THE WALL

Fifty words to describe this when all of my dear colleagues did such a fine job? Well, let me explain why this does not get the maximum rating, then. Actually, it gets 4.5 stars but there are moments I avoid on side 3 (from Is there Anybody out there? to Vera Lynn to Comfortably Numb included - I overdosed on the last number).

I never bought the CD to replace my vinyl since I rarely have the urge to listen to this anymore (I know every note by heart) and got the live version recently released (Is There Anybody Out There?) instead which I think is superior. I also saw the film about twenty times, and always wondered why the first number (depicting the death of Pink's father in WWII) never appeared anywhere in the studio and live recordings.

So the debate is: which of the three versions should you not get: The Movie, the live version or the original studio one? They've all got little plusses and a few minuses. The movie has the images that help you grasp the story best and has the Corporal Fletcher Memorial track but is with Geldof singing some tunes and lacks the superb Hey You! (it is in the bonus features, though) . The studio version lacks the Fletcher track and the images but has the tracks as originally sung. The live album is tremendous and a good rendition of the concerts and has an extra track on it and has the false PF band playing. I got all three but will never have the studio version in digital form.

As for that Immersion boxset of 2011 The boxset of this huge concept album is probably more interesting than the WYWH one, not only because there are more discs, but it's more complete. Aside the multi-speaker versions of the original albums, we're finding the Is There Anybody There live album (released 10 years ago or so), the usual DVD video stuff, including three documentary interviews (one concentrating about the movie) plus concert animation visuals and a video-clip Another Brick of yesteryear. You might be pleased with the illustrated concert picture book, and the other one concentrating on the album (lyrics, gatefold and piccies of the project and memorabilia), but the huge foldable "poster" with the lyrics is absolutely useless. If you already own the studio and live versions, the more interesting discs are the work-in-progress tracks, where some of these tracks are in a very different state than the final version. Very interesting to hear once or twice, but your mileage will vary on these, but most likely it won't get regular spins. The only thing positive about the oversized width of these Immersion boxes is that you'll find space for the Parker movie DVD package, which is sadly missing here. Hardly essential, unless you have nothing about this huge and bombastic concept album.