The classic band Roger Waters thought was “a joke” live
Roger Waters is far from the artist that fans got to know back in the days of Pink Floyd. Politics aside, Waters has always been about pushing himself forward beyond his normal capabilities, which usually means using the stage show differently whenever he steps out in his signature black garb. While Waters still gives it his all when touring as a solo act, he thought that The Rolling Stones should have hung up their rock and roll credentials years ago.
While working with Pink Floyd, Waters sought to move past what The Stones had already created. Firmly entrenched in the sounds of psychedelia, half of the band’s songs with Syd Barrett had to do with expanding beyond what rock and roll was supposed to be, which eventually came crumbling down when Barrett ended up losing his mind towards the end of the decade.
With Waters left to pick up the pieces, he started to make songs that didn’t seem to have any audience but himself. Although David Gilmour would be brought in as Barrett’s replacement and later second-in-command to Waters, the bassist was quickly starting to stray away from the band’s ‘space rock’ sound, thinking it had gotten too tired by the end.
Even though Floyd would stretch the limits of progressive rock in the early 1970s with albums like Dark Side of the Moon, The Stones were pretty comfortable sticking to the sound of bluesy rock and roll. After trying their hand at psychedelia and leaving a sour taste in everyone’s mouths, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards figured that it was time for them to move on to something more in tune with their sound.
Across albums like Exile on Main St, the band created a unique blend of rock and roll, blues, and country music under one roof, which would become their calling card for the next few years. Outside of the occasional departure like the disco-soaked song ‘Miss You’, the group would spend the rest of their career making the sound of the blues relevant for another generation while also riding the momentum of their previous hits.
While Waters could appreciate them trying to deliver the goods, he thought the current incarnation of the band is a mockery of their old sound, saying, “I was an incredible Stones fan. I still am. I still think some of the stuff that they do is really good. I just think their shows are a joke; all those f*cking people crammed into those big stadiums are just as much of a joke for them as they were for us.”
Although Waters’s description of a Stones show matches pretty much every arena-rock event that has gone on for the past half-century, it’s easy to see where he’s coming from when looking at how he approaches his show. For all of the lavish effects and lighting rigs, Waters wants to make an epiphany go off in the audience’s heads when he plays, trying his best to blend the rock concert with something a bit more important.
Even though Waters might not like turning up for a Stones show these days, his assessment drastically undersells the power of The Stones. Outside of the stage show, everyone wants to have a good time, and the band have still been delivering to the best of their abilities for longer than most of their contemporaries.
