My Top 20 albums from 1979 No 2

The Wall 9½ ( 1979, UK pos 3 )
In the Flesh? / The Thin Ice / Another Brick in the Wall 1 / The Happiest Days of Our Lives / Another Brick in the Wall 2 / Mother / Goodbye Blue Sky / Empty Spaces / Young Lust / One of My Turns / Don't Leave Me Now / Another Brick in the Wall 3 / Goodbye Cruel World / Hey You / Is There Anybody Out There? / Nobody Home / Vera / Bring the Boys Back Home / Comfortably Numb / The Show Must Go On / In the Flesh / Run Like Hell / Waiting for the Worms / Stop / The Trial / Outside the Wall

'The Wall' when it first appeared must have surprised many Pink Floyd fans, being a double album of an astonishingly large amount of songs, twenty six in all. 'Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2' was the first Pink Floyd single to be a hit in the UK since 'See Emily Play' way back in 1967. The concept for 'The Wall' ( there has to be a concept! ) revolves around a Rock star named 'Pink' ( ha, ha! ) who is basically a jerk. Write about what you know, and all that. Sorry Mr Waters. Pinks fathers life was taken in the name of duty, and Pink builds a mental wall between himself and the rest of the world, every emotional trouble and stress becoming another 'brick' in Pinks mental wall of pain, disillusioned with stardom and fame. Roger Waters father, Eric Fletcher Waters died in the line of duty, during World War II. Sorry again, Roger. Maybe you're not a jerk after all, although Rick Wright may have thought so. Out of twenty six songs, not a one of them was written by Rick, who was pretty much just a session guy here, and would leave the band altogether before the groups next album project. So, if 'Animals' had 'sort of' introduced a new sound to Pink Floyd, although a new sound sat on top of largely old, previously unused compostions in the throes of writers block, 'The Wall' really does see Roger Waters write his little heart out. 'The Wall' is beautiful and bleak, impressive in scope and production. There is genuine beauty in songs like 'Is There Anybody Out There?' with it's pretty guitar and the string assisted 'Nobody Home', for examples. There's the groovy bass lines and sing-a-long of 'Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2', which released in the Punk ( post-punk? ) era, as a single - was a tremendous and deserved success.

'The Thin Ice' is as bleak as can be. Is the music here depressing? Possibly, although I prefer the word bleak, it describes the sound and feel more accurately. Gilmour gets to show off his guitar in some places ( the solo in 'Mother' for example ) but a lot of songs seem based around simple acoustic guitar, then blown up in the studio later on during the recording process. It works though, these are very real sounding songs, too real at times. There is variety here amongst the bleakness, a variation with guitar rock songs like 'Young Lust' and some string orchestrated material later on. The guitar rock of 'Young Lust' isn't a favourite of mine, but it's here, and it works, just about. Side three ( of the vinyl release ) is glorious, with 'Hey You', 'Is There Anybody Out There' and 'Nobody Home' all being stunning compositions and music of genuine beauty. 'Hey You' might just be my favourite song here. 'Vera'? Now's there's an old English name, World War II? You betcha! Roger sings of Vera Lynn in this case, with strings and bass and mentions of 'some sunny day' from her signature song. 'Bring The Boys Back Home' and 'Vera' combined are three minutes long, 'Comfortably Numb' switches us away so closely from World War II stories and for six minutes is atmosphere and stings, plus one - a total classic with Gilmour getting a chance to show off his guitar. He doesn't get that many chances to do that here on 'The Wall', an album that's very much the Roger Waters show, but it's a damn good show. Thought provoking? Yeah. Impressive in scope and scale? Yeah. 'Run Like Hell' is a little groove and up-tempo music at a time the album needs it, little moments like these keep you listening and add to the enjoyment of it all. Enjoyment? Yeah. Bleak? Yeah, you bet. I don't care for the theatre of 'The Trial' or the way the album ends amid ugliness before 'Outside The Wall' seems to be a little child-like story. It throws you. 'The Wall' throws the heart out of your chest, stamps on it, then chucks it against the ceiling before it falls to the ground, leaving a bloody mess on the carpet. 'The Wall' is that kind of an album, and a must-listen.

Featured SongsL
Another brick in The Wall Pt 2
Comfortably Numb