Pink Floyd The Wall in 5.1

[mandrix]

It was very important for Roger to comment quickly on the Falklands war... otherwise no one would ever remember it. LOL

I believe the song by Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms" was made about the casualties from the war?

 

[Kodaline]

OK, I like the flow, but why cram it all on 3 sides of vinyl?

What's gonna go on the 4th side?

Many double albums are ~65 minutes long.

No point. This was just something to show that the album has about 25% filler songs.

 

[madscot]

In my circles, those who dislike The Wall and TFC and PF music in general cite the fact that it is mostly depressing and has dark themes. None of it is "happy music"

I love “The wall” and hate “The final cut”, if the final cut was released on a standalone blu-ray for free i’d refuse it

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I love “The wall” and hate “The final cut”, if the final cut was released on a standalone blu-ray for free i’d refuse it

Oh dear!

 

[Owen Smith]

When you have matched speakers properly aligned with tape measure and level (and at least half way decent speakers), a phantom center (mono) sound will fool you and you'll swear it's coming from the center speaker. You have to actually get up and walk up to the speaker to hear it's coming from the stereo pair.

That happens all the time with my system, regardless of source. When I'm fiddling with formats and decoding types I have to get up and check whether the centre speaker is playing anything.

 

[Owen Smith]

It was very important for Roger to comment quickly on the Falklands war... otherwise no one would ever remember it. LOL

Trust me, in the UK and Argentina no-one forgets the Falklands War. And Roger's message is rather pointless, being basically "don't fight", which is no help at all to the country that has been invaded.

 

[duanerocks2014]

From what I have read, Waters felt Wright was not contributing and was dead weight. Wright felt essentially bullied and sidelined, which made him withdraw from participating. Wright was then fired prior to touring for The Wall. Ironically because of the expense of The Wall tour and the venues selected Wright was reported to be the only one to make a profit as a session musician on the tour.

Wright was officially welcomed back into the band for the Delicate Sound of Thunder tour and of course The Division Bell and it's tour. He was not officially part of the band for Momentary Lapse of Reason because of the continuing legal disputes (I guess him being back in the band would have caused problems for their case). Though it has come to light recently that he was unofficially involved with that album.

 

[duanerocks2014]

I am of the viewpoint that even though The Wall is good,but the fact that Richard wasn’t on it,seriously affected just how much better it could have been? Richard is a cental part of that band and he was clearly missed!

 

[key_wiz]

No point. This was just something to show that the album has about 25% filler songs.

One thing to consider about this album, however, is that it is neatly divided into Four Acts, each telling a different part of the story.

Fair to discuss just how good all of the material comprising each Act is, but to start putting different songs onto different sides would disrupt that flow.

of course, putting it all on one or even two CDs disrupts some of that idea anyway.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I am of the viewpoint that even though The Wall is good,but the fact that Richard wasn’t on it,seriously affected just how much better it could have been? Richard is a cental part of that band and he was clearly missed!

What???

Richard Wright played on 'The Wall'. He wasn't on 'The Final Cut'

 

[duanerocks2014]

Guthrie has been working on a surround mix of The Wall for years, but there have been serious issues with the multi-tracks. A "new" but inferior tape was used at the time.

Whether he's finally finished it, and what Gilmour would think of it once it was finished and allow it go forward? Anyone's guess at this point, I suppose.

I’m always amazed at how bands don’t take care of their muilti-track tapes? As Steely Dan comes to mind as they couldn’t do a 5.1 mix of The great Aja album because they are missing parts of that album?

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

I’m always amazed at how bands don’t take care of their muilti-track tapes? As Steely Dan comes to mind as they couldn’t do a 5.1 mix of The great Aja album because they are missing parts of that album?

I think it's more the label that's responsible for the multitracks, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[rontoon]

No point. This was just something to show that the album has about 25% filler songs.

IMHO, songs that drive the narrative are not filler.

 

[himey]

It is amazing this album has ever sold a copy considering how many faults it has, according to the comments here. Thankfully it doesn't change my opinion of it after 40+ years. I think it is perfection.

 

[key_wiz]

I’m always amazed at how bands don’t take care of their muilti-track tapes? As Steely Dan comes to mind as they couldn’t do a 5.1 mix of The great Aja album because they are missing parts of that album?

Several different reasons for that, probably.

1) back in the 70s, few artists --- if any -- were thinking about the long-term existence of their albums. It was a cycle of record one, tour, record another, rinse, repeat. I doubt any of them were thinking much about "gee...we really need to take great care of these tapes in case we want to go back to them 50 years from now."

2) especially as regards the multi-tracks. Once they were mixed, it was preserving the masters that became the concern. The multis were mostly just no-longer-needed work-product.

3) they often didn't have control over them. The labels owned the tapes more often than not.

 

[key_wiz]

I’m always amazed at how bands don’t take care of their muilti-track tapes? As Steely Dan comes to mind as they couldn’t do a 5.1 mix of The great Aja album because they are missing parts of that album?

Also, in the case of "The Wall", the problem with the multis is largely due to the fact that they switched to a new formulation of tape that a lot of studios were switching to at the time that turned out to be inferior and didn't hold up well.

 

[Fourplay]

I totally agree that The Final Cut is the first real Roger Waters solo record. For me The Body is more of a Ron Geesin album.

I do not agree that it is a bad album. I would call it his best solo album. Without looking I can name three excellent songs: Gunner's Dream, Fletcher Memorial Home, and Two Suns In The Sunset. The Fletcher Memorial Home is a great sarcastic concept! If any of you who dislike the album have not heard the Jim Ladd interview with Waters about this album, I recommend checking that out.



With that interview in mind, it is not ideal to NEED an interview to decode the meaning of a record, however for both the Final Cut and The Wall (remember The Wall - the topic of the thread?) I find the deep dive into the ideas behind these albums to make the listening to the actual album a better experience. The Wall also is the subject of a two part Jim Ladd interview.

Here is what I will say about Roger's solo work, which again I contend begins with the Final Cut.

1. There is always an attempt at an upbeat radio friendly single which I have always found to be the least appealing thing on the album:

A. Not Now John
B. 5:01AM (The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking)
C. Radio Waves
D. What God Wants
E. Smell the Roses (Honestly I had to go back to listen again. It was that forgettable)

I do not include the When the Wind Blows soundtrack, as it is not a full album. That said, Folded Flags from that album is my favorite post Floyd Waters song. I am also forgetting Ca Ira, on purpose.

2. His most indulgent lyrical phrases appear on these albums:

A: "a group of anonymous Latin American meat packing glitterati" (even though I do like the song)
B: "Fassbinder face"
C: the dang "male voice choir"
D: "Why do I have to keep reading these technical manuals"
E: (again, I have not listened enough to quote)

So anyway, bitch bitch bitch, moan moan moan. I still like much of his solo work, and honestly I would buy any of it in surround (maybe not Is This The Life), but I would not change The Wall nor The Final Cut, except to add related bonus tracks outside the main body of the work. My two bits. Hopefully we do get The Wall in surround. It certainly has been talked about for years and not just by us. Fingers crossed!

 

[jimfisheye]

What???

Richard Wright played on 'The Wall'. He wasn't on 'The Final Cut'

Surely meant that he didn't write any of the material?
Rick kind of made the live shows on the tour too IMHO. He sounded badass.

It's a left field soundtrack album for sure and no material from Rick left a gap. On the other hand, Comfortably Numb is pretty epic greatness and I don't care how overplayed it was! It's also so idiosyncratic for both Dave and Roger that neither of them can pull it off by themselves! No matter how in character Roger is or how great of a solo Dave plays it will be missing the other half.

For these movie soundtrack side project albums they did, I put them in this order:
1. Obscured By Clouds
2. More
3. The Wall
4. Zabriskie Point

If ZP would have been all Floyd it would likely make slot 3 though.
And I kind of consider the 1st 2 at the level of their 'main' albums. The Wall also kind of follows their growth more into multi media and is kind of its own animal.

Final Cut? Not Now John sounds good really loud. One of the Few -> Hero's Return is my favorite bit. OOTF is more of an intro for Hero's than a separate track. Dave's flanger sound in Hero's is greatness! The rest of the album is Roger's weakest solo album. (Not counting the recent live releases that hit like a cover band.)

You want awkward though...
Remember A Collection of Great Dance Songs? How about Dave's solo redo of Money! This was the contract fulfillment album.

 

[privateuniverse]

So anyway, bitch bitch bitch, moan moan moan.

Shoop, shoop, shoop!

 

[key_wiz]

It's a left field soundtrack album for sure

Disagree with this description. While I know there were plans early on to make some sort of movie out of it, it is best described as Rock Opera that they later made a film out of.

It is a piece of work much more akin to "Tommy" than to a film soundtrack. At least IMO.