Killīs 50 greatest albums ever - #47

[Kill]

P i n k          F l o y d

THE WALL
(1980)

Roger Waters was exhausted. Actually, he had gone mad. In 1979, while Pink Floyd were promoting their latest album "Animals", their leader snapped and spit a fan in the face at a gig in Montreal. Heīd had enough, enough of the rock circus, enough of business and enough of crazy shows with hyped up flocks of people about to lose control. Back home, he gathered himself for what would turn out to be the bandīs - or particularly his - most ambitious project ever. And hence their most pompous and expensive one, too.

Roger Waters decided to build up The Wall. Not only was there a wall erected between the band and their audience at every live show, but also did that wall serve a metaphorical purpose throughout the whole album. In his process of recovery, Waters, along with digesting the experiences of the last tour gone wrong, immersed himself in introspection. What this resulted in was the lyrical and musical depiction of a country and the problems it posed to people growing up from a troubled manīs very subjective point of view.



"We donīt need no education/ we donīt need no thought control" - simple as they were, the polemics aimed at Great Britainīs educational system and practically the countryīs entire society, have been omnipresent to this very day. Youths who werenīt even born when the album came out still sing along, the CD (and the famous live record) can be found it virtually every store. Pink Floyd created a giant rock epic that remains permanently seared into the brains of an entire generation of fans. The analogy they used - a wall being formed and people robotically becoming "just another brick" in it - might have been so obvious it seemed a wee trite, but it was almost uncannily efficient.

Nevertheless, there are two sides to this bombastic project. "The Wall" was so bombastic it disappointed many long-time Pink Floyd fans. Critics werenīt entirely satisfied either: The album had a lot of snippet-like material and short songs, which to some people was not just complex, but confusing and chaotic. Moreover, Waters had almost completely taken control of the band and to some made the impression of having a megalomaniac solo project with the help of a bunch of friends going.

Hence, it might seem slightly ironic that what is probably the best song on the entire album was the one Waters only co-wrote; "Comfortably Numb" showcases the songwriting talent of guitarist David Guilmore and contains a performance on his instrument that came so close to perfection some found it scary. Along with this beautiful song came a few indubitably great ones by Waters himself though - "Hey You", "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives" or "The Thin Ice" are classics in their own right and impressive work in the context of the album. So while "The Wall" might come in as too bombastic to some, it stands as the most gigantic rock project ever to this day and is the most popular effort by one of the best and most innovative bands in rock history.

[Kill]

As for the hook-up....itīs 2 disc actually but I have it burnt on one. Itīs more than 80 minutes, so if you want it seperated: "Hey You" would be the first track of disc 2

[MidoriHaze]

Yer nice

I rate Dark Side of the Moon over this album, but maybe your list might too. I thought this album was released in 1979 though?

I've never really thought about it a lot, but is there any significance to the 3pts of Brick in the Wall. Pt 1 seems to be like a lead up and pt 3 seems more reflective on pt 2, but i've never bothered to check up what it's all about.

My favourite track = Comfortably Numb

[Kill]

Yer nice

I rate Dark Side of the Moon over this album, but maybe your list might too. I thought this album was released in 1979 though?

I've never really thought about it a lot, but is there any significance to the 3pts of Brick in the Wall. Pt 1 seems to be like a lead up and pt 3 seems more reflective on pt 2, but i've never bothered to check up what it's all about.

My favourite track = Comfortably Numb

yer, a reply lol. Some sources say 1979, some say 1980. You might be right...

Comfortably Numb is the best track on there, yeah...I even said it in the review, I fucking love that song

about the different parts of Another Brick in the Wall....itīs just the track the idea of the whole album is based on, I think thatīs why they split it and made it three songs. They did something similar on "Wish You Were Here". The album is basically a tribute to Syd Barret, their original band leader who turned schitzophrenic and the most important song about him is the 9-part epic "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"...parts 1-5 are the first song on the album, parts 6-9 are the last one...if you ainīt heard the album btw, CHECK IT OUT.

[HD]

props i only got dark side of the moon but this link doesn't work?!

[Kill]

props i only got dark side of the moon but this link doesn't work?!

 

for me it does

[white Boy]

top 25 for me, easily.

[Javier]

Anybody know why Megaupload takes longer for me than yousendit?  I kept on reading everybody else is posts saying that megaupload is much easier and faster, but for me its not like that.   

[HD]

props i only got dark side of the moon but this link doesn't work?!

 

for me it does

nevermind! it works now! thanks!

[BizzyR.I.P.]

Hell yeah an Album I like. Comfortably Numb is the best track, the solo is just sick.

[Kill]

top 25 for me, easily.

I know. Like I said, to me itīs way too bombastic and pompous...but I know Iīm not the only one who thinks so and some top 50 lists donīt even have it. Overall it IS great, but if I were to make a personal favorites list, this would POSSIBLY pop up in the top 100. Iīd put "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn", "Dark Side Of The Moon", "Meddle", "Animals" and "Wish You Were Here" over this.

Anybody know why Megaupload takes longer for me than yousendit?  I kept on reading everybody else is posts saying that megaupload is much easier and faster, but for me its not like that.   

I dunno, yousendit fucks up when I try to use it (to upload)...megaupload works, and for downloading both are about the same speed for me

Hell yeah an Album I like. Comfortably Numb is the best track, the solo is just sick.

Sick is an understatement. Thatīs the albumīs greatest moment and one of the best guitar solos ever in rock history IMO

[BizzyR.I.P.]

I know. Like I said, to me itīs way too bombastic and pompous...but I know Iīm not the only one who thinks so and some top 50 lists donīt even have it. Overall it IS great, but if I were to make a personal favorites list, this would POSSIBLY pop up in the top 100. Iīd put "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn", "Dark Side Of The Moon", "Meddle", "Animals" and "Wish You Were Here" over this.

Animals and Wish You Were Here are both dope but only 5 tracks appeace is what kills it 4 those 2.

[Bramsterdam (see ya)]

props buddy, I like this album alot!

[eS El Duque]

i remember watching the video for the album..or somthing like it at a friends house. 10 years old and watching hammers walking and shit trips the fuck out of a young mind lol

[Kill]

i remember watching the video for the album..or somthing like it at a friends house. 10 years old and watching hammers walking and shit trips the fuck out of a young mind lol

lol yeah, you mean the video right? Cause thereīs also a movie, and Iīve heard itīs actually pretty good