Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Pink Floyd
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1979
Runtime: 81:09
Rating: 5/5
With the monumental progressive rock opera “The Wall”, a double concept album about self-isolation, the legendary giants of prog Pink Floyd hit the peak of their album-making, moving the goalposts of modern popular and experimental music for good. “The Wall” was by every measure the most ambitious project in their history, and one of the last progressive rock albums you can still say was truly progressive, in the sense of musical innovation with a far-reaching influence on future generations of musicians. Several different factors shaped its musical and conceptual face.
The mastermind behind the whole “The Wall” project was the brilliant but moody bassist, singer and lyricist Roger Waters, who had by then developed openly dictatorial manners toward the rest of the band, and keyboardist Richard Wright felt it on his own skin more than anyone. Despite the important contribution he made to this album, Wright’s days in the band were numbered thanks to Waters, and he left right after its release. The main reason for Waters demanding Wright’s exit was reportedly that he’d taken a longer holiday than necessary before the album sessions. On the “The Wall” tour he was only along as a hired hand.
Waters’ relationship with guitarist and singer David Gilmour was even worse, and the two reportedly weren’t even speaking to each other in the studio. Given those circumstances, it was no surprise that “The Wall” was the last album by the classic Pink Floyd lineup. On top of the strained relations within the band and years of cynicism toward the music industry, Waters’ concept of self-alienation was heavily shaped by an unpleasant incident on the “The Animals” tour, when some “fan” tried to climb onto the stage during a show in Montreal. Roger’s reaction was to spit in the intruder’s face without a second thought. That dramatic experience fed more and more into his belief that an invisible, alienating wall stands between a band and its audience, which later became a good excuse for impressive stage spectacles featuring an artificial wall on stage.
Waters’ traumatic studio and live mishaps, mixed with his socialist worldview, childhood memories of a father killed in the war and his disillusionment with the music industry, were key to the album’s conceptual and musical look being so full of dark shades, radiating in an uncompromising way the impoverished spiritual and emotional state of an individual within Western ultra-capitalist society. The central theme of the album is self-isolation, illustrated by the building of a metaphorical wall inside the protagonist’s head.
The song cycle vividly tells fragments from the life of a popular musician named Pink (his personality was partly modeled on Waters’ own ups and downs and his emotional state at the time, as well as the tragic fate of founding member, the “crazy diamond” Syd Barrett). Pink loses his father in the war (Waters’ father was killed in World War II) and grows up in the arms of a possessive mother who keeps him from developing genuine relationships with his peers. At school he laboriously piles up knowledge and learns discipline under the baton of tyrannical and twisted teachers. All these personal traumas help add brick after brick in his head, gradually building a self-isolating wall he wants to hide behind from society.
Once grown up he becomes a famous rock musician, but his life is run by drugs, failed relationships, corrupt managers and sudden, uncontrolled outbursts of violence. After his marriage falls apart he suffers a final emotional breakdown and builds an imaginary wall in his head against society, shutting himself away completely. Hallucinations nurture dictatorial tendencies in him. Suddenly he starts picturing himself as a neo-Nazi dictator who sees his concert audience as obedient sheep, among whom he punishes “inferior” individuals at will. At his signal they’re dragged out of the hall. Eventually his subconscious rebels against this hallucinogenic dictatorial delusion.
Shaken by this traumatic experience, he starts to loathe himself and prepares a self-condemnation in his head. This trial is the climax of the whole concept, as he confronts the closest characters in his life inside his own mind. His inner judge manages to bring him to finally tear down the wall and reach out of his self-isolation to his friends and loved ones, or rather the people he hurt most with his actions. Of course everyone can form their own picture of whether Pink ended up finding happiness in life without an imaginary wall or landed in a padded room for good. Without doubt this is one of the best concepts out there, offering, besides a psychological cross-section of an alienated individual, an uncompromising mirror of relationships within our competitive and often mutually alienated society. Plenty of different (sub)messages hide in every song.
As with most Pink Floyd masterpieces, the main strength of “The Wall” lies in its exceptional atmospheric variety, which makes it easy to picture the individual scenes of Waters’ concept. Never before or after did Pink Floyd sound as theatrical and punchy as they do on most of the “The Wall” compositions. The album’s mood is generally even gloomier and more rooted in reality than its predecessor “Animals” (1977), with only rare moments of light. Some of the punchier motifs come with a rebellious, almost punk energy, a huge leap from their earlier space rock years, never mind the psychedelic-avant-garde beginnings. Despite the different, more direct and far less experimental approach, Pink Floyd kept their usual instrumental strengths, and as usual the standouts are Gilmour’s melancholic slide touches and subtle solos that still give you goosebumps all over today.
Besides Wright’s usual backdrop of organ, piano and clavinet, a heap of synthesizers was used, which in places adds to a strongly orchestral sound. Waters, with his theatrical way of singing and exceptional feel for drama, reached the peak of his singing role here, as he highly convincingly “plays” the parts of Pink and the characters from his life. Thanks to Waters, Gilmour was noticeably cut back in his singing (and songwriting) role, but that’s exactly why all three songs with his vocal and compositional contribution rank among the album’s best moments (Young Lust, Run Like Hell and especially Comfortably Numb).
Waters’ semi-autobiographical rock opera opens with “In The Flesh?”, where the ending has the roar of German bombers, symbolizing the violent death of Pink’s father during a wartime bombing raid. This dynamic song opens with a calm melody that can later be heard again on the closing “Outside The Wall” (which closes the cycle). With the help of Waters’ cynical vocal, dramatic guitar passages and organ, the song builds toward a dramatic finish with the rumble of bombers. “The Thin Ice” opens with a tender piano melody and Gilmour’s serene singing, reminiscent of a childhood lullaby. The moment Waters’ vocal cuts in, the song takes on cynical shades, and then a punchy guitar solo brings a sudden, almost brutal end. This song represents Pink’s (lost) childhood innocence and the time before he realized what had happened to his father.
“Another Brick In The Wall, Part. 1” is the first of three interconnected motifs that build one of the most recognizable musical themes in rock history. All three share a rebellious mood, a related lyrical structure and chorus, while each one sounds angrier and punchier than the last. The first part is the calmest of the three, with a subtle guitar solo, a repeating bass line and Gilmour’s relatively gentle singing with an occasional burst of anger, as the protagonist begins to grasp his father’s death and build the wall. The theatrical interlude “The Happiest Days Of Our Lives” announces the best-known, though far from best, creation in the band’s history. The eerie sound of a helicopter cuts off the headmaster’s screaming, which recalls a concentration camp commandant yelling. Roger’s cynical vocal eventually joins the pulsating bass line, telling of the protagonist’s traumatic experience with tyrannical teachers.
After a dramatic scream comes the transition into probably the most famous rebellious anthem in rock history, “Another Brick In The Wall, Part. 2”, the song that went down in history as their biggest hit. This infamous track, illustrating Pink’s daydream of children rising up against a tyrannical teacher, boasts a massive drum sound, a pulsating bass line and unique guitar bits. A children’s choir adds substantially to the rebellious drama, building on Gilmour’s singing and delivering the second verse and the main chorus. The ending is nicely spiced up by Dave’s weeping guitar solo, backed by the booming sound of organ. When it came out it was a superb and innovative creation, but its overplaying on the radio is to blame for many fans of the band today thinking it’s overrated compared with their less exposed songwriting masterpieces.
After all that rebellious drama comes “Mother” with its calm acoustic melody and vocal theatricality, though as it goes on, the addition of more instruments gives it a somewhat more complex dimension. This is an important chapter from Pink’s life, as he confronts his overly possessive mother, who wants to keep him in her “arms” at all costs even after he grows up, and who nurtures in him a fear of accidentally finding a woman and starting an independent life. The core of this excellent song lies in the contrast between Waters’ vocal, which as Pink positively melts with cynicism, and Gilmour’s gentle singing, where he nails the role of the possessive mother.
“Goodbye Blue Sky” is yet another song of many atmospheric contrasts. A serene intro is followed by a dramatic shift into a far more ominous mood, held up by Gilmour’s excellent singing and a gentle acoustic guitar melody. Here Pink mourns his ruined childhood and life with a possessive mother, and then childhood is suddenly over; he becomes a rock star and gets married, which is far from the end of his personal traumas. “Empty Spaces” features ominous sounds on keyboards and guitar, plus a frantic announcement from the crowd, heralding Pink’s departure on tour. By this point Pink is a rock star and married, but he and his wife have constant trouble because of his growing distance. In the lyrics Roger suddenly asks what he should use to make the wall even sturdier. The answer lies in rock groupies, which brings him no satisfaction.
Next comes the superb “Young Lust”, one of the punchiest compositions in their history, packed with plenty of hard rock guitar phrases, funky bass lines and thick layers of Hammond. Gilmour’s punchy guitar touches and unusually raw vocal approach make it one of the most outstanding and high-quality pieces on the album. After his experience with groupies, Pink learns over the phone that his wife is cheating on him. This finally leads to his nervous breakdown. “One Of My Turns” reflects that breakdown very well, with a failed dialogue between Pink and a bewildered, later increasingly frightened groupie he’s invited to his apartment. Waters plays Pink’s emotional breakdown and sudden outburst of violence very well, eventually raising his voice in a mix of anger at his wife and self-pity. This state continues on the ultra-sad “Don’t Leave Me Now”, where Pink drowns in depression over a fragile piano melody. The calm intro is followed by a shift into a more temperamental section with a piercing slide guitar. Then comes the third and shortest “Another Brick In The Wall”, the most aggressive of the three thanks to Roger’s enraged singing, as the furious Pink decides he doesn’t need people around him in his life anymore. The first half closes with the farewell “Goodbye Cruel World”, where Pink announces over a calm melody that the wall is complete, and with it his self-isolation from the outside world.
The second half of the album opens with “Hey You”, one of the most gripping compositions on the album, where an ice-cold acoustic guitar melody and emotionally drained singing hit hard. The mood peaks with an excellent guitar solo played over the central riff, followed by an exit into a dramatic acoustic section. This song represents the moment Pink is suddenly sorry he cut off all contact with the outside world and desperately wishes he could reconnect. His calls are eventually intercepted by the “worms”, a group of militant extremists, and this is where Pink’s gradual transformation into a neo-Nazi dictator begins. On “Is There Anybody Out There?” he’s still trying, unsuccessfully, to make contact, illustrated by desperate calls and a melancholic acoustic guitar solo.
“Nobody Home” features a sensitive piano melody and Roger’s cynical singing, vividly describing Pink’s lonely life inside the mental wall. There’s no one beside him to communicate with. He’s surrounded only by his material possessions. “Vera” is one of Roger’s cynical highlights, a song inspired by Vera Lynn, the British singer of the WWII era. She sang the popular song “We’ll Meet Again”, in which she promised families would be reunited after the war ended, something Roger (or rather Pink) never got to experience because of his father’s death. Waters’ plaintive singing is accompanied by gripping orchestral arrangements. “Bring The Boys Back Home” is built on pompous, militaristic sounds that give the impression of a military march, with which Roger wanted to stress the senselessness of war and say that neither war nor careers should ever alienate families.
With that, everything is set for the album’s grand peak, the phenomenal epic “Comfortably Numb”, where Gilmour, with two gripping solos, delivers veritable guitar revelations that send shivers down your body like nobody’s business. In my view it’s a serious contender for the best creation in the band’s history and one of the most magnificent achievements in rock history. This unforgettable work of art was originally meant for Dave’s first solo album, but luckily, on sober reflection, he decided otherwise. The mysterious opening, in which a dialogue between Pink and his doctor unfolds, is accompanied by melancholic synthesizer layers. Pink’s part in the choruses is excellently sung by Gilmour, while the doctor is “played” by the ever-cynical Waters.
At the manager’s request, the doctor tries to get Pink fit for the show with sedatives, accompanied by the protagonist’s cries of pain and, as a result, mental delusions. Eventually there’s a shift into a brighter, almost uplifting atmospheric section, where Gilmour’s emotionally exceptional singing enchants, backed by mighty orchestral curtains and a pleasant acoustic guitar melody. The moment the first of Dave’s incredibly refined solos kicks in, the melancholic mood, which still hides a grain of hope, rises another notch. Dave’s second solo is even more shattering than the first and reaches downright astonishing atmospheric dimensions. In my opinion, on no other composition in their history did Gilmour show so clearly why he’s both among the best guitarists of all time and the most emotionally heartfelt singers in rock. Waters may have contributed the concept and created the bulk of the work, but Gilmour created the best composition on the album.
“The Show Must Go On” represents Pink’s inner conflict over what to do after building the wall: stay isolated or force himself to go to the concert. In the end the latter wins out, which leads to hallucinations. Thanks to its multi-part vocal harmonies and sensitive piano arrangements, this solemn composition has a strong Queen-like stamp, which is somewhat ironic, since Queen recorded a song with the same name in 1991. “In The Flesh” brings back the original theme from the start of the album, ruled by explosive bursts of organ. That is followed by a shift into a calmer section announced by choir vocals. The cynical singing is followed by an ending with cries of “hammer, hammer”. The hammers are a symbol of Pink’s imaginary neo-Nazi party. In this part of the concept, because of a drug-induced hallucination, he begins to experience himself as a neo-Nazi dictator who can do whatever he pleases with his followers.
Next comes yet another of Gilmour’s songwriting masterpieces, “Run Like Hell”, where his refined guitar passages, laid over a pulsing bass line, are especially thrilling, while Wright contributes the only keyboard solo on the whole album. In his imagined role as dictator, Pink pictures his concert as a racist raid on threatened minorities, vividly accompanied by assorted sounds of announcements from his intolerant subordinates and their victims. On “Waiting For The Worms” his transformation into a racist leader is complete, accompanied by inflammatory, almost unintelligible speeches over a megaphone, chanting from the mob and a marching, militant rhythm. All of it is backed by cynical lyrical expression. It must be admitted that Waters does a truly excellent impression of Oswald Mosley, the British fascist leader from before WWII. The mood of the song gets darker by the second until it turns into the ominous chanting of the “worms”, that is, Pink’s far-right party.
After a complete cacophony of sounds caused by the fascist leader’s growing rage, a dramatic end to Pink’s racist ravings suddenly arrives, marked by the abrupt shift into “Stop”, where he realizes where he’s ended up and starts to loathe himself. That sets everything up for the grand, deeply eerie and gripping finale “The Trial”, where Pink stages his own trial in his head, confronting all the people because of whom he built the wall. This dramatic climax is an interesting one-off in their career, featuring elements of a musical with orchestral interludes and choral chants in between. It’s interesting to learn that some of the orchestral arrangements in this song had a significant influence on the music in films by cult director Tim Burton. The central star of the song is undoubtedly Waters, who with his theatrical, at times almost grotesque singing excellently plays the part of the arrogant judge and the characters from Pink’s past, such as the headmaster, mother and ex-wife. Pink’s self-condemnation ends with closing dramatic calls to tear down the wall.
On the closing “Outside The Wall” Pink’s wall finally comes down, ending his agony and opening the chance for catharsis. So, in a somewhat ironic way, with the same pleasant melody heard at the start of the album, this monumental concept cycle comes to a close, with Pink’s further fate left open to each listener’s own interpretation. The moral of the concept might be that you can’t solve problems with internal or external walls (and even after the fall of the Berlin Wall there are still too many of both around the world), only through cooperation and connection with one another.
“The Wall” is one of those monumental albums that wrote itself into rock history in letters of gold and helped make sure the legend of Pink Floyd lives forever. And Waters’ concept of self-alienation is more relevant today than ever. A lot has been said about the many strengths of this exceptional album throughout this review, so there’s no point in wasting any more words trying to overpraise one of the greatest achievements of modern musical art. This timeless masterpiece did take its toll, though, in the breakup of the classic Pink Floyd lineup, which, to the great sorrow of most of their fans, will never get back together after Wright’s untimely death. For all lovers of this musical and conceptual work of art, the 1982 film of the same name, directed by Alan Parker and starring Bob Geldof, is a must-see, though I’m sure most of those who count themselves among the band’s followers watched it long ago.
Lineup
Roger Waters – vocals, bass guitar, co-producer, synthesizer, electric and acoustic guitar, cover design
David Gilmour – guitar, vocals, bass guitar,
co-producer, sequencer, synthesizer, clavinet, percussion
Richard Wright – piano, organ, synthesizer, clavinet, bass pedals
Nick Mason – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Joe Chemay – backing vocals
Ron di Blasi – classical guitar on “Is There Anybody Out There?”
Bob Ezrin – keyboards
Stan Farber – backing vocals
Fourth form music class, Islington Green School, London — choir vocals
James Guthrie – percussion, synthesizer on “Empty Spaces” (together with David Gilmour), sequencer, drums on “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” (together with Nick Mason)
Jim Haas – backing vocals
Bobbye Hall – percussion
Bruce Johnston – backing vocals
Jon Joyce – backing vocals
Freddie Mandel – Hammond organ on “In the Flesh?” and “In the Flesh”
Frank Marrocco – concertina
Bleu Ocean – marching snare drum on “Bring the Boys Back Home”
Jeff Porcaro – drums on “Mother”, marching snare drum on “Bring the Boys Back Home”
Lee Ritenour – rhythm guitar on “One of My Turns” and acoustic guitar on “Comfortably Numb”
Toni Tennille – backing vocals
Trevor Veitch – mandolin
Larry Williams – clarinet on “Outside the Wall”
Production
Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour, James Guthrie and Roger Waters
Track list
CD 1: 38:58
1. In the flesh? (3:17)
2. The thin ice (2:28)
3. Another brick in the wall Part one (3:41)
4. The happiest days of our lives (1:20)
5. Another brick in the wall Part two (3:56)
6. Mother (5:32)
7. Goodbye blue sky (2:48)
8. Empty spaces (5:36)
9. Young lust (2:03)
10. One of my turns (1:33)
11. Don’t leave me now (4:22)
12. Another brick in the wall Part three (1:17)
13. Goodbye cruel world (1:05)
CD 2: 40:43
1. Hey you (4:39)
2. Is there anybody out there! (2:40)
3. Nobody home (3:25)
4. Vera (1:38)
5. Bring the boys back home (0:50)
6. Comfortably numb (6:49)
7. The show must go on (1:36)
8. In the flesh (4:16)
9. Run like hell (4:22)
10. Waiting for the worms (3:56)
11. Stop (0:34)
12. The trial (5:16)
13. Outside the wall (1:42)
