AR: The Wall

Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)

• Ridiculously grandiose, self-indulgent double disc archetypal concept album about crafting psychological barriers between the self and the outside world (comprised of dead fathers, oppressive mothers / schoolteachers, untrustworthy wives, modern dystopia, etc.). I can't even begin to get into it; check out this complete analysis to get an idea of the scrutiny this super-bestselling album has garnered.
• Really walks the border between plainly emotionally-pained and self-obsessed to a "oh poor baby rock star" degree; fortunately, a lot of the tunes are so direct and honest-feeling that I, for one, am willing to count it more amongst the authentic expression ranks (and less against the clueless, no-perspective ranks). Doesn't hurt that there are a slew of great tunes on here, ranging from the operatic to the rocking to the funky to gorgeous ballads to near New Wave sound effect splash.
• The playing on said tunes is top notch, unsurprisingly, but the album is also dotted with memorable songwriting throughout. It's not as though Roger Waters cracked new territory hear - WW II-derived isolation and angst is, like, so 1942 - but for such a popular, commercially-oriented album, there is a "speaks to me" (HA!) treasure-chest of lines and sentiments all over the album. Just for one example, "Nobody Home" is the sort of histrionic, melodramatic goofiness that would normally turn me right off, but in its place amongst the soaring dynamics of this album, it slays me.
• It really is, in short, art-craft. Replete with sound effects and nuances to keep repeated listens interesting. And the usual larger than life Pink Floyd aesthetic - even the ballads are somehow loud - so independent of how proto-emo it is, the work is thoroughly enjoyable.
• With the caveat that the first disc is LOADS better than the second, and the more music theater aspect (which really comes to fruition on the second half of the second disc) sort of causes the whole monstrosity to collapse on itself. I.e., I'm in the camp that finds "The Trial" and Nazi plotlines of the second disc to be a bit much, even by Floyd standards. So The Wall is brilliant on the whole, but after riding the emphatic/absurd line well for 3/4s of the album, it can't keep the trick up. Not enough to kill it, but enough to keep it off the Island.

Status: Recommended

Nyet's Faves: "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2"; "Comfortably Numb" - real original, I know.