CATCHING UP: ROGER WATERS CONCERT REVIEW

Seeing Roger Waters at Yankee Stadium this summer was incredible. It was the exact same Wall show that I saw in 2010, it was just bigger.

I wasn't reviewing the show for work, we didn't have a photo pass (unfortunately) and we bought our tickets, which were expensive and totally worth it.

I found the show even more moving the second time around, especially during "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)," where young children were break dancing on stage wearing shirts that read "FEAR BUILDS WALLS." I think the meaning of the album, to Roger, has changed since he wrote it during his days in Pink Floyd.

It was obviously a very personal album when he wrote it. But now, I think it takes on a more global message.  He paints in broad strokes - during "Mother" when he sings "Mother, should I trust the government?" the answer is scrawled on the wall: "No Fucking Way."  That's an easy way to get cheers (especially from the formerly mulleted classic rock crowd who may watch a bit too much Fox... but then again, I would probably have enjoyed that line a bit more during the bu$h era). Still, the performance seems to not emphasize his unsuccessful relationships with his exquisite wife and mother, and more on the effect that war has had on him (and many others, making it an album that seems less about himself and more about the rest of the world).

Still, I walked away from the show elated at the incredible production I'd just witnessed.  And also moved. Still moved after thirty years, by this incredibly powerful and durable work of art.

THE PINK FLOYD REISSUES - THE FINAL WORD ON FLOYD

A couple of years ago, EMI Records orchestrated what was probably the biggest reissue campaign ever: putting out the remastered Beatles catalog. This year, they're rolling out the remastered Pink Floyd catalog.  They are very good at this kind of thing.

Floyd's catalog has been reissued before, but this is the first time it is being remastered (I think).  If you want  Pink Floyd's albums, straight up with no bonus tracks, buy the new reissues.  You can actually buy the entire catalog of studio albums (but not live albums) for about $180 via the Discovery box set.  (Full disclosure: I got all of the reissues from the label, but not as the box set, just as individual CDs.)

The sound is incredible and with Pink Floyd, fidelity is important. If you have these versions, you won't ever need anything else, unless you want to dive deeper with expanded editions.

So far, two of their albums have been expanded in two different forms, which is how it's done these days (see recent reissues by U2, Nirvana and The Rolling Stones).  The albums that have been expanded have "Experience" (2 CD sets with a disc of extras) and "Immersion" versions (much more lavish editions).

I bought a copy of the "Experience" version of 1973's Dark Side of The Moon for $25. The second disc is a live concert recorded at The Empire Pool in Wembley in 1974, and features the band performing Dark Side from start to finish.  It was cool to hear them reproduce the album in a more raw form - they had not yet become a completely slick stadium band. The "Immersion" version costs over $100 and has lots of extras that I didn't really want: DVD-audio, Blu-Ray audio, 5.1 remixes, surround sound remixes.  There are some video and audio elements that I was interested in, but not enough to spend the extra $75, given how many other reissues I've gotten this season.

I also bought a copy of the "Experience" version of 1975's Wish You Were Here for $25.  The second disc features a bunch of extras: a live version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts 1 -6)," as well as "Raving and Drooling" and "You've Got To Be Crazy," songs which ended up morphing into tunes from their next album, Animals. But my favorite extra is an alternate version of the title track featuring jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli.

Honestly, when I first heard about this reissue campaign, I was kind of ambivalent about the prospect of a Pink Floyd reissue containing any extras. Their classic albums seem so perfect that I wouldn't change a thing. And Floyd's mystique is such that, I don't want to see anything more than what they reveal.  On the other hand, the live Dark Side is pretty awesome, as are some of the Wish You Were Here extras.  I know that next year, they are going to do expanded editions of The Wall, and I'm curious what the extras will be. I've heard that they may also be doing an expanded Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, and I guess if there's unreleased Syd Barrett material, it would be cool to hear it.

ROGER WATERS AT MSG: WOW. JUST WOW.

I finally saw Roger Waters' tour tonight: for those of you who don't know, he's been playing Pink Floyd's 1979 classic, The Wall, start to finish, complete with a humongous production. Just like at the select concerts they did to promote the album in 1979 and 1980 (and the one show Waters did in Berlin in 1990), an actual "wall" was built around the stage during the concert.  There were costumes, lights, gigantic puppets, and lots of video (the wall itself was used as a projection screen, but Roger also used the circular video screen that he, and Floyd, have always used at their shows). There was a lot to look at, nearly every song had a different visual aspect to it.

But it worked, and never seemed Spinal Tap-ed out. Because at the core of it is one of the greatest albums of all time, an incredible song cycle that works incredibly well, but most of the songs stand on their own as classics.  But the story itself is so moving: the story of a boy whose father went to war, never came back, and that boy was never the same.  This sense of loss, and the alienation that came from it, had influenced Roger Waters' songwriting throughout his career, but was most fully realized on The Wall. I wonder if it was therapudic for him: I wonder if it helped him to feel better afterwards.

Waters kind of comes off as a scary guy, although the recent cover story in Rolling Stone magazine went a long way to humanizing him (in my opinion). He really is a pretty sensitive guy: most of his rage comes at his anger with people being treated unfairly (or worse). During the intermission of the show tonight, and during "Goodbye Blue Sky," Waters projected names and photos of people who died in war (soldiers and civilians), he solicited these photos and stories via his website.

Anyway, the concert itself was incredible. The band was great, although  I didn't love the other singer - the guy who sang David Gilmour's parts. A few years ago, Roger was using Doyle Bramhall II, who I liked better.  But they always managed to keep the focus on the music, which is at the core of the whole thing, and hasn't lost any of its power, three decades later. Waters has said that this will be his last tour (I think he's close to 70), but he looked and sounded so good, I hope he does another one - if not a "Wall" tour, at least another tour where he plays songs from his entire career (including his solo stuff).

ROGER WATERS TO TOUR FOR "THE WALL"

A few months ago, I wrote about a rumor that Roger Waters next tour would see him performing the Pink Floyd classic album The Wall. Well, it's true! He announced it today on his revamped website. Roger also offers his explanation for why he is staging this tour at this particular time.  If you're a fan, check it out. Roger's last tour saw him performing Dark Side Of The Moon, so I guess this was a logical concept for this tour.  He hasn't actually put out a new album (other an Ca Ira, an opera that he composed) in nearly two decades. Although he has done some new songs, like "Each Small Candle." Anyway, find the tour dates at his site, I am definitely not going to miss this tour. I expect that it will have an even better production than what Pink Floyd used in 1980 when they promoted the album on a brief tour.

ROGER WATERS TO PERFORM "THE WALL" ON TOUR?

Today I heard a rumor (and also read about it a bit in Rolling Stone) that Roger Waters may go on tour this year, performing Pink Floyd's The Wall. That would be pretty amazing, and I'll report on it as soon as I hear more! If anyone has heard about this, please comment!