Album Details

• Artist: Pink Floyd
• Album: The Wall
• Label: Capitol
• Year of Release: 1979
• ME Rating: Indie Classic
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2011-05-18

As rock music evolved, so did the expectations of those who were on the opposite end of the limelight. The progressive, art-rock movement that left a major impact throughout the 60's and 70's, while more a niche market than an actual craze sweeping the world of popular music, undoubtedly left what one could expect from a rock album at a high mark. Conceptual crash-courses like King Crimson's "In The Court Of The Crimson King", Rush's "2112", The Who's "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia", Yes' "Fragile" and "Tales from Topographic Oceans", and even prior Floyd albums like "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "Animals" seemingly paved the road for the last truly brilliant rock-opera-conceptual beast of the era in The Wall. It stands the test of time better than perhaps any before it, however, and while moments shine brighter than others, the overall chemistry concocted over the course of 2 album's worth of material is breathtaking the first or 400'th time you sit down with it.

One of the truly remarkable aspects of the album is how it still manages to retain complexity and variety in the face of the bitter divide that had slowly pushed Roger Waters and David Gilmour apart and was, at that time, straining the limits of their ability to co-exist as a musical co-op. It seems, still, that the stirring combination of Waters' lyrical ambitions and Gilmour's emotive and soul-stirring guitar work could not be restricted by any personal bias. While The Wall is and always will be Roger Waters' baby, there's no denying the impact the rest of the band had. 

Each movement throughout the two albums is a puzzle piece of one's very mind and spirit being torn apart, ripped between past regrets, future uncertainty and a very present and all too real depression and lack of satisfaction. It is, ultimately, a cautionary tale of the dangers of fame, the often overlooked unstableness of those of us who are inherently creative and artistic, and the dangers of our past haunting us throughout our lives. Many have seen it as yet another slightly disguised tribute from Roger to former bandmate and friend Syd Barrett, and of course it makes easy sense seen from that perspective, but the lyrical subject matter goes far beyond one person. It has a universal appeal to us all, I think, despite anyone's feelings about the style of the music. It is very far-reaching...and yet, very personal to the likes of Roger Waters, who seems to inject more of himself into these songs than any other in Pink Floyd's history. This reason leads many to cast off the album as pretentious posturing, unabashed self-embelleshment easily done from a platform of an uber-popular musical entity. This is definitely how I approach "The Final Cut", the last of Roger's albums under the Pink Floyd name, but I feel too attached personally to the sound and style of The Wall to disregard it in such a way. It is too finely crafted of an album to be pigeonholed. 

Many songs (The Thin Ice, Another Brick In The Wall Pt. II, Mother, Goodbye Blue Sky, Young Lust, One Of My Turns, Hey You, Nobody Home, Comfortably Numb, Run Like Hell, The Trial) are true stand-outs, but the album would be nothing without it's connecting interludes and the like. Each and every track, in simple terms of cohesiveness of the concept as a whole, has an important role to play. In my opinion The Wall is the perfectly executed conceptual album, an attempt at a musical novelization that I sincerely doubt could have been pulled off by any other band with the sort of passion and chemistry Pink Floyd were able to muster. It's definitely not their best album, but it is certainly their best in terms of construction and lyrical impact. 

User Reviews and Comments

on 2011-10-20 SolitaryMan Said:

Haha. Oh well, to each his own.
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2011-10-20 CharlesMartel Said:

Roger Waters built "The Wall". Pink Floyd kept it maintained. Possibly the last gasp of the dying breed of seventies epic prog-rock concept albums, "The Wall" has been elevated to the status of greatness and grandeur which is no doubt what its creator intended. Originally released as a double album (how else could a bloated prog-rock epic get to vinyl?), "The Wall" is the epitome of all that prog-rock ultimately came to be.

The story is one of despair, self-loathing and neuroses. The protagonist, the unoriginally named Pink, is a jaded rock star tired of living the life of a rock star. He blames everyone but himself, and especially the women in his life, for his condition. His situation reaches a climax when he spits on a fan during an acoustic rendering of one of his songs. Supposed to be either yet another tribute to his former band-mate, Syd Barrett, or a semi-autobiographical piece, in truth "The Wall" is as much an unintentional parody of itself as anything else. The problem is that what may have been intended as a grand prog-rock epic has failed to hit the mark by virtue of its disjointed and confusing delivery.

The idea that Pink (aka Waters aka Barrett) has become so disillusioned that he despises and despairs of the fans who shell out good money to see him perform, that he erects and wall between himself and his fans fails to evoke any sympathy in the listener. Oh, you poor rock star! The songs do not fit together at all well, and those which look back to Pink's early, formative years - "Another Brick in the Wall" - if they are intended to evoke such sympathy, fail to do so. Those which describe his present condition - "Comfortably Numb"-  do not strike a chord in the listener.

The production is, as you would expect, perfect. But the album comes across as overly orchestrated, dull and lifeless. This is by far the worst album Pink Floyd have ever released, and that is saying something. Theatrical to an extent where the English language runs out of words which mean pompous; contrived to a degree when the English language has an insufficient vocabulary to describe something even more superlative than pretentious, "The Wall" is little more than conceited self-pitying on the grandest of scales. Individual tracks, especially "Comfortably Numb", may prove the highlights, but in order to make this album listenable you have to divorce each song from the context in which it supposedly lies. The trouble is, when you do that, there are not enough decent songs on here to make the album worth listening to.
Rating: 4/10

on 2011-09-05 SolitaryMan Said:

Haha, I don't know man, I think you can just sum it up to different strokes for different folks. I have the same sort of problem with bands and artists that, theoretically speaking and considering my tastes, I should have no problem enjoying. Judas Priest comes to mind, as do Anthrax, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and so on. It's pretty strange how our tastes work sometimes, but hey, there's no harm done. Can't think less of you for not digging them even though I do. I will suggest, however, that you listen to both "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "Animals" at some point, two great and very different albums compared to The Wall. They might change your opinion, might not, but it couldn't hurt to find out.
Rating: 10/10

on 2011-09-04 Sinist3r Punk Said:

I don't get it. I don't find Pink Floyd enjoyable at all. Even when I completely mellow out and forget everything I've ever heard about the band, this album doesn't stimulate my mind or hold my interest. In fact, none of the albums do. Kevin, maybe you can try and help me figure out why I can't get into the band.
Not Rated

on 2011-05-21 SolitaryMan Said:

I'm sure any honest review of this album could take up 2000+ words easily and without much effort beyond discussing the depth and potency of the concept, and the quality of the songs within. I always wanted to review it, but could never be sure HOW when it's been so over-analyzed after all these years. I just looked at it in the way it took me years ago, and then how it still takes me now. When I first heard it, like Brian, I had no knowledge of anyone named Syd, and furthermore no idea that the band was right at the point of splitting up. If you'd have asked me then, I'd have said The Wall MUST have been the pinnacle of their history, when all the pieces fell into place just right. But today, I realize this isn't their best effort (I'm much more fond of Dark Side, and Animals, the latter probably being my favorite PF album), but it still amazes me, and always will, just how deep and introspective the story behind and within the music is. Glad I did the album some justice, even if it really didn't need any after all this time.
Rating: 10/10

on 2011-05-20 Trismus Said:

Great review. This album, quite frankly, changed my life. It set the standard for what quality music would be and a tone for the type of, not only music but art as a whole, that I would enjoy.
And yeah, kudos for having the onions to tackle this one.
Rating: 10/10

on 2011-05-20 hstisgod Said:

"and of course it makes easy sense seen from that perspective, but the lyrical subject matter goes far beyond one person. It has a universal appeal to us all, I think, despite anyone's feelings about the style of the music."

I couldnt agree more, as a listener who was exposed to this album from a very young age, but not old enough to understand the Barrett absence, I was able to pre-conceive my own notions about this album and its personable merits from it writers. Then while I got older and more curious learned the story of Barrett and one can only close off so many obvious references in the movie, and less on the recording? If that makes sense...


"but the album would be nothing without it's connecting interludes and the like. Each and every track, in simple terms of cohesiveness of the concept as a whole, has an important role to play."

I couldn't agree more here either, as if you were to end notes completely on maybe 5-6 tracks all of a sudden this album loses a bit of lust.

Great review that I've been too intimidated to do...You found a very imperative perspective from listening to this as an experience. As a kid I finally got past The Wall and DSOTM and found what is still my favorite Floyd record to this day... For my money to a desert island? "Meddle"... what a feel good effort!!!
Rating: 10/10

on 2011-05-20 SolitaryMan Said:

Yeah, very easy to pick up for first-timers. There's a lot of depth in the concept, but a lot of individual tracks stand out on their own quite nicely. And the film should be required viewing if you end up liking the album; it brings the story to life in a very artistic and impacting way.
Rating: 10/10

on 2011-05-19 dscanland Said:

It's also one of their most accessible albums. Start with The Wall if you've never listened to Pink Floyd. Easy to get into. Watch the movie too if you want a twisted reality on the music. Bob Geldof does an amazing job as Pink.
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2008-02-25 kev_stev Said:

This is one of the best albums I own. Full of classics like "Comfortably Numb" and "Another Brick in the Wall (pt. 2)" and surprises, most notably the climatic and experimental "The Trial," this album is gigantic on all ends. Beautifully cohesive and ingenuously scripted, Roger Waters and co. truly created a masterpiece here. However, The Wall should not be unequivocally deemed Floyd's best album because their catalogue is so impeccably strong; simply, this album should add to their lineage of revolutionary music, not overshadow it.
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2007-07-11 dscanland Said:

SolitaryMan, you've summed it up beautifully. I think every music fan has spent some time with The Wall, if not, they should. There is something here for everyone. Easily Pink Floyd's massive career topping album.
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2007-07-11 Alotofnothing Said:

Of course on of the better albums ever created. Roger waters, although pompous, is quite creative and damn near genius. The movie is brilliantly made. I saw Roger Waters live yesterday, one of the better concerts I've ever seen. Learned how to roll a joint from the videos, too~
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2007-07-10 SolitaryMan Said:

I rank this album as a 10 for 5 key reasons. This seems to be a better format for review of this album than a straight-ahead chunk of opinion, for reasons of my own. Anyway, here's the list: 1. As a concept, "The Wall" intertwines a myriad of life situations most of us have or will face, and makes you face them through the mind of an unstable, unhappy person who you would normally see as the total opposite. It shows you some of the actual realities of being a famous musician, and it does so honestly while never betraying the musical accompaniment. As a concept, "The Wall" reigns supreme in the annals of rock music. 2) Roger Waters did most of the work. Now, don't get me wrong, this band was never all about Roger and if it weren't for the influences of Gilmour, Wright and Mason, Floyd would have been a totally different beast. But, let's face it, Roger had the biggest musical brain and his epic, depressive and manic visions manifested into some powerful pieces of music. He helped score the entirety of the album, wrote the larger percentage and the proof of his prowess can be found on just about any track. 3) Recurring riffs and musical themes. Case and point: the "Another Brick In The Wall" trilogy. I'm just a sucker for this, it's subtle and most would probably call it cheap or lazy but I think running a certain sound or sounds through the entirety of an album creates a cohesive sort of effect that works wonders. 4)"Comfortably Numb" 5)The essential movie that adds visual substance to an already substance-heavy album. 10/10, and it's worth noting "The Wall" is my favorite album. I've heard it more times than I'd like to admit, and I have to admit it never gets old on these ears.
Rating: 10/10