Is Pink Floyd's The Wall the greatest concept album of all time?

Gassage

Re @cirrus comment...

The thing is, it's meant to be a performance with a video cartoon narrative. When that is seen as well as heard, it makes a lot more sense in terms of continuity.

ICBM

Gassage said:

As a concept, Animals has a lot more modern relevence.

It's also Gilmour's finest hour playing wise.

Surprisingly, I've never been able to connect with it in the same way as any of the other four from DSOTM to TFC.

axisus

ICBM said:

Gassage said:

As a concept, Animals has a lot more modern relevence.

It's also Gilmour's finest hour playing wise.

Surprisingly, I've never been able to connect with it in the same way as any of the other four from DSOTM to TFC.

Same here. I do quite like it but it sounds very 70s to me in a slightly dated way. 

Cirrus

Gassage said:

Re @cirrus comment...

The thing is, it's meant to be a performance with a video cartoon narrative. When that is seen as well as heard, it makes a lot more sense in terms of continuity.

Oh, yeah, I do get that. I can't remember if I mentioned when I was round yours 3 (4!?) years ago, I was in a Floyd tribute band at school. We did the wall live, with a barrier raised at the appropriate time and images projected onto it etc. I was mostly Roger Waters in that outfit, though did play a fair amount of guitar.

The three moments that stick in my mind;

- Using 11s on my strat for the first time, after only ever using 9s before. The various full tone or 1.5 tone bends were hell.
- My music teacher, who knew me as an unmusical dullard, bowing before me as I did the Comfortably Numb solo
- Singing "Nobody Home". Such an underrated song!

I also went on holiday to Prague mostly to catch the show in 2014.

So don't get me wrong, the album does have a special place in my heart - I think I just struggle to think of it as "the best" for the reasons I gave.

EricTheWeary

Despite my slightly negative comments I do have an interest in Pink Floyd. A couple of years ago I went to see a Polish Pink Floyd tribute band, they played all of The Wall in half the time. 

Grumpyrocker

Much as I love The Wall, and I do love it, it's sad Pink Floyd disappears at the end and is replaced by the orchestra.

LastMantra

pintspiller said:

Depends how you define "concept album" to be honest. If you'd class Ziggy Stardust as such, that's probably mine.

Diamond dogs?

Funkfingers

My seventeen year old self was very taken with the album ... and also with the Gerald Scarfe illustrations. The obvious stand-out tracks continue to stand out. These days, I tend to be guarded about effusively praising the guitar work, just in case I am giving credit to the wrong person. 

richardhomer said:

Gilmour described the demo presented by Waters to the band as ‘a bit of a whinge’ - which is how the album comes across to me.

The Immersion boxed set edition of the album includes the original demos. Many of these make listening to a Scott Walker album seem like fun.

Mudcrutch said:

The Wall is one of the best Earls Court concerts I’ve been to.

It was the first proper famous band concert I attended. Been downhill ever since.