The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking
by Roger Waters

From Robert Anton Wilson TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/07/2011 18:36 | #30046 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

In the late 70's Roger offered two projects to his bandmates of Pink Floyd, it was to be this or "The Wall". I think they did the right thing by choosing The Wall just because it was such a massive, obvious winner of a concept not because this one was no good. The musicianship is great and if anything this album probably benefits from not being done by the Floyd because it introduces interesting new sonorities into the Waters framework. I mean, the guitarist is still Eric Clapton -not Gilmour but not a nobody either- and the sax work, particularly on "Go Fishing" will just blow your minds out.

I've loved this album for so many years simply because of the concept and the way Roger laid it all out from the song titles (which chronicle at what times these dreams are appearing) to all the sound effects in the background that help tell the story. It's all one long 40+ minute dream so it gets weird at times as dreams tend to do. Don't listen to it much anymore, but when it was released it made a huge impact on me and my songwriting techniques.

Brilliant concept for an album, this album is an amazing experience, especially late at night when you cannot fall asleep. Would have been great to see Pink Floyd make an album out of Roger's concept on fidelity. The problem here is that this album doesn't hold up very well over repeated listens and Roger's voice (on this record) is not one that many people enjoy.

From AndrewJFisher 03/16/2025 06:26 | #308060 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Roger has said the idea came from a dream he had prior to making The Wall and he presented it to the band and manager as potential next album material. Can anyone see this ever being as successful as The Wall, even made by Pink Floyd? I'm thinking, had Floyd made this with Bob Ezrin in '79, it would have been more typically rock opera like The Wall and maybe they could have filled it out to make a double album too, believing that it was time they made one. I think it follows on from The Final Cut, which followed on from The Wall, though even so was a departure from Pink Floyd and Pros and Cons departed even further, was even slower, only picking up for the title track. I think the midlife, marital crisis concept might have worked OK, I think the title track of The Final Cut touching on that is very good, but a title like The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and the nude hitch hiker on the album cover made it all seem like a bit of a joke and maybe even a move towards the heavy metal sexploitation of the time. I couldn't really feel for the guy like I could for "Pink" in The Wall or the soldiers or veterans in The Final Cut.

Radio K.A.O.S. was a complete about face, more catchy and boppy than anything Pink Floyd had put out, surprising for Roger Waters, but at least he showed he could make decent pop songs too. (Edited)

Outstanding! Waters takes you on a dream world journey that gets better with every listening.