The Wall

“The Wall” by Pink Floyd (1979) (Superlatives alert!) This concept album is a genre-defining progressive rock opera that became a classic immediately upon its release. It is an exquisite work of art, treating of the theme of individual introspection on a level with Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, St. Augustine’s “Confessions”, and the book of Job. Sublimely harnessing all aspects of production, “The Wall” excels in composition, musicianship, engineering, storytelling, and performance. But the album’s power lies in its symbolic exploration of the human psyche, summarized in its central metaphor—traumatic phenomena which are defensively reduced to symbolization as “bricks in the wall”—as the cumulative antisocial and life denying effect of anesthesia, denial, and isolation. While the dramatic vehicle (autobiographical reminiscences of a ‘fictional’ rock star) can be fairly criticized as self indulgent, pretentious, overblown, and narcissistic, “The Wall” shares these features with other introspective works of art. Can one imagine trying to fully understand the works of Van Gogh without a progressive series of his self portraits? In order to come to grips with the human condition, the artist must look inside. And others might be put off by what the artist sees. But does the artist see with clarity? Does the artist see what might also be seen within the viewer/listener? Does the artist see the good, the true, and the beautiful? In “The Wall”, this vision becomes vivid. And it leads to redemption, if only in the discovery of the safe haven of stasis. We are richer, healthier, and more integrated as a result of joining Pink Floyd on the journey. Rock music as art doesn’t get any better than this. Music as art doesn’t get any better than this. Art doesn’t get any better than this. 5/5

I’m sure it’s very important and intellectual but here’s a “Concept” for an album: write some songs that I actually want to listen to.

Comfortably shit

Some classics on here but god is it long. Never been in to Pink Floyd and this doesn't change my opinion - self indulgent with occasional decent songs. Some of the vocals are dreadful!

Definitely a big part of my youth. I was captivated by this as a teenager. The fact that there was a film certainly added to the mystique/mythology. Listening to it now still has a strange emotional effect on me. I think it easily holds up as the best rock opera of all time, for me at least. I absolutely love the way it flows and the sound effects that are used throughout. Very cinematic listening experience. Always been a fan of Pink Floyd's experimentation and ever evolving sound. It all sort of culminates here. It always amazes me that they were able to be so successful while being so experimental/conceptual. Their last masterpiece made in the process of their own implosion. In my wildest fantasies RCE would produce something like this.

Overblown, overlong, overrated and just fucking boring.

Despite a good chunk of this album being ruined due to overexposure via classic rock stations nationwide, The Wall still holds up in its entirety. 5 stars.

Oh boy, The Wall. I audibly sighed when this came up as the next album. Not that I dislike Pink Floyd in anyway (quite the contrary!), but The Wall is such a behemoth of a thing to tackle. Plus, having heard it before, I need to find the words to explain my feelings about this album. It's difficult, but I'll try. The Wall is impressive. It's Pink Floyd's most ambitious, sweeping work that tackles, sex, drugs, and rock n' roll but in a realistic way. It's not fun or cool or sexy, it's depressing and antisocial. It's a way to cope. It's also a double album, 80 minutes long, and I've got issues with double albums...but alas! We've got music to listen to, not just bemoan about. There's a great flow to the album which helps with pacing and overall structure. There a few what I'll call "bridge songs" that help get the track playlist from point A to B. For example, The Happiest Days of our Lives helps bridge Another Brick in the Wall Part 1 to Part 2. I would be fine with this, but then you have a bunch of great songs that string together without any sort of "bridge songs" (Brick in the Wall Part 2 through to Goodbye Blue Sky is particularly excellent), so it calls into question whether it acts as padding for the album. For what it's worth though, they all string together to form a cohesive story of mental breakdown and eventual isolation. Side 1 and 2 are good at this, making for a solid first half of the album. The second half, in my opinion, isn't nearly as strong. The songs wallow a bit in the depression, which I understand is the point, but they don't quite stack up until it hits Comfortably Numb. This song is so goddamn good. This is a turning point for the rest of the second half (with The Show Must Go On starting side 4) and things really pick up here. In The Flesh! is a great retread of In The Flesh? but now we have more context as to what's happening. It's great storytelling as far as the album goes. This side as a whole is about as climatic as it gets, with a huge build up to The Trial that, eventually, tears down The Wall in a big fashion. For this, we get to take a look around Outside the Wall. It's kind of nice, actually. The soft accordion, the children singing...hey, isn't this where- The Wall is a magnificent piece of work. It's The Goddamn Wall. It also stops itself short of being perfect in more than one way, which kind of hurts because it feels like it should be perfect. It ends up being really good, and that's not a bad thing. It just isn't what I hoped it would be.

One of the greatest albums from one of the greatest bands of all time. Emotive, storytelling, beautiful, everything art rock should be.

For all its grandiosity and self-indulgence, this is an incredibly tight 26 track album. As a concept album, it works commendably well, telling a coherent story throughout and moving through a notably diverse range of musical styles as it does. Some of Pink Floyd's best regarded tracks, like Comfortably Numb and Hey You, but there's so much more to enjoy here, such as the desperately sad yet beautiful 'Nobody Home' or the bombastic opening notes of 'In The Flesh'. Not Pink Floyd's greatest album, but this is their last great album.

A bloated affair, where the concept weighs down the music and the need to tell what is a pretty unoriginal tale (and somewhat self regarding) requires skit like tracks to move us along between the few highlights - tighter rock record is in here somewhere. The production is as exquisite as you would imagine from Pink Floyd. But overall it does not thrill, it drags.

The downward slope after Dark Side Of The Moon was steep. Indulgent and inappropriate, I fail to see how anyone could identify with this album. Definitely not worth the time.

its amateur dramatics, shit musical theatre. if i'm going to get my jazz hands out and get into some musical theatre its gonna be meatloaf for his name is robert paulson. so in summary, this album is like regurgitated meatloaf.

Shite. Shack eats lamb chops

It feels wrong to give The Wall a 4/5. It's a mammoth maximal space rock opera epic that shoots for the moon and actually hits it. Somehow they pulled all the grandeur, ego, storytelling, instrumentation, production, and vision together into a fully realized monument. So what if there are at least 4 Pink Floyd albums I'd put on before this one (WYWH, Dark Side, Animals, Meddle). Maybe I'm as disillusioned as the protagonist? A-

A pretty boring listen for such a hyped album. Other Floyd is better

Genre: Art Rock 5/5 Let me preface with this: I am not a fan of Pink Floyd. In my quest to listen to as much prog rock as possible, I blazed through their entire discography not very long ago, and I was rather disappointed with nearly everything I listened to. However, The Dark Side of the Moon is an unabashed classic, transcending genre, and is one of the all time greats. But this, in my opinion, is Pink Floyd's best album, and one of my all time favorites. The Wall is a tight knit, pop/art-rock opera, focusing more on storytelling in short bursts of musical energy, rather than spending their time indulging in prog epics. It features some of their biggest songs ever. Another Brick in the Wall, Hey You, *and* Comfortably Numb, all genuine classics, are all present here. Roger Waters takes over nearly all songwriting, and it's all really tremendously done. Whichever soundscape he seems to choose here, heavy and drudging, light and sweet, or cold and depressing, Waters hits the mark every time. They nearly go full Boston here. Young Lust sounds like a Tom Scholz ripoff (in a good way). Goodbye Blue Sky does the CSN sound to perfection here as well. Sitting beside Tommy and Metropolis Pt. 2, this is one of the greatest rock operas ever made.

Groundbreaking concept album that bores the life out of me. With a few exceptions, it hasn't aged well in the age of mental health and actually trying to avoid misery and existential angst.

🧱🗣🎸

What an icon. I am biased, but this is my first 5 star album. Such an explosive piece of history.

I have to admit I have never actually listened to the entire album. It was an experience. I'm glad I listened. I also read the album description provided by Apple Music. They had a pretty wild ride.

Not much to be said about this one. It's one of the greatest albums of all time. Another Brick in the Wall, Comfortably Numb, Hey You, Is There Andybody Out There?... the hits just keep coming on this one. It's an all-time great for a reason.

Idk man. I'm starting to think I just don't vibe with Pink Floyd that much. It feels like the middle ground between full-on prog and classic rock, but not in a good way. There's so much downtime padding out this track list, it felt like more often than not I was just waiting for something interesting to happen. Comfortably Numb is amazing though.

It's kitschy and disjointed, far from Pink Floyd's best work. A chore to listen to from beginning to end.

It really is an amazing album. Not sure what I can say that hasn't already been said but I do really love concept albums like this and the repeated refrain of Another Brick in the Wall is great. I remember telling someone at uni about the Wall gig Pink Floyd did where they built the wall in front of them throughout and she told me that it was really pretentious (the gig, not me telling her). So I guess she doesn't like any kind of theatre. And for the record, we probably should educate children.

I don't have the words to describe how much I love this album. It was the first CD I ever purchased, and I bought it before I even owned a CD player! The only thing I will say is that it's important to listen/critique it as an album, not as individual tracks. It's too easy to focus on Comfortably Numb or Brick in the Wall as hit singles. It's a concept album and as such needs to be listened to from start to finish. It represents such awesome storytelling, art and music. One of my all-time favourite albums. Thanks for landing on a weekend!

This is Pink Floyd's (Waters in particular's) magnum opus. This theatrical masterpiece wonderfully demonstrates a raw perspective of the human condition, someone who has become so desensitized to the world, only to turn against reality and become closed off. Leaving only hatred as a front. Powerful stuff.

Well, here we are at The Wall. Probably the most successful, both commercially & artistically, rock concept album ever made. Some may argue for The Who’s Tommy, but for my money, Pink Floyd's artistry is just better, deeper, more satisfying. It’s hard to separate the original album from all of the other incarnations: the movie, the various concert “stagings”. Those versions surely have a lot going for them, on some instances allowing the story to get more fleshed out & giving some fantastic actors & musicians the chance to interpret PF’s work. Live in Berlin, a personal fave of mine, brings together an amazing cast or actors & musicians (Albert Finney & Tim Curry for The Trial! I mean, come ON!), while constructing their wall right alongside an equally menacing wall in the real world. Talk about meta! But when it comes down to it, a pair of headphones and this original recording just can’t be beat. Get lost in the stupor of Comfortably Numb, shout with rage at the teachers to leave them kids alone, or celebrate in the wall finally coming down, but go on this journey with Floyd, and, musically at the the very least, your soul will be better for it.

Now this is a brilliant concept album! An exquisitely executed emotional journey. I used to have the poster with a formation of marching hammers (the college years), which is still my favorite music poster. This album is a level above 5 stars, or at least the other 5 star albums so far. So going back to the fictitious 10 star system, this is a 10/10. I love the echoing guitars on Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1). I prefer it to Part 2, mostly because Part 2 has been overplayed soooooo much. But the guitar solo in Part 2 is beautiful. Call me crazy, but the guitar lick in Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2), right after “Hey! Teacher! Leave them/us kids alone!” and before “All in all, you’re just a-nother brick in the wall,” sounds like it is borrowed right out of the Doobie Brothers’ guitar lick catalogue. I have thought this forever, and I can’t unhear it. Mother lacks the theatrics of much of the rest of the album in a good way. It’s an intimate song, straight forward musically, with a window into the author’s mental anguish. “Mother, do you think they’ll like this song?” “Momma’s going to make all your nightmares come true.” The lead guitar work on Comfortably Numb is inspirational. Other songs that stand out: Goodbye Blue Sky, Young Lust, Hey You, Is There Anybody Out There?, In The Flesh, Run Like Hell, and The Trial. This is the first album to pop up where I already knew ahead of time it is a five star without a doubt. Too bad it didn’t arrive on a Friday.

I need more stars to rate it correctly

When I was younger I thought Pink Floyd was the most overrated band in history. Then I actually listened to stuff like this and realized I was way off.

So Roger Waters spat on a fan during a concert and instead of having some self reflection and becoming a better, more humble person he instead writes an 80 minute ego stroke about how its all everyone else's fault. 6/10 Comfortably numb is probably my favourite pink Floyd song though.

This felt like if Tommy by The Who was somewhat better but still not great. Concept albums are a high risk high reward thing for me, if the concept and the songwriting grabs me I’m ALL in but if not it just feels goofy and this felt goofy at a lot of points. Some good songs, but as a whole project it’s a bit overlong and self-important.

67 The Wall - Pink Floyd 26 tracks. I have absolutely no idea how I am meant to mark an album like this out of 5. Is it automatic 5 and anyone who gives it anything else should be stoned to death using Celine Dion CD's? ?/5 Ground-breaking & astonishing at the time is all well & good, but is it still enjoyable to listen to 42 years down the line? Until now I didn't know there were 2 parts of "Another brick in the wall". OMG there is a pt 3! Face with open mouthFace with tears of joy I wonder if I I have missed something 1st time around & maybe I need to just immerse myself in it & give it another go without interruptions & other things/sounds competing for my attention The question is do I want to listen to it again, and the answer is unfortunately no. And if it's not enjoyable to listen to 40+ years later then doesn't that tell it's own story? Maybe the question should be, what would the reaction of my kids/step-kids be to this, & the truth is they wouldn't give it the time of day. I think it would have been too easy to give this a 5/5 "Amazing and ground-breaking", or a 1/5 "there is some right hard to listen to dross on there", but the truth is probably somewhere in between. I'm dipping back in and out at the moment and the "Run Like hell" rift seems strangely familiar. Did Sky Sports used to use it as an intro? It seems very familiar? Maybe someone else has sampled it? Thinking face I've listened again and I just can't give an album 5/5 if I wouldn't listen to it again & again. I just can't. I know it's special, but I also think it's just wasted on me (in 2021). People call it an amazing piece of art, (and I accept that), but the thing with art is that it's subjective. The likes of Van Gogh and Picasso do absolutely nothing for me, and I still think that Munch has basically hoodwinked the art World and is actually an 8 year old with very savvy parents. At the same time I don't think I can ignore the impact that this has on the time and on others. The problem isn't the album. The problem is me. My favourite Floyd track is Wish you were here and I think that's probably much more commercially sounding than your average Floyd fan's favourite. The truth is that they have never produced an album of songs in that style and while Floyd fans probably wouldn't like it, I would. The absolute lowest I can give it is 3/5.

overrated shit. When can we stop pretending it’s good lol. Was a chore to get through. Though, will say a 1 is too low because this wasn’t the worst I’ve heard. Still bad

i cant really stand this, it generally has a nice sound, but the ideas sound like people I cant stand making music today, so all over the place, but going nowhere at all. I loved Nobody's Home and Comfortably Numb going into this, but nothing else came close, no chord sequence, interesting instrumental part or fully realized and honest-feeling sentiment really has not aged well I feel, i always heard my dad praising this and DSOTM and Animals, those other two i found great, and here I kind of despise this. It kind of just made me realise how I love Genesis and everything they did until 1980, cause at least they never were this musically middling. here its like they do absolutely nothing, expect pads and slow drum fills until a guitar solo comes through. Side C is pretty good tho

Can one truly know despair if one has never known happiness? This is my first time listening to The Wall in it's entirety, having only heard snippets before. It is a gargantuan, ambitious work, a rock opera following the story of a young man (rock star?) who proceeds to whine to us about all the struggles in his life. Listening to this album felt like being a shrink with a clipboard, listening to a patient tell their miserable life story. Daddy left me to fight in the war. Teachers at school were mean. Mommy was overbearing and overprotective. My wife cheated on me, while I was out trying to shag groupies. On \"One of My Turns\" the protagonist sings \"Nothing is very much fun anymore\", which made me do a head turn. At which point so far in the album has anything been fun? And so it goes, through suicide attempts, drug induced hysteria, depression, flashbacks of war, flirtations with fascism. Each of these are a brick that get added to the proverbial wall that the protagonist erects around himself to protect himself from the cruel world. Eventually the protagonist is put on trial and forced to take down the wall for the crime of showing human emotion. This must be some sort of commentary on British stoicism. I dunno. Musically, it's a well produced, painstakingly made album. There are some great moments, especially with the heavier guitars on "In the Flesh" which I wish were present more throughout the album, some very nice, emotive guitar solos throughout, and dramatic climaxes like at the end of "Waiting for the Worms". The harmonized ooohs and aaahs really got on my nerves though, and in general the vocals were very hit and miss (mostly miss). Lyrically, we got edgy jams like; "If you wanna find out what's behind these cold eyes, You'll just have to claw your way through this disguise", the ever so seductive "Ooooh, I need a dirty woman. Ooooh, I need a dirty girl.", and lets not forget the incredibly deep "When I was a child I had a fever, My hands felt just like two balloons", followed later by "I can't explain, you wouldn't understand." How could we? A child with a fever? The poor soul! Conclusion. There are 2 songs I enjoyed, "In the Flesh" (including the redux) and "Hey You". The album would easily get a 3 for those 2 songs alone, along with the generally excellent instrumentation and production, but there are too many annoying, self-indulgent, boring or at best forgettable songs, and they do bring the score down. For those who want to enjoy a good rock opera, I recommend Zappa's Joe's Garage, released just a month before this, it has a more humorous story, wider range of emotions, much more scathing social commentary, and yes, better guitar solos.

Not for me

absolutely loved it. on my favs rn

My dad was a big Floyd fan, but growing up I always felt like their albums didn't have enough "proper" songs - too many great ideas that blend into the next track instead of being fully realized. Now I realize their music needs to be viewed as an album, not individual tracks, and the Wall as a whole is terrific. I love the recurring themes (both musically and thematically) throughout the album, which give it great coherence despite the range of styles. Despite it's length I do wish some tracks were longer, and I could do with the number samples being cut a bit. I prefer Dark Side of the Moon, but it's still a solid 5 for me.

cmon

Fav song: Don’t Leave Me Now/Vera/Comfortably Numb HOW have I never listened to this before. Absolutely amazing album. Truly art. Part 2 left me speechless in multiple places!

Finest exploration of the human ego put to sound

A masterpiece from arguably the best band of all time. People giving this anything lower than a 4 are just desperate to be different and dislike something widely regarded as one of the best albums ever

If I could experience listening to an album for the first all over again, this would probably be my pick. I just cannot fathom listening to The Wall for the first time. With all the melodrama, it really shouldn't work, but boy does it. Waters' vocals are at their prime, his songwriting equally so, and the harder sound really makes Gilmour's guitar and Mason's drums stand out.

Like almost any Pink Floyd album, this one gets 5 stars. It is a complete trip, must always be listened to in one go, preferably just lying down. Pink Floyd's my number one absolute favorite band. Never got the opportunity to see them live though (was too young when Roger Waters left obviously :)). I did see Roger Waters perform The Wall live though, which was a very moving experience nonetheless.

I am in awe of this album. The atmosphere the spoken word creates is not dissimilar to the way how Moby’s Play can make the listener smile or cry. And then, on top we have these layers of swirling guitars, driven by a powerful lead (particularly In the Flesh and In the Flesh?) which shows itself multiple times throughout the album, and is completely cathartic at the end. Goodbye Blue Sky, Hey You, Comfortably Numb and Mother are other big highlights

Gotta be the most excited I've been for an album in this generator. Transition from Happiest Days of Our Lives to Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2 is fucking insane, might be one of the best transitions I've ever heard in an album. Guitar solos in Comfortably Numb are insanely good And it might repeat endlessly?? ahhhhhh Already Saved: Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2 Saved After Listening: Hey You, Comfortably Numb

Fantastic album. Knew some of the songs beforehand but never listened to it before it it's entirety. Great songwriting, instrumentation, arrangements. Definitely needs to be listened to as an album

This is my all time favorite band, so I am biased, however, this double album is simply amazing. So many hits here as well.

Despite being one of their most acclaimed albums, it’s one of my least favourites (of there’s). That being said, it is still incredible and a truly masterful piece of work. They don’t make music like this anymore

This album is a trap. Many young music listeners such as I were introduced to The Wall at a young age, and without much other musical experience, we falsely believe The Wall is the greatest piece of music ever created. We obsess over it and get into arguments to defend the honor of a record that does not need its status defended. Finding this record too soon in one's life can be disastrous for your musical journey. Fortunately, I was able to escape The Wall, and I've heard so much more great music that can stand alongside the wall. After years away from my obsession, I can appreciate the greatness of the album while still recognizing it's sore spots, namely the second disk. Yes, it has Comfortably Numb, the In The Flesh reprisal, and The Trial, but many other tracks just feel so insignificant. The pace of the record as a whole drags in the middle, and while it does eventually pick up again, it's still not perfect. Still, though, disk 1 is nearly flawless. The run from In The Flesh? to Mother is jaw dropping to this day, and later tunes like Young Lust and One Of My Turns keep the good times rolling. None of this even mentions the concept and plot of the album, AKA the biggest reason young tweakers like myself find it so immaculate. Some people call it heavy handed, I remind them that they're listening to a rock opera. If you can't handle The Wall, you can't handle that medium in general. I still love this album. I've reached the other end of the bell curve where I know so much music and can still find a place for The Wall. Issues aside, it deserves its status. They can never take Comfortably Numb, Mother, and Part 2 from me. P.S. this album is making me really mad about only having a 5 point scale, it's like a 9/10 for me which is dead between 4 stars and 5 stars.

🗿

Great album. Maybe it is too long and loses its way towards the end. David Gilmour the g.o.a.t. mood establishing guitarist. Roger Waters vocals are some of my favourites of all time.

There was a period in my life where this was my favorite album. This is not that period. Still mostly good though. 4.5

I don’t love rock operas, but if you’re going to listen to/watch a rock opera, this is the definitive one IMO. The story of a baby boomer, born during the blitz, raised up in lower class England, to become a rockstar, hit the pitfalls of stardom, to grow old and die. It’s good but Just a little too long winded. I looked at the album thinking I was almost done, nope, not even halfway through. I understand with the movie the skits and interludes make more sense, but there’s just so much fat on this album. Some great riffs, epic moments, some awesome songs, 4.5 songs ish. But in my mind this album, though held up as the Pink Floyd gem, will just never stand up to the likes of echoes and dark side—which is a more efficient rock opera about the more existential questions. If I was rating rock operas I’d give this a 5, but since I’m grading albums I give it a 4.

1001 Albums to Never Hear Again Before You Die Chapter 4 Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”: Roger Waters Hates You…And Probably Himself…But Mostly, He Hates You. At a time when critics and bands alike were proclaiming progressive rock to be bloated and ostentatious, Roger Waters heard those criticisms, said “hold my beer” and delivered what is arguably the most overblown, self-important double LP Rock Opera of the 70’s: The Wall. Spurred by an incident in which Waters spat upon a fan during the band’s tour for 1977’s “Animals” and his admitted desire to have a wall between himself and the audience while preforming, The Wall tells the tale of a power-tripping, drug addled rockstar whose concerts devolve into Fascist Rock and Roll Rallies as a result of unchecked power, substance abuse and untreated mental health issues. Without a doubt, there is a 5 star single LP that could be culled from this 80 minute monument to Roger Waters’ ego. There are absolutely great songs on The Wall: several career highlights for Pink Floyd, in fact. The issue with turning it into a single LP is that if you divorce the actual songs from the interstitial pieces that act as plot forwarding devices / self psycho-analysis, would the album still work as a concept record? Probably not very well. Frankly, this record should stand as it is, because it serves quite well as insight into Roger Waters as the leader of Pink Floyd at the tail end of their career together. Waters, in addition to being disillusioned with the band’s fans, had started to sour on his bandmates, referring to them as “the muffins” and would imply / state outright in the press that he was the visionary behind the band. During the recording of The Wall, he exerted significant control over the process, with the other members of the band taking their cues from him and without much ability to provide significant input. Keyboardist and founding member Richard Wright would be fired from the band during these sessions for a lack of interest (an accusation he does not deny), but would later be re-hired as a touring member for live performances of the album. On the band’s follow up to The Wall, “The Final Cut” (an even more self-absorbed record than its predecessor), remaining members David Gilmour and Nick Mason would act only as studio musicians, fully ceding control of the band and its artistic vision to Waters. The Final Cut was a flop and Waters soon left the band for a solo career. For a guy who seemed to recognize that he was putting up walls around him and becoming an authoritarian within the confines of his band, it doesn’t seem to have changed his perspective when it came to making music with Pink Floyd in The Wall’s aftermath. So, is the story contained within The Wall simply performative, or is the Wall an admission of character on the part of Waters? Given the origins of this story, I’m not sure that the character of “Pink” can be or is supposed to be seen as anything but an avatar for Waters. Sure, his “wall” comes down at the end of this record, but it is followed by a loop back into the album’s first song. We are led to believe that this story is cyclical and the main character will end up back on the same path that he started on. He is stuck in an unending pattern of tearing down walls only to build them back up. Momentarily putting aside the philosophical implications of the content of this album, which are far more interesting than much of its actual music, The Wall is a taxing listen. The interstitial pieces, particularly towards the end, drag the album down. By the time “The Trial” comes on, if you haven’t already checked out, any sympathy you might have had will vanish and you’ll hope that the band (read: Waters) gets locked up for the crime of “not getting to the point”. But, again, why would Waters bother getting to the point or giving the story any sort of closure? The central theme of this album is that he feels the need to keep the audience walled off from himself. Giving the audience closure to the story of The Wall would nullify his creation and give fans access he does not want them to have. Ending the story with an open interpretation / loop back to the start effectively keeps them at bay, because Waters knows that he cannot (and likely does not want to) change.

There are a couple great songs here that we all got sick of long ago - the rest is surprisingly uninteresting filler.

Look, not even a top 5 pink floyd album for me. I can appreciate what it is trying to do, but lacks the bangers and bops. Cool concept album, but also a whole load of wank.

I definitely think this is one of the greatest albums ever based on reach and execution and the sum is greater than the parts with only a few great or even good songs present. But it's not that enjoyable. I've always felt pink Floyd's popularity with the main stream is surprising given how experimental they are. Good for them. I like this album and them but if someone told me they hated it, it wouldn't surprise me. Waters is a dreadful singer too.

Touchstone album for me. I was about to turn 18 when this album came out, from my then, un-challenged favourite band. I was transitioning from a high school geek that loved prog and hard rock to a college radio geek (though I didn't really know that was what it was called at the time), that was discovering an energy that I had not yet tapped into. I hated The Wall when it came out. Coincindentally London Calling came out within a couple weeks of The Wall thus completing a musical transition that has stuck to this very day. Taking this opportunity to give this album another thorough listen. Maybe I was unfair to it when it came out, just because of where my head and heart were at. So let's listen and I'll have a few thoughts afterwards.... So, was I unfair; yes and no! There is definitely songwriting and storytelling chops here, but the music plods along with no energy nor momentum. I blame it on the rhythm section which seems slow and uninsired. Compare this to the rhythm sections of some of the releases from then newer bands like The Clash and Joy Division and The Stranglers and Pink Floyd sounds boring and uninspired. Maybe they're at their creative peak but I find it pretentious and boring. 2 stars

I have always liked Pink Floyd and I loved The Wall when it was released in 1979. Back then (when I was 17) I thought it was a very profound piece of work. Listening back 45 years later (and not having played the album for many years) I would now side with the critics who described it as pretentious and self-indulgent. Worse still, the music is not that great, being mainly a pastiche of Pink's notional band; only Comfortably Numb stands comparison with the best of Pink Floyd. The Wall reflects Roger Waters' obsessions and, if like me, you now regard him as a swivel-eyed loon, you would do well to give this a wide berth

Almost listenable, but it is still Pink Floyd at the end of the day

I listened to this album many years ago when someone older and wiser than me told me I should. I’m now older and wiser myself and I’ve listened again … It’s still terrible.

Really liked some songs. Didn't like others. Long album. Lots of different styles.

There is a Pink Floyd for every age. It tends for follow this trend: high school age-Dark Side; college-The Wall; mature age-Wish…; and when you get old and senile: Ummagumma, because that shit don’t make sense anyway. I think what resonates in the Wall of the combination of self-questioning, feelings of hopeless, and the feelings of rage against the system combined. Few arts (if any) have ever been able to pull from such a feat, especially with the dynamic flow of songs, odd time signatures, and David Gilmore’s legendary guitar tone and licks. This album is practically one of Erickson’s Stages of Development, right between Industry and Identity. Key tracks: well, all of them. I love listening to this entire album at once, and potentially repeatedly. HOWEVER, Mother, Comfortably Numb, Another Brick and Goodbye Cruel World, are favorite parts. This album is an all—time must for anyone who appreciates music or is forced to listen to it by their over enthusiastic fathers.

“Isn’t this where we came in?” I was a philosophy major and a history minor in college. I wrote a A LOT of 10+ page essays, often many times a week, and in my senior year almost daily. Aside from the Vitamin String Quartet covers which were plentiful, familiar, and wordless, the only music I could listen to consistently while writing was The Wall. Perhaps because it is a masterpiece in of itself, it works perfectly on a loop, it has reoccurring themes and natural crescendo and lulls, etc etc. Or maybe because I listened to it a dozen times in high-school. I can tell you for a fact, and this fact is derived from my ITunes account which tracks your listens, that by the time I graduated from college I had listened to this album over 50 times while just in college. That was 10 years ago, and though my essay writing days are mostly behind me (excluding this comment), my Wall listening days are not. It’s still one of my go-to albums to get into a working mind space. I think I’ve listened another dozen or two times since then, but suffice to say this album is my shit. It’s probably top 3 greatest albums in my mind. It IS the template for a concept album, and while Dark Side of the Moon is obviously dope af too, I’ll die on the hill that the Wall is Pink Floyd’s greatest work. It’s a full fucking rock opera, and while the movie is great as well, and a big part of the legacy of this album, the soundtrack doesn’t actually line up 1:1 with this album. Not just omissions from this album but they include a few other Pink Floyd songs as well. Plus all of the ties with England and I believe both the affects of WW1 and WW2. It’s art. It’s opera. It’s theatre and poetry and shredding rock solos and creepy child choruses (peep the music video for Another Brick in the Wall for a sense of the movie’s visual style). It’s beautifully haunting and such a deep and valuable insight into what isolation and depression and hatred and anger and addiction and sadness and love and hope all are. Plus it fucking rocks. The music is so solid, and while it’s Pink Floyd it’s almost entirely Roger Waters driving the whole thing. The format and track-list order is also deeply important with the themes and anyone who listens to this shit on shuffle is deranged. There’s the mood shift at the halfway point as an intermission and then the downswing of the second half of the album gets darker and darker. Another Brick in the Wall has 3 pts because he keeps building the Wall. How should we fill the Empty Spaces? The ending loops into the beginning as a full circle, which is just screaming about how cyclical things like depression and addiction can be. Even when you think you’re out you can find yourself back the beginning “isn’t this where we came in?”

My only complaints about Dark Side of the Moon were that there wasn’t enough singing and catchiness. The Wall delivered on both fronts, while still maintaining some of the “flowiness”. “We Don’t Need No Education” - I didn’t realize this motif was from The Wall, but on this listen it sent me into a lot of deep thoughts about how people have been educated throughout history, and how technology (the internet and social media) have drastically changed this in recent years. Now, people tend to get most of their information from completely unregulated online sources. Education is no longer a part of a single wall, or government “thought control”, but it’s probably worse. Anyway, great album. 5 stars.

Just epic in scope and musicality. The guitar riffs and solos are excellent and super memorable. I was starting to get a little unengaged around the middle but then that crazy operatic “bring the boys back home” automatically brings you back in with its jarring change of pace only to let u down back easy right into comfortably numb. Not what I was expecting from this album and I’m ashamed of myself that I didn’t get into Pink Floyd earlier.

It has been a long time since I've listened to this full album. I was dreading it a bit going in because of its length, but I knew it had some songs I loved on it to get me through. I forgot how many songs I really do love off this album. "Another Brick In The Wall", "Mother", "Young Lust", "Hey You", "Comfortably Numb", "In The Flesh", and "Run Like Hell" are all songs that I love on their own. I can listen to them anytime anywhere. This is first time I really paid attention to the other songs. Reading the quick synopsis on Wikipedia about the albums theme really helps when listening. The entire story of a man's life who isolates himself from society really comes through. The interstitial songs that I ignored in the past help paint the picture that the album is trying to show. I was really invested in the outcome of this life by the time we got to "The Trial". It's one of the few rock operas that I truly enjoy. Before this listen I thought I would give this album a 4. Some good songs but way too long. However, I learned something this go around. I learned that you can't just have your dessert without eating your dinner. Listening to one or two songs off an album will be nice in the moment but will ultimately leave you empty. Consuming the entire course will introduce you to new flavors and leave you completely satiated. After all... How can you you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

• 5/5 • 4 stars for the album and one for nostalgia • last of the great rock operas • interesting throughout with some fantastic tracks

Yes, it is completely over the top. Yes, it is pretentious. Yes, it is great. 5/5.

From the first minute, I felt I was listening to something epic. It is long but it’s something I think I want to listen to again having read about the story of the album. Comparing to the other rock opera I’ve listened to (‘Tommy’) this is definitively so much better. Unsure about 4 or 5 stars, 4 because there are some songs I don’t care about but 5 stars because it is a unique experience of an album.

Abby put it perfectly - this record is interminable, BUT it’s also excellent and I don’t have eloquent words for how much I enjoy it beyond that it gets my Paul Hollywood handshake of a 5

There’s a LOT to take in here. But unlike some really bad albums where 40 minutes can be an eternity, you can listen to the Wall for a couple of hours and it never feels like you want it to end.

Best: Hey You, Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2

I've never been a Pink Floyd fan, really, but for my money, while THE WALL is too long this is still unquestionably their best album. I've always enjoyed it far more than DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. Hard to overstate how much of an impact this album had on the many genres, sub-genres, and countless bands that would come in the years after this release. The concept might seem like old hat now, but it was certainly very new and intriguing when this album inspired everyone else to take a swing at the theme of self destruction. Without this album, we might not have gotten the majesty of Nine Inch Nails' THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL or Marilyn Manson's ANTICHRIST SUPERSTAR. Who hasn't at one time or another wanted to build a wall between themselves and society? Such a genius creative idea to explore.

Just fantastic. No wonder they has legendary status

There isn't a question in my mind that this is one of the best albums of all time. I wouldn't be surprised if this was in my top 5 albums of this whole list. Some of the songs present are phenomenal pieces of work, but even the "filler" present is top notch. I don't know what else I can say about this one.

Perfect album I literally do not care

Going in blind for this one was a bad idea. I did two first listens without looking up lyrics and was very confused, as this is a VERY narrative-focused concept album. This took me by surprise since my only true experience with Pink Floyd beforehand was Wish You Were Here, a much more straightforward, instrument-forward album. I could tell I was missing something though, so I sat down and did a full dedicated third listen with lyrics and a cold one in hand--- All I can say is DAMN. What a hard-hitting cinematic experience. The Trial + Outside The Wall was an incredibly cathartic ending (somehow even when I didn't understand the lyrics!). To truly give it a 5 I'd have to warm up to some of the songs a bit. Especially during the middle I felt that the pacing was a bit slow, though it did make for a great buildup to bigger moments like Comfortably Numb. 4.5⭐️ EDIT - 3 days after this review, The Wall has remained on constant loop in my head. The depth of this album is unbelievable. Now being familiar with the songs, the production and details stand out a lot more. Absolute cinema - 5 star experience

The classic. The almighty. An all time favorite. The slickest, crispest production. The themes, the storytelling, the atmosphere! My god I have been listening to this album for ten years and I'm still enjoying it. I hear something new every single time. Sometimes I think "Maybe it's not as good as I remember" but then I listen to it and it's even better than that. Something for everyone on here. So special to me.

I hadn't listened to the album in decades, so I want sure how I'd feel about it now. Yeah, it holds up. Still amazing.

Not the best of Pink Floyd but still brilliant. Love their sound.

This is a pretty unique album, just on its concept. It's a double album, written as a full story that was almost immediately turned into a film (two and a half years from album to movie is absurdly fast). I know concept albums have become other works, notably with some Who albums, but none have been this closely tied to the derivative work while still being treated as a separate work. As an album, it works well song to song, and though it's pretty abstract, the emotion is always pointing you in the right direction. It's pretty long, so I don't know if I want to sit down and listen to it, especially because it can get a bit samey at times. As for the songs, yeah, there's a lot of great ones. Another Brick in the Wall, Hey You, Comfortably Numb, Run Like Hell, and Is There Anybody Out There? are all classic rock staples. Also, shout out to Mother, which I thought was at least as good as the "hits." And that Run Like Hell sting is great. I had to check whosampled.com, but it's apparently never been sampled. I can't believe nobody's tried to sample that part. My only real complaint is that it's too long. Oh no, give me less? But it does mean it's hard to treat as an album. Also, I should really watch the movie at some point.

Listened on repeat several times, finally made sense to make after 20 years of trying to listen to it, beautiful album and flow, interesting themes, masterpiece.

It is an exquisite work of art, treating of the theme of individual introspection on a level with Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, St. Augustine’s “Confessions”, and the book of Job

The definitive Rock Opera

Amazing. Where are my headphones?!?

Probably objectively one of the greatest things ever conceived in a studio

This album was life-changing. I was aware of Pink Floyd and heard their songs on the radio, but it was the radio-- there was little context for the grandiose nature of The Wall. So when I dug into it and took in the narrative, I was transported into the story. There are so many standouts. "In the Flesh?", "Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2", "Mother", "Young Lust", "Hey You", the soaring "Comfortably Numb" which has not one but two of the best guitar solos ever put to tape, and "Run Like Hell" would make a great album all on their own. In the greater scheme of things, they are the narrative hooks, the rising action, the climax.

❤️

puuuh also 1h20 ich glaub ehrlich gseit nöd, dass ich je für mich s album am stuck glost han ich kenn obviooo v.a. part 2 vo brick in the wall aber han au part 1 sehr gern (imene albumkontext) SMOOTHE ÜBERGANG DE BASSS würkli wenn die chinde singet, es isch iwie sooo powerful, chans nöd andersch beschriebe FUCK VERGESSE WIE GUET MOTHER ISCH es isch sooo schönn don't leave me now isch recht unagnehm was sicher au de sinn devoo isch HEY YOUUUU mengisch lauft mier das lied random na und denn nervts mi amigs soo hahaha baaa wenn d schlagzüg hittet, sehr guut puuu is there anybody out there isch krass, völlig vergesse comfortably numb isch vlt mis lieblingslied vo ihne poaah d drums mached huere vill uus bi in the flesh WIE HAN ICH JE RUN LIKE HELL VERGESSE mier isch nanie ufgfalle dass de ahfang chli wie eye od the tiger tönt.lol the trial isch halt es lied wo bi sonere rock opera sinn macht, aber jz so als l i e d nöd megaa spass macht ich hetts jz nöd umbedingt denkt, aber das isches fucking 5i find dark side of the moon als album machtmer meh spass (sicher au wills nöd so lang isch) aber die einzelne lieder hitted eifach insane

Very interesting that basically the entire album is one song. This is my first time listening to Pink Floyd, and I doubt I would listen to them otherwise cause in general they aren’t really my style. However, I can respect the impact that this album has, and will admit that it is very good, and I did actually enjoy listening to it. No standout tracks, because again, this album is basically just one song. Although, if I had to pick one, it would be Comfortably Numb. (Surprising, I know)

c'mon

Great album!!!

Phenomenal album. Comfortably Numb is definitely on my mount Rushmore of songs.

I like how the judge at the end was a giant butt hole with like a nut sack for a chin. Seriously, I didn’t see Roger Waters becoming a Nazi. It definitely affects the work… David Gilmore kicks ass though

This one is so deeply tied to my childhood. My dad played it all the time. It has a real cinematic feel (duh), and in general I'm just a huge sucker for concept albums.

Love the weird and concept album thing this is doing. Some good standalone songs, and it seems very hard to knock this as an intentional and effective thing