the pros and cons of hitchhiking

It bears the odd listen , I'll give you that!

I'm not sure whether ATD or TFC is a better Waters solo.

(I'm not being snide. It's just I can't decide which is better.)

KAOS would be in the middle, Pros and Cons would be at the bottom--for me, anyway. Well, actually Music from the Body would be THE bottom, judging from the few samples I've heard from it. But then, I didn't like Ron Geesin too much on the AHM suite...

__________________
"And with these words I can see
Clear through the clouds that covered me
Just give it time then speak my name
Now we can hear ourselves again..."

WrightSatellite #1

Earlier in this thread I pronounced Pros & Cons mediocre. Since it's been about 10 years since I've listened to it, I figured I had to give it another chance, to be fair. So I dusted off my old bare-butt LP and gave it another listen. I still think it's mediocre, maybe even worse. Here's why:

1.) Roger only uses about 2 different melodies, over and over in the different songs. (As Nick Mason once remarked: "Roger will happily use the same piece of music 4 times with different lyrics to make a new point in the story......Whereas Dave would probably try and find 4 different pieces of music--and hang the same lyric on it!")
2.) The lyrics seem to me to be a hodge-podge of leftover random unrelated lines and non-sequiturs collected by Roger over the years and thrown together in this potpourri and passed off as a "dream."
3.) He allowed Clapton a whole 30 seconds to do the best guitar solo on the album. (title track, between the lines "....all men must die." and "Do you remember Dick Tracy?")..... But, he DID allow a "huge" 1:40 guitar solo on "Sexual Revolution", so why am I complaining?
4.) I'm tiring of this little trick---sing really, really quietly so the listener will turn the volume way up--then SCREAM out the next line and blow out everyone's eardrums. My dog about ricocheted off the ceiling.

All in all, Roger's weakest solo effort by far, IMO.

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Taking away from you for the greater good.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery".-- Winston Churchill

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant" - Omar Ahmed, C.A.I.R.)

Agree. This can be good or bad...depends on how it's executed. TFC does it well, Pros and Cons does not. Also, note that DSotM uses the same chord sequence SEVERAL times, just transposed. "Breathe" (and the reprise), "Great Gig", "Any Colour" all use the same chord pattern in one place or another--not necessarily on the same pitch, but transposed just the same. I'll have to check for more. "Lost for Words" on TDB (IMHO) recalls "Cluster One" with the piano in the very beginning. Both work well. So as I said, it depends on how much and how you execute it.


That doesn't bother me so badly as the CONTENT in some places. Take "Sexual Revolution". Are these people making love or ATTACKING each other? Yikes.

Not My Type.


My problem: Clapton. End of Story.


Well...this isn't so much of a major gripe with me. I've always liked his delivery of lyrics--including this trick. I may jump the first few times, but I'm fairly good at predicting when it'll happen. But for goodness sakes, get the Wright-Gilmour duo to make him take a pause every once in awhile!


Excepting MftB (which may not really be solo RW), I agree.

__________________
"And with these words I can see
Clear through the clouds that covered me
Just give it time then speak my name
Now we can hear ourselves again..."

WrightSatellite #1

So, FW, this should be a "positive" for you, since EC was used so little.

I agree, when you listen to a song occasionally, you are aware of the sudden changes in volume. Remember, I hadn't heard this for 10 years, so I had forgotten. But mostly, my complaint with this technique is that Rog overuses it.

I've never heard MftB, and never intend to, since I've never heard anyone ever say anything good about it...I'll take your word on that one.

__________________
Taking away from you for the greater good.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery".-- Winston Churchill

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant" - Omar Ahmed, C.A.I.R.)

Maybe...but I just didn't want him on that album at all.

Besides Mr. Gilmour, the best guitarist Mr. Waters has ever collaborated with on an album is Jeff Beck. No contest.

__________________
"And with these words I can see
Clear through the clouds that covered me
Just give it time then speak my name
Now we can hear ourselves again..."

WrightSatellite #1

I like Eric Clapton's style. Pros & Cons' mediocrity is not his fault. I think he's a talented musician.

__________________
"Don't you know there ain't no devil, it's just god when he's drunk." Tom Waits

I'm not blaming it on him. My dislike of his style is actually an entirely separate complaint.

__________________
"And with these words I can see
Clear through the clouds that covered me
Just give it time then speak my name
Now we can hear ourselves again..."

WrightSatellite #1

To get off the subject of Eric Clapton...
I noticed the same thing about DSOTM. The only two similarities I noticed were those of Breathe and Any Colour You Like. They are both (majorly) only two chords. Breathe is Em and A. Any Colour You Like is D and G.

Although not exactly the same, "Great Gig" has the following repeating pattern: Gm7, C7.

Also, isn't the first chord for "Any Colour" D-minor?

__________________
"And with these words I can see
Clear through the clouds that covered me
Just give it time then speak my name
Now we can hear ourselves again..."

WrightSatellite #1

The only experience I've had with playing ACYL is playing it on the bass a couple of times. However, I did pick up my new Strat after reading your thought, FloydWright. And Dm seems to fit.

It was also fun to learn two chords from Great Gig...

And most tabs say that the first chord to Breathe is Em9. However, I find that Em works well enough for me.

Dm IS very close...the advantage of Dm9 is that it gives you a dissonance that you hear in the original song.

As for "Great Gig", that's the reason I actually bothered to learn to read chord notation. I was trying to play it on the piano, and having problems figuring out all of the chords. Usually I don't have too many problems playing by ear--but that was a definite exception.

Oh, and congratulations on the Strat!

__________________
"And with these words I can see
Clear through the clouds that covered me
Just give it time then speak my name
Now we can hear ourselves again..."

WrightSatellite #1

I like JB too, but I would suggest Doyle Bramhall II as a nominee for that honor. (In The Flesh Live Tour) The guy just impresses the hell out of me.

__________________
Taking away from you for the greater good.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery".-- Winston Churchill

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant" - Omar Ahmed, C.A.I.R.)

[quote]Originally posted by FloydWright
[b]



That doesn't bother me so badly as the CONTENT in some places. Take "Sexual Revolution". Are these people making love or ATTACKING each other? Yikes.




He's plundering her sweet grave!



Gilmour, who started out, by his own admission, playing like Syd, developed a very original style. Clapton, if you listened closely to the history of recorded blues, has very much learned his licks off the old records. Kind of a white englishman playing the music of the black american. From New Orleans up the Mississippi river to kansas city and st. louis out to New York and L.A. and eventually over to England. He plays it well but it is not the personal style that a David Gilmour has carved out. Beck is deeper into jazz and that really gives him a broader range in my opinion. I don't care for Pros and cons but have heard it 100 times. Can't go wrong with ATD but still have to put up with certain WATERISMS.