This would fit right in on Steven Wilson's solo debut, Insurgentes. The track is a repetitious drone of keys/guitar/percussion with orchestral accents and flourishes where Roger is pretty much in spoken word mode. Man, I wish he hadn't put this on the album, I hate hearing his voice. The title track, Is This The Life We Really Want?, begins with some words from our current (cough, cough) president. This is one that's growing on me a bit, I'll bet I'll like it even more once I know what the heck he's saying. The serenity of the song is twice interrupted by a brief bombastic chorus (aka Roger yelling again - and I can't understand a word he's saying). A very simple melody in 3/4 time supported by his guitar and some more lovely orchestration reminiscent of Southampton Dock from The Final Cut. This one should have ended with a bang! One of the first instances where I couldn't understand a good deal of the lyrics because his voice was a bit buried in the mix.Ī coyote howls, Roger clears his throat and an acoustic guitar introduces Broken Bones. The final 2+ minutes of the song are wasted on a syncopated rhythm track and the same limp keyboards as the song refused to end gracefully. Think Sheep (which this song has been compared to). If there was one track just begging for a rocking guitar it's this one. My problem with the song is that the synch/keyboard in between vocals is to "light" for such a heavy song. The lyrics are some of my favorites (Follow me filming myself at the show/On a phone from a seat in the very front row), raw, angry, a nearly 7-minute purge. Picture That could have really been a scorcher, the highlight of the album. Waters soothing vocals give way to him straining his voice into uncomfortable territory at times (he could never sing this live - and doesn't) and the song never really goes anywhere, as pretty as it is for most of the time. It's a very "light" song, not much going for it musically with an opening percussive beat and piano chords similar to Bowie's Five Years which are the sole instruments for most of the song. Next up is the familiar (by now) The Last Refugee. I'm still not thrilled with the verbosity of the first couple of lines but I've gotten used to this. It's beautifully orchestrated (as is much of the album) and structured. It gets right to the point in three verses each from a distinct point of view. Godrich made Roger edit this down from his poem Lay Down Jerusalem (he wouldn't allow any Israeli politics on the album since it was deemed "unproductive') and it serves the song well. This leads directly into Deja Vu, my favorite track on the album.
The opening track, When We Were Young, is a short spoken collage by Roger (he obviously has a lot to say) over a pulsating synth/bass line with a clock ticking in the background. After about a half dozen listens and collecting most of the lyrics I'm mellowing a bit since my first spin of the disc.