The Wall
Zander's review
The Wall was, for a few years, my favorite album of all time. Pink Floyd my favorite band as well. I’ve since changed my stance on the best Pink Floyd album, but this double LP is still fabulous. An incredible blend of Roger, David, Richard, and even Nick on this album!
While many cite “filler songs” as their complaint about this album, I really disagree. Every single song here is crucial and significant to the plot. No matter how much you think Empty Spaces or Don’t Leave Me Now are boring.
Highlights, for me, include Mother, Young Lust, Hey You, Nobody Home, Comfortably Numb, Run Like Hell, and Waiting for the Worms. That three track run of the last songs I just mentioned is the peak of the album. The recurring musical theme that plays during the hammer march is so epic.
Richard Wrights atmospheric keyboard playing is phenomenal as always on this album. But it’s sometimes his Organ playing that really stands out here. David Gilmour shows why he’s the guitarist with the greatest tone of all time on multiple solos throughout this album. And Roger makes an argument for himself as one of the best lyricists ever.
It is also worth noting, that the live 1994 version of Comfortably Numb is one of my favorite and personally significant tracks of all time. But we are going to only refer to the studio recording of the song in this review. Which is also very strong.
Although I know it would pain my high school self to hear, I admit this album is not a 10/10. But it’s truly fantastic and worth a listen for anyone.
By the numbers
Track by track
▶ plays a 30-second preview- Disc 101In the Flesh?3:19
- 02The Thin Ice2:27
- 03Another Brick In the Wall, Pt. 13:11
- 04The Happiest Days of Our Lives1:51
- 05Another Brick In the Wall, Pt. 23:59
- 06Mother5:35
- 07Goodbye Blue Sky2:47
- 08Empty Spaces2:08
- 09Young Lust3:30
- 10One of My Turns3:37
- 11Don't Leave Me Now4:16
- 12Another Brick In the Wall, Pt. 31:15
- 13Goodbye Cruel World1:14
- Disc 201Hey You4:40
- 02Is There Anybody Out There?2:42
- 03Nobody Home3:23
- 04Vera1:33
- 05Bring the Boys Back Home1:28
- 06Comfortably Numb6:22
- 07The Show Must Go On1:36
- 08In the Flesh4:16
- 09Run Like Hell4:23
- 10Waiting for the Worms3:57
- 11Stop0:31
- 12The Trial5:19
- 13Outside the Wall1:44
About the record
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/CBS Records. It is the last album to include all four post-Barrett–era band members. A double album rock opera, it follows the story of "Pink", a jaded rock star, as he builds a psychological "wall" of isolation around himself. The Wall topped the US charts for 15 weeks and reached number three in the UK. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom found it overblown and pretentious, but later received accolades as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Summary from Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.