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Entertainment Reviews

Speak to Me/Breathe (2023 Dark Side of the Moon Redux) – Roger Waters Track Review

At the time of writing this, it is the eve of the release of Dark Side of the Moon Redux – Roger Waters’ reimagining of seminal Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon. Ahead of the formal release, there has been a final single that has been released, which is actually 2 separate songs: Speak to Me/Breathe. While they are distinct separate tracks on the listing, they are so closely linked on the original album in terms of flow that the same approach has been taken here, but how does it fare in comparison?

The opening of Speak to Me seems to take on a more natural soundscape of birds chirping, as opposed to the sound of tills and cash registers going off, and rather than the swell of manic screaming, we’re given another ethereal spoken word segment that seems to be the key recurring undercurrent of this redux. As with the previous track reviews that I’ve done for this album, your mileage may vary with this approach – some may appreciate the new monologues from a Roger Waters 50 years removed from the original album, while some may still be in the camp of thinking this … Read More

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Entertainment Reviews

Dark Side of the Moon Redux – Live at London Palladium Review (9th October 2023)

On the 8th & 9th October 2023, Roger Waters performed 2 shows at the London Palladium to celebrate the release of his Dark Side of the Moon Redux album – as I’m sure you would have known if you have read any of my track review articles, this was his re-interpretation & revisiting of the album that he, along with the rest of Pink Floyd, created back in 1973, which is considered one of the most popular rock albums ever made.

Ahead of the event, a schedule was e-mailed out, along with details: mobile devices, smart watches, and other recording tools would be put in pouches that would be opened after the performance, and the show was made up of two distinct parts – 50 minutes of Roger Waters, and then 50 minutes of Dark Side of the Moon Redux (with a 20 minute intermission between both). I assumed this to mean 50 minutes of songs not on the album, and then 50 minutes of the album. How mistaken I was.

When the show started, Roger did what he likes to do when he’s not singing – talking. He thanked the owner of the venue to allow for him to … Read More

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Entertainment Reviews

Time (2023 Dark Side of the Moon Redux) – Roger Waters Track Review

 

Another week, another track review of the upcoming Dark Side of the Moon Redux album by Roger Waters – the song this go-round is Time.

Right off the bat, some may be relieved to hear that the song, which starts off with a cacophonic sound collage of clocks ticking and alarm bells ringing in the original, is no longer present. Instead, in its place, is more of the spoken word poetry that was heavily present in his other single (Money), so your mileage may very well vary depending on how you feel about the original and the new style that’s being taken.

However, it feels like there has been more effort put into this song as a whole – while there are still the talking aspects, there is more of an attempt at breathy singing, which I think works well in the context of this song. As the title suggests, it’s a piece largely around the all-too-fleeting journey that is life, on an album that was made by Waters while he was 29. Fast forward 50 years, and the message hits a lot harder from the perspective of a man, who, at the time of writing, … Read More