THE WALL

I struggled between either 4 or 5 stars for the rating of this album, the album that essentially waved "goodbye" to the traditional era of prog, as the 1970's gave way to the 80's. But in the end, I settled for 4, not because there are faults with it that prevent me from giving it a higher rating, but it's just not my most listened to Floyd album.

I don't think people would disagree if I considered this a "rock opera", because that's essentially what it is (I'm not going to bother explaining the story behind it, most of you know by now, if not, just google it or read other reviews). But Pink Floyd established itself in the late 60's by taking the psychedelic style of music, forged from the 60's with help from the Beatles, and before long, a "signature sound" was developed, and "The Wall" took that signature sound (unusual forms of music-making, ambient soundscapes, hallucinogenic jams and "totally wicked" guitar solos) and cut them up into easily digestible chunks. Almost, too cut up.

After all, the hits you hear on classic rock stations ("Another Brick In The Wall", "Hey You", "Comfortably Numb", "Run Like Hell") weren't necessarily designed to be accessible, commercial commodities, born to assault the pop charts and launch the artists into fame and stardom. But then again, because of the way the album is scripted (similarly to an opera or broadway show, mind), the longer "hits" where bookended by smaller minute-and-a-half-or-so "bridges". Therefore, the attention immediately gravitates to those longer tracks. And because of that, I've heard these songs so many times on the radio, I've kinda gotten sick of them for the moment.

Of course, that all goes out the window you when you press play on "In The Flesh" and stick it out for the entire album. Then of course, it's a different experience, it's now a story, a movie in aural format. And frankly, that's not a bad thing at all. My biggest gripe is that I wished "Another Brick In The Wall" was not cut up into three parts (that's why when jam bands play this song, it's like 15 minutes long. It BEGS for an extended jam and guitar solo).

But despite the album maintaining the soundscapes, signature long jams and guitar solos, and unusual contemporary extended techniques (radios, groaning, symphonic samples, re-occurrence of themes), there is something profoundly missing from "The Wall" than other albums, something that I just can't quite put my finger on, something you really just can't explain:

There's no.... catch....

There's something with songs like "Atom Heart Mother", 'Dogs", "Echoes", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", that you just literally just turn on, tune in and drop out. And yet, for some reason, I can't do that here. Maybe that's I'm comparing apples to oranges, as the songs I mentioned where gigantic psychedelic epics that just can't be compared to this album, and that's probably true. But something with this album just doesn't click, and maybe partially, that has to do with the length....

Which is weird, because recently I've lost interest with longer scale prog epics (Wobbler's first album immediately springs to mind), and perhaps it was all a sign of the end of prog's "golden age". When you comb through prog in the 70's and flash by Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, ELP, you could almost see the writing on the wall and expect it to end, perhaps because of eventuality, or maybe because of sheer boredom, which I can attest to. But then, when I play this album, and realize that this (right behind Yes' "Drama") heralded the end, I immediately get nostalgic for the jams from "Animals" and "Wish You Were Here". Or maybe that's because of my innate obsession of jams, improvs and non-stop noodling.

Or maybe it's the fact that the songs are too short that by the time you grasp onto them, however that may be, the song is over the story continues on without you. And perhaps that's why out of Pink Floyd's "golden age", this album is the least of my favorites, even behind "Atom Heart Mother" and "Obscured By Clouds". That of course means nothing in terms of the significance of this album, the incredible storytelling and attention to detail, and the way it pretty much signaled the end of Pink Floyd as we know it today in its most famous guise (Waters, Gilmore, Mason and Wight).

But as usual, I'm nitpicking between gold and silver. "The Wall" is one of the most iconic albums ever released, especially considering the time when it was released, the political upheavals all across the globe between the 70's and 80's, it's an album that always has, and will continue to resonate throughout the world, but maybe excluding songs like "Mother, "Comfortably Numb", it's really an album that's best appreciated when listened from start to finish with no interruption, and albums like that aren't for everyone. So really, it's more of an icon, a symbol, rather than just an album.

Musically, it may not be the easiest to grab onto, but for those who know, it's a symbol of a powerful image in a tumultuous time. An icon for sure.