Like Bob Dylan, Roger Waters has built his legacy on the merits of his songwriting rather than those of his singing abilities. This is not, however, to say that Waters is an awful singer, and neither is Dylan, for that matter. Neither musician could rival Celine Dion’s range, but their unique timbres always convey engrossing lyrical themes with an earthiness no virtuosic opera singer could replicate.
As the co-founding bassist of Pink Floyd, Waters initially supported bandleader Syd Barrett, who wrote most of the band’s early psychedelic material. Following the success of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and the Top of the Pops single ‘See Emily Play’, Pink Floyd turned their attention to the nuanced psych-rock product A Saucerful of Secrets. Sadly, by this stage, Barrett’s mental state was in severe decline, and the band enlisted guitarist David Gilmour to take over his instrumental duties.
Barrett’s 1968 departure left Waters in the driver’s seat as the band’s primary lyricist and songwriter. Over the late 1960s and early ’70s, Pink Floyd entered a transitional phase from which they emerged with a more coherent sonic identity. The Waters era reached an unbeatable peak in 1973 with the release of his first concept album, The Dark Side of the Moon.
With the exception of ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’, which featured the arresting vocals of Clare Torry, the six non-instrumental songs on The Dark Side of the Moon were split between Gilmour and Waters, with Gilmour taking on ‘Breathe (In the Air)’, ‘Money’ and ‘Us and Them’. Meanwhile, Waters shared lead vocals with Gilmour on ‘Time’ and led ‘Brain Damage’ and ‘Eclipse’.
As Gilmour’s slightly larger share of the vocal credits suggests, he was generally regarded as the better singer of the two. Though both operated in a similar baritone range, Gilmour proved himself more dynamic and carried the emotion of many classic Pink Floyd tracks with his raspy timbre. While, in the current state of affairs, Waters might contend this conclusion, he has never deemed himself the greatest rock vocalist in the world.
On several occasions in interviews, Waters has discussed the singers whose voices he is envious of. Within his baritone range, Waters has often cited Leonard Cohen as both a songwriting and vocal hero and more than once praised the “extraordinary talent” of Ray Charles. However, if Waters were blessed with a high tenor vocal range, he would like nothing more than to sing like Neil Young.
While appearing on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs, Waters selected ‘Helpless’, a Young classic that first appeared on Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s Déjà Vu, as one of his all-time favourite songs. “There is an honesty and a truth in everything that he’s done,” Waters beamed in admiration. “You feel the man’s integrity and passion. I can feel the hairs standing up on the back of my neck now, remembering the purity with which he hits the first notes of this song. It’s extraordinarily moving and eloquent.”
As Waters suggests, the appeal of Young’s unique vocals is inherently entangled with his knack for writing emotional ballads that cut right through to the bone. Speaking to Joe Rogan in 2022, Waters explained why he’s never been particularly keen on most popular music, citing two exceptions. “I’m not very up on rock history. I’m not really interested in most popular music,” he admitted. “I mean, there are certain people I’m great fans of, mainly the writers, the singer-songwriters, Dylan and Neil Young”.
Elaborating on his fondness for Young, Waters singled out another Young classic, citing a highlight lyric. “‘Look out, ma, there’s a white boat coming up the river’ – what was that called? ‘Powderfinger’, I think from Rust Never Sleeps, something like that, I have to take a deep [breath]… ‘Wow, what did he just say?’”
‘Powderfinger’ can be found on Young’s 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. The album is a hybrid live/studio release recorded with Crazy Horse. ‘Powderfinger’ was recorded during a live performance at McNichols Arena, Denver, in October 1978. It tells the story of a young man who has to defend his family following his father’s departure as a gunboat threatens their lives. Waters found the story, which culminates in the death of the protagonist, deeply moving and well-suited to Young’s haunting voice.
