The Wall

Pink Floyd has the honor of offering the last serving of excess for the decade, spread out over the double-album The Wall. Just listen to the opening bars of "In the Flesh?" Roger Waters's voice is the first to be heard, and it's no surprise. Since their last record, the other members of the Floyd had cut solo albums to little commercial or artistic success. When the band entered sessions for this album, it was Waters that offered two "song cycles;" the band chose the first, and the second would appear some years later as Waters's first solo effort, The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking. The recording of The Wall was tumultuous at best; Rick Wright was ejected from the band by the end of the sessions, and producer Bob Ezrin completed the album in Los Angeles with studio musicians. Fortunately, David Gilmour leaves some evidence of his participation, especially on the excellent "Young Lust," "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell," all co-written with Waters. The remainder, on the other hand, are strictly Waters. All of the songs constitute a perfectly choreographed script, though offering none of the psychedelic instrumentals that had defined Pink Floyd throughout the decade. That said, there are undoubtedly some classic tracks within, including "Mother," "Hey You" and "Nobody Home." But by the fourth side, it's the album's own weight that brings down the wall. Still, there's no denying that the double-album was an artistic achievement and a phenomenal success. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" b/w "One of My Turns" topped the single charts on both sides of the Atlantic, while the album would reach No. 1 in the US and peak at No. 3 in the UK. Over the next two years, the band would stage live renditions of the album in a series of concerts held in Los Angeles, New York, London and Dortmund, Germany. A movie of the same name, starring Bob Geldof as the central character Pink, would appear in 1982, directed by Alan Parker. Over a decade after its first release, Waters would perform The Wall in an all-star extravaganza in Berlin to celebrate the fall of die Mauer, while Waters would eventually reprise the original production-updated with stunning technology-on a series of tours from 2010-2013.