Maps of Music

The Wall (1979)

Where the lyrics of The Wall take you, and where it was really made.

The Wall was recorded across studios in France, Los Angeles and New York, and the band members had left Britain by April 1979 to avoid UK taxes.

Key places

Where the concept took shape (1979)

Recording site Britannia Row Studios — Pink Floyd reconvened here in July 1978 to hear Waters's first concept ideas. The studio was later judged inadequate, so the band upgraded much of its equipment. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Main recording base in France (1979)

Recording site Super Bear Studios — Recording was based here from January to July 1979. Some equipment from Britannia Row was moved to this studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Waters's vocal sessions (1979)

Recording site Studio Miraval — Waters recorded his vocals at this studio, which is near Super Bear Studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Orchestral arrangements in New York (1979)

Recording site Columbia 30th Street Studio — Michael Kamen supervised the orchestral arrangements at this New York studio in September 1979. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Los Angeles sessions (1979)

Recording site Cherokee Studios — The band worked at this Los Angeles studio in the months after the September 1979 New York sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Los Angeles sessions (1979)

Recording site Village Recorders — The band worked at this Los Angeles studio in the months after the September 1979 New York sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Los Angeles sessions (1979)

Recording site Producers Workshop — The band worked at this Los Angeles studio in the months after the September 1979 New York sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Wall: eleventh studio album by Pink Floyd, a double album rock opera
• Released 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI in the UK and Columbia/CBS Records in the US
• Last album to include all four post-Barrett-era band members
• Tells the story of Pink, a jaded rock star who builds a psychological wall of isolation around himself
• Over 30 million copies sold, second-best-selling Pink Floyd album after The Dark Side of the Moon

Background

• Roger Waters conceived the album during the 1977 In the Flesh tour
• Pink is modelled on Waters himself and former founding member Syd Barrett
• Spitting incident at the Montreal Olympic Stadium on 6 July 1977 sparked the concept
• Waters wanted to build a wall across the stage between the band and the audience
• Pink Floyd faced financial trouble after the Norton Warburg Group tax scheme failed
• The band faced tax rates potentially as high as 83 per cent
• Bob Ezrin was hired as co-producer and helped refine the story

Recording

• Recording spanned from December 1978 to November 1979
• Super Bear Studios in France was used from January to July 1979, with Waters recording vocals at Studio Miraval
• Michael Kamen supervised the orchestral arrangements at CBS Studios in New York in September 1979
• The band then used Cherokee Studios, Producers Workshop and The Village Recorder in Los Angeles
• The band members left the UK as non-residents, advised to leave by 6 April 1979
• Keyboardist Richard Wright was fired by Waters during production, then stayed on as a salaried musician on tour

Cover

• Minimal cover: a white brick wall with no text
• Gerald Scarfe supplied the lettering, inner sleeve art and record labels

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1965 by Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright; David Gilmour joined in 1967.
• Among the first British psychedelic groups, gaining an early underground following at the UFO Club.
• Known for extended compositions, sonic experiments, philosophical lyrics and elaborate live shows.

Members

• Nick Mason on drums (1965–present).
• Roger Waters on bass and vocals (1965–1985), becoming the primary lyricist after Barrett's departure in 1968.
• Richard Wright on keyboards (1965–1981, 1987–2008), who died in 2008.
• Syd Barrett on vocals and guitar (1965–1968), who died in 2006.
• David Gilmour on guitar and vocals (1967–present).

Career

• Concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979) made them one of the best-selling acts of all time.
• Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982) won two BAFTAs.
• Reunited with Waters for Live 8 in 2005; the last studio album The Endless River came out in 2014.
• Released 'Hey, Hey, Rise Up!' in 2022 in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Sold over 250 million records; inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2008.

Reception

At release

• Critical reception upon release was mixed
• Many critics found the album overblown and pretentious
• Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder hailed it as a stunning synthesis of Roger Waters's thematic obsessions
• The Village Voice's Robert Christgau regarded it as a dumb tribulations-of-a-rock-star epic and criticized its self-pity
• Melody Maker wrote that it was unclear whether the album was brilliant or terrible, but found it utterly compelling

Reappraisal

• Later received accolades as one of the greatest albums of all time
• Rolling Stone placed it at number 87 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003, kept the rating in 2012 and placed it at 129 in the 2020 revision
• The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die in 2006
• The Wall was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008
• Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins praised the album in his speech at the Pink Floyd induction ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Records

• Topped the US Billboard 200 for 15 weeks, selling over a million copies in its first two months
• Reached number three on the UK chart
• Certified platinum in the UK in December 1979 and in the US three months later
• Certified 23 times platinum by the RIAA in 1999
• Number one in Canada for 13 weeks, with 830,000 copies sold by January 1981
• Engineer James Guthrie won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording (non-classical)
• Nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Waters recorded the phone call used on the original demo for Young Lust but did not tell its recipient, Mason, who assumed it was a prank call and angrily hung up.
• Waters mocked co-producer Bob Ezrin's smaller royalty share by having badges made that read NOPE (No Points Ezrin).
• The British press reported that the children who sang on Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 had not been paid, which caused some controversy.
• Some outtakes from the sessions were used on the next Pink Floyd album, The Final Cut (1983).
• The concept was an instant source of inspiration for Waters after the Montreal spitting incident.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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