IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?

The Wall is one of my favorite albums and one of the greatest rock classics for its scope, vision, grandiosity, and courage, let alone the lyrical and musical accomplishment. I read with amusement all the time those who will swoon over Meddle and Animals but then bash The Wall for various reasons. Some of those folks feel that this live version redeems The Wall somewhat for bringing more life and looseness to what they see as a tight, sterile studio album. That ironically is one of the biggest problems with this album. The Wall is supposed to convey feelings of abject grey, coldness, tightness. This material is not supposed to make you feel like happy-prog does. The reason it is a masterpiece (in studio form) is that it is so perfectly and so tightly constructed, with every single little note and orchestration in exactly the place ole Rog wants it. Chapter after chapter of perfect lyrics tied to outstanding melodies and maniacally crafted into one of rock music's most legendary experiences.

That's not to say this is a horrible album although it would have made infinitely more sense to release this as a DVD, to give people the visual experience. But nothing here is better than the studio version and many things are markedly worse. Without the Waters quality control in place certain parts have lost their crisp and elegant edges. Gilmour gets the biggest hits here from me for introducing some out-of-place road swagger to certain sections that do not benefit from it. Most problematic is that his contempt for the project cannot be hidden during his singing: he is not delivering the lyrics as if he is behind them. He is professional but I can hear in his voice what he has admitted verbally time and again: he didn't like The Wall. Some might think I'm crazy for saying that but I swear I can hear the little verbal tics and indifference, conscious or not, that convey his displeasure for Water's theme. That's fine and I understand why it would be difficult to go through this tour feeling that way, but the fact is that he is so much more convincing in the studio recording, perhaps because he had Waters breathing down his neck, perhaps because he wasn't under the stress that filled this tour. I'm not going to comment about Mason and Wright other than to parrot what both Water and Gilmour have said in interviews: both musicians had let their commitment wane and were not up to past standards. Many know that Wright was fired but do not realize Gilmour agreed with the decision-many are also not aware that Mason was discussed for early pasture too briefly. Given that Gilmour is the most talented musician and singer in the band, his being luke-warm on the project keeps this from being the definitive live recording that Floyd fans have never been given since Pompeii. What the fans really deserve is a great Dark Side or WYWH show released simultaneously on CD and DVD video. It has to be in the vaults somewhere and given what other bands are releasing now from their archives, it is a travesty the band hasn't coughed it up yet. Another issue is the constant crowd noise between tracks which is fine for most concerts but it does alter the feel of an album for which "the feel" matters a lot. Last I found the live keyboard sound on some tracks to be that cheesy 80s/90s Grateful Dead live keyboard sound that I can't believe they ever thought was a good idea (listen early in the "Show Must Go On" for an example.) Now that is nit-picky but it's these little things that add up to make this live album less perfect than the original and that's why I rate it lower and recommend Floyd noobs (if any still exist) save their cash for the real thing. Even Waters solo Berlin Wall show was more exciting for me because of the visual aspect, something that could be remedied here with a DVD-video release. The upcoming 30th anniversary would be the perfect time boys.

There are some points of interest to the release such as the material not present on the studio album, the presence of other musicians, Roger's amusing remarks, and one hell of a nice pair (no pun) of CD booklets. Great packaging here. That and the inherent strength of Water's material (even when swimming with a brick tied to its foot) is enough to warrant a 3 star rating but this stops well short of the studio album. Mostly this one is for hard core Floydians who just can't resist. I'll be selling this and going back to listening to the real thing. And waiting for that live DVD from the '75 tour. I know, I know, when pigs fly.

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