Single Disc - The Wall

[Khor1255]

In this thread we try a what if scenario. What if you had to edit Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' down to one album. Here are the run times of each song. I believe the maximum length for a side is about 22 minutes (I know, I cheated on Physical Graffiti).

Side one
1. "In the Flesh?"------------------------------3:16
2. "The Thin Ice"-------------------------------2:27
3. "Another Brick in the Wall Part 1"-------3:21
4. "The Happiest Days of Our Lives"-------1:46
5. "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2"-------3:59
6. "Mother"-------------------------------------5:32

Side two
1. "Goodbye Blue Sky"-----------------------2:45
2. "Empty Spaces"----------------------------2:10
3. "Young Lust"--------------------------------3:25
4. "One of My Turns"--------------------------3:41
5. "Don't Leave Me Now"--------------------4:08
6. "Another Brick in the Wall Part 3"-------1:48
7. "Goodbye Cruel World"--------------------0:48

Side three
1. "Hey You"------------------------------------4:40
2. "Is There Anybody Out There?"---------2:44
3. "Nobody Home"----------------------------3:26
4. "Vera"----------------------------------------1:35
5. "Bring the Boys Back Home"-------------1:21
6. "Comfortably Numb"----------------------6:23

Side four
1. "The Show Must Go On"-----------------1:36
2. "In the Flesh"------------------------------4:15
3. "Run Like Hell"-----------------------------4:20
4. "Waiting for the Worms"-----------------4:04
5. "Stop"---------------------------------------0:39
6. "The Trial"----------------------------------5:13
7. "Outside the Wall"------------------------1:41

 

[architect]

I don't think The Wall is the kind of album you can do that with. I mean try doing it to Dark Side of The Moon. It doesn't work. Call me a purist but they were meant to be a cohesive whole.


You could do that with some of their earlier albums though, like Meddle or Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

 

[Khor1255]

I get what you are saying. But musically I'm sorry for saying so but it really is the first Pink Floyd album with a substantial amount of filler. I get that it is all essential to the concept but I mean as stand alone songs.

 

[Jonny Come Lately]

I don't think The Wall is the kind of album you can do that with. I mean try doing it to Dark Side of The Moon. It doesn't work. Call me a purist but they were meant to be a cohesive whole.

I couldn't agree more with this. I think there are tracks on the album which may not necessarily be to the individual listener's tastes but which the album would be incomplete without - you may not like The Trial (I like it myself but can see why others don't) and are free to skip over it but the plot needed a clear conclusion which, say, Run Like Hell would not provide. Also, I find there is way too much strong material on The Wall to even contemplate cutting it down to a single disc, and the predominant reason for it being a double album in the first place was due to the time needed to tell the story properly, as opposed to simply having more material than could be placed on one disc or one LP.

I personally don't think Pink Floyd albums are particularly good for doing this sort of exercise, even the non-conceptual albums tend to have a relatively small number of tracks, oddly enough the exceptions seem to occur when one particular member was most prominent (Syd on Piper, Roger on The Wall and The Final Cut, and David on A Momentary Lapse and The Division Bell).

Khor1255, I have to politely disagree with you - I think that to simply consider The Wall as a collection of standalone songs is to completely miss the point of the album, you might end up with a single disc of killer songs but it would no longer be The Wall because the storytelling would be compromised. This is a different case from The White Album or Physical Graffiti, which would still retain their essential identity with a reduced number of songs.

 

[Lynch]

I disagree that you can't make a single disc version of The Wall, based soley on one's favorite tracks. If we can play single songs on the radio, on youtube or other areas of the internet and if the band can play single songs in concerts, then apply the same source of selection to picking songs for your half-sized version of The Wall.

I don't have time to do it right now, but really, that's all anyone has to do. Don't overthink it.

 

[architect]

I think that to simply consider The Wall as a collection of standalone songs is to completely miss the point of the album, you might end up with a single disc of killer songs but it would no longer be The Wall because the storytelling would be compromised. This is a different case from The White Album or Physical Graffiti, which would still retain their essential identity with a reduced number of songs.

Agreed.


I also agree Lynch, that we are kind of splitting hairs here. The exercise in other words requires you to pick your favorite songs off the album. I can do that, but to me there are no throwaways on The Wall.

My favorites...

The Thin Ice
Another Brick Part 1
Mother
One of My Turns
Is There Anybody Out There?
Vera
Comfortably Numb
The Show Must Go On
Run Like Hell
Stop
The Trial

 

[Khor1255]

Thank you. I totally get what you are saying about chopping up a concept album. And I'm glad you see that my intention wasn't to desecrate but rather purely hypothetical 'what if'?