THE WALL

A lot has been said, blah blah blah, about Roger taking total control after Animals, well what did you expect??

Let's start with David first. By his own admission very recently he didn't contribute much to the Dark Side cos of 'laziness'. And by the time of The Wall he didn't have much beyond Comfortably Numb, no-one has since disputed this, least of all himself. Remember, the bulk of it was written before recording commenced.

Now with Richard, everyone knows he's more of a traditionalist keyboardist, more Hammond and piano than synths. Indeed, the VCS3s in On The Run on Dark Side was Roger's and Dave's work. David has claimed the excellent synth work on Welcome To The Machine in Wish You Were Here as mostly his, Richard has never denied this. So I can understand when he said Roger rejected his work on Animals, maybe his stuff just didn't fit in, and remember at this time Dogs was written about 5 years before, and it's a song that definitely calls for more keyboard drama than just piano and Hammond.

Nick, well like Ringo, was lovable and had a good sense of humour, and that's enough!

So if by 1979 Roger had developed an ego, well quite frankly none of the other members had anything artistically to keep it in check. Brutal but true. As a band Pink Floyd was finished after 1977, let alone after The Final Cut.

And now one last thing before the actual review, some here are astonishingly unaware that no-one can actually tell who was playing what on The Wall album. The only certain performer was Gilmour on guitar, and maybe Roger on more than a few bass parts. No- one, and I mean no-one can tell where Wright or Mason was playing. Many studio musicians, including drummers, keyboardists, and guitarists were enlisted in the sessions but were not credited on the album. If I'm correct David had first brought this to light in a few interviews in 1987/88. So even by 1979 the Floyd could hardly be called a nuclear entity. Sorry folks, that's just how it was.

Now to the album itself, in a way it's a continuation of Animals, with Roger's increasingly sardonic tone, now expanded.

Side One starts off strongly enough with In The Flesh, but in contrast to many fans here, it's my least favourite side. Sure, ABITW (2) and Mother are great, but...

Things get really cooking for me on Side Two. The harmony singing on Goodbye Blue Sky is stunning, and to my ears the music, lyrics and singing come together spot on. Then to my next favourite, which nobody else seems to like, is The Empty Spaces, which I think is just a brilliant prelude to Young Lust. I think many don't get it, Roger has said it's a rock and roll pastiche, and to me it's a great rollicking song that flows. David's vocals and guitar solo are sublime! Which leads onto Young Lust, which I think again, people either get it or don't, it's just excellent, the way it builds up from the woman in the room, to the protagonist letting out his frustrations. Again, musically, lyrically and vocally it all comes together. And hats off again to Gilmour. And now, MOST JUST DON"T GET Don't Leave Me Now. It's actually a song about how husbands deride wives, and maybe vice versa, in social situations such as restaurants and other public places. I think everyone has experienced this at some point in their lives. I repeat again, I think it works perfectly. And the side ends perfectly with ABITW (3) and Goodbye Cruel World, which signifies Pink's wall as now complete. Sorry folks, again, you either get it or you don't.

Side 3, again one of my favourites. I don't need to harp on as to how brilliant the bookends of this side are, everyone agrees. Where I will disagree is everything in- between. I LOVE Is There Anybody Out There, and Nobody Home is just sublime. Sure maybe the rest are not essential but I think the flow from Bring The Boys Back Home to CF is very good. So this side, some love, some don't, and that is that.

Side 4, I agree with most others here, is not as successful, but after listening to the album after maaaaaany years, I think The Show Must Go On is very good indeed, from the Beach Boys harmony to the actual melody, it works well into In The Flesh reprise, which is excellent: notice the instrumental harmonizing before Roger sings, very effective, and i dare find it funny! Whoever said he has no sense of humour, I'd have him or her shot! Run Like Hell was never my favourite, but I now like it more after listening to this album after, um, about 10 years. Waiting For The Worms is however the centrepiece of this side, and again works very well. The Trial, yes, I don't think has aged well, but has some merit I suppose. Outside The Wall ends the album on a high note, I love the harmonium on the song.

Now about this prog-rock bullshit, I see it this way, Dark Side and Wish were more musical, whereas the Wall is more expressionist. Yes, maybe I sound a bit pompous here but I think The Wall is more akin to an expressionist painting.

So there's my two cents.

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