The Wall

by Pink Floyd

The Wall cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 30 November 1979
  • Label: Harvest, Columbia
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 1:20:46
  • Community rating: 4.23/5 from 42 ratings

Artists on this release: Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, David Gilmour

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Conceived by Roger Waters as a rock opera, 'The Wall' chronicles the self-imposed isolation of its protagonist, Pink, who builds a metaphorical wall in response to personal trauma and alienation. The sprawling double album blends theatrical soundscapes and hard rock anthems, with Bob Ezrin’s production shaping the ambitious narrative and mediating the creative friction between Waters' semi-autobiographical lyrics and David Gilmour's melodic guitar contributions. Its elaborate stage production and subsequent film adaptation helped establish 'The Wall' as a landmark concept album, achieving massive commercial success even as its creation signaled the fracturing of the band.

Genres

Descriptors: conceptual, theatrical, narrative, orchestral, confessional

Tracklist

  1. In the Flesh? (03:18)
  2. The Thin Ice (02:26)
  3. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1 (03:12)
  4. The Happiest Days of Our Lives (01:50)
  5. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2 (03:58)
  6. Mother (05:34)
  7. Goodbye Blue Sky (02:47)
  8. Empty Spaces (02:07)
  9. Young Lust (03:29)
  10. One of My Turns (03:36)
  11. Don't Leave Me Now (04:15)
  12. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 3 (01:14)
  13. Goodbye Cruel World (01:13)
  14. Hey You (04:38)
  15. Is There Anybody Out There? (02:41)
  16. Nobody Home (03:23)
  17. Vera (01:33)
  18. Bring the Boys Back Home (01:27)
  19. Comfortably Numb (06:22)
  20. The Show Must Go On (01:36)
  21. In the Flesh (04:15)
  22. Run Like Hell (04:23)
  23. Waiting for the Worms (03:57)
  24. Stop (00:30)
  25. The Trial (05:18)
  26. Outside the Wall (01:44)

Credits

  • David Gilmour - performer, co-producer, written-by, vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar on "hey you", "goodbye cruel world", "young lust" and "comfortably numb" (fretless on "hey you"), synthesisers, clavinet, sound effects
  • Nick Mason - performer, drums, percussion
  • Richard Wright - performer, organ, piano, rhodes electric piano, synthesisers, clavinet, bass pedals
  • Roger Waters - performer, design [sleeve], producer, written-by, lyrics by, vocals, bass guitar, synthesisers, acoustic guitar on "mother" and "vera", electric guitar on "another brick in the wall, part 3"
  • Bob Ezrin - arranged by [orchestra], producer, written-by, orchestration, piano, hammond organ, synthesiser, backing vocals
  • Michael Kamen - arranged by [orchestra]
  • Bruce Johnston - backing vocals
  • Islington Green School - backing vocals
  • Jim Haas - backing vocals
  • Joe Chemay - backing vocals
  • John Joyce - backing vocals
  • Stan Farber - backing vocals
  • Toni Tennille - backing vocals
  • James Guthrie - co-producer, engineer
  • Gerald Scarfe - design [sleeve]
  • Brian Christian - engineer [other engineers]
  • John McClure - engineer [other engineers]
  • Nick Griffiths - engineer [other engineers], engineer
  • Patrice Quef - engineer [other engineers]
  • Rick Hart - engineer [other engineers]
  • Phil Taylor - other [sound equipment]

More from Pink Floyd: full discography