Roger Waters
In The Flesh

THE REVIEW

I begin immediately with the fundamental premise: I have absolutely no intention of revisiting the longstanding and tedious issue of who is or is not "Pink" in its abstract and spiritual conception (although my preference will inevitably emerge at the end of the review), the Pink Floyd (obviously in the post-Barrett era) were the union of two distinct, genius and essential personalities and two others as supporting members but still of fundamental importance, especially the late Rick Wright, who formed the framework of what was the greatest band of all time, then as often happens everything went up in smoke and that dream ended forever until 2005, but we will also talk briefly about that at the end of the story.

In 2000, this double live album is released, the result of the massive world tour held by Waters with his band. It has been 17 years since his last album with the mother band, that "The Final Cut" considered unanimously the lesser episode of the group's discography despite still presenting some good gems. Waters, as mentioned, is accompanied by his band, a group of great musicians who hold their own well against his old companions. Roger is helped with the voice here by the very talented (and beautiful) backing vocalists here by the more than excellent Doyle Bramhall II or other comrades, on guitars we find the same Bramhall II and the great and seasoned Snowy White, even if here we come to the second important premise: Gilmour is unique and inimitable despite many having tried unsuccessfully to emulate his feats, so something is inevitably missing from the historical songs.

Now let's move on to the first disc: the setlist presents a non-ordered but not confused mix of historic and legendary tracks by Floyd. It starts with four explosive tracks from "The Wall" which are "In The Flesh", "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives," "Another Brick In The Wall pt2," and "Mother," the latter being one of the symbolic songs of the legendary opera that has been the soundtrack to many of our lives and a small rediscovery since in the following years after his departure it was never performed live by the three survivors; in this case, Gilmour's voice is excellently replaced by the backing vocalists, mainly one of the three.

Following are two tracks from the previously mentioned "The Final Cut": "Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert" and "Southampton Dock," and we come to one of the best moments of the entire work: first the duo from "Animals" "Pigs On The Wing pt1" and especially the almost 20 minutes of "Dogs," two more rediscoveries and really intense and moving interpretations, particularly the latter where the voice is of the aforementioned guitarist. Now comes the emotional peak: the trio "Welcome To The Machine," another forgotten track and one of the band's all-time greatest tunes, "Wish You Were Here," sung entirely by Roger, and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond pts 1/8," these three songs deeply touch you and virtually never let go, even if the absence of David is felt at times, the first act concludes with "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun," an incredible song, the first great 100% Waters song in the Floyd repertoire, belonging to the band's first real album "A Saucerful Of Secrets," that is, the first without Barrett, always great emotions.

We now begin the journey on the second disc: it starts strong with the classics from "Dark Side" "Breathe (in the air)," "Time," and "Money," the ghost of the former guitarist companion is always felt but not too much, the versions flow smoothly while not failing to deliver further emotions.

Now we witness a selection of the leader's solo career and it is here that the pleasant surprises come because if before the only thing to check were the "new" versions of his band, now we are dealing with pearls unknown to most, "The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking pt11" or nothing else but the 11th track of Waters' first eponymous post-Floyd album dated '84, and "The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range," "It's A Miracle," and "Amused To Death," all belonging to the eponymous '92 album, the most important known and appreciated in his solo journey and in fact still today the last one with unpublished material, four tracks that magnificently showcase the immense class of the English artist, four long ballads that certainly do not fail to move us once again and prove to be almost equal to the greatest PF classics, particularly the last three. We return to Floyd and "Dark Side" with "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse," two timeless classics again worthily interpreted, and we arrive at the band's iconic piece, the most beautiful and profound: the extraordinary "Comfortably Numb," the umpteenth comparison with Gilmour is inevitable, here the guitarist has always given his best showing the most beautiful, famous and moving solo ever in the history of rock and not only, in this case, the heavy task is assumed by the two guitarists who share equally the solo parts and the result is as good as in the other cases and all in all they do not make you regret the original, it all closes with the unpublished "Each Small Candle," another more than dignified track.

These are not the Pink Floyd, it's not the Live 8, that was pure magic, the kind that moves you deeply and leaves you sleepless for nights, this is a testament to what was the solo career of the band's purest and truest soul even though it cannot fully represent its essence itself, over the years he never hid the rightful frustration in seeing the companions play his songs in arenas and stadiums and he performing in front of sometimes only a few hundred souls, this time he found himself facing a more suitable audience for someone like him (aided by the withdrawal of the others), who with his lyrics and compositions marked history like few, like no one, particularly his lyrics embodied the atrocities of modern society and the existential anxieties of its protagonists, this album testifies to the passion he always put into it, someone who has always strongly believed in his works and who still today works hard around the world unlike someone else who has announced the preference for his villas over composition and life on the road, an imperfect album but ideal for those who want to breathe this pure air, personally I prefer this work over other double albums where that air is not felt too much, only a pity for the absence of tracks belonging to those two masterpieces called "Atom Heart Mother" and "Meddle" but you can't have everything, if he had put all the pearls of his incredible career, I would have reviewed a quadruple instead of a double.

It's hard to ask for more.