Original 2 Lp set Pink Floyd "The Wall"  Lp Cover and record are Nm..Buyer to pay $4.00 s/h Thanks for looking. The Wall by Released30 November 1979 (1979-11-30)RecordedDecember 1978 – November 1979Studio Super Bear Studio (France) (New York) Producers Workshop (Los Angeles) Length81:09/ • chronology
(1977)The Wall
(1979)
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from The Wall "" / ""
Released: 23 November 1979 (1979-11-23) "" / ""
Released: 17 April 1980 (1980-04-17) "" / ""
Released: 23 June 1980 (1980-06-23)

The Wall is the eleventh by the English band . It is the last studio album released with the classic lineup of guitarist , bassist/lyricist , keyboardist and drummer before Wright left the band. Released as a on 30 November 1979, it was supported by a with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a 1982 feature film, . The album features the band's only number one single "".

As with Pink Floyd's previous three albums, The Wall is a and explores themes of abandonment and personal isolation. The album is a that follows Pink, a character whom Waters modelled after himself and the band's original leader, . Pink's life begins with the loss of his father during the and continues with abuse from his schoolteachers, an overprotective mother, and the breakdown of his marriage; all contribute to his eventual self-imposed isolation from society, represented by a metaphorical wall. Waters conceived the album during Pink Floyd's 1977 , when his frustration with the audience became so acute that he imagined a wall between the audience and the stage.

The Wall features a harsher and more theatrical style than Pink Floyd's previous albums. Wright left the band during its production but remained as a salaried musician, performing with Pink Floyd during the Wall tour. The album was one of the best selling of 1980, and by 1999 it had sold over 23 million -certified units (11.5 million albums), making it the . placed The Wall at number 87 on its list of "".

Background

Pink Floyd's was their first playing in large stadiums, and in July 1977 – on the final date at the – a small group of noisy and excited fans near the stage irritated Waters to such an extent that he spat at one of them. He was not the only band member who felt disaffected at the show, as guitarist refused to perform the band's usual encores ("" and ""), leaving the rest of the band, with backup guitarist , to improvise a slow, sad , which Waters described as "some music to go home to". Later that night, while returning from hospital to treat an injury sustained to his foot while play-fighting backstage with manager , Waters spoke with music producer , and a friend of Ezrin's, a psychiatrist sharing their car, about the feelings of alienation he was experiencing on the tour. He articulated his desire to isolate himself by constructing a wall across the stage between the performers and the audience. He later said, "I loathed playing in stadiums ... I kept saying to people on that tour, 'I'm not really enjoying this ... there is something very wrong with this.'" While Gilmour and Wright were in recording solo albums, and was busy producing 's , Waters began to write new material. The spitting incident became the starting point for a new concept, which explored the protagonist's self-imposed isolation after years of traumatic interactions with authority figures and the loss of his father as a young child. To execute The Wall concept was to attempt to analyse the performer's psychological separation from the audience, using a physical structure as a metaphorical and theatrical device.

In July 1978 the band reconvened at , where Waters presented two new ideas for concept albums. The first was a 90-minute demo with the working title Bricks in the Wall. The second, a project about a man's dreams across one night that dealt with marriage, sex, and the pros and cons of monogamy and family life versus promiscuity. The first option was chosen by the group for the new Pink Floyd project and the second idea eventually became Waters's first solo effort, a concept album titled .

By September, the band were experiencing financial difficulties. Financial planners Norton Warburg Group (NWG) had invested £1.3–3.3 million (up to £16.9 million in contemporary value) of the group's money in high-risk to reduce their . The strategy failed as many of the businesses NWG invested in lost money, leaving the band facing tax rates potentially as high as 83 per cent. Pink Floyd terminated their relationship with NWG, demanding the return of uninvested funds. The band thus urgently needed to produce an album to make money. Because the project's 26 tracks presented a challenge greater than the band's previous albums, "Waters decided to bring in an outside producer and collaborator." He later said, "I needed a collaborator who was musically and intellectually in a similar place to where I was."

Producer Bob Ezrin had worked with , and , as well as producing 's . At the suggestion of Waters's then-girlfriend, , who had worked as Ezrin's secretary, the band hired him to co-produce the album. From the start, Waters made it very clear who was in charge: "You can write anything you want. Just don't expect any credit". Ezrin, Waters, and Gilmour read Waters's concept, keeping what they liked, and discarding what they thought was not good enough. Waters and Ezrin worked mostly on the story, improving the concept. A 40-page script was presented to the rest of the band, with positive results: "The next day at the studio, we had a table read, like you would with a play, but with the whole of the band, and their eyes all twinkled, because then they could see the album." Ezrin broadened the storyline, distancing it from the autobiographical work Waters had written, and instead basing it on a composite, or gestalt character named Pink. Engineer Nick Griffiths later said of the Canadian producer: "Ezrin was very good in The Wall, because he did manage to pull the whole thing together. He's a very forceful guy. There was a lot of argument about how it should sound between Roger and Dave, and he bridged the gap between them." Waters wrote most of the album's material, with Gilmour sharing credit on "", "Run Like Hell" and "Young Lust", and Ezrin co-writing "The Trial".

Concept and storyline

The Wall is a rock opera that explores abandonment and isolation, symbolised by a metaphorical wall. The songs create an approximate storyline of events in the life of the protagonist, Pink, a character based on Barrett and Waters, whose father was killed during the Second World War. Pink is oppressed by his overprotective mother, and tormented at school by tyrannical, abusive teachers. All of these become metaphorical "bricks in the wall". The protagonist eventually becomes a rock star, his relationships marred by infidelity, drug use, and outbursts of violence. As his marriage crumbles, he finishes building his wall, completing his isolation from human contact.

Hidden behind his wall, Pink sinks into a deep depression. In order to get him to perform, a doctor medicates him. This results in a hallucinatory on-stage performance where he believes that he is a performing at concerts similar to rallies, at which he sets -like men on fans he considers unworthy. Upon realizing the horror of what he has done, Pink becomes overwhelmed and wishes for everything around him to cease. Showing human emotion, he is tormented with guilt and places himself on trial, his inner judge ordering him to "tear down the wall", opening Pink to the outside world. The album turns full circle with its closing words "Isn't this where ...", the first words of the phrase that begins the album, "... we came in?", with a continuation of the melody of the last song hinting at the cyclical nature of Waters' theme.

The album includes several references to former band member , including "", which hints at his condition during Pink Floyd's abortive US tour of 1967, with lyrics such as "wild, staring eyes", "the obligatory Hendrix perm" and "elastic bands keeping my shoes on". "Comfortably Numb" was inspired by Waters's injection with a to combat the effects of during the In the Flesh Tour, while in Philadelphia.

Recording

The album was recorded in several locations. In France, Super Bear Studios was used between January and July 1979, with Waters recording his vocals at the nearby . supervised the orchestral arrangements at in , in September. Over the next two months the band used and in . A plan to work with the at the Sundance Productions studio in Los Angeles was cancelled. For a week in November they worked at the Producers Workshop, also in Los Angeles.

, recommended by previous Floyd collaborator , arrived early in the production process. He replaced Brian Humphries, emotionally drained by his five years with the band. Guthrie was hired as a co-producer, but was initially unaware of Ezrin's role: "I saw myself as a hot young producer ... When we arrived, I think we both felt we'd been booked to do the same job." The early sessions at Britannia Row were emotionally charged, as Ezrin, Guthrie and Waters each had strong ideas about the direction the album would take. Relations within the band were at a low ebb, and Ezrin's role expanded to that of an intermediary between Waters and the rest of the band. As Britannia Row was initially regarded as inadequate for The Wall the band upgraded much of its equipment, and by March another set of demos were complete. However, their former relationship with NWG placed them at risk of bankruptcy, and they were advised to leave the UK by no later than 6 April 1979, for a minimum of one year. As during that time, and within a month all four members and their families had left. Waters moved to Switzerland, Mason to France, and Gilmour and Wright to the . Some equipment from Britannia Row was relocated in Super Bear Studios near . Gilmour and Wright were each familiar with the studio and enjoyed its atmosphere, having recorded there during the production of their solo albums. While Wright and Mason lived at the studio, Waters and Gilmour stayed in nearby houses. Mason later moved into Waters's villa near , while Ezrin stayed in Nice.

The rest of the band's children were young enough to stay with them in France but mine were older and had to go to school. I was missing my children terribly.

“ ” Richard Wright

Ezrin's poor punctuality caused problems with the tight schedule dictated by Waters. Mason found the producer's behaviour "erratic", but used his elaborate and unlikely excuses for his lateness as ammunition for "tongue-in-cheek resentment". Ezrin's share of the royalties was less than the rest of the band and he viewed Waters as a "", especially when the bassist mocked him by having badges made that read NOPE (No Points Ezrin), alluding to his lesser share of the album's royalties. Ezrin later admitted that he had marital problems and was not "in the best shape emotionally".

More problems became apparent when Waters's relationship with Wright broke down. The band were rarely in the studio together. Ezrin and Guthrie spliced Mason's previously recorded drum tracks together, and Guthrie also worked with Waters and Gilmour during the day, returning at night to record Wright's contributions. Wright, worried about the effect that the introduction of Ezrin would have on the band's internal relationships, was keen to have a producer's credit on the album (their albums up to that point had always stated "Produced by Pink Floyd"). Waters agreed to a trial period with Wright producing, after which he was to be given a producer's credit, but after a few weeks he and Ezrin expressed dissatisfaction with the keyboardist's methods. A confrontation with Ezrin led to Wright working only at nights. Gilmour also expressed his annoyance, complaining that Wright's lack of input was "driving us all mad", and Ezrin later reflected: "it sometimes felt that Roger was setting him up to fail. Rick gets performance anxiety. You have to leave him alone to freeform, to create ..." Wright had his own problems, a failing marriage and the onset of depression, exacerbated by his non-residency. The band's holidays were booked for August, after which they were to reconvene at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, but offered the band a better deal in exchange for a Christmas release of the album. Waters therefore increased the band's workload accordingly, booking time at the nearby Studio Miraval. He also suggested recording in Los Angeles ten days earlier than agreed, and hiring another keyboardist to work alongside Wright, whose keyboard parts had not yet been recorded. Wright, however, refused to cut short his family holiday in .

Accounts of Wright's subsequent departure from the band differ. In his autobiography, , Mason says that Waters called O'Rourke, who was travelling to the US on the , and told him to have Wright out of the band by the time Waters arrived in LA to mix the album. In another version recorded by a later historian of the band, Waters called O'Rourke and asked him to tell Wright about the new recording arrangements, to which Wright allegedly responded: "Tell Roger to fuck off ..." Wright disagreed with this recollection, stating that the band had agreed to record only through the spring and early summer, and that he had no idea they were so far behind schedule. Mason later wrote that Waters was "stunned and furious", and felt that Wright was not doing enough to help complete the album. Gilmour was on holiday in Dublin when he learnt of Waters's ultimatum, and tried to calm the situation. He later spoke with Wright and gave him his support, but reminded him about his minimal contribution to the album. Waters, however, insisted that Wright leave, or he would refuse to release The Wall. Several days later, worried about their financial situation, and the failing interpersonal relationships within the band, Wright quit. News of his departure was kept from the music press. Although his name did not appear anywhere on the original album, he was employed as a session musician on the band's subsequent The Wall tour.

By August 1979 the running order was largely complete. Wright completed his duties at Cherokee Studios aided by session musicians and , and played drums in Mason's stead on "". His duties complete, Mason left the final mix to Waters, Gilmour, Ezrin and Guthrie, and travelled to New York to record his début solo album, . In advance of its release, technical constraints led to some changes being made to the running order and content of The Wall, with "" being replaced by the similar but shorter "", and "" being moved from its original place at the end of side three, to the beginning. With the November 1979 deadline approaching, the band left the now-incorrect inner sleeves of the album unchanged.

Instrumentation

Mason's early drum sessions were performed in an open space on the top floor of . The 16-track recordings from these sessions were mixed down and copied onto a 24-track master, as guide tracks for the rest of the band to play to. This gave the engineers greater flexibility, but also improved the audio quality of the final mix as the original 16-track drum recordings were finally synced to the 24-track master, and the duplicated guide tracks removed. Ezrin later related the band's alarm at this method of working – they apparently viewed the erasure of material from the 24-track master as "witchcraft".

While at Super Bear studios Waters agreed to Ezrin's suggestion that several tracks, including "Nobody Home", "The Trial" and "Comfortably Numb", should have an orchestral accompaniment. , who had previously worked with , was booked to oversee these arrangements, which were performed by musicians from the and Orchestras, and a choir from the . Their sessions were recorded at CBS Studios in New York, although Pink Floyd were not present. Kamen eventually met the band once recording was complete.

I think things like 'Comfortably Numb' were the last embers of mine and Roger's ability to work collaboratively together.

“ ” David Gilmour

"Comfortably Numb" has its origins in Gilmour's debut solo album, and was the source of much argument between Waters and Gilmour. Ezrin claimed that the song initially started life as "Roger's record, about Roger, for Roger", although he thought that it needed further work. Waters rewrote the song and added more lyrics for the chorus, but his "stripped-down and harder" recording was not to Gilmour's liking. The guitarist preferred Ezrin's "grander Technicolor, orchestral version", although Ezrin preferred Waters's version. Following a full-scale argument in a restaurant, the two compromised; the song's body eventually included the orchestral arrangement, with Gilmour's second and final guitar solo standing alone.

Sound effects and voices

Ezrin and Waters oversaw the capture of the sound effects used on the album. Waters recorded the phone call used on the original demo for "", but neglected to inform its recipient, Mason, who assumed it was a prank call and angrily hung up. The call references Waters' viewpoint of his bitter 1975 divorce from first wife Judy. Waters also recorded ambient sounds along by hanging a microphone from a studio window. Engineer Phil Taylor recorded some of the screeching tyre noises on "Run Like Hell" from a studio car park, and a television set being destroyed was used on "". At Britannia Row Studios, Nick Griffiths recorded the smashing of crockery for the same song. Television broadcasts were used, and one actor, recognising his voice, accepted a financial settlement from the group in lieu of legal action against them.

.

The maniacal schoolmaster was voiced by Waters, and actress supplied the 's voice. Backing vocals were performed by a range of artists, although a planned appearance by the on "The Show Must Go On" and "Waiting for the Worms" was cancelled by Waters, who instead settled for Beach Boy and . Ezrin's suggestion to release "" as a single with a disco-style beat did not initially find favour with Gilmour, although Mason and Waters were more enthusiastic. Waters was opposed to the idea of releasing a single at all, but became more receptive once he listened to Ezrin and Guthrie's mix of the song. With two identical verses the song was felt to be lacking, and so a copy was sent to Griffiths in London with a request to find children to perform several versions of the lyrics. Griffiths contacted Alun Renshaw, head of music at the nearby Islington Green school, who was enthusiastic about the idea, saying:

I wanted to make music relevant to the kids – not just sitting around listening to Tchaikovsky. I thought the lyrics were great – "We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control ..." I just thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids.

Griffiths first recorded small groups of pupils and then invited more in, telling them to affect a accent and shout rather than sing. He multitracked the voices, making the groups sound much larger than they were, before sending his recordings back to Los Angeles. The result was that Waters was "beaming", and the song was released, becoming a Christmas number one hit. There was some controversy when the British press reported that the children had not been paid for their efforts; they were eventually given copies of the album, and the school received a £1,000 donation (£4,000 in contemporary value).

Packaging

The cover design is one of Pink Floyd's most minimal – a white brick wall and no text. Waters had fallen out with designer a few years earlier, when the latter had included the cover of in his book Walk Away Rene, and The Wall is therefore the first Pink Floyd album cover since The Piper at the Gates of Dawn not created by the design group. The LP's sleeve art and custom picture labels by cartoonist tied in with the album's concept, with each of the four sides showing the eponymous wall in various stages of construction, accompanied by characters from the story.

Release Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRating9/105/58/105/5B−

When the completed album was played for an assembled group of executives at Columbia's headquarters in California, several were reportedly unimpressed by what they heard. Matters had not been helped when offered Waters smaller publishing rights on the grounds that The Wall was a double album, a position he did not accept. When one executive offered to settle the dispute with a coin toss, Waters asked why he should gamble on something he owned. He eventually prevailed. The record company's concerns were alleviated when "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" reached number one in the UK, US, Norway, Portugal, Israel, West Germany and South Africa. It was platinum in the UK in December 1979, and platinum in the US three months later.

The Wall was released in the UK and in the US on 30 November 1979. Coinciding with its release Waters was interviewed by veteran DJ , who played the album in its entirety on . Critical opinion of its content ranged from critic 's "too-kitschy minimal maximalism with sound effects and speech fragments" and Rolling Stone writer 's "a stunning synthesis of Waters's by now familiar thematic obsessions", to Melody Maker's "I'm not sure whether it's brilliant or terrible, but I find it utterly compelling." Nevertheless, the album topped the Billboard charts for 15 weeks, and in 1999 was certified 23x platinum. It remains one of the of all time in the US, between 1979 and 1990 selling over 19 million copies worldwide. In this sense The Wall is second only to 1973's . Engineer James Guthrie's efforts were rewarded in 1980 with a award for Best Engineered Recording (non-classical). According to , The Wall is the 145th most ranked record on critics' all-time lists. placed it at number 87 on its l

Track listing

All songs written and composed by , except where noted. 

Side oneNo.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength1.""   Waters3:162.""   Gilmour, Waters2:273.""   Waters3:214.""   Waters1:465.""   Gilmour, Waters3:596.""   Waters, Gilmour5:32Side twoNo.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength1.""   Gilmour2:452.""   Waters2:103.""  Waters, GilmourGilmour3:254.""   Waters3:415.""   Waters4:086.""   Waters1:487.""   Waters0:48Side threeNo.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength1.""   Gilmour, Waters4:402.""   Waters2:443.""   Waters3:264.""   Waters1:355.""   Waters1:216.""  Gilmour, WatersWaters, Gilmour6:23Side fourNo.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength1.""   Gilmour1:362.""   Waters4:153.""  Gilmour, WatersWaters, Gilmour4:204.""   Waters, Gilmour4:045.""   Waters0:306.""  Waters, EzrinWaters5:137.""   Waters1:41 Personnel[] Pink Floyd - bass, vocals, rhythm guitar, synthesizers, sound effects - lead and rhythm guitars, vocals, bass, synthesizers - drums, percussion - piano, hammond organ, electric piano, synthesizers, bass pedals Additional musicians – backing vocals – backing vocals Joe Chemay – backing vocals Jon Joyce – backing vocals Stan Farber – backing vocals – backing vocals Children of – vocals – piano, hammond organ, synthesizers, reed organ, backing vocals – percussion, synthesizer, sound effects – drums , Blue Ocean & 34 others – snare drums – guitars Joe (Ron) di Blasi – classical guitar – hammond organ – congas, bongos – concertina Larry Williams – clarinet Trevor Veitch – mandolin New York Orchestra – orchestra New York Opera – choral vocals Unnamed children's choir from New York – children’s choral vocals "Vicki & Clare" – backing vocals – child's voice, "Goodbye Blue Sky" Chris Fitzmorris – male telephone voice Trudy Young – voice of the groupie Phil Taylor – sound effects