Roger Waters shares isolation performance of "Mother"

Publish Date
Tuesday, 19 May 2020, 1:57PM

With his 2020 tour on hold until next year, Roger Waters enlisted his live band to help him share a quarantine version of Pink Floyd's dystopian lullaby "Mother."

"Social distancing is a necessary evil in COVID world," Waters said in a statement in the video's description. "Watching 'Mother' reminds me just how irreplaceable the joy of being in a band is."

The video depicts Waters seated at a mixing desk with an acoustic guitar. He starts the song true to the album version with just vocals and acoustic guitar.

The band joins Waters in layers — first with keyboards, then background vocals, then electric guitars, then more keyboards, then bass and drums.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is clearly having fun collaborating, even if it's from a distance. After singing the line, "Mother, should I trust the government?" He answers the question, mouthing the words "No f---ing way!"

At the end, he thanks his band members by name and apologizes to saxophonist Ian Ritchie for being left out of the session. "Of course Ian's not here because there's no saxophone part on the song 'Muvah.' Anyway, we miss you, Ian. We should do this again, right? Right?!"

Check it out in the video player above.

When it does finally get off the ground, Waters' 'This Is Not A Drill' tour will be another typically spectacular affair. The former Pink Floyd bassist told Rolling Stone that he and his team continued working on the production, even after the pandemic forced them to postpone.

"The show is part rock 'n' roll arena show, part cinema," he said. "It's couched on this idea that we are divided between the ruling classes, who I characterize as living in the iCloud. They live in the sky — it's all white up there, and they live in great luxury. And then there's the netherworld where the rest of us shuffle around, uncomfortable numb. And then there's a third place, the bar, which is a figment of my imagination, where people from all over the world, all communities, colors, creeds, religions can gather and speak to one another. I will be employing actors to be characters in the bar — I'm already casting, and I've written the whole screenplay."

In a statement on his website, Waters advises ticket holders to keep their tickets to the postponed tour "and await further information."

This article was first published on iheart.com and is republished here with permission

Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you