The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film,Pink Floyd The Wall .
As with the band's previous three studio albums The Wall is a concept album, and deals largely with themes of abandonment and personal isolation. It was first conceived during the band's 1977 In the Flesh Tour, when bassist and lyricist Roger Waters's frustration with the spectators' perceived boorishness became so acute that he imagined building a wall between the performers and audience. The album is a rovk opera that centres on Pink, a character based on Waters. Pink's life experiences begin with the loss of his father during the Second World War, and continue with ridicule and abuse from his schoolteachers, an overprotective mother and finally, the breakdown of his marriage. All contribute to his eventual self-imposed isolation from society, represented by a metaphorical wall.
The Wall features a notably harsher and more theatrical style than Pink Floyd's previous releases. Keyboardist Richard Wright left the band during the album's production but remained as a salaried musician, performing with Pink Floyd during The Wall Tour. Commercially successful upon its release, the album was one of the best selling of 1980, and as of 1999, it had sold over 23 million RIAA certified units (11.5 million albums) in the United States. Rolling Stone magazine placed The Wall at #87 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Pink Floyd:
Roger Waters
David Gilmour
Richard WrightNick Mason
With...
Bruce Johnston, Toni Tennille, Joe Chemay, John Joyce, Stan Farber, Jim Haas and pupils from Islington Green School Choir.
Recorded between April and November 1979
in Super Bear Studios, France
CBS, New York
Producers' Workshop, Los Angeles
Produced by David Gilmour, Bob Ezrin, Roger Waters
CO-producer and engineer: James Guthrie
Engineers: Nick Griffiths, Patrice Quef, Brian Christian, John Mclure, Rick Hart
Orchestra arrangements: Michael Kamen, Bob Ezrin
Sound equipment: Phil Taylor
Sleeve design: Gerald Scarfe, Roger Waters
