Part of any successful live performance is transferring the rendition to the studio, and back again to listeners. This is Not a Drill compiles the efforts of Roger Waters on his most recent tour. A 2023 run of shows across the globe had the Pink Floyd legend perform classic tracks, contemporary material, and ultimately find a new voice through old work. His tour may have been marked by controversy, particularly on certain European dates, but the music itself, the quality of those classic tracks once performed with David Gilmour, is undeniable. Wish You Were Here (Live from Prague) is, we can assume, the best set of the tour. Audience participation is a major player in adapting the title track off Pink Floyd’s finest hour, and it works to Waters’ advantage. Pink Floyd tracks have a big stage appeal, pulling that off without the rest of the band’s help is a big ask.
Despite the task at hand, the decades Waters has spent unpacking, unravelling, and reigniting tracks from both Pink Floyd and his solo career have clearly affected his performance style. Stripped of the visual display which makes both The Wall and Live in Berlin such duds, Wish You Were Here (Live from Prague) relies solely on the instrumental achievement. There is plenty of charm to the stripped-back, acoustic performance Wish You Were Here is given. It feels like an inevitability. An easy sleight of hand trick from a performer with longevity behind them. Strip a song of its instrumental worth, pair it with a slower tempo, and words which have provided comfort for decades are amplified. It works, though it does feel a bit stale as a concept. Wish You Were Here is one of the finest songs around, and Waters’ recent version is an impressive live effort.
His deeper vocal range aids that acoustic drive, though. That is perhaps the reason for this mellow, slower version of the song. Gilmour is the man who can still offer a striking version of this classic Pink Floyd piece, though this performance can hold its own. There is a gliding, lighter sense to it which depends more on audience interaction than anything occurring instrumentally. A louder sense is given to the song at Waters’ insistence for singing along. Wish You Were Here (Live from Prague) is a song which would sound fine enough without thousands singing along, but their help on the chorus is delightful. It gives the track a deeper sense, a value which connects it to the original but overhauls the fundamentals of the songs. Such is the purpose of live performance, and if Wish You Were Here is anything to go by, it sounds as though Waters has a surefire classic on his hands.
For all the lighter flourishes heard on Wish You Were Here (Live from Prague), the core, emotional value of the song, remains. Keeping that fire burning after decades of performing is tricky. Some artists fall out of love with their hits, though it does not sound as though Waters has tired of the title track to the Pink Floyd masterpiece just yet. He does very little with the song other than add an acoustic sentimentality. That is what it needs, though, now that reflection is the aim and result of every tour. Waters continues to create solid, fresh interpretations of Pink Floyd’s discography, even if, like The Dark Side of the Moon: Redux, they are unnecessary. At least Wish You Were Here still sounds strong in his hands.
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