Is There Anybody Out There? - The Wall: Live 1980-81(2000) 


 

Disc One
  1. Master of Ceremonies
  2. In the Flesh?
  3. The Thin Ice
  4. Another Brick in the Wall (Part I)
  5. The Happiest Days of our Lives
  6. Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)
  7. Mother
  8. Goodbye Blue Sky
  9. Empty Spaces
  10.What Shall We Do Now
  11.Young Lust
  12.One of My Turns
  13.Don't Leave Me Now
  14.Another Brick in the Wall (Part III)
  15.The Last Few Bricks
  16.Goodbye Cruel World
  
Disc Two
  1. Hey You
  2. Is There Anybody Out There?
  3. Nobody Home
  4. Vera
  5. Bring the Boys Back Home
  6. Comfortably Numb
  7. The Show Must Go On
  8. Master of Ceremonies
  9. In the Flesh
  10.Run Like Hell
  11.Waiting for the Worms
  12.Stop
  13.The Trial
  14.Outside the Wall

 

Because of the enormity of the costs involved with producing a show to the band's liking, Pink Floyd never actually toured for the 1979 album The Wall, yet they were able to perform a few shows in some selected cites across the globe. They ended up losing money of course, but that probably wasn't a surprise. It was also key to note that, unlike most live shows put on by a well known band, they stuck to all of the songs from this album, in the identical running order only, as opposed to including old favorites. Again, the structure of the show wouldn't really allow anything else.

The shows are now rock legend. It was one of the most ambitious projects ever attempted. The big gyp is that there's not a video of the show. Critics argue that an audio only representation is a bit empty since, well, why not just stick to the original album? They have a point. There's not much here that's too different from the original album. There are only a couple of "added" songs, but there only here really as extra "mood" music while the stage is "assembled" for the following acts.

If you're like me however, and there are tons of Floyd fans like me, you love The Wall. I mean really love it - so a live show being released on a two disc set is something you snapped up on the first day of release, and never once regretted. Like the live disc on Ummagumma many years ago, all of the live songs here are slightly more inspired than their studio counterparts, and the audience enthusiasm is apparent, so you never feel like you're listening to a carbon copy.

There was also a "deluxe" version at the time (about $10 more) that featured a hard back book documenting the tour with commentary from the band members and photos of the show.

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