ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 288 PINK FLOYD - THE WALL (1979)

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it) unless otherwise noted.

It's time to look at some Billboard number one albums. You are gonna get a heavy dose of them in 2016. Not necessarily every week, but many weeks for sure. We'll kick it off with Pink Floyd's massive hit, The Wall. Released in November of 1979, the album hit the number one slot on the Billboard 200 chart the week of January 19, 1980 and stayed there for 15 weeks. It has since been certified 23 X Platinum by the RIAA (remember though, it's a double album, so every album sold counts as two). I could list a hundred things about the album, but I won't. I could tell you all about the album's theme, but I won't. I won't because you already know this stuff.

I will tell you that when this album came out, I was 13 years old. I was not a fan of Pink Floyd. However, my cousin, who had some really cool albums, did like Floyd. And he had this double LP. I remember seeing the album, and I remember him playing it. But it just never appealed to me at that time. I also remember hearing Another Brick In The Wall (Part II), at least I think it was part 2, all over the radio. And I did kind of like that song, but that was it for me and Pink Floyd. Fast forward 36 years, and I have much more of a taste for Pink Floyd. At least three of their albums anyway. But I have yet to ever listen to this album all the way through, so that's my goal for this week.

This album is readily available in several editions. You can go with the 2011 remaster at $16. 11. You could step it up to the Experience Edition for $31.53 (this version includes the remaster along with a third CD of various demos). Or, you could go all out and drop $156.45 on the Immersion Box Set (this one includes the original album remastered, 2 CD's of demos, 2 CD's of The Wall Live, a DVD and many extras like a book, coasters, Storm Thorgerson artwork, replica back stage passes and several other goodies). I would be interested to know if anyone reading this has purchased the Immersion Box Set. Anyway, what is your position on Pink Floyd and The Wall?

Side One:

1. In The Flesh?

2. The Thin Ice

3. Another Brick In The Wall (Part I)

4. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives

5. Another Brick In The Wall (Part II)

6. Mother

Side Two:

7. Goodbye Blue Sky

8. Empty Spaces

9. Young Lust

10. One Of My Turns

11. Don't Leave Me Now

12. Another Brick In The Wall (Part III)

13. Goodbye Cruel World

Side Three:

14. Hey You

15. Is There Anybody Out There?

16. Nobody Home

17. Vera

18. Bring The Boys Back Home

19. Comfortably Numb

Side Four:

20. The Show Must Go On

21. In The Flesh

22. Run Like Hell

23. Waiting For The Worms

24. Stop

25. The Trial

26. Outside The Wall

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Niels (Mod) on January 7, 2016 at 7:52am

One of many (if "you" ask RJhog) albums, that I really can't see, what's the fuss about, meaning....

It's not half as good, as some people claim it is.

Granted, it's a great concept and the concerts were huge back in the day (and last year or whenever Waters "toured it" (I saw the Wall-concert in 1990 in Berlin by "the real Wall", that wasn't there anymore), and some of the songs are good, especially Another Brick In The Wall part whatever, but man, it's been overplayed. It was already overplayed back in 1980. Other good songs are especially Hey You, but also Mother, maybe Goodbye Blue Sky, Comfortably Numb, but that's it. The rest is filler or whatever, sounds and stuff.

Floyd have made 2 classic awesome albums imo, and you know, what they are called.

The Wall is a fine piece of art, but not a great album. 7/10, if you ask me.

I never got it until 1990, just after the concert, but I knew of it off course from back then.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jon on January 7, 2016 at 9:14am

First off, I won't mention anything about my listening to this album a couple weeks ago. With this one I don't mind since it's one of the greatest albums ever made.

Yes, I have the Immersion set as well as the Discovery and Experience editions. Plus I have the older remaster on CD as well as the cassette. Also add The Wall tribute album, "Back Against The Wall" and Roger Waters' "The Wall: Live In Berlin". If you want to count the movie, yeah I have that as well. It needs to be released on blu-ray ASAP.

I could write about how I always thought my mother was calling me during "Bring The Boys Back Home" even though she wasn't. or how I listened to this every day for a year straight. Or how that same mother said she liked DSOTM better than TW after I had bought DS after getting hooked on TW and listened to it a few times and how I wondered why she was looking thru my albums and how in the world she would even know who Pink Floyd was. I could mention that (as well as still expecting to hear pops during the album since I still have my vinyl copy ingrained in my head), but I won't since I am sure I've mentioned it before.

My favorite album of all time

My "desert island" album

Wonder if that version of ABITW Parts 1-3 is available somewhere. That was played quite a bit on the radio, all three songs combined into one. Maybe I'll look.

Can't forget that this album also features Toni Tenille! That makes it even BETTER!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Scott on January 7, 2016 at 8:28pm

This is simply fantastic, everything about it is great! With each listen is a new discovery, still to this day you can hear things.

I do own the remastered CD edition and that's enough for me, I have no need for an immersion set, especially at those prices, and bonus material isn't really all that good quite often. Now if Rush were to do something like this on a few of their albums I would be all in, much like Jon is on this one. So I can't judge the money pit some albums have the potential to become when I would be in line to get one....

One thing Ive never done is the Wizard of Oz thing, I'm sure there is more there than meets the eye but I haven't been able to bring myself to experience that yet... Maybe someone could elaborate?