THE WALL

Ah The Wall, is it a sell out? is it prog? What the hells it about? Questions I have no definite answer to. Other than to myself the wall can be anything to anyone. Before I extol its virtues, and indeed there are many, there are weaknesses we need to examine. These take the form of a few weak songs i.e. stuff like Vera and Bring the Boys back home, yet even these serve a purpose in the overall narrative. And what of the lack of that classic Floyd sound? A replacment of the spacey for the damn sight dirty and gritty feeling of the wall? Different yes, unwelcome, not at all.

Personally I love the wall, and regard it as THE best album ever released. In terms of whether or not it is the best PROGRESSIVE album ever released I don't know, how progressive is it?

But why do I give it such a title, surely no album can actually be the best album ever? Well for me, it can. The Wall achieves success in virtually every area, it is conceptual to a fantastic degree, has numerous different styles, involves the listener and is not afraid to sound uncommercial at times, suggesting that it is not a sell out (witness Don't leave me now and The Trial).

Firstly the actual music, for naturally, it is the most important factor. It varies to a wide degree, from the gentle, acoustic tones of Mother, goodbye Blue Sky and some of the Thin Ice to the bombastic heartbreaking heavy riffs of in The Flesh, Run Like Hell and Another Brick in the Wall (PT 3) allows for a decent diversity in mood.

And what of mood and atmosphere? This is where it shines, the whole concept, that is the building of the wall and the experience of life with a wall is served very well. There is a ominous element of many of the earlier tracks and the panic and desperation of the later tracks on the first discs followed by the feeling of aggression and hate on the second, with the calm after the storm on the last songs, Goodbye Cruel World.

So The Wall, why does it work? Because it connects, personally this is an album has got me through some difficult times, I read somewhere it is like weeks of therapy crammed into 80 minutes, I couldn't agree more. If you're after deep listening it's here, if you're after good songs, they're here. This is not an album that showcases the highest degree of musical talent, Pink Floyd weren't ever about that, what it does showcase is one of the best lyricists creating a concept that can connect with every human on earth at some point in their lives and the mastery of Floyd at creating a world seemingly tailor made for you whilst selling 20+ million copies.

Yes it is bleak, yes it is a bit of a whinge, but that's why its so brilliant. I love this album.