The Wall vs. Tommy

The Wall

Pink, can you hear me?

This is a question I've posed to all classic rock fans I know. And the answer is similar to this poll. Why? I didn't notice anyone mentioning that the album Tommy predates The Wall by 10 years. So...technically The Who invented the Rock Opera. I love both bands and admit that as far as movies go, The Wall is superior. But what trumps them both is Quadrophenia, as someone mentioned before.. The best rock album, opera, movie.

Id change my vote if I could to Tommy.

Riff Raff said:

Id change my vote if I could to Tommy.

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why`s that then...

Since I first listened to The Wall its slowly become one of my least favourite Floyd albums.

There are so few perfect albums made. "The Wall" is one of them. From the production all the way down to the lyrics it's perfect.

A handful of songs off it blows away the entire "Tommy" album. The masterful guitar work of David Gilmore on "Comfortably Numb", Roger's crooning on "Mother", the frontal assault on your ears with "Young Lust"...it's too much for The Who's "Tommy" to come close to. Both are good representations of concept albums but even the movies, Pink Floyd laps them.

Not a fan of "Tommy" or "Quadrophenia"...more of a "Who's Next" fan.

Ahh........the dreaded 'Concept Album' argument. Personally I am a fan of the concept of the 'Concept Album' But here's the thing - I can't quite think of anybody who's totally pulled it off. It's a simple idea when you think about it. If you take an album as an art form then why not use it as a vehicle for one particular area of subject matter? Take these two. Waters and Townsend agonised over long periods of time to get it right. Townsend will readily admit he didn't, while Waters is the type of guy who thinks everything he ever wrote is golden (particularly The Wall). The truth is there are significant weak areas in both albums. I voted for The Wall, though probably for the wrong reasons - I love Dave Gilmour's guitar pieces on that album(Roger would hate that ).

Johnny-Too-Good said:

I can't quite think of anybody who's totally pulled it off. It's a simple idea when you think about it. If you take an album as an art form then why not use it as a vehicle for one particular area of subject matter?

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Ever listen to Porcupine Tree's "Voyage 34 - The Complete Trip"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B46SckUhnOg

While both epic operas obviously(and expectedly)maintain high entertainment value throughout,for me there's a certain pervasion of monotone involved with "Wall" that I find haunting to the point of dubious distraction.Conversely,I find "Tommy" to provide further layers of varied conceptual distribution.............