Roger Waters
Radio K.A.O.S.

THE REVIEW

All right, I'll admit it: I fell for it too in that distant 1987... But after years of psychoanalysis, I can now definitively say it: I made a crappy album.

Why "why"? Isn't the fact that I never performed it again on subsequent tours a valid reason already? I composed it because the idea seemed good to me, indeed it certainly is. But the production... Yes, Bob Ezrin was supposed to take care of it, but in the end he decided to go with those other two bums and a half. And when I think about it, it makes me so mad that I want to forget twenty years of sessions, yet damn it, precisely for that I should have abandoned the project. But I'm stubborn and I wanted to do it anyway.

I'm listening to it right now, anyway. God, this electronic drum... These cheap sequencers... I didn't even play the bass, just on a few demos to set the tone for the songs. But why, why? Listen to that voice... I want to shoot myself. But I also want to harm myself psychophysically and continue with the torture.

The little choirs... What do the little choirs have to do with this? "Radiooooo", damn me. I am the creator of "The Wall", "Dark Side Of The Moon", "Amused To Death"... Yes, "Amused To Death"... Luckily, I redeemed myself there.

I'm digressing while I should focus on this album ("Wow!", at the end of "Radio Waves", I could have spared myself that).

"Who Needs Information": let's move on.

"Me Or Him": nice sound of the shakuhachi, isn't it? It's fake; it's part of a cheap Yamaha preset that was so fashionable (damn) back then.

"The Powers That Be": hmm, actually I kind of like this one more; it's not too bad. No, huh? Sure, I used to sing the high parts myself, but this time I had to entrust them to Paul Carrack. What the heck, if I smoke it's not my fault. In fact, yes, it is. Let's move on...

"Sunset Strip": "Whoo Whoo, Billy Come Home" no! Kill me now, or move the album forward!

"Home": yes, I kind of like this one. Very new wave. I even sang decently. Sure, it feels a bit like being on the streets of Miami Vice listening to this track. So what? I like Miami Vice. I'll save this one. Damn it.

"Four Minutes": here, if I had had the same compositional consistency I used for this track throughout the entire album, it would have turned out well.

"The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)": it's the best piece of the entire album. I even used it to close The Wall live in Berlin. It fits, it fits. And don't bust my balls. Sometimes I become psychopathic, I'm breaking the album myself. A few more sessions would do me well...

With these last notes, I feel cleansed inside. In the end, a track like "The Tide Is Turning" compensates for the other seven previous pieces. And I almost like the album. So why did I bust it? Mind your own business; what do you know about music? Oh God, if I listen to "Sunset Strip" again, though, I'll reconsider. Do me a favor: don't talk to me about "Radio K.A.O.S." anymore, or I'll send you to psychoanalysis sessions. Never contradict me.

Yours, Roger Waters.