Wall In Progress 1978-1979

Pink Floyd
 
Wall In Progress - Front Cover
Wall In Progress 1978-1979 - Front Cover

Label Head Co.
Catalogue No. HC 016
Release Date 2007
Total Time :   73.27
Comments:
(from the release notes)
Complete demo Tracks Of "The Wall" Album Recorded at The Floyd's Britannia Row Studios (Sept, Dec 1978 & Late 1979) & Super Bear Studio (april-Aug 1979) in France

Collectors Music Review on the web has this excellent narrative of the evolution of the recording of The Wall and the differences in the tracks presented on this disc:

The decade between 1969 and 1979 was the time when many bands were producing rock operas and concept albums, pushing the boundaries of rock into a cohesive narrative structure. The Who’s "Tommy", although it wasn’t the first rock opera, was the first one that attained any popular success.

Pink Floyd’s "The Wall" is probably the final time any group attained much artistic and commercial success in the genre.

Both Tommy and The Wall are concerned with one’s reaction to trauma in one form or another with the latter piece of work serving as a reflection of the decade of dinosaur arena rock.

The process of recording the masterpiece took more than a year and included at least six different studios in four countries.

The earliest work was in London at Britannia Row Studios before the band moved to the south of France for the summer of 1979 when working at Super Bear and Miraval Studios. Final recording and mixing took place in Los Angeles in the autumn of 1979 before the album’s release on November 28th in the U.K.

Roger Waters produced an initial demo after the Animals tour in September 1977, finished it in January 1978 and presented it to the group in the summer. The original cassette demo is titled Bricks In The Wall (it still exists although no copy has ever circulated) and a cursory search will reveal track listings of it appear on the web.

The initial sessions with the band occurred at Britannia Row Studio in London between September to December 1978 and the band produced a first demo which was completed by January 9th, 1979.
The band reconvened at Britannia Studios and worked more on the piece, producing a second band demo on March 23rd, 1979 with the same running order as the disc below.

The sound quality is very good to excellent and all of the songs are before their final form.

This production begins right with the crashing power chords of "In The Flesh?" (called "The Show" on the demo).
The melody is the same but this version is missing the Hammond.
This fades to the loud buzzing of a dive-bomber, ending with the baby scream heard on the final version before the narrative picks up with ....

"Thin Ice." - Most of the lyrics are the same with the difference in the middle, where Waters sings :
"Dragging…Paying attention, it’s a house and a car / and a trunk full of things for the wife."

"The Happiest Days Of Our Lives" has the same vocal melody as the final version but lacks the drums, the choir, and the lyrics are in the third person singular instead of plural.

"Another Brick In The Wall, part 2" (called "Another Brick In The Wall: Education") has almost the same lyrics (except for "We don’t need no crowd control / Your dark sarcasm in the class room"), but is the same musical arrangement as "Another Brick In The Wall, part 1."

"Mother" has some alterations in the lyrics but the musical arrangement is very close to the final version found on The Wall.

"Goodbye Blue Sky" also has an arrangement close to the final version, but the first verse is simply repeated twice.
The second verse had not been written yet.

"Empty Spaces" again has the same musical arrangement with slight alterations in the lyrics.

"Young Lust" included on this disc is purely instrumental and sounds much more disco than the final issued mix.
The high-pitched keyboards give it a heavier dance feeling.

On the final version of "One Of My Turns" Canadian actress Trudy Young voices the part of the groupie, but Waters does it himself on this demo through what sounds like a pinched nose. The dialogue is similar, an admiration for the hotel room, but includes variations like; "Wow, look at that piano! Can I just sit here for a while and take it in?"

"What Shall We Do Now?" (still called "Backs To The Wall" at this point) wasn’t included on the final album but was in the set list in live performance and the film. The beginning of the track is the same as "Empty Spaces" on the LP where Waters sings "How shall we fill the final places / How shall we complete the wall?" The song ends with "with our backs to the wall" repeated many times before segueing into "Another Brick In The Wall, part 3."
The musical arrangement is similar to the other versions of this song and the alterations in the lyrics include,
"I don’t need your tongue to cut me…I don’t need your arms around me."

"Goodbye Cruel World" has the same gentle arrangement with slight difference in the second verse where Waters sings
"Goodbye, cruel world / There’s nothing you can take from me."
On "The Wall" this closes side two of the vinyl and is followed by "Hey You" on side three. That song wasn’t moved into that position until late in the production and on this demo there is a forty-five second instrumental of "Is There Anybody Out There?"

"Vera" contains identical lyrics and the same acoustic guitar melody, but the keyboards are not yet finished.

"Bring The Boys Back Home" is simply Waters singing the lyrics to an electric guitar melody.

"Is There Anybody Out There, part 2" is a spooky little number with lyrics that would later be incorporated into "Hey You," including:
"out there on your own / naked by the telephone / casually leaning on the wall / to stop you falling / waiting for the call / hearing footsteps in the hall / the knock on the door / cannot stem the sensation of seemingly endless fall."

"Is There Anybody Out There, part 3" is a mellow bluesy with "is there anyone out there?" repeated several times broken by Waters singing "Do you sometimes get lonely at night / You’re out there tonight" rapidly.

This is followed directly by an early version of "Comfortably Numb", which was still called "The Doctor" at this point.
The melody is pretty much the same and Waters and Gilmour alternate the verses and chorus. The lyrics are quite different, however. The first verse is:
            Hello?
            Is there anybody in there?
            Is anybody needing
            Is there anyone at home?
            Come on, Come on,
            I know you’re hiding
            I can hear you screaming (with your needles)
            Call me on the phone
            Listen, Listen, Listen
            I am a physician
            I can handle your condition, like a magician
            If you show me where it hurts ?
The second verse is:
            Wake Up
            Pull yourself together
            Get out and meet new people
            I’m sure they’ll understand
            Come on, Come on,
            Put away the shotgun
            Yeah, have another blue one
            Have your fingertips gone numb
            Goodbye, Goodbye
            Try and see the bright side
            Listen to some Pop Groups
            Hit the road
            Go out and see some shows

There is a guitar solo that isn’t nearly as effective as the final one (which was from about five different recorded versions edited together)

"Hey You" is remarkably similar to the final version with only slight changes in the lyrics.

"It’s Never Too Late" ("The Show Must Go On") begins with footsteps in a brick corridor and the familiar "Oooo Ma, Oooo Pa."
Waters edited on top two verses that are not found on the final version !

The reprise of "In The Flesh" has lyrics that contain very small variations from the final version.

"Run Like Hell" is only in an instrumental form on the demo.

"Waiting For The Worms" has the same lyrics and the identical bullhorn speech which is used for the final version.

And "Trial By Puppet" ("The Trial") is simply Roger Waters singing the words accompanied by Bob Ezrin on the piano.

The final orchestral arrangement wouldn’t be recorded until much later.


The C.D.

No Tracklisting Time
1 In The Flesh ? 3:20
2 The Thin Ice 2:36
3 Another Brick In The Wall Part 1 3:28
4 The Happiest Days Of Our Lives 1:48
5 Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 1:43
6 Mother 4:38
7 Goodbye Blue Sky 2:05
8 Empty Spaces Part 1 1:50
9 Young Lust 3:31
10 One Of My Turns 2:26
11 Don't Leave Me Now 3:54
12 Empty Spaces Part 2 0:50
13 What Shall We Do Now 1:31
14 Another Brick In The Wall Part 3 1:25
15 Goodbye Cruel World 0:59
16 Is There Anybody Out There Part 1   0:52
17 Vera 1:17
18 Bring The Boys Back Home 0:41
19 Is There Anybody Out There Part 2 1:19
20 Is There Anybody Out There Part 3 2:01
21 Comfortably Numb 4:43
22 Hey You 3:53
23 The Show Must Go On 2:05
24 In The Flesh 4:31
25 Run Like Hell 4:58
26 Waiting For The Worms 3:47
27 Stop 0:36
28 The Trial 5:00
29 Outside The Wall 1:18


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