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Rating: The Wall, 1979.
What is The Wall?
The Wall is Roger Waters' outpouring, developed between the loss of his father during World War II and the deterioration of his friend Syd Barrett during his brief period of fame.
The Wall should not be considered exclusively as an album but is a work that found in music the best channel to express the fears, difficulties, and limitations of an artist who, after spitting on a fan in Montreal, realizes that a kind of wall has now arisen that hinders communication and understanding of feelings with his audience but generally with other people. It should be remembered that The Wall in 1982 came out as a film naturally, the entire soundtrack of the film was the songs from the album, but the film opened with the beautiful "When the tigers broke free" (not present on the album) where Roger shows his disdain for war by recounting the scenario of his father's death that occurred at Anzio and the pain he feels for never having seen him.
Musically speaking, The Wall is not the pinnacle of Pink Floyd, also because the real Pink Floyd are no longer there. In fact, in this album, almost all the songs were written by Waters, except for three written with Gilmour, one of which is the poignant Comfortably Numb, which was a song discarded from Gilmour's solo album and then adapted for The Wall with the contribution of Waters; there is also a song written by Ezrin.
Even regarding the music, there is Waters' dominance. It should be noted that Wright appears as a session man while Mason's name never appears on the album. Therefore, the album can be defined as a Roger Waters album with arrangements by Pink Floyd, who for years now have set aside psychedelic rock and the crazy yet exciting suites to give free rein to Waters' always melancholic lyrics in remembrance of his father, texts that deal with the mood of a rock star caught up in problems and fears and always forced to continue the show.
In my opinion, the album is exceptional because the songs, to be truly appreciated, must be heard in the context of the album and not individually; an example could be "the thin ice": this song begins with a baby's cry that emerges out of nowhere after the noise created by a warplane. It is these small details that make this album so touching, not to mention the scream of "Comfortably numb," which blends perfectly with the song, the helicopter that has become a symbol of Pink Floyd as sound engineers, all of this makes an outpouring a great musical but also social work.
A piece of advice I can give is to listen to The Wall in its entirety with the translations of the lyrics beside you because only in this way will you realize the genius of Roger Waters.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 The Thin Ice (02:29)
Mama loves her baby,
And Daddy loves you too
And the sea may look warm to you babe
And the sky may look blue
Ooooh babe
Ooooh baby blue
Ooooh babe
If you should go skating
On the thin ice of modern life
Dragging behind you the silent reproach
Of a million tear stained eyes
Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice
Appears under your feet
You slip out of your depth and out of your mind
With your fear flowing out behind you
As you claw the thin ice
05 Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 (03:59)
The opening quote is from the 1933 light heavyweight boxing match between Max Baer and Max Schmeling
We don't need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave the kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave us kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
We don't need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave the kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave us kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
Spoken:
'Wrong, Do it again!
Wrong, Do it again!
If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding.
How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?
You! Yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddie!'
06 Mother (05:35)
Mother, do you think they'll drop the bomb?
Mother, do you think they'll like this song?
Mother, do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Ooh, Mother, should I build the wall?
Mother, should I run for president?
Mother, should I trust the government?
Mother, will they put me in the firing line?
Ooh, is it just a waste of time?
Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry
Mama's gonna make all of your nightmares come true
Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you
Mama's gonna keep you right here under her wing
She won't let you fly, but she might let you sing
Mama's gonna keep baby cozy and warm
Ooh, babe
Ooh, babe
Ooh, babe, of course Mama's gonna help build the wall
Mother, do you think she's good enough for me?
Mother, do you think she's dangerous to me?
Mother, will she tear your little boy apart?
Ooh, Mother, will she break my heart?
Hush now, baby, baby, don't you cry
Mama's gonna check out all your girlfriends for you
Mama won't let anyone dirty get through
Mama's gonna wait up until you get in
Mama will always find out where you've been
Mama's gonna keep baby healthy and clean
Ooh, babe
Ooh, babe
Ooh, babe, you'll always be baby to me
Mother, did it need to be so high?
08 Empty Spaces (02:09)
''{spoken backwards} Congratulations, You have just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to 'Old Pink', Care of the funny farm, Chalfont...
[interruption] Roger, Caroline's on the phone...''
What shall we use to fill the empty spaces
Where we used to talk
How shall I fill the final places
How should I complete the wall
09 Young Lust (03:30)
I am just a new boy,
Stranger in this town.
Where are all the good times?
Who's gonna show this stranger around?
Ooooh, I need a dirty woman.
Ooooh, I need a dirty girl.
Will some cold woman in this desert land
Make me feel like a real man?
Take this rock and roll refugee
Oooh, baby set me free.
Ooooh, I need a dirty woman.
Ooooh, I need a dirty girl.(X2)
''{spoken} [Phone rings..Clink of receiver being lifted]
Hello..?
Yes, a collect call for Mrs. Floyd from Mr. Floyd.
Will you accept the charges from United States?
[clunk! of phone being put down]
Oh, He hung up! That's your residence, right? I wonder why he hung up? Is there supposed to be someone else there besides your wife there to answer?
[Phone rings again...clunk of receiver being picked up]
Hello?
This is United States calling, are we reaching...
[interrupted by phone being put down]
See he keeps hanging up, and it's a man answering.
[whirr of connection being closed]''
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Other reviews
By charles
"This is not an album, but a true 'masterpiece'; that no one will ever remove this album from the foundations, the 'Bibles' of music history."
"'The Wall' is irremediably in each of us, and it always will be. After listening to it once, it will never leave us."
By bogusman
one of the most unbearable monstrosities in rock history
the final result is a dull and colorless hodgepodge of worn-out stadium hard rock, techno-instrumental appendages, second-hand disco music, classical-like wallpapers, and fake 30s cabaret
By Francesco123
"Watching the film, it’s not just the eyes that are working, nor the ears: what is most affected is our imagination, our fantasy."
"What is The Wall really?... on one side, the surrender to what life offers us... on the other, the opportunity to give something to life... two things separated by a huge wall..."
By jimi
The Wall, for me, is the ultimate work I’ve ever heard capable of conveying emotions.
When you think that in this album, everything about solos has already been said, here comes Dave, who turns everything upside down, with superlative bends and accelerations that are terrifying.
By Emanuel Fantoni
Roger Waters’ ability to express himself is outrageously clever. He is a genius.
The Wall is not just an album to listen to; it is an album to be explored.
