We also carry a full line of CD, DVD, Tape & Record Supplies! As well as thousands of discontinued and out of print sound recordings (CDs, LPs, Cassettes). Quantity discounts available - please inquire. We sell wholesale and retail.Price:
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Pink Floyd - The Wall (Marching Hammers on Black) - Sticker / Decal
We also carry a full line of CD, DVD, Tape & Record Supplies! As well as thousands of discontinued and out of print sound recordings (CDs, LPs, Cassettes). Quantity discounts available - please inquire. We sell wholesale and retail.
Pink Floyd - The Wall
By any rational measure, Alan Parker's cinematic interpretation of Pink Floyd: The Wall is a glorious failure. Glorious because its imagery is hypnotically striking, frequently resonant, and superbly photographed by the gifted cinematographer Peter Biziou. And a failure because the entire exercise is hopelessly dour, loyal to the bleak themes and psychological torment of Roger Waters's great musical opus, and yet utterly devoid of the humor that Waters certainly found in his own material. Any attempt to visualize The Wall would be fraught with artistic danger, and Parker succumbs to his own self-importance, creating a film that's as fascinating as it is flawed.The film is, for better and worse, the fruit of three artists in conflict--Parker indulging himself, and Waters in league with designer Gerald Scarfe, whose brilliant animated sequences suggest that he should have directed and animated this film in its entirety. Fortunately, this clash of talent and ego does not prevent The Wall from being a mesmerizing film. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof (in his screen debut) is a fine choice to play Waters's alter ego--an alienated, "comfortably numb" rock star whose psychosis manifests itself as an emotional (and symbolically physical) wall between himself and the cold, cruel world. Weaving Waters's autobiographical details into his own jumbled vision, Parker ultimately fails to combine a narrative thread with experimental structure. It's a rich, bizarre, and often astonishing film that will continue to draw a following, but the real source of genius remains the music of Roger Waters. --Jeff Shannon
Price: $31.98
Roger Waters rebuilds 'The Wall' at The Q, with spectacular results
All in all, it wasn’t just another concert.
When Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters revisited his 1979 masterpiece “The Wall” on Tuesday night at The Q, it was nothing short of spectacular.
As a 35-foot-high, 240-foot-wide wall took shape around him, Waters constructed an elaborate metaphor for shutting yourself off – from your feelings, from other people and from the world at large. In the process, he set a new standard for rock ’n’ roll theater.
The opening number alone, “In the Flesh?,” involved more pyrotechnics than Lady Gaga probably ignites over the course of an entire show.
“If you wanna find out what’s behind these cold eyes / You’ll just have to claw your way through this disguise,” Waters sang.
At 67, the wiry British grandfather of rock grandeur made a lean yet not-so-mean frontman. Waters often smiled and waved to the 12,000-strong crowd, despite the darkly autobiographical subject matter of his magnum opus.
Thirty-odd years on, not every song held up as well as “Mother” (done as a virtual duet between Waters and a video of his younger self), “Young Lust” or “Run like Hell,” although there was plenty to take in, even when the score dragged in spots.
Fans raised on midnight screenings of the 1982 film “Pink Floyd The Wall” sat wide-eyed anew as artist Gerald Scarfe’s surreal images of copulating flowers and marching hammers were projected on the massive bulwark. Pictures of soldiers and civilians killed in battles past and present also were shown, driving home an anti-war message.
The sensory overload also entailed surround-sound effects and giant inflatables, including a pig that flew over the audience and menacing balloon versions of Mother, the Teacher and the Wife.
Waters’ 11-piece band included his son Harry on keyboards and former “Saturday Night Live” bandleader G.E. Smith on guitar. Robbie Wyckoff faithfully re-created the vocal parts of Waters’ estranged Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour, while four backing singers (including members of the group Venice) provided tight harmonies.
In a nice touch, Waters also had local outreach group ROAM (Roots of American Music) select 20 Northeast Ohio teens and tweens to join him in the spotlight for “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2,” sporting “FEAR BUILDS WALLS” T-shirts.
And let’s hear it for the unsung stagehands who built the wall, cardboard brick by cardboard brick, during the first of two acts, each approximately 1 hour long.
“Goodbye Cruel World” found a backlit Waters only partly visible through a small gap, before the final brick was dramatically put in place.
The second half of the show commenced with “Hey You,” performed entirely behind the wall, with nary a glimpse of the musicians.
During “Nobody Home,” part of the rampart opened to reveal Waters slumped in a chair amid a trashed hotel room. For a soaring “Comfortably Numb,” he was front and center.
At the end of “The Trial,” concertgoers chanted on cue: “Tear down the wall!” When it finally came tumbling down, it sent a small shockwave through the arena.
“Thank you so much, from the bottom of all our hearts,” Waters said. “You’ve been a fantastic audience, and it means a lot to us.”
Like a latter-day Joshua fresh from the battle of Jericho, Waters played trumpet on the triumphant finale, “Outside the Wall,” joined by his bandmates amid the rubble.
In more ways than one, the production was a smashing success.
SET LIST:
In the Flesh?
The Thin Ice
Another Brick in the Wall Part 1
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
Mother
Goodbye Blue Sky
Empty Spaces
What Shall We Do Now?
Young Lust
One of My Turns
Don't Leave Me Now
Another Brick in the Wall Part 3
The Last Few Bricks
Goodbye Cruel World
(intermission)
Hey You
Is There Anybody Out There?
Nobody Home
Vera
Bring the Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb
The Show Must Go On
In the Flesh
Run like Hell
Waiting for the Worms
Stop
The Trial
Outside the Wall
Roger Waters performs Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' in multi-media extravaganza at The Q: Photo Gallery
Roger Waters brought his new touring production of Pink Floyd's opus "The Wall" to The Q Tuesday night for a high-concept rock 'n' roll extravaganza featuring eye-popping multimedia, fireworks, giant puppets and, of course, an exploding wall. The former Pink Floyd mastermind played the band's four-sided, 1979 album in it's entirety, amid a high-tech theatrical spectacle that was part rock concert, part Broadway musical, part cinematic psychodrama.
Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic John Soeder was there to take in all the drama. Check back later this morning in the Pop Music blog for his review. In the meantime, here's a taste of last night's performance, in photos from The Plain Dealer's Tom Ondrey.
Roger Waters at The Q on Tuesday, performing Pink's Floyd's rock opus, 'The Wall'
It's known, for obvious reasons, as "the Screaming Head." Part Edvard Munch, part cathartic rock 'n' roll howl, the iconic image by renowned British artist Gerald Scarfe perfectly encapsulates "The Wall" in all its angst-ridden glory.
"The whole piece is a scream in many ways, a scream of protest," said Scarfe, the chief visual collaborator on Pink Floyd's seminal musical psychodrama.
The brainchild of Pink-Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, "The Wall" was released as a double album in 1979. It later spawned a film, as well as various live productions.
Now Waters, who went solo in 1984, is taking his masterpiece on the road again. He'll perform "The Wall" from start to finish Tuesday night at The Q, as part of a 53-date North American tour that kicked off this month in Toronto. The show hits Europe next year.
Waters tapped his old pal Scarfe to update visuals for the extravaganza, which includes a 35-foot-high, 240-foot-wide wall.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday,Sept. 28.
Where: The Q, East Sixth Street and Huron Road, Cleveland.
Tickets: $58-$202 at the box office, or charge by phone, 1-888-894-9424.
Scarfe came up with fresh animation and giant new inflatable characters to loom over the stage. We're not talking about some cute and cuddly Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons.
"Mother's head can swing from side to side, and she has lights in her eyes which rake the audience," Scarfe said by phone recently from his London studio.
"The Teacher works like a marionette. He's jointed in every joint and can be made to do all sorts of strange things."
Waters, 67, has his reasons for revisiting "The Wall." In a post on his website, he wrote:
"[I]t has occurred to me that maybe the story of my fear and loss, with its concomitant inevitable residue of ridicule, shame and punishment, provides an allegory for broader concerns: nationalism, racism, sexism, religion, whatever! All these issues and 'isms are driven by the same fears that drove my young life.
"This new production of 'The Wall' is an attempt to draw some comparisons, to illuminate our current predicament, and is dedicated to all the innocent lost in the intervening years. . . . I believe we have at least a chance to aspire to something better than the dog-eat-dog ritual slaughter that is our current response to our institutionalized fear of each other."
A plea for love
What does "The Wall" have to say to us today, more than 30 years after the original album came out?
"Originally, it was about Roger's father," said Scarfe, 74.
"His father was killed in the Second World War. . . . Now, of course, we're trying to broaden it out into all wars: Iraq, Afghanistan, all disputes around the world -- give it a broader aspect.
"I guess the overall message . . . is obviously the old simple one of: Love one another. Don't fight to try and settle things. We're all in it together.
"There are so many different factions around the world, so many different religions and so forth, and they're all warring, one with the other. It's a plea that has been made many times, and probably won't have any effect.
"But it's still worthwhile doing. It's still worthwhile saying: 'Don't build walls. Don't shut people out.'
"I sound like a preacher! Sorry."
"The Wall" traces its origins back to 1977, when Waters shocked himself by spitting on a fan who rubbed him the wrong way during a Pink Floyd concert in Montreal.
Years later, he wrote about the incident for a permanent "Wall" exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which includes a giant inflatable of the Teacher character.
"[W]e were becoming addicted to the trappings of popularity," Waters reflected.
"I found myself increasingly alienated in that atmosphere of avarice and ego. . . . I was faced with a choice: to deny my addiction and embrace that 'comfortably numb' but 'magic-less' existence or accept the burden of insight, take the road less traveled and embark on the often painful journey to discover who I was and where I fit. 'The Wall' was the picture I drew for myself to help me make that choice."
The result is "an important work in rock history," said Jim Henke, the Rock Hall's chief curator.
Pink Floyd was inducted into the Rock Hall in 1996.
"Basically, 'The Wall' is about a rock artist going inside himself to see how he could become a better person," Henke said.
"Musically, it's a great work. And with the film, it took on a life of its own. It still speaks to a lot of people."
Film fueled battle for control Early on in the creative process, Waters played demos of his "Wall" songs for Scarfe.
"He first came to where I'm sitting right now, in this studio, with the raw tapes of 'The Wall,' with him singing to a synthesizer," Scarfe said.
"When he finished playing the tapes for me, he looked at me and wanted some response. I said, 'Yeah, great.' I didn't have an adequate response, really.
"And he said, 'Oh, Jesus -- I just feel as though I've pulled down my pants and [expletive] in front of you.' He felt that vulnerable. He felt he'd exposed himself."
Scarfe created artwork for the album and for Pink Floyd's 1980- '81 tour behind it.
"The Wall" was reborn as a nightmarish 1982 film, starring Bob Geldof (of the Boomtown Rats and future Live Aid fame) as Pink. When they were making the movie, Waters and Scarfe (who designed the animated sequences) frequently butted heads with director Alan Parker.
"When he took over, Alan wanted to have complete control," Scarfe recalled.
"There was a lot of territorial fighting. Roger had the backup of his manager. Alan had the backup of his producer. I was caught in the middle of this, and I became very fraught.
"I would drive into Pinewood Studios here in Britain at 9 o'clock in the morning with a bottle of Jack Daniels on the passenger seat. I'm not a heavy drinker. But I just felt I needed a slug before I went in to face the infighting."
When the film was finally done, the key players couldn't bear to sit through it.
"I remember when we played it in Los Angeles or New York or somewhere, Roger, Bob Geldof and I sat there and watched the first five minutes. Then we got up, left the theater and went to a bar to play pool, because we'd had so much of this goddamn film!"
Other spinoffs followed, including a 1990 production of "The Wall" staged by Waters in the ruins of the Berlin Wall.
Where should a newbie turn first? Scarfe recommended the 1979 album as the ideal starting point.
"Maybe it's best when you first hear something to hear it on your own, without any pictures by me or anybody else to tell you what to think or what to imagine," he said.
"Sit in the silence of your room and immerse yourself in it and make what you can of it."
Tearing down another wall
With its central theme of breaking down the barriers between us, "The Wall" might be construed as a somewhat ironic artistic statement coming from Waters, whose own relationships with his former Pink Floyd bandmates often have been strained.That could be changing, though. Pink Floyd reunited for the Live 8 concert in London in 2005. Three years later, keyboardist Richard Wright died.
In July, Waters and Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour teamed up for a charity gig in England. So maybe the brick wall between them has been replaced by a picket fence with a swing gate.
"I'm not sure whether the swing gate is locked or not," Scarfe said, laughing.
He remains friendly with Waters, Gilmour and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason. Scarfe interviewed each of them for his new book, "The Making of Pink Floyd: The Wall." It's loaded with firsthand anecdotes about the project's various incarnations, as well as Scarfe's stunning illustrations.
"I went out last night with Nick," Scarfe said. "He's very easygoing. He would go along with joining up again.
"Roger and David are the proudest ones, in a way. . . . Will they get together? There are more hopeful signs now than there have been for a long time. But they both have their own careers.
"It's possible they'll get together somehow. I kind of feel they will. But what do I know?"
Regardless of Pink Floyd's future plans, Scarfe has a hunch that people will still be screaming for "The Wall" for years to come.
"It has been passed on to other generations," Scarfe said.
"Its message is universal. It's a simple message, really. But it's very well told. The music is terrific, and the lyrics are very, very telling.
"It deserves to live on."
Pink Floyd's the Wall [VHS]
Conceived by the French director Adrian Maben as "an anti-Woodstock film," Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii was shot in October 1971 in a vacant, 2,000-year-old amphitheater--a venue chosen to accentuate the grandeur and spaciousness of the band's Meddle-era music. This disc contains a new, 90-minute director's cut as well as the original 60-minute concert film, whose production and effects feel inescapably dated. Maben's cut goes to great lengths to lend the film a more contemporary feel, but it's the earlier version that makes this disc such a gem, being more focused on the music and more wholistic in vision. The anamorphic, 16:9 director's cut interweaves the Pompeii performances with fascinating but distracting interviews and music snippets filmed later (mostly during the recording of Dark Side of the Moon). The movie was originally prepared in a 4:3 aspect ratio, however, and the widescreen version crops perfectly framed images like the nine-square mosaic of drummer Nick Mason in "One of These Days." The original offers plenty of closeups of fingers on frets and keys, with shots that are often luxuriously long in duration. And the picture quality from Pompeii is revelatory: outstandingly sharp and clear, rich in subtle grades of light and color.
Generous extras include everything from original posters, reviews, bootleg album covers, and song lyrics to a 24-minute interview with Maben. But for all the director's talk of the glorious acoustics in Pompeii's amphitheater, there's little natural ambience to be heard. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is clear, dry, and two-dimensional, though notably better than any previous video release. --Michael Mikesell
Price: $14.95
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Pink Floyd The Wall
This jigsaw puzzle features artwork by Gerald Anthony Scarfe from Pink Floyd's double album "The Wall". This puzzle contains 1000 pieces and measures 20 x 27 inches.
Price:
Pink Floyd Scream 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
This jigsaw puzzle features artwork by Gerald Anthony Scarfe from Pink Floyd's double album "The Wall". This puzzle contains 1000 pieces and measures 20 x 27 inches.
Price: $15.99
Click here to buy from Amazon
Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here, Man on Fire ) Music Poster Print - 24x36
Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here, Man on Fire ) Music Poster Print - 24x36Price:
Pink Floyd The Wall [VHS]
By any rational measure, Alan Parker's cinematic interpretation of Pink Floyd: The Wall is a glorious failure. Glorious because its imagery is hypnotically striking, frequently resonant, and superbly photographed by the gifted cinematographer Peter Biziou. And a failure because the entire exercise is hopelessly dour, loyal to the bleak themes and psychological torment of Roger Waters's great musical opus, and yet utterly devoid of the humor that Waters certainly found in his own material. Any attempt to visualize The Wall would be fraught with artistic danger, and Parker succumbs to his own self-importance, creating a film that's as fascinating as it is flawed.
The film is, for better and worse, the fruit of three artists in conflict--Parker indulging himself, and Waters in league with designer Gerald Scarfe, whose brilliant animated sequences suggest that he should have directed and animated this film in its entirety. Fortunately, this clash of talent and ego does not prevent The Wall from being a mesmerizing film. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof (in his screen debut) is a fine choice to play Waters's alter ego--an alienated, "comfortably numb" rock star whose psychosis manifests itself as an emotional (and symbolically physical) wall between himself and the cold, cruel world. Weaving Waters's autobiographical details into his own jumbled vision, Parker ultimately fails to combine a narrative thread with experimental structure. It's a rich, bizarre, and often astonishing film that will continue to draw a following, but the real source of genius remains the music of Roger Waters. --Jeff Shannon
Price:
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Pink Floyd: The Wall
This jigsaw puzzle features artwork by Gerald Anthony Scarfe from Pink Floyd's double album "The Wall". This puzzle contains 1000 pieces and measures 20 x 27 inches.
Price:
Pink Floyd Jigsaw Puzzle 1000 Pieces 20" X 27" Ages 12+
This black hoodie is perfect for fans of Pink Floyd.Pink Floyd - The Wall Logo with Bricks - Sticker / Decal
We also carry a full line of CD, DVD, Tape & Record Supplies! As well as thousands of discontinued and out of print sound recordings (CDs, LPs, Cassettes). Quantity discounts available - please inquire. We sell wholesale and retail.Price:
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Just added
The 'Orphans' section is set aside for 'one off' and/or rare items. It's a rapidly expanding section of the site and many great finds can be discovered here. The latest (published) material is always on the highest numbered page.If you have any unusual Pink Floyd material you would like displayed, please contact us at col@pinkfloydz.com
The three images above were taken at one of the Earls Court 'Wall' shows in either 1980 or 1981. The tickets below are from various 'Wall' shows. With thanks to Martin van Haften.
Earls Court 6 June 1980
Earls Court 17 June 1981
Dortmund 19 February 1981
The three images above were taken at one of the Earls Court 'Wall' shows in either 1980 or 1981. The tickets below are from various 'Wall' shows. With thanks to Martin van Haften.Earls Court 6 June 1980
Earls Court 17 June 1981
Dortmund 19 February 1981
(Above) David Gilmour 2002 and Pink Floyd 1988
(Above) Roger Waters 2002 and Pink Floyd 1994
The above items were submitted by Tobias Neto
Above are a couple of more contributions from Martin van Haften. Martin thinks these pictures were probably taken on the Animals Tour at The Ahoy Hallen Rotterdam (Netherlands) in February 1977.
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