The Wall (Pink Floyd)

"The Dark Side of The Moon" may be Pink Floyd's highest selling and best known album, but this 1979 double album may be one of the band's strongest achievements to date. Another opus written as a reaction to the unseen side of fame and fortune, the lyrics of "The Wall" tell a story of a wayward rock star named Pink who makes his way through a journey of sadness, isolation, and ultimately madness. Unsurprisingly, the accompanying music is Pink Floyd at their most dramatic and showcases a good deal of sound effects and solid theatrics. Of course, this album also proved to be the last to feature the late keyboardist Rick Wright until 1987's "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" and the last before bassist/vocalist Roger Waters completely seized control with 1983's "The Final Cut".

In The Flesh?: Like any good overture, the album's opening track starts things off with a bombarding dramatic number. It features building guitar riffs and solos, neat keyboards, cool drum fills, and sly vocal lines. A pretty cool start.
9 out of 10

The Thin Ice: While this track does have some of the opener's theatric qualities, it leads into a more melodic direction. It features sounds of a baby's cry during the introduction, softer vocals, and some excellent piano touches. A pretty sweet tune.
8 out of 10

Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1): The first installment of the "Wall Trilogy" is probably its most mellow moment. It features swirling guitar and bass melodies and subdued vocals that manage to stay emotional. A sweet segment that provides a nice builder for what it is ahead. . .
9 out of 10

Happiest Days of Our Lives: Sounds of a helicopter and distorted vocals open this two minute tune in a very unusual fashion and the song's verses follow with distinct bass riffs and a great vocal performance that leads into the next tune quite nicely. . .
9 out of 10

Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2): Quite possibly the most famous song ever written by Pink Floyd, the second part of the trilogy features angrier vocals, groovy bass lines, a cameo by the Islington Green School choir, a spacy guitar solo, and a very quotable fade out sequence ("How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" Truly a question for the ages. . .). It should probably get a perfect score but it's awfully overplayed. . .
9 out of 10

Mother: Now we come to the album's first true ballad. It is dominated by accoustic guitar strums during the verses and choruses, vocal trade-offs between Waters and guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour, and another great guitar solo. The lyrics are also quite intelligently written ("Mama's gonna keep you right here under her wing/She won't let you fly but she might let you sing").
9 out of 10

Goodbye Blue Sky: I will always remember playing this song's spoken introduction over and over as a boy. . .
The song itself may be the album's most melancholic track and features a haunting guitar melody that reminds me of Metallica's "Fade To Black", beautifully delivered croons, and more drawn out vocal lines during the verses. An amazingly beautiful addition.
10 out of 10

Empty Spaces: Now we go to a darker direction as this two minute interlude comes in. It features a menacing rhythm, foreboding guitar squeals, a few spoken samples, and frightened sounding vocals.
8 out of 10

Young Lust: As "Empty Spaces" fades away, we go into one of the heavier tracks on the album. It features gritty guitar playing, muscular vocals, and another bass heavy rhythm during the verses; soaring vocals during the chorus; the signature wailing guitar solo; and the song fades out with a very strange set of samples. A pretty cool tune that is a far cry from the soft spacy material we're normally used to.
9 out of 10

One Of My Turns: Another spoken sample opens this song in a pretty interesting fashion (Apparently, it's meant to be the voice of a groupie. I always thought it was an enthusiastic fanboy when I was a kid. . .). The rest of the song is a melancholic ballad that features mournful vocals, nice backing organs, and a heavier groove for the following verses. A pretty good song that seems to foreshadow the sound Waters would take for "The Final Cut".
9 out of 10

Don't Leave Me Now: More spacy guitars/piano open this song in a melancholic fashion, the verses throw in some distant wails, another solo closes the song out on a louder note, and the lyrics are both mournful and intensely dark ("How could you go ?/When you know how I need you/To beat to a pulp on a Saturday night").
8 out of 10

Another Brick In The Wall (Part 3): The final part of the "Wall Trilogy" is shorter but much more violent than those before it. It features gritty vocal/guitar trade-offs and more swirling keyboards in the background. A pretty cool addition that is a little easy to overlook.
9 out of 10

Goodbye Cruel World: Now the first disc closes out with a short, atmospheric tune. It features building keyboards and more melancholic vocals. A decent segment but not much else to say about it.
7 out of 10

Hey You: Lonely guitar/bass melodies open the album's second disc in a strong fashion, the verses bring in a building rhythm and matching vocals that soon climax to desperate wails, the solo section brings in louder guitar playing, and the bridge returns to a softer style with a bizarre sound collage (including the infamous ping from "Echoes") thrown in towards the end. A pretty awesome song that is another PF favorite for yours truly.
10 out of 10

Is There Anybody Out There?: Something about this song always scared the crap out of me when I was little. It is another interlude that features haunting keyboards, eerily echoing vocals, creepy sound effects, and an instrumental second half with some neat classical guitar.
9 out of 10

Nobody Home: Back to the ballad style we go as this track comes in. The song features more beautiful piano playing, emotionally echoing vocals, beautifully played strings, and more television samples in the background. Another favorite.
10 out of 10

Vera: Sounds of battle open this interlude in an unsettling fashion and the rest of the song continues with haunting vocals, building strings, and lyrics alluding to the WWII era singer Vera Lynn. Slightly filler-ish but a haunting addition.
7 out of 10

Bring the Boys Back Home: Military drums open this song nicely and the sole verse features some over-the-top vocals, a neat backing orchestra, and another interesting sound collage towards the end. Another interesting addition, though a little too over the top to be a standout.
7 out of 10

Comfortably Numb: If "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" is the album's most famous track, then this is its most legendary. The verses come in with a neat bass line, subtle guitar playing, and echoing vocals by Waters; the chorus offers a more uplifting refrain sung by Gilmour; and the guitar solos have been considered by some to be the greatest ever recorded. A little overrated but truly an amazing song.
10 out of 10

The Show Must Go On: The melodic flavor of the previous song persists during this song as some gentle croons and piano dominate this piece. Add in some odd backing vocals and you've got an interesting interlude segment.
8 out of 10

In The Flesh: As evidenced by the title, this is a reprisal of the opening tune. It comes in with an identical introduction, the verses seems to be more sarcastically delivered than on the original tune, and the lyrics go into some strange territory during the final verse ("Are there any queers in the theatre tonight/Get'em up against the wall/There's one in the spotlight/He don't look right to me/Get him up against the wall/And that one looks Jewish/And that one's a coon/Who let all this riff-raff into the room/There's one smoking a joint/And another with spots/If I had my way/I'd have all of you shot"). A very strange addition.
8 out of 10

Run Like Hell: Now we come to another gritty hard rock number. This song opens with spacy guitars in the vein of those from the "Wall Trilogy" and a great backing rhythm, the verses throw in some unsually sequenced vocals, and the solos are particularly electrifying. A pretty awesome tune that always reminds me of Rush for some reason.
10 out of 10

Waiting For The Worms: Crowd chants and strange vocal/guitar trade-offs open this song's verse with a neat allusion to "Goodbye Cruel World", the verses continue in a ballad style with a nice drum beat underneath, the chorus features some creepy vocal trade-offs, and the song closes out with another unsettling spoken segment meant to symbolize Pink's fascist fantasies. Another foreboding tune.
9 out of 10

Stop: The shortest song on the album features more wailing vocals and sweet piano playing. Decent addition, but pretty much another filler.
7 out of 10

The Trial: Co-written with producer Bob Ezrin, the song brings the album's last climax. It opens this sounds of footsteps and a tolling bell, the verses continue with building strings and over the top vocals that always make me smile, the chorus features a catchy refrain with the children's choir thrown in at a few points, and the song closes out with some catchy chanting that ends with the sound of an explosion. Another favorite.
10 out of 10

Outside The Wall: Closing the album out is a final interlude that features quiet vocals, interesting isntruments added in, and a strange choir in the background. A decent closer.
7 out of 10

Overall, this album gets 225 out of 260, 87%, and 4 stars. Given the significance this had during the memories of my childhood, I must say I have a major soft spot for this album. The story is emotional and the songs themselves are very well written. However, there do seem to be a few too many interludes and a couple songs that don't stand on their own as well. Despite the usual epic overload, it's definitely worth checking out.