Hello,
I would like to thank the following sources for info in writing this blog. I reviewed the wikipedia.org pages for Pink Floyd, Rogers Waters and "The Wall". I also gathered some information out of Nicholas Schaffner's "Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey".
Now I'm not going to write a whole lot about the making of "The Wall". You can read that from the above sources. Those are much better written than anything I can write.
The impetus of the Rogers Waters alienation behind "The Wall" had been building through their 1979 tour. But the breaking point seemed to happen on July 6th, 1977. That was the final date of that tour, Pink Floyd performed at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. That night Waters noticed a fan that was who he was very irritated by. He directed his performance to this fan. He lured the fan close and then spit in the fan's face. (Thanks To "Saucerful of Secrets".)
"Returning to England, Waters was consumed by the ultimate conceit of his entire career, something that he had been idly fantasizing about for years. In of 'this enormous barrier between them and what I was trying to do, (which) had become almost impossible to clamber over' # (# "Behind Pink Floyd's Wall" by Mick Brown and Kurt Loder, Rolling Stone, September 16, 1982.) Roger vowed that if ever Pink Floyd were to perform another concert extravaganza, it would literally be from behind... a wall" ("Thanks to "Saucerful of Secrets")
Pink Floyd started recording "The Wall" in England in 1978. It was finished in LA. The band had come off that draining tour from a couple of years ago. There was also a lot of infighting in the band, one of the original members even reduced to basically a session musician. Also Pink Floyd was also dealing with the fall out of being scammed out of a lot of money. There wasn't a lot of joy in the recording of "The Wall". It was released on November 30th, 1979.
Like the protagonist in the movie "The Wall" Waters lost his father in World War 2. Roger's father, Eric Fletcher Waters, died at Anzio in Italy. He was declared missing or presumed dead on February 18, 1944. Waters' earliest memory was the VJ (Victory in Japan) Day celebrations. Waters school experiences seemed to be very similar to Pink's experiences in "The Wall" movie. He referred to the administrators as a "regime". (Thanks To wikipedia.org.)
Pink Floyd became big stars, touring massive and dehumanizing stadiums. "Waters was horrified at the recognition that something so personal as his own songs had gradually been transformed into a 'circus and meaningless ritual'". (Thanks again to "Saucerful of Secrets", this book explores Waters alienation much more thoroughly than this blog will.)
Anyway getting to the point of the blog. "The Wall" is without a doubt a masterpiece, but you have to have lived life and faced some personal losses to truly get it. I remember receiving the double album for "The Wall" was a present for what probably was my 13th birthday. I remember opening the album up and seeing Gerald Scarfe's illustrations and being a little freaked out. I distinctly remember the butt on a pair of legs looking down on the ground. As "Saucerful of Secrets" suggest most people probably bought the album because of "Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2". (This was before digital downloads.) And that song was probably the main attraction for me. I was young and stupid and didn't have a clue what made this CD so great. Also I thought school was pointless. I cluelessly related to the refrain "We don't need no education". (I don't know if that's an intentional double negative.)
I didn't understand what Pink Floyd was singing about. Needless to say that album didn't get much play after that. I'm not sure what happened to that album, but I wish I still had it. My life continued on with me having few complaints. I was a very spoiled child, but thankfully not smothered by my Mom. I continued hearing songs from "The Wall" as I grew older. I liked a few songs, but I never thought of "The Wall" as a masterpiece. It seemed nearly everyone else did, but I hadn't faced enough of life's trials to completely start understanding it. It's not because I didn't like rock music, it's because I didn't get what Waters was talking about.
Finally in my mid-30's the genius of this CD started coming through to me. Waters was in his mid-30's when he was making this CD. He had just come off a soul crushing tour that had left him feeling alienated from the public, his band mates and possibly even his music. Now I didn't deal with anything like that. However my life was heading towards some changes. I was nearing both the end of a job that I ended up working at for 17 years. Although I didn't know it at the time, my marriage would be ending about 3 years later. Life seemed to be the same thing every day, but honestly there wasn't a lot of joy. That's no one's fault but my own.
Then over the next few years as those changes actually happened "The Wall" album continued to grow on me. Also looking back now I see that I was building my own wall. I went through a series of unfulfilling jobs, there was a bankruptcy and the marriage ended. Financially broken I moved in with my parents. Then later other things happened. I understood more and more the alienation that Waters was writing and singing about. As I understood that my appreciation for "The Wall" increased. I'm sure that my appreciation for this masterpiece will continue to grow as I get older.
And seriously if you don't have this CD in your collection, it's time to add it to your collection. Don't just get the 2 CD set. You need to get Deluxe Experience Edition. It has some of the songs as they progressed to their final version, live tracks and a documentary. Alienation is a part of life, but you shouldn't be alienated from great music.
This isn't on the originally released "Wall" CD, but it was added for the movie later. Waters referred to "Black 44" and Anzio, which is when and where his Dad died. This song wasn't added to a Pink Floyd CD until a few years later, I can't determine the exact year. This is dedicated to those who think war is glorious. This is "When The Tigers Broke Free":
The ironically named"The Happiest Days of Our Lives":
"Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2":
I like Roger Waters's solo version of "Mother" best. I love the audience participation and the female singer. I would give credit to the woman singer, if I knew her name.
I'm posting this video, because the scene from the movie doesn't leave a lot to the imagination. You could probably guess that by the songs title "Young Lust".
"Hey You": "It was only a fantasy, the wall was too high as you can see. No matter how he tried he could not break free...."
"Nobody Home", "Vera" and "Bring The Boys Home":
Waters was the main person behind "The Wall". David Gilmour's biggest contribution to this CD is the incredibly powerful. "Comfortably Numb":
This is one of the most bitter, self loathing, hate mongering pieces of music ever written, "In The Flesh":
"Run Like Hell":
"Waiting For The Worms" and "Stop":
themusicaddict
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