THE WALL

Pink Floyd

Psychedelic/Space Rock

4.10 | 3317 ratings

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penguindf12
Prog Reviewer

Man, I keep changing my mind about this album! When I was 14, it was THE BEST THING EVER PERIOD. At 18, it was "not proggy enough." Now, at 22, it's "Really Great!"

I'll level with you - this album holds a special place in my heart. I was obsessed with it for months; I'd never heard anything like it before. It was so "deep," so "intelligent" & cohesive. I STILL think it is all of these things, but I'm pretty biased.

The music here isn't complex or "Progressive." It is more along the lines of classic rock stuff from that era, and sounds a LOT like Alice Cooper's "Billion Dollar Babies" album in terms of "sound" - in fact, it sounds way more like Cooper than Pink Floyd; it's no coincidence that Bob Ezrin produced both albums.

The lyrics are excellent. I can't do them justice; read Bret Urick's complete analysis for a wonderful take on that subject: http://home.mchsi.com/~ttint/

Some highlights for me:

"In the Flesh?" erupts like a phoenix from ashes. It's bloated cheese-metal, for sure, and it wobbles along in a menacing crawl - it's the sound of a man that just doesn't care any more. A brilliant introduction that sends shivers down my spine.

"Goodbye Blue Sky" is beautiful. If I say more I might start sobbing. "Empty Spaces" really gets me as well. "What shall we use to fill the empty space where we used to talk?" --- What indeed?

"Young Lust" has a great riff.

"Don't Leave Me Now" is incredible, and VERY underrated. Ambient & heart-wrenching, especially when the drums swoop in for the final chorus.

"Another Brick in the Wall Part III" is my favorite of the three.

"Hey You" is probably one of the best songs ever written under the Floyd name.

"Is There Anybody Out There?" gives me goosebumps. I love the acoustic guitar threnody that forms its coda - it's some of the loneliest music ever recorded.

"Nobody Home" is another great song that doesn't get enough attention. Sing it at home sometime. You'll end up memorizing the little samples of television dialogue that permeate the background.

"Vera Lynn" is also underrated, but it only makes sense if you understand the context.

"Bring the Boys Back Home" occupies a strange place in my perception. I don't like it - but it does form a nice contrast to the incessant softness of the first half of Disc 2.

Everyone likes "Comfortably Numb." If you don't, get stuffed.

"Waiting for the Worms" just plain sounds awesome. VERY Bob Ezrin, but captures a lyrical nihilism like no other. "Sitting in a bunker..."

"Stop." I sing it when I am alone, curled up in the corner of some bathroom. It resonates beautifully.

Absolutely essential. It doesn't sound like Pink Floyd, but it does sound great.

penguindf12 | 5/5 | 2004-8-11

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