 Where's the Video? |
| While this might be a great collection of live songs comprising "The Wall" from Earl's Court, there is an unofficial video of one of the Earl's Court shows that is, IMHO, much more pleasing. Though imperfect, I have to believe that this show could be restored and officially released. It's clear that it was professionally filmed for some reason. Incidentally, though i don't know if they're credited on this CD, the Floyd had a complete backing band on this tour- a second guitar, bass player, drummer, and keyboard player. The power of some of the live songs is a result, in part, of the fact that there are, essentially, two bands playing the same song at the same time. Obviously, they've got the audio cleaned up well, if they would just clean up the video, we'd have a fantastic DVD release. |
 Definitely worth it! |
| I you are a fan of Pink Floyd and/or "The Wall", then you will love this CD! It is really interesting to hear The Wall played live in its entirety. It's an incredible record to begin with, but the live version adds another element to it. I wish I had been there to see it! Get the deluxe version for the book that comes with it. The book tells the story of "The Wall" from each band member's perspective. Great buy! |
| Crystal. Clear. Live. Floyd. |
| Drop dead gorgeously clear live Pink Floyd doing "The Wall Live" and "Is There Anybody Out There". Definitely one of the top live albums of all time. |
| The Wall live(deluxe limited edition) |
| this is the best limited edition album i ever bought. great sound and well made cover. |
| The Wall given justice in its live form |
Pink Floyd's Is There Anybody Out There?: The Wall Live was released in April of 2000 in a standard version and this the deluxe packaging/slipcase hard covered book.
The album was released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of The Wall. The album was originally slated for release in late 1999 but producer James Guthrie(who co-produced the original album) had to bake the master tapes to get the sticky glue off after sitting in storage for years. Also, the band had problems with their US record companies. The band had just inked a new distribution deal with Capitol/EMI worldwide and were set to release but Columbia/Sony in the US and Canada were initially against the album but reluctantly agreed to release the album as the band's final album with Sony in the US and Canada after the band switched labels which were licensed the music(the band have the final say on what gets released and not released).
Is There Anybody Out There? was recorded at London's Earls Court Arena during the band's performances of The Wall in August of 1980 and June of 1981, the shows were a bona fide spectacle. More than anything, Is There Anybody Out There? captures the volume, the bombast and the grandeur of these famed performances with remarkable accuracy.
These performances are astonishingly faithful to the band's studio versions although the band does get to stretch out on In the Flesh(pt. 1), The Thin Ice, Another Brick in the Wall(pt.1), Another Brick in the Wall(pt. 2), Mother, Goodbye Blue Sky, Young Lust, Hey You, Comfortably Numb, The Show Must Go On, In the Flesh(pt.2), Run Like Hell and Outside the Wall with either extra guitar solos from David Gilmour showing why he is one of rock's greatest guitarists or extra keyboard solos from Rick Wright or extra verses or extended musical pieces.
The other tracks Empty Spaces, One of My Turns, Don't Leave Me Now, Another Brick in the Wall(pt. 3), Is There Anybody Out There?, Nobody Home, Vera, Bring the Boys Back Home, Waiting For the Worms, Stop! and The Trial were arguably better than its studio counterparts although remained faithful to them.
Although they were kicked out in 1979 and 1982 respectively by Roger Waters due to his uncontrollable ego, co-founders keyboardist Rick Wright and drummer Nick Mason played better than on the studio version of The Wall, especially Rick whose Hammond Organ work buries that of its studio counterpart. Roger Waters didn't play much bass on this live album as he perfectly recreated the role of Pink and left Andy Bown to play bass in his place. David Gilmour's musical arrangements and guitar and vocals were superb as well.
Run Like Hell is classic with Roger Waters' classic intro.
This live Wall album also includes two unreleased tracks. What Shall We Do Now was left off the original release due to space constraints and The Last Few Bricks was a reprise of Happiest Days, Young Lust and Empty Spaces as an instrumental for wall builders to catch up to the band.
Also, Storm Thorgerson's artwork of the four Floyd member face masks is striking and the book has recollections from the four Floyd members plus road crew and stage designers with some cool pictures.
This live album did well for a from the vault release hitting #19 on the album charts and #1 on the Internet Album Sales chart and went Platinum in a month of its release. This live album has zero overdubs and is one of the best live albums I ever heard next to Pink Floyd's Pulse, Led Zeppelin's How the West Was Won and The Song Remains the Same 2-CD reissue, Rush's Different Stages, Queen's Queen Rock Montreal, Genesis' Seconds Out, The Who's Live at Leeds and Supertramp's Paris among many others.
Highly recommended! |
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