Roger Waters Releases ‘Dark’ New Version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’
Jemal Countess, Getty Images
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has released a "darker" version of the 1979 The Wall classic "Comfortably Numb." The revamped tune is now 8 plus minutes long, considerably more ominous, and comes with an apocalyptic video, which you can watch below.
"Comfortably Numb 2022" was recorded live during a stop along Water's recent "This Is Not A Drill" tour. Waters' released a statement that explains how this was an idea he started working on during the pandemic.
"During Lockdown I made a demo of a new version of ‘Comfortably Numb’ as an opener for our new show 'This Is Not A Drill...' I pitched it a whole step down, in A Minor, to make it darker and arranged it with no solos, except over the outro chord sequence, where there is a heartrendingly beautiful female vocal solo from Shanay Johnson, one of our new singers."
The result is dystopian fever dream. Eerie violins mix with thunder, police sirens and vague news reports, possibly heralding the end of society.
Waters says of the menacing new tone, “It’s intended as a wakeup call, and a bridge towards a kinder future with more talking to strangers, either in ‘The Bar’ or just ‘Passing in the Street’ and less slaughter ‘In Some Foreign Field.’ Here it is. Love R."
A little Easter Egg at the end of the "Comfortably Numb 2022" video: A pig is hanging in the sky, reminiscent of the Floyd album cover for Animals. Check it out below.