THE WALL

Pink Floyd created three masterpieces in their time together. First was Piper which was Syd's revolutionary mind bomb, second came the warm perfection of Dark Side, and last the conceptual Waters triumph of The Wall. Just a few years later Floyd released its last real album The Final Cut and it was all over.

I can remember being knocked out the very first time I heard The Wall when one of the older kids got on the middle school bus had his tune box cranked. Back then we all thought the radio songs were cool but in reality it is the intricate little pieces that are the glue to this great work. This is such a complete masterpiece of lyrical perfection, great musical beauty, and complete epic grandeur. It is strange to me that so many people don't like The Wall so let me address some of the complaints.

Lots of people feel that The Wall is too dark, too disturbing, too bitter. Hmmm..Lots of great rock music has been built on derision, pain, and outrage. Think about Plastic Ono Band, or Townshend, or punk/metal stuff. Others miss the great long instrumentals and there I can sympathize completely. True there are no epic jams here like Shine On or Dogs but even these short pieces work brilliantly for the stage play style of this album. And look beyond the hits! The best songs on this album are some of the least known: The Thin Ice, Goodbye Blue Sky, Empty Spaces, One of my Turns, Is There Anybody Out There, The Show Must Go On, Nobodys Home. The only lesser tracks are Young Lust and perhaps Run Like Hell which can get pretty old hat after a while. But then you have classics like Hey You, Mother, and Comfortably Numb. What's not to like? While the melodies may be simple ones they are numerous and instantly memorable. Finally, people say that The Wall is too Roger and not enough Dave. True, but Gilmour was simply not supplying adequate good material in the late 70s and someone had to do the work. Gilmour has admitted that Roger did the heavy lifting while the rest of them were content to go home at 4pm for early supper. Dave is a great singer and guitar player but let's be real: without Roger to write the majority of the great songs from Dark Side/Wish/Animals/Wall, you'd have four more Momentary Lapses instead of those classics. Scary, isn't it? It's the material that matters, not who can sing prettier.

The Wall was really the end of the Floyd for all intents and purposes and WHAT a finale it was. The Final Cut has some nice moments but is essentially outtakes from The Wall. Now if they would just release a definitive live DVD from the Animals or Wall tour, we could all die happy. I know Pink must have such footage stashed away next to the little black book with the poems in.

"You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move but I can't hear what you're sayin'. When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, Out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone. I cannot put my finger on it now. The child is grown, the dream is gone. And I have become comfortably numb." [Waters/Gilmour]

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