Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

While one can certainly claim that 'Momentary Lapse' and 'Division Bell' were more commercially viable, no one who listens to 'Amused to Death' with an open mind can refute that the quality of Waters 1992 attempt beats them all hands down. In some ways, it even gives 'The Wall' a run for it's money. Loosely based on a book by Neil Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death), Waters album centers on his perception of humanity during the tumultuous transition from the 1980's era of flash through the Gulf War and ending firmly entrenched in the dismal depression that was the early 1990's. I personally find it most unfortunate that people feel the need to rate this album based on their perception of Roger Waters and his battles with David Gilmour. A true rating on any record should only be based on the music, lyrics, and contents therein, not commentary of how they judge someone's actions outside of the piece they are rating. 'Amused to Death', like most of Waters work, is not something for the casual listener. If you get this simply to have some background music in your car or ipod while working out, you will never really 'get' what this is all about and you may well not like it. While it has catchy songs that CAN be listened to independently, 'Amused' is not a typical rock album. Unlike most pop albums, 'ATD' does not spoon feed the listener one hit after another, rather it requires someone to sit back and allow themselves to become immersed in the experience. I myself did not like 'Amused to Death' for a number of years because I kept trying to treat it like a normal record. One day I bought the cd put it in the player, turned off the lights and tried to go to sleep. Q-Sound is astonishing and the first thing I noticed was that sounds from the album were actually tricking my brain into thinking they were happening in real life. I had never noticed it before and I got more interested so kept listening. Song after song and finally at the end I was wide-awake and completely converted. By the end of the title track I finally understood that 'Amused to Death' is like an essay. It does not make sense to pull the staples out of a multi page essay and read whatever in any order, nor does ATD work well if only one or two songs are listened to at a time. Some don't get it. Some like the 12 or 13 pop tunes all jumbled together in no real order, so long as the guitar style and vocals are pleasing. Some like it when songs have no real meaning. Before ATD I would have been one of them. It requires a bit of effort. It requires one to allow themselves the time to listen to it, but also I can honestly say that if anybody who can appreciate Pink Floyd tried ATD in that way, they'd never look back!