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Released | November 30, 1979 December 8, 1979 |
Recorded | December, 1978 - November, 1979 |
Studio | Britannia Row Studios Super Bear Studios Miraval Studios CBS 30th Street Studio Producers Workshop Cherokee Studios |
Label | Harvest • EMI • Columbia • CBS |
Length | 80:42 |
Genres | Progressive rock • art rock • progressive pop |
Producers | Roger Waters • David Gilmour • James Guthrie • Bob Ezrin |
![]() ![]() Released November 23, 1979(UK) | |
A-side | "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" |
B-side | "One of My Turns" |
![]() ![]() Released April, 1980 | |
A-side | "Run Like Hell" |
B-side | "Don't Leave Me Now" |
![]() ![]() Released June 23, 1980(US) | |
A-side | "Comfortably Numb" |
B-side | "Hey You" |
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on November 30, 1979. It is the final Pink Floyd album to feature the band’s classic ‘70s lineup, comprising Roger Waters (vocals, bass, synthesizers, acoustic and electric guitars), David Gilmour (electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, bass, keyboards, synthesizers), Nick Mason (drums), and Richard Wright (keyboards), who left the band under pressure from Waters prior to the album’s release.
Releases and track listings[]
UK release (November 30, 1979) runtime: 80:42 | |||||
20:11 |
No. | Song name | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "In the Flesh?" | Roger Waters | 3:16 | ||
2 | "The Thin Ice" | Waters • David Gilmour | 2:27 | ||
3 | "Another Brick in the Wall" (Part I) | 3:11 | |||
4 | "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" | 1:46 | |||
5 | "Another Brick in the Wall" (Part II) | Waters • Gilmour | 3:59 | ||
6 | "Mother" | Waters • Gilmour | 5:32 | ||
18:43 | |||||
1 | "Goodbye Blue Sky" | Gilmour | 2:45 | ||
2 | "Empty Spaces" | 2:10 | |||
3 | "Young Lust" | Waters • Gilmour | Gilmour | 3:25 | |
4 | "One of My Turns" | 3:41 | |||
5 | "Don't Leave Me Now" | Waters • Gilmour | 4:08 | ||
6 | "Another Brick in the Wall" (Part III) | 1:18 | |||
7 | "Goodbye Cruel World" | 1:16 | |||
20:09 | |||||
1 | "Hey You" | Waters • Gilmour | 4:40 | ||
2 | "Is There Anybody Out There?" | Waters • Gilmour | 2:44 | ||
3 | "Nobody Home" | 3:26 | |||
4 | "Vera" | 1:35 | |||
5 | "Bring the Boys Back Home" | Waters • New York Opera | 1:21 | ||
6 | "Comfortably Numb" | Waters • Gilmour | Waters • Gilmour | 6:23 | |
21:39 | |||||
1 | "The Show Must Go On" | Gilmour | 1:36 | ||
2 | "In the Flesh" | 4:15 | |||
3 | "Run Like Hell" | Waters • Gilmour | Waters • Gilmour | 4:20 | |
4 | "Waiting for the Worms" | 4:04 | |||
5 | "Stop" | 0:30 | |||
6 | "The Trial" | Waters • Bob Ezrin | 5:13 | ||
7 | "Outside the Wall" | 1:41 |
Tracks From Film[]
- "When The Tigers Broke Free" (Composed for the movie--released on a vinyl single, Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd and 2004 re-release of The Final Cut)
- "What Shall We Do Now?" (Extended version of "Empty Spaces" left off the original album due to vinyl's time limits, used during live show)
Tracks From The Concert[]
The live version of The Wall, Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81, included the following tracks not on the original album:
- "What Shall We Do Now?" after "Empty Spaces"
- "The Last Few Bricks" after "Another Brick In The Wall (Part III)"; usually a medley performed while the construction crew was finishing off the massive wall on stage
Tracks Intended, But Not Used[]
Originally written to be a triple-LP, although cut it down and left material out for the band's next release, The Final Cut.
- "Is There Anybody Out There (Part II)" features previously unheard lyrics, part of which were later worked into "Hey You"
- "Your Possible Pasts" later re-written for use on The Final Cut, however, the line "Do you remember me/How we used to be/Do you think/We should be/Closer?" was used in the film.
- "One Of The Few" - working title, "Teach" - was later re-written for use on The Final Cut
- "The Final Cut" also re-written for use on The Final Cut. A line from this song goes: Dial the combination / Open the priest-hole / And if I'm in, I'll tell you what's behind the wall. A gunshot is played over "behind the wall" in the final version of the song, to sever its connection to the album The Wall. The complete lyrics are still written in the inside sleeve of the album.
In 2012, several versions of The Wall were released as part of a Pink Floyd re-release campaign called "Why Pink Floyd...?" The versions were called Discovery, Experience and Immersion
Discovery[]
- The original album remastered on two discs
Experience[]
- The original album remastered on two discs as well as a third disc containing unreleased demos from The Wall. Track listing for Disc 3 is as follows:
- Prelude (Vera Lynn) (0:56)
- Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1 (4:48)
- The Thin Ice (3:31)
- Goodbye Blue Sky (2:22)
- Teacher, Teacher (2:50)
- Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 (1:31)
- Empty Spaces (1:53)
- Young Lust (4:26)
- Mother (4:38)
- Don't Leave Me Now (4:34)
- Sexual Revolution (5:00)
- Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3 (1:25)
- Goodbye Cruel World (1:13)
- In The Flesh? (3:25)
- The Thin Ice (2:35)
- Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1 (3:41)
- The Happiest Days Of Our Lives (1:44)
- Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 (1:57)
- Mother (4:33)
- One Of My Turns (2:29)
- Don't Leave Me Now (4:04)
- Empty Spaces (0:51)
- Backs To The Wall (1:33)
- Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3 (1:22)
- Goodbye Cruel World (1:05)
- The Doctor (Comfortably Numb) (3:15)
- Run Like Hell (3:06)
Immersion[]
- The original album remastered on two discs
- "Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81" remastered on two discs
- Two discs of unreleased demos from Roger Waters and Pink Floyd
- DVD of videos relating to The Wall, which includes a Gerald Scarfe interview, the "Behind The Wall" documentary, "Another Brick In The Wall" promotional video, and a performance of "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives" live from Earl's Court. Total running time of DVD is 72:00
- 44-page booklet
- Photo book by Jill Furmanovsky
- Scarf designed by Storm Thorgerson
- Three marbles with "The Wall" design with pouch
- Coasters
- Gerald Scarfe art print
- Four collector's cards
- Backstage pass replica
- The Wall tour ticket replica
- Poster containing all of the lyrics to the album, hand written by Gerald Scarfe.
Credits[]
- Roger Waters — vocals, bass guitar, co-producer, synthesizer, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, sleeve design
- David Gilmour — guitars, vocals, co-producer, sequencer; synthesizer, clavinet, bass guitar, percussion
- Richard Wright — piano, organ, synthesizer, clavinet, bass pedals
- Nick Mason — drums, percussion
with
- Lee Ritenour — Rhythm Guitar on "One Of My Turns" and Acoustic Guitar on "Comfortably Numb"
- Jeff Porcaro — Drums on "Mother"
- Joe Porcaro — Marching Snare Drum on "Bring The Boys Back Home"
- Blue Ocean — Marching Snare Drum on "Bring The Boys Back Home"
- Freddie Mandell — Hammond Organ on "In The Flesh?" and "In The Flesh"
- Bobbye Hall — Percussion
- Ron di Blasi — Classical guitar on "Is There Anybody Out There?"
- Larry Williams — Clarinet on "Outside The Wall"
- Trevor Veitch — Mandolin
- Frank Marrocco — Concertina
- Bruce Johnston — Backing Vocals
- Toni Tennille — Backing Vocals
- Joe Chemay — Backing Vocals
- Jon Joyce — Backing Vocals
- Stan Farber — Backing Vocals
- Jim Haas — Backing Vocals
- Fourth Form Music Class, Islington Green School, London — Backing Vocals
- Bob Ezrin — co-producer; Orchestra Arrangement; Keyboards
- Michael Kamen — Orchestra Arrangement
- James Guthrie — Co-Producer; Engineer; Percussion; Synthesizer on "Empty Spaces" (in collaboration with David Gilmour), Sequencer; Drums on "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives" (in collaboration with Nick Mason), remastering producer
- Nick Griffiths — Engineer
- Patrice Queff — Engineer
- Brian Christian — Engineer
- John McClure — Engineer
- Rick Hart — Engineer
- Robert Hrycyna — Engineer
- Phil Taylor — Sound Equipment
- Gerald Scarfe — Sleeve Design
- Doug Sax — Mastering, Remastering
Info[]
- At the beginning of the live 1980-81 album, the Vera Lynn song We'll Meet Again can be heard. In the live and studio versions of the song "Vera," it's referenced directly ("Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn? / Remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day?"). The Vera Lynn song The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot is the first song in the movie.
- "Empty Spaces" begins with a secret message recorded backwards:
Roger Waters: "Congratulations, You have just discovered the secret message. Please send your answers to 'Old Pink', Care of 'The Funny Farm', Chalfonte..." [interrupted by James Guthrie who says] "Roger, Carolyne's on the phone..."
- "Waiting For The Worms": Near the end of the track, Roger (as Pink) barks out instructions and directions in street names (most of the words are inaudible):
We're (waiting to succeed) and going to convene outside Brixton Town Hall where we're going to be… WAITING…to cut out the deadwood… The Worms will convene outside Brixton Bus Station. We'll be moving along at about 12 o'clock down Stockwell Road… (Abbot's Road)… twelve minutes to three we'll be moving along Lambeth Road towards Vauxhall Bridge. Now when we get to the other side of Vauxhall Bridge we're in Westminster (Borough) area. It's quite possible we may encounter…
Brixton Town Hall and Stockwell Road are both in South London, and in areas with large black populations. It also mentions Lambeth Road, Vauxhall Bridge and Westminster, which fit, if we move north from Brixton, crossing the Thames at Vauxhall Bridge. What was implied is unclear.
- The beginning and end of the album features a continuity; perhaps the most famous tape loop.
"Outside The Wall": "Isn't this where…"
"In The Flesh?": "…we came in?"
- Toni Tennille, of Captain & Tennille, sang background vocals on many of the album tracks, and provided the voice of the groupie for the infamous "Oh My God, What A Fabulous Room" Monologue in One Of My Turns.
- Trudy Young actually voiced the aforementioned part of the groupie
- In 2001, the Canadian alternative country band Luther Wright and the Wrongs released Rebuild The Wall, a track-for-track reimagining of The Wall as a country album. A tribute album, "Back Against The Wall", features artists like Ian Anderson, Keith Emerson, and other rock legends (so the label says) performing the tracks from the original album.
- The Wall was the first album since 1967's The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn that Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis did not do the cover. Instead, Gerald Scarfe did the cover and gatefold sleeve.
- The album had custom picture labels. Side one had a quarter of the wall erected and a sketch of the teacher. Side two saw half of the wall erected and a sketch of the wife. Side three had three-fourths of the wall erected and a sketch of the character of Pink. Side four had the wall completely erected and a sketch of the prosecutor..