Pink Floyd the Wall Immersion Box Set Review

By the way, which one's Pink?

A record executive poses that wry musical question of Pink Floyd in "Have a Cigar," a brief, humorous respite on the band's elegiac 1975 album Wish You Were Here.  The ever-ambitious group would actually answer that wry question with The Wall, 1979's sprawling double album.  The psychedelic Dark Side of the Moon and cogitating Wish You Were Here both invited listeners to create their own stories in service of the albums' impressionistic concepts, largely dealing with isolation and absence. The Wall establish primary songwriter Roger Waters making his concepts more than explicit than ever before in telling the tale of Pink, who endures a traumatic childhood (including a deceased begetter, an overpowering female parent and torment at the hands of his classmates) and builds bricks in his own personal wall with each painful consequence. Pinkish overcomes this to become a stone star, but finds life no easier as an adult, and continues edifice his wall as each relationship crumbles. Only later on an unsettling, tearing onstage functioning does Pink expect inward.  He places himself at the center of a hellish trial and finds the inner force to tear down his wall.

We may never know to what degree Waters was working out his ain demons in song, merely The Wall has remained strong onstage, on film and on record in the ensuing years.  It now receives its nearly grandiose treatment yet via the latest of Pink Floyd'southward Immersion box sets.  The 6-CD/ane-DVD The Wall: Immersion (EMI/Capitol 5099902943923) follows the format of the DSOTM and WYWH sets, meaning that information technology's equal parts revelatory and head-scratching.

At the box set'due south centerpiece (and also available as a stand-alone 2-CD set and part of a iii-CD Feel Edition) is James Guthrie's remastering of the original album on two compact discs.  Guthrie'due south remastering is again exceptional, bringing out the details in the ring's intricate playing besides equally the production of Bob Ezrin, Roger Waters and David Gilmour.  What the Immersion box lacks every bit compared to the two previous sets is any kind of high-resolution mix on DVD or Blu-Ray, and that is the box'southward most significant loss.  The environment mixes included on DSOTM and WYWH offered the take a chance to hear these albums in a completely new light, indeed more "immersive" than ever before.  Although a surround mix is reportedly in the works for The Wall (and any audio DVD or Blu-Ray release would likely include a high-resolution PCM Stereo rails, as well), the lack of one here makes the Immersion Box Set less than definitive.

Of grade, the music of The Wall is as haunting, narcissistic, exploratory and bold as you retrieve.  Although the libretto by Waters is more physical (no pun intended) than in the past, the album'due south mode is a clear continuation of the sound explored on previous albums.  There's the familiar Floyd brew of sound effects (chirping birds, crying babies, crowd noises, etc.), brief dialogue snippets, bitty songs and big stadium-set rock anthems.  It's always been among The Wall's nearly striking attributes that the concept of building the wall onstage is inherent to the album itself.  The very first notes of "In the Flesh" serve every bit a theatrical Overture and the foundation of the concert framework itself, with Pink inviting (or taunting?) the audition to hear his tale.  From the outset, The Wall invites comparison, too, with some other famous rock opera, Pete Townshend and The Who'due south Tommy.  Both Pink and Tommy are confronted with the difficult reality of life in mail-WWII London, and both take to face up the consequences of their parents' own failings.  Waters has said that he wrote The Wall about the loss of his ain father, but over time, the album has resonated as a meditation on war and loss in general.  A nighttime worldview permeates The Wall as Waters uses each tool in his songwriter's arms to bring these characters to life.  "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" is ironically titled, as Pink recalls "in that location were certain teachers who would hurt the children in whatever style they could...even as it was well known [that] when they got abode at night, their fat and psychopathic wives would thrash them within inches of their lives." Yet Waters' vocal doesn't betray a hint of sentimentality or even sympathy for those he describes.

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The Wall offers Gilmour (guitars, vocals, synthesizers, clavinet), Waters (vocals, guitars, synthesizers), Richard Wright (organ, pianoforte, electric piano, synthesizers) and Nick Stonemason (percussion) each ample opportunity to shine, musically.  Of those big, crunchy anthems, "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2," with its rallying cries of "Nosotros don't need no education" musicalized a sentiment universal to kids of all ages. "Comfortably Numb" may the band's most honey vocal of all, with its dazzling guitar solos, sweeping orchestration and lyrics that are both relatable and opaque.  The song interplay between the song's co-writers Gilmour and Waters is deft.  However both songs piece of work within the context of the stone opera and as stand-alone songs.  Melodically the palette is diverse, from the painful and lamentable "Bye, Blue Sky" ("Did you e'er wonder why we/Had to run for shelter when the/Promise of a dauntless, new globe/Unfurled below the clear blue sky?")  as Pinkish recalls the past, to the slick and attractive stone of "Young Animalism" every bit he plunges headfirst into the hedonistic rock-and-roll earth: "I need a dirty woman/I need a dirty girl..."

Muscular riffs grow as objects shatter in the harsh "One of My Turns," and once again Waters cleverly turns a cliche on its ear with "Don't Leave Me Now." Despite its title, it's far from a tender plea, with a disturbing air of melancholia and looming violence: "How could yous get?/When you know how I need you/To beat to a lurid on a Saturday night/Ooh babe, don't leave me now."  Although The Wall is past nature a big album, the ring doesn't shy away from quieter and more minimalistic moments; "Is Anybody Out There" marries virtuosic guitar with subdued orchestration.  Only it's those grandly theatrical moments that have earned the anthology its place in the pantheon, whether the all-too-short simply stirring "The Show Will Continue" or the combative "In the Flesh" in which the deluded rock star viscerally attacks his audience: "If I had my way, I'd take all of you shot!"

The ethereal and often chill-inducing backing vocals were provided by a group including Toni Tennille and Beach Boy Bruce Johnston as well as the Islington Dark-green School Choir on the iconic "Some other Brick in the Wall, Pt. two."  A chorus plays an integral role in the about operatic runway on the anthology, "The Trial," with its shouts of "Tear down the wall!"  The anthology'south coda, "Outside the Wall," presents an most-moral about the need to make human connection in edgeless terms: "And when they've given you your all, some stagger and fall…After all it's not easy, banging your eye against some mad bugger's wall."

The tertiary and quaternary discs of the Immersion ready are dedicated to the 2011 remaster of Is There Anybody Out In that location?  The Wall Live, first released in 2000 only recorded in 1980 and 1981 in London.  The live concerts actually restored a couple of songs ("What Shall Nosotros Do Now," "The Last Few Bricks") to the anthology sequence, and of form the band took the opportunity to stretch their muscles in concert, extending solos and instrumental portions with ease.  The prohibitively expensive cost of the tour (due to the actual construction of The Wall each and every nighttime) prevented it a larger life; the concerts were only performed 31 times in four cities, and contributed to the anger that saw Waters depart the ring shortly after.  The content of the 2 alive discs will be familiar to longtime fans of the band, only listened to back-to-back with the original album, provide a different but equally valid interpretation.  Waters is currently touring The Wall as a solo artist.

The true treasure of The Wall: Immersion tin can be found on the 5th and sixth discs. Piece of work in Progress premieres over ii hours' worth of demos, exposing the evolution of the album at almost every phase.  The album that became The Wall was crafted in stages, including an original demo from Waters that was presented, about in full, to the band.  Then a series of ring demos were recorded, too as demos by Gilmour of the melodies that became "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Similar Hell."  Gilmour'southward wordless vocalizing on "Numb" is quite affecting, and the vocal's development can be traced through multiple demos including early versions as "The Medico."  The recording dates of each track aren't indicated, making it into a bit of a jigsaw puzzle to fit together, but a close mind to the 7 divided "programmes" over the 2 CDs reveals a number of rewards.

The Work in Progress tracks, though, present a bit of a dilemma.  The first 14 minutes of the beginning disc (22 tracks, considered Programme One) are devoted to excerpts – many running just seconds' long – of Waters' original demo recording.  It'south hard to go any sense of the first conception from 20-second snippets; just four of Waters' tracks ("Prelude (Vera Lynn)," "Is There Everyone Out There?," "Vera" and "Bring the Boys Back Home") are heard in total later in the program.  This material deserves to exist heard in full, and as presented here, seems similar an appetizer for a time to come release rather than a vital part of an in-depth box set.  Some songs were all just finished on the initial demo ("Mother," "Another Brick in the Wall") but simply when a standout track gets interesting (a unlike arroyo to "Run Like Hell," to name one), it cuts off abruptly.

The cloth heard in total is quite selection, however.  Some titles are new, such every bit "Instructor, Instructor," "Empty Spaces," "Sexual Revolution," and "It's Never Too Late," and longtime fans volition enjoy playing musical detective as to where certain lyrics and melodies reappeared (both on Pink Floyd and Waters solo albums).  The original Waters demo of "Prelude (Vera Lynn)" reveals that Barbra Streisand nigh was heard on The Wall, equally a switching radio played a snatch of Streisand's "Jingle Bells" (!) earlier stopping on Vera Lynn'due south World War 2 anthem "We'll Meet Once again."  Fifty-fifty in the songs' earliest stages, Waters, Gilmour, Wright and Mason were creating eerie, evocative and atmospheric music; these aren't strictly lo-fi demos, though that stark quality emerges on the stripped-downwards "The Trial."  It'due south illuminating to hear those Beach Boys-esque harmonies intact on the early "The Show Must Go On."  The sound is also uniformly excellent, and these two discs open a rare window into Pink Floyd's creative process.  As the programmes progress, the songs become more than polished, the approach more wholly confident.  We all know the results were inspired, but this is a valuable peek at the footing floor.

The final disc, a DVD, is a mixed pocketbook but ultimately a welcome addition to the set.  The most important component of this disc is the 2000 documentary Behind the Wall, a comprehensive retrospective at over fifty minutes' length.  Scarfe is on hand in a 1982 interview originally produced for Getty Images.  The 2 shortest features are the promotional video for "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2" and a beautifully remastered concert clip of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" from Earls Court, 1980.  A restoration of the full concert's footage has long been a hope for Pink Floyd fans, and (much similar Waters' demos) this brief snippet seems like a teaser to another, equally meaning project.

The Immersion set of Dark Side of the Moon featured hardly any liner notes of any kind, just a brief recollection by designer Tempest Thorgerson, while Wish Yous Were Here contained a historical essay by Mark Blake likewise as Thorgerson'southward remarks.  Alas, it's "i step forrad, two steps back," every bit the only prose to be found in this giant box is a brief note by James Guthrie about the sequencing of the demo recordings.  Information technology's printed twice, once on the sleeve of each demo disc.  And so while we get no liner notes of any kind to accompany and guide our listening journey, we do get another package of coasters, three marbles (all emblazoned with the familiar wall graphic) and a scarf that just might make you the envy of all of your classic rock-minded friends.  (Or non.)  As before, the box itself is a dichotomy.  The package is lavish in its content – from the sublime to the ridiculous, one might opine – just poorly designed in terms of really storing that content.  There are nevertheless disc spindles on the bottom of the actual box, just the discs are housed in paper sleeves that fly around the box at volition.  In that location are no storage tabs or slots for those sleeves, and once the loose marbles are inserted into the velvet pouch, it'south difficult to close the box again!

Three blackness envelopes incorporate collectors' cards, Mark Fisher'southward scenic designs for the touring show, and memorabilia reproductions, respectively, while the box also houses a poster of the handwritten album lyrics, a Gerald Scarfe print of the monstrous "Wife" and 2 thick, album-sized booklets filled with striking images of the concert product.  English cartoonist Scarfe's illustrations are an integral office of The Wall's legacy and are prominently featured in the Immersion box, though 1 wonders if Scarfe himself was approached to contribute whatever memories.  The Scarfe-designed puppets and blitheness are notwithstanding a curiosity to behold, but both booklets cover the same territory.  That said, information technology's fun to compare Scarfe's designs to the fully-built creations.  A third smaller, bare-bones booklet simply contains credits.

With the release of this Immersion Box Set up, the first moving ridge of EMI's Pink Floyd reissues is consummate.  The inclusion of and so much unreleased material both here and on the first ii boxes has been a major boon for fans, every bit the ring members accept traditionally been so reticent to dip into their archives.  That treasure trove of outtakes and alternates will likely be the lasting legacy of these box sets.  But is this Immersion box the final statement on this iconic anthology?  To underline the Who connection in one case again, for better or worse, the curious are directed to last twelvemonth's towering box set dedicated to that ring'southward concept album/rock opera Quadrophenia.  That weighty ready covered much of the aforementioned basis as The Wall, also emphasizing its composer's original demos, without aid of marbles, scarves or ephemera but with a 100+ folio hardcover book including a 25-page essay by Townshend touching on every attribute of the album's creation.  In fairness, Waters wasn't obliged to provide something similar, and his music speaks volumes by itself.  But that personal, intimate diary trumps marbles and coasters when information technology comes to truthful immersion.  This set may come close, but all in all, it'southward just another brick in The Wall when information technology could have been the terminal give-and-take.

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early on 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews nigh classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records characterization. Jubilant the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American pop vocal, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a various array of artists, among them Nat "Rex" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The fifth Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris 24-hour interval, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has likewise worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway too equally at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Manufactory Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the belatedly Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing nigh film and tv on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York Metropolis.

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Source: https://theseconddisc.com/2012/02/28/review-pink-floyd-the-wall-immersion-box-set/

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