Pink Floyd – The Wall [6 CD Immersion Box Set] (2012)

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This album came out just as I was heading into my teenage years, right around the time I was first starting to really get into music. So it was natural fit, right? Nope — I remember hearing "Another Brick in the Wall" on the radio a lot back then and not liking it much.

What turned me around was seeing the movie version of The Wall at a college party towards the other end of my teenage years. Maybe I just had had a few too many beers (or, more likely, way too many beers), but it made a serious impression on me. Soon I was borrowing Pink Floyd tapes from all my friends and could sing every line from The Wall from memory. In fact, my circle of friends were such Wall geeks that one night when I was hanging out at one guy's apartment, a friend of ours called, said "This Roman Meal bakery thought you'd like to know" and hung up. Within minutes we called back and said "Last thing you hear on the TV before 'Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)' starts". Now that's obsessive.

Unfortunately the album hasn't held up for me all that well over the years. Listening to it now for this review has refreshed my memory as to just how much good stuff there is here, but in the end I just find the album a little too heavy-handed and prone to filler. For my money, The Final Cut covers the same emotional ground and does it in a much more concise and compelling way.

Still, everyone should hear The Wall at some point, preferably in their youth. It's one of those albums that it's easy to latch onto and let warp your mind during your impressionable years. And I mean that in the best possible way.

Oh yeah, Conrad's "amateur guitarists' classic" description of "Is There Anybody Out There" brought a smile to my face. I don't even qualify as an amateur when it comes to playing guitar, but guess what the only song I ever taught myself how to play was? Yep, "Is There Anybody Out There". And I had to get a friend to help me with the tricky bit in the middle.

Disc 1/6:

01. In The Flesh? [3:20]
02. The Thin Ice [2:27]
03. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1 [3:12]
04. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives [1:51]
05. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 [3:59]
06. Mother [5:35]
07. Goodbye Blue Sky [2:47]
08. Empty Spaces [2:08]
09. Young Lust [3:30]
10. One Of My Turns [3:37]
11. Don’t Leave Me Now [4:16]
12. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3 [1:14]
13. Goodbye Cruel World [1:17]

Disc 2/6:

01. Hey You [4:40]
02. Is There Anybody Out There? [2:42]
03. Nobody Home [3:23]
04. Vera [1:33]
05. Bring The Boys Back Home [1:27]
06. Comfortably Numb [6:22]
07. The Show Must Go On [1:37]
08. In The Flesh! [4:16]
09. Run Like Hell [4:24]
10. Waiting For The Worms [3:57]
11. Stop [0:31]
12. The Trial [5:19]
13. Outside The Wall [1:46]

- Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live (Digitally Remastered in 2011 by James Guthrie -

Disc 3/6:

01. Master of Ceremonies [1:14]
02. In the Flesh? [3:00]
03. The Thin Ice [2:49]
04. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1 [4:09]
05. The Happiest Days of Our Lives [1:45]
06. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2 [6:19]
07. Mother [7:55]
08. Goodbye Blue Sky [3:14]
09. Empty Spaces [2:16]
10. What Shall We Do Now? [1:39]
11. Young Lust [5:19]
12. One of My Turns [3:42]
13. Don’t Leave Me Now [4:01]
14. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 3 [1:21]
15. The Last Few Bricks [3:26]
16. Goodbye Cruel World [1:42]

Disc 4/6:

01. Hey You [4:56]
02. Is There Anybody Out There? [3:09]
03. Nobody Home [3:17]
04. Vera [1:23]
05. Bring The Boys Back Home [1:25]
06. Comfortably Numb [7:25]
07. The Show Must Go On [2:35]
08. Mc; Atmos [0:38]
09. In The Flesh [4:22]
10. Run Like Hell [7:04]
11. Waiting For The Worms [4:14]
12. Stop [0:30]
13. The Trial [6:03]
14. Outside The Wall [4:32]

- The Wall album demos (previously unreleased) -

Disc 5/6: The Wall Work In Progress Part 1, 1979:

01. Prelude (Vera Lynn) – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:24]
02. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 – Roger Waters Original Demo [1:04]
03. Mother – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:23]
04. Young Lust – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:14]
05. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:19]
06. Empty Spaces – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:19]
07. Mother – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:08]
08. Backs To The Wall – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:36]
09. Don’t Leave Me Now – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:28]
10. Goodbye Blue Sky – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:40]
11. Don’t Leave Me Now – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:13]
12. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3 – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:38]
13. Goodbye Cruel World – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:25]
14. Hey You – Roger Waters Original Demo [1:09]
15. Is There Anybody Out There – Roger Waters Original Demo [1:23]
16. Vera – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:28]
17. Bring The Boys Back Home – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:38]
18. The Show Must Go On – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:52]
19. Waiting For The Worms – Roger Waters Original Demo [1:17]
20. Run Like Hell – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:51]
21. The Trial – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:35]
22. Outside The Wall – Roger Waters Original Demo [1:04]
23. Prelude (Vera Lynn) – Roger Waters Original Demo [0:56]
24. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1 – Band Demo [4:49]
25. The Thin Ice – Band Demo [3:32]
26. Goodbye Blue Sky – Band Demo [2:23]
27. Teacher, Teacher – Band Demo [2:50]
28. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 – Band Demo [1:31]
29. Empty Spaces – Band Demo [1:53]
30. Young Lust – Band Demo [4:27]
31. Mother – Band Demo [4:39]
32. Don’t Leave Me Now – Band Demo [4:35]
33. Sexual Revolution – Band Demo [5:00]
34. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3 – Band Demo [1:26]
35. Goodbye Cruel World – Band Demo [1:13]
36. In The Flesh – Band Demo [3:25]
37. The Thin Ice – Band Demo [2:36]
38. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1 – Band Demo [3:42]
39. The Happiest Days Of Your Lives – Band Demo [1:44]
40. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 – Band Demo [1:57]
41. Mother – Band Demo [4:37]

Disc 6/6: The Wall Work In Progress Part 2, 1979

01. Is There Anybody Out There (Roger Waters Original Demo) [1:53]
02. Vera (Roger Waters Original Demo) [2:19]
03. Bring The Boys Back Home (Roger Waters Original Demo) [0:43]
04. Hey You (Band Demo) [4:07]
05. The Doctor (Comfortably Numb – Band Demo) [3:15]
06. In The Flesh (Band Demo) [4:35]
07. Run Like Hell (Band Demo) [3:08]
08. Waiting For The Worms (Band Demo) [3:54]
09. The Trail (Band Demo) [4:06]
10. The Show Must Go On (Band Demo) [2:07]
11. Outside The Wall (Band Demo) [1:19]
12. The Thin Ice (reprise – Band Demo) [1:32]
13. Outside The Wall (Band Demo) [1:53]
14. It’s Never Too Late (Band Demo) [1:32]
15. The Doctor (Comfortably Numb – Band Demo) [3:20]
16. One Of My Turns (Band Demo) [2:30]
17. Don’t Leave Me Now (Band Demo) [4:05]
18. Empty Spaces (Band Demo) [0:51]
19. Backs To The Wall (Band Demo) [1:33]
20. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3 (Band Demo) [1:23]
21. Goodbye Cruel World (Band Demo) [1:06]
22. Comfortably Numb (David Gilmour Original Demo) [3:15]
23. Run Like Hell (David Gilmour Original Demo) [3:03]

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120 songs

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