''The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer and musician
Roger Waters; it was released in 1984, the year before Waters announced his departure from
Pink Floyd. The album was certified gold in the United States by the
Recording Industry Association of America in April 1995.
Concept history and production
The concept was originally envisioned by Waters in 1977 and refined in the early 1980s. In its completed form, it rotates around a man's scattered thoughts during his
midlife crisis
A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's grow ...
. These are explored on a dream journey during which he takes a road trip through California, commits
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
with a hitchhiker he picks up along the way, attempts to reconcile with his wife by moving to the wilderness, and finally ends up alone but with greater insight into a common human compassion. Along the way he also faces other fears and paranoia.
The entire story is framed in
real time as a fitful dream taking place in the early morning hours of 4:30:18 am to 5:12:32 am on an unspecified day. At the end of the dream, the man wakes up lonely and contrite and turns to his real wife for comfort, presumably having processed his crisis.
In July 1978, Waters presented the concepts and played demos of ''The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking'' as well as what was then titled ''Bricks in the Wall'', which became ''
The Wall
''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...
'', to his bandmates in the group
Pink Floyd, asking them to decide which should be a group album, and which should be his solo album.
[ After a long debate, they decided that they preferred the concept of ''Bricks in the Wall'',][ even though their manager at the time, ]Steve O'Rourke
Steve O'Rourke ( – ) was an English music manager and racing driver. He is known for being the manager of Pink Floyd, a position he held from 1968 until his death. Among his accomplishments is negotiating Pink Floyd's split with bass player and ...
, thought that ''Pros and Cons'' was a better-sounding concept, and David Gilmour deemed ''Pros and Cons'' stronger musically.[
Waters declared:
''Bricks in the Wall'', retitled ''The Wall'', became the next Pink Floyd album in 1979, and Waters shelved ''Pros and Cons''. In early 1983, Waters undertook the shelved project himself.] It was recorded in three London studios between February and December 1983: Olympic Studios, Eel Pie Studios
Eel Pie Recording Studios, formerly Oceanic, was a recording studio located in The Boathouse, Twickenham on the banks of the River Thames in Ranelagh Drive, by Twickenham Bridge, West London, and also simultaneously at No. 45 Broadwick Street, ...
and Waters' own Billiard Room, where his demos were constructed. The album features conductor Michael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician.
Biography Early life
Michael Arnold Kamen was born ...
, actor Jack Palance
Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...
, saxophonist David Sanborn
David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...
and guitarist Eric Clapton. Guitar player Tim Renwick
Timothy John Pearson Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is an English guitarist. He is best known for his association with Al Stewart in his early career and for his long-standing role as lead guitarist for the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. His single ...
said:
Track 7, 4.50 am (Go Fishing), includes the same refrain as "The Fletcher Memorial Home
"The Fletcher Memorial Home" is a song by Roger Waters, performed by Pink Floyd. The song appears on their 1983 album, ''The Final Cut (album), The Final Cut''. It is the eighth track on the album and is arranged between "Get Your Filthy Hands Of ...
" from Pink Floyd's '' The Final Cut'': "''The Fletcher Memorial Home for incurable tyrants and kings''". This song also includes one of the car sounds, and the slightly changed chorus melody, from that album's "Your Possible Pasts
"Your Possible Pasts" (mislabeled as "Your Impossible Pasts" on a radio promo single) is a song from Pink Floyd's 1983 album '' The Final Cut''. This song was one of several to be considered for the band's "best of" album, '' Echoes: The Best of Pi ...
".
"I played through some of the songs from the ''Pros and Cons'' album," Waters remarked in 1992, "and I was struck by how good they sounded. Looking back, that record dragged a little but, individually, some of the material was excellent."
Notes on real time
The original album was released in 1984 on the traditional two-sided vinyl LP
The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...
and cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...
formats. In keeping with Waters' concept, there are five seconds missing between sides one and two to allow the listener to flip the record (or turn the cassette) in order to keep the second half starting at exactly 4:50 am as planned.
An unintended consequence of the album being released on CD a few years later was that this gap was lost due to continuous play, which moves the start of the second half back to 4:49:55am, and the start of the final track, 5:11am (The Moment of Clarity), back to 5:10:59am.
Further to this, Track 6 on the first side, 4:47 am (The Remains of Our Love), actually begins at 4:46:46am.
Packaging
Gerald Scarfe
Gerald Anthony Scarfe (born 1 June 1936) is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He has worked as editorial cartoonist for ''The Sunday Times'' and illustrator for ''The New Yorker''.
His other work includes graphics for rock group Pink ...
, who had created the album artwork and some animation for Pink Floyd's ''The Wall'' album, created all the graphics and animation for the ''Pros and Cons'' album. Its cover prompted controversy for featuring a rear-view nude photograph of model and softcore porn
Softcore pornography or softcore porn, is commercial still photography or film that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. Softc ...
actress Linzi Drew. Although it was originally released with the nudity intact, subsequent editions distributed by Columbia Records censored Drew's buttocks with a black box.
Possible film
A film based on the concept was proposed, and in 1987 a press release for the '' Radio K.A.O.S.'' album claimed a film adaptation of ''Pros and Cons...'' had been completed, though nothing has been heard of it since. The screenplay was written by BBC/Radio Times Drama Award winner Pete Ward, who used excerpts from Waters' songs/lyrics from 1967 to 1987 as background to his award-winning play, ''Yesterday's Triumph'', exploring the 20-year relationship of two close friends – one who attempts to fake mental illness to be with the other, who is an institutionalized ' catastrophic schizophrenic'. Ward was commissioned to expand the plot and characters in ''The Pros and Cons'' around the album's 42-minute real-time dream sequence based on Waters' own dreams.
A film was made in 1984 and 1985 which combined Gerald Scarfe
Gerald Anthony Scarfe (born 1 June 1936) is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He has worked as editorial cartoonist for ''The Sunday Times'' and illustrator for ''The New Yorker''.
His other work includes graphics for rock group Pink ...
's animations and Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance'' (1970), '' Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), '' The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...
's live-action footage with slit-scan photography
The slit-scan photography technique is a photographic and cinematographic process where a moveable slide, into which a slit has been cut, is inserted between the camera and the subject to be photographed.
More generally, "slit-scan photography ...
created by Peter Truckel at The Moving Picture Company. Also directed by Nicolas Roeg the film was projected on a backdrop behind the stage as the band played. Three promotional videos were also directed by Roeg. "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking" features snippets of the live action material from the screen films interspersed with footage of "Shane" and other cowboy films. "Sexual Revolution" also featured screen film material interspersed with footage Waters singing the song and playing his bass. "Every Stranger's Eyes" is identical to the screen projection, except for the fact that footage of Waters is also interspersed here.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Roger Waters.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Personnel
* Roger Waters – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, bass, tape effects, production, sleeve design
* Eric Clapton – lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
, backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...
, Roland guitar synthesizer
A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities.
Overview
Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnersh ...
* Andy Bown – Hammond organ, 12-string guitar
A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...
*Michael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician.
Biography Early life
Michael Arnold Kamen was born ...
– piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
, production
*Raphael Ravenscroft
Raphael Ravenscroft (4 June 1954 – 19 October 2014) was a British musician, composer and author. He is best known for playing the saxophone on Gerry Rafferty's song " Baker Street".
Early life
While his place of birth is disputed, the E ...
, Kevin Flanagan, Vic Sullivan – horns
*David Sanborn
David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...
– saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
*Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the ...
, Katie Kissoon
Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain).
E ...
, Doreen Chanter
Doreen Chanter is a British singer best known as a member of the Chanter Sisters, and for her work as a backing vocalist and session vocalist, primarily during the 1970s and 1980s.
Chanter Sisters
Chanter started as a member of a group called ...
– backing vocals
* Andy Newmark – drums, percussion
* Ray Cooper – percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
* The National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted and arranged by Michael Kamen
Actors (in order of appearance)
*Andy Quigley as 'Welshman in Operating Theatre'
*Beth Porter
Beth Jane Porter (born May 23, 1942) is an American stage, film and television actress and writer, who has worked in Britain for most of her career. She became a British citizen in 2014.
Early life
Beth Porter made her first professional appea ...
as 'Wife'
*Roger Waters as 'Man'
* Cherry Vanilla as 'Hitch Hiker' and 'Waitress'
*Manning Redwood and Ed Bishop as 'Truck Drivers'
*Jack Palance
Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...
as 'Hell's Angel'
*Madeline Bell as 'Hell's Angel's Girlfriend'
Technical personnel
* Andy Jackson – engineer
*Laura Boisan – assistant engineer
*Michael King – SFX boffin
*Zuccarelli Labs – holophonics
Holophonics is a binaural recording system created by Hugo Zuccarelli that is based on the claim that the human auditory system acts as an interferometer. It relies on phase variance, just like stereophonic sound. The sound characteristics of h ...
*Doug Sax
Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charl ...
and Mike Reese – mastering
* Gerald Scarfe
Gerald Anthony Scarfe (born 1 June 1936) is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He has worked as editorial cartoonist for ''The Sunday Times'' and illustrator for ''The New Yorker''.
His other work includes graphics for rock group Pink ...
– sleeve design, illustrations and lettering
*Alex Henderson – photography
*The Artful Dodgers – co-ordination
Chart positions
References
External links
REG:International Roger Waters FanClub
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking, The
Roger Waters albums
1984 debut albums
Concept albums
Rock operas
Albums produced by Roger Waters
Harvest Records albums
Obscenity controversies in music
List songs
Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios
Albums recorded in a home studio
Albums produced by Michael Kamen