The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking - Roger Waters

Firstly, let's get one thing absolutely clear. This album has one of the worst cover artworks. Ever. Once you have heard the album it sort of makes sense but that is no excuse. Not surprsising then that it caused a great deal of controversy when it was released with posters for the album being torn down. What was he thinking? Right with that out of the way lets move on.

I bought this album, or rather my Dad bought for me, from a local CD shop in Middlesbrough called Playback Records. The sort of shop where service is paramount and selling you stuff came second. A long way behind. A sort of Nora Ephron styled shop; more 'The Shop Around The Corner' than 'Fox Books'. It wasn't especially cheap but they really bent over backwards to make sure you got the service you deserved. Unfortunately it's long since gone - no doubt pushed out of business by larger chains and the Internet.

So, being a fledgling Pink Floyd fan who was in the scouring back catalogue stage, this album was on my radar. It had been ordered several weeks earlier and my Dad had gone into pick it up. Knowing that the album was....errrr... challenging the owner said that if I didn't like it I could bring it back and exchange it for something else. Wow! I can't imagine HMV suggesting that. But he was concerned that I might not like this real-time concept album about the wandering thoughts of a man and his road trip through Central Europe. I can see why he was concerned. Not the obvious choice of subject matter for an album.

He needn't have worried though as it is still here in my collection. Partly because it contains some superb Eric Clapton guitar work, partly because it is Roger Waters but also because it is rather good. Despite the dodgy cover.

As with most concept albums it has to be listened to in one sitting - extracting songs only serves to lose the thread - but if you do then you really are taken on a journey. With song titles like the beautiful '4:47AM (The Remains of our Love)' and the blues introduction to '4:50AM (Go Fishing)' this is about as far removed for the bomblast of later Floyd that you can get. Definitely worth persevering through. If you can get past that bloody awful cover that is.