THE WALL

Dark it may be, but The Wall is deservedly considered an album equally great in its own way to Dark Side, and among the most phenomenal albums every conceived and recorded. (It is also eerie - if not downright prescient - that the album was released just as the Berlin Wall fell (11/9/79), which means that its conception and recording were completed BEFORE that.) With another trademark PF theme (uncatharted anger over the circumstances of one's birth, upbringing and education) - and with one of the most complex, state-of-the-art productions in rock history - The Wall was an instant masterpiece, and remains so. Nitpick if you will. But the overall effect of this album is so powerful that it is almost too difficult to get through: like cramming a year of therapy into 80 minutes.