned a man, not unlike himself, finding his world turned upside down as he struggles with the commitments of marriage and fidelity as he reaches the next chapter of his unsure life. The album is laid out in twelve dream sequences that shows this man facing his fears and paranoia and the album tackles a unique use of a stream of consciousness in a subconscious context. The release of THE PROS AND CONS OF HITCHHIIKING marked the first time since 1969's "Ummaguma" where the world could witness WATERS' unique style of Pink Floyd's majestic sound isolated from the creative marriage of the group as a whole (the other three members had already released solo albums by this point.)
Conceptually speaking, PROS AND CONS excels as it displays WATERS' strengths that catapulted the great Floyd to international superstardom as he was the primary composer of lyrics and conceptual grandiosity. The album displays all the recognizable guitar tricks, chord progressions and tones and timbres of "The Wall," which makes all the sense in the world as it was born in the same fertile wellspring which spawned it. Despite the brilliance in the lyrical and conceptual realms, PROS AND CONS suffers from been- there-done-that syndrome as it tends to emulate many of the key aspects of "The Wall," with spaced out guitar riffs, chilled out soloing and occasional melodic runs that immediately bring parts of "The Wall" to the forefront. In fact, the whole thing sounds like it may have been the unwanted "Bricks" in the very "Wall" that the other band members rejected.
One of the major downsides of having an album revolve around dream sequences is that it's, well, too dreamy. The majority of the album is set on simmer with slow dreamy heart-felt angst riddling every nook and cranny as acoustic guitars strum, electric solos soar in the sky and the occasional burst of the sax and trombone wail away in the background. Add to that the cliche backing vocal arrangement that is straight out of "The Wall" playbook and it becomes apparent why the other Pink Floyd rejected the idea of a "Wall 2." Ultimately the album gets bogged down into too much introspective conceptualism and doesn't deliver the goods in the rock department. It only redeems itself awards the end as the title track offers the best track on board with a rambunctious hooky groove that allows some rocking out with an interesting guitar accompaniment by Eric Clapton and a stellar saxophone solo by David Sanborn.
THE PROS AND CONS OF HITCHHIKING is by no means a throwaway album as it has its moments but there are ultimately too many references to "The Wall," and WATERS accomplishes little in separating his art from his lifelong band. In other words it shows him as a one trick pony who is incapable of exploring other musical arenas and is perpetually stuck on Pink Floyd mode. While that is forgivable as the album was after all created in the midst of the Pink Floyd era, the aspects i find harder to dismiss include the lack of variety amongst tracks and the downer vibe from the overly chilled out majority of the tracks. While no track per se is gawd awful, none other than the title track provide memorable melodic hooks either, an almost given for any Floyd album that emerged in the 70s, thus thrusting WATERS into the spotlight of being merely a part that makes up a more important sum. Elsewhere. This one is a fun spin once and a while but to call it essential would be giving it a little more relevance than it deserves.
Latest members reviews
Excellent concept album, despite the single. This album does not get the due it deserves. It is very progressive, a direct descendant of Floyd's concept albums, running together as one single piece, with Eric Clapton on lead guitar. It is highly intellectual, saying something new and interesting ... (read more)
Report this review (#1698233) | Posted by Walkscore | Friday, March 3, 2017 | Review Permanlink
The pros and cons of hitchhiking yourself away from Pink Floyd. Trying to disentangle Roger Water's first real solo album from the entire 'He abandoned Pink Floyd' soap opera of the mid eighties is difficult to do. Even 30+ years later. Yes, it's been that long. For those who don ... (read more)
Report this review (#1444531) | Posted by SteveG | Friday, July 24, 2015 | Review Permanlink
Really 3.5 I actually love this album so much. Judged objectively, I can't say it's musically amazing like some of his other works, but the crazily convoluted concept makes for just as effective lyrics (which is really why we listen to Roger). Before I get into the review I'll give everyon ... (read more)
Report this review (#1213829) | Posted by Tristan Zaba | Tuesday, July 15, 2014 | Review Permanlink
This person, who expelled Richard Wright from Pink Floyd, always was and still is really a master of ugly music. Yes 45 years ago he did The Wall, I never forget about that. (Though I also remember that the two best tracks on The Wall were written by Gilmour...) This is not the only case when a no-t ... (read more)
Report this review (#1061101) | Posted by proghaven | Thursday, October 17, 2013 | Review Permanlink
Waters must have loved his previous two albums with Pink Floyd (The Wall and the Final Cut), because his music here was all ripped off of those two albums. Melodies rehashed, and often no melodies at all. In fact, other than the fact that this is a concept album, this really has nothing to i ... (read more)
Report this review (#456666) | Posted by Buh | Friday, June 3, 2011 | Review Permanlink
This was my first album by Roger Waters that I ever listened to. At first I thought it was abit boaring, but as I kept listening to it I realized that it was a very good album. The last few Pink Floyd albums were mostly written by Waters from what I understand, and some of the melodies on this a ... (read more)
Report this review (#436273) | Posted by FloydZappa | Wednesday, April 20, 2011 | Review Permanlink
"The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking"...I read so many bad things about this album...and much of it is right! The music is often bad and never as good as on any Pink Floyd album. The lyrics are also not as brilliant as on "Animals" or "The Wall". But why give I four stars? Maybe this album is ... (read more)
Report this review (#294341) | Posted by Elveeye | Friday, August 13, 2010 | Review Permanlink
I remember when this came out, Roger toured and did the whole album for his first set and FLoyd stuff for the last set. I really liked the concert and thought I liked this album. Wrong. After listening to it many times I feel a massive let-down. The concept is garbled, the usual Waters quiet t ... (read more)
Report this review (#278050) | Posted by mohaveman | Thursday, April 15, 2010 | Review Permanlink
The best rock album from Waters, and essentially thats it, yet it's not that bright. Eric Clapton guitar is a great help, but the first problem starts with the notes, they are repeated over and over again from the beginning to the end of the album, you may find some magic from Clapton work, and ... (read more)
Report this review (#262142) | Posted by FenderTramp | Saturday, January 23, 2010 | Review Permanlink
This could have really been a great album if just about any guitarist besides Eric Clapton was hired for lead guitar duties. He's well passed his prime by the time of the release of this album. On it, he manages to either badly imitate Gilmour, or play very badly in the traditional Clapton style. ... (read more)
Report this review (#113510) | Posted by Equality 7-2521 | Sunday, February 25, 2007 | Review Permanlink
This conceptual disc is without a doubt a clear sample of which it is an art to make music, without a doubt and clear this as it is known this was a created disc to see the light with the band of WATERS, but after their concrete exit of way my to seem there very satisfactory, disc written by t ... (read more)
Report this review (#111578) | Posted by Shelket | Saturday, February 10, 2007 | Review Permanlink
Great! It's The Wall minus the hit songs but also without the fillers. If they cut off The Wall to the one cd version, Prons and cons would be a twin record to it. I really like this album, as I also very much enjoy The Wall. Some great musicianship by Clapton, nice lyrics and absolutely superb p ... (read more)
Report this review (#110153) | Posted by Crowley | Thursday, February 1, 2007 | Review Permanlink
Id have to give the Pros and Cons a 5 because it is so original among being just plain brilliant like all other Roger Waters/Pink Floyd material. Clapton is unreal on the guitar especially in Sexual Revolution which is very underrated. The whole cd is good and it has a lot of meaning like all ... (read more)
Report this review (#84304) | Posted by | Thursday, July 20, 2006 | Review Permanlink
The first of three studio albums (a fourth is rumored to come soon) from SWaters after he left Pink Floyd. As much of his music after PF, this album lacks musically and is a little confusing. Perhaps wierd is the best word. Apperently based on a nightmare Waters hadduring the era of "Animal ... (read more)
Report this review (#79124) | Posted by echoes2112 | Tuesday, May 23, 2006 | Review Permanlink
The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking is hands down my favorite solo effort by Roger Waters (actually now challenged by �a Ira) and is among my favorites in his whole creativity. Although not progressive at all, it is impossibly emotional and atmospheric. The album describes a dream the main hero h ... (read more)
Report this review (#52052) | Posted by Vaxis | Sunday, October 16, 2005 | Review Permanlink
i think as a comparison to the final cut people are getting carried away,i mean in honesty one is about the war the other a dream!people get locked into the production line-wanting the same old stuff all the time!is it not a piss take;"she picked up the doggy in the window (the one with the wag ... (read more)
Report this review (#29244) | Posted by | Sunday, May 29, 2005 | Review Permanlink
It continues to amaze me how many people totally miss the point of this great album. Feminists manage to take offense, and others dismiss the work as sophomoric and unworthy of the Floyd. It is intensely emotional and honest. "Go Fishing" is the backbone of this album, bridging the gap betw ... (read more)
Report this review (#29240) | Posted by | Thursday, February 17, 2005 | Review Permanlink
this is what i had to be after Final Cut, musically this album is continuation of that one, and we have great story concept this time with more lighter subject. Definitely classic, same good as Floyd's album. ... (read more)
Report this review (#29234) | Posted by l-s-d | Tuesday, April 6, 2004 | Review Permanlink
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