This was one of the first CDs I ever spoke, and as a teenager its anger and bitterness really spoke to me.  Now, looking back 15 years later, the music just doesn't resonate and some of it actually makes me cringe.  That's not to say you shouldn't pick it up - lots of people genuinely love this album - but that you should know what you are getting into.

In the case of The Wall, the tunes played on the radio are a fairly good representation of the album's best work.  "Comfortably Numb", "Run Like Hell", "Hey You", "Run Like Hell" and "The Happiest Days/Another Brick #2" are all enjoyable, if (to many radio listeners) played so frequently that they offer few surprises at this point.  There are a few gems hidden elsewhere - "Mother" may be the best song on the album, and "Nobody Home" is a very poignant Waters + piano + orchestra ballad.  "Goodbye Blue Sky" and the acoustic guitar sequence on "Is There Anybody Out There" are worth mentioning as well.

And then there are sides 2 and 4 of the original double album.  The album's key weakness is an excessive focus on lyrics over the music, and  the second half of each CD really showcase this problem.  The sequences from "Empty Spaces" to "Goodbye Cruel World" and "Waiting for the Worms" to "Outside the Wall" are, at best, boring and occasionally unlistenable.  There's a common argument from Waters critics that the songs cowritten with Gilmour are the best on the album, but that conveniently ignores the lame "Young Lust".  And "The Trial" - yikes - awful, awful, awful, even worse than "The Dogs of War".

The Wall remains enormously popular with many listeners - I think it is still Floyd's best seller after Dark Side of the Moon - and most people will enjoy it.  But it is flawed, and for those who prefer Pink Floyd's "head music" through 1975, a likely disappointment.
This was one of the first CDs I ever spoke, and as a teenager its anger and bitterness really spoke to me. Now, looking back 15 years later, the music just doesn't resonate and some of it actually makes me cringe. That's not to say you shouldn't pick it up - lots of people genuinely love this album - but that you should know what you are getting into. In the case of The Wall, the tunes played on the radio are a fairly good representation of the album's best work. "Comfortably Numb", "Run Like Hell", "Hey You", "Run Like Hell" and "The Happiest Days/Another Brick #2" are all enjoyable, if (to many radio listeners) played so frequently that they offer few surprises at this point. There are a few gems hidden elsewhere - "Mother" may be the best song on the album, and "Nobody Home" is a very poignant Waters + piano + orchestra ballad. "Goodbye Blue Sky" and the acoustic guitar sequence on "Is There Anybody Out There" are worth mentioning as well. And then there are sides 2 and 4 of the original double album. The album's key weakness is an excessive focus on lyrics over the music, and  the second half of each CD really showcase this problem. The sequences from "Empty Spaces" to "Goodbye Cruel World" and "Waiting for the Worms" to "Outside the Wall" are, at best, boring and occasionally unlistenable. There's a common argument from Waters critics that the songs cowritten with Gilmour are the best on the album, but that conveniently ignores the lame "Young Lust". And "The Trial" - yikes - awful, awful, awful, even worse than "The Dogs of War". The Wall remains enormously popular with many listeners - I think it is still Floyd's best seller after Dark Side of the Moon - and most people will enjoy it. But it is flawed, and for those who prefer Pink Floyd's "head music" through 1975, a likely disappointment.