Rocio Mateos
Roger Waters has been teasing and hyping up the release of his first solo album in 25 years, but this week, he finally gave more details about it, including the tracklist and a brand new single titled “Smell the Roses”.
The new LP, titled ‘Is This the Life We Really Want?’ consists of 12 new songs. The once-leader of iconic rock band Pink Floyd teamed up with Radiohead’s producer Nigel Godrich to record the album. The follower of the 1992 LP ‘Amused To Death’ is, according to a press release, an “unflinching commentary on the modern world and uncertain times.” We couldn’t expect less from the highly political singer-songwriter, responsible for masterpieces like ‘Animals’ or ‘The Wall.’
Pre-orders for the album began on April 21, while it is due for release on June 2nd. It will come out as an 180-gram vinyl LP, on CD and digitally. In addition, he will be promoting the new material on his “US + Them” tour, saying that the concept will be built around his album title. “I will be making the point that we’re living the life that we don’t really want to live,” he told Rolling Stone in an interview. The tour will be kicking off on May 26 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, with at least 54 more dates announced.
“Smell The Roses” is only the first taste of the new record
Composition and performance in the new five-minute single, recall the vintage style of the Pink Floyd’s main lyricist. In a statement, he said the record was inspired by the antipathy he feels towards the Trump administration. This being said, the lyrics for “Smell The Roses” feel more like a wink: “There’s a mad dog pulling at his chain / A hint of danger in his eye,” the song begins.
The artist also revealed that before beginning the works for the new LP, he had been writing a dramatic radio play about an old Irish man and his granddaughter investigating why children were killed in faraway lands. He described it as “part magic carpet ride, part political rant, part anguish.”
Although he didn’t keep going with the project, at least for now, some of the songs are on the album, after Godrich convinced him. “Nigel Godrich persuaded me that for the purposes of a rock & roll record, which is what this is, he felt my theatrical idea,” he told Rolling Stone.
He has also revealed some other inspirations and influences, like a poem titled “Lesson From the Kama Sutra (Wait for Her)” by the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, for the track “Wait for Her.” But overall, the main theme of the record is love, and “how do we take these moments of love – if we are granted any in our lives – and allow that love to shine on the rest of existence, on others.”
For the album, Waters will count on many talented collaborators
While Godrich is producing and mixing the LP, he also plays a major role in the instrumentation, assembling some arrangements, sound collages, and playing the keyboards and the guitar.
Gus Seyffert, frontman of Willoughby and founder of Sargent Records, has also played the bass for Norah Jones, the Black Keys, and more, and is joining Waters in the bass, guitar, and keyboards. Jonathan Wilson also collaborates on the guitar and keyboards, while Joey Waronker, from Atoms For Peace, is playing the drums. Roger Manning and Lee Pardini are also playing the keyboards, and Jessica Wolfe and Holly Proctor, from Brooklyn band Lucius, are performing backing vocals.
Check out the full tracklist, artwork and tour dates
‘Is This The Life We Really Want?’ tracklist:
- When We Were Young
- Déjà Vu
- The Last Refugee
- Picture That
- Broken Bones
- Is This The Life We Really Want?
- Bird In A Gale
- The Most Beautiful Girl
- Smell The Roses
- Wait For Her
- Oceans Apart
- Part of Me Died
‘US + them’ North American Tour 2017:
May 26 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
May 28 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
May 30 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
June 01 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
June 03 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
June 04 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
June 07 San Jose, CA SAP Center at San Jose
June 10 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
June 12 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center
June 14 Phoenix, AZ Gila River Arena
June 16 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena
June 20 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
June 21 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
June 24 Seattle, WA Tacoma Dome
June 27 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
July 01 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
July 03 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
July 06 Houston, TX Toyota Center
July 08 New Orleans, LA Smoothie King Center
July 11 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena
July 13 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
July 16 Atlanta, GA Infinite Energy Arena
July 18 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
July 20 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
July 22 Chicago, IL United Center
July 23 Chicago, IL United Center
July 26 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
July 29 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
August 02 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
August 04 Washington, DC Verizon Center
August 08 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
August 09 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
August 13 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
September 07 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
September 11 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
September 12 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
September 15 Uniondale, NY The New Coliseum
September 16 Uniondale, NY The New Coliseum
September 19 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena
September 21 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
September 23 Albany, NY Times Union Center
September 24 Hartford, CT XL Center
September 27 Boston, MA TD Garden
September 28 Boston, MA TD Garden
October 02 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
October 03 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
October 06 Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre
October 07 Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre
October 10 Ottawa, ONT Canadian Tire Centre
October 16 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
October 17 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
October 22 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
October 24 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
October 28 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
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