Pink Floyd – The Wall

Simply my favourite album of all time. Pressing is nice and load when required and quiet when needed. This is my desert island album.
It speaks to me.

I grabbed this out of curiosity... and the OG beats it in every possible way.
It doesn't sound bad, but the OG version is louder and has a fuller soundstage, and surprisingly, way more bottom end.
Played at rhe same volume, the original was quite a bit louder.
When I asked others what they prefer, everyone says original pressing.

I didn't have any of the noise issues many claim here. Pressing is dead quiet.
Again it doesn't sound bad but the original version is way better.
Can see playing this from time to time at lower volumes save wear and tear on OG vinyl.
If I'm in the mood to play it loud and immerse myself in the record, the original is the easy winner.

Just picked up a NM copy used for $10...now I know why so cheap. Vinyl in great shape but surface noise is HORRENDOUS!

Pink Floyd’s The Wall: Overblown Pop Disguised as Avant-Garde

It's been over four decades since The Wall was unleashed upon the world, yet it continues to capture the hearts of middle-aged frat boys across America, clinging to its overblown spectacle and heavy-handed narrative. But at its core, The Wall is little more than elaborate pop music masquerading as avant-garde, leaning on slick studio production and exaggerated, melodramatic interpretations of familiar clichés.

The album’s central conceit—a rock opera about alienation, isolation, and self-destruction—feels pretentious rather than profound, as Roger Waters draws from the same tired well of rock star angst. The narrative of a tortured, disconnected artist building metaphorical “walls” around himself is hardly groundbreaking, even for 1979. Instead of offering any new insights, the album recycles this threadbare theme with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, dressed up in theatrics to distract from its hollow core.

Musically, the album straddles a line between pseudo-psychedelic experimentation and mainstream rock that’s more about spectacle than substance. Tracks like “Another Brick in the Wall” may have memorable hooks, but they’re dressed up in radio-friendly packaging that undermines their supposed anti-establishment message. Beneath the catchy chorus, there’s not much more than simplistic social commentary. It’s rebellion for the masses, neatly packaged for FM radio and suburban sound systems.

The production is undeniably polished, but this clinical slickness often masks the album’s lack of genuine innovation. Sound effects, reverb-heavy guitar solos, and orchestral flourishes create the illusion of depth but ultimately serve to distract from the fact that these songs, at their core, could easily fit into the same mainstream rock playlists The Wall pretends to critique. What es for emotional intensity is often little more than self-indulgent whining, cloaked in theatrical excess.

More troubling, however, is the hypocrisy that’s become associated with Waters himself. Over the past few decades, he has dangerously flirted with antisemitism—whether through inflammatory comments or imagery used in his performances. For an artist who positions himself as a champion of human rights, these actions stink of hypocrisy at best and subtle hatred at worst. Waters claims to critique systems of oppression, yet his repeated offenses against Jewish communities suggest an alarming double standard. This selective morality undermines the credibility of The Wall’s themes, making its cries of alienation and persecution ring hollow. How can a man who peddles the very rhetoric that fuels real-world oppression claim to be a voice for the downtrodden?

What’s even more baffling is that, despite all this, The Wall remains revered by so many, often seen as a defining statement of rock’s artistic potential. But in reality, it owes its legacy more to grandiose marketing and visual spectacle than to any meaningful artistic merit. Aging bros continue to latch onto its surface-level angst and production tricks, mistaking theatricality for profundity.

In the end, The Wall is far from the avant-garde masterpiece it pretends to be. Strip away the elaborate production, the concept album gimmick, and the overinflated sense of importance, and what you’re left with is a collection of bloated pop-rock songs, dressed up in the guise of something deeper. It’s a record that promises introspection and psychological depth but delivers little more than a flashy, melodramatic spectacle—one that feels even more hollow in light of Waters’ increasingly problematic behavior.

Purchased this new. It has lots of pop and crackles. Cleaned LP with VPI Record Cleaner. No changes. Then cleaned manually by hand with and micro fiber cloth and Pfanstiehl Pfan cleaner, which is reputable in vinyl community. It made no difference. Return the LP to record shop and owner was very kind and allowed me to exchange for another. SAME problem. I'm keeping it and may do demonstration to warn others on my Youtube channel. The music industry is EXPLOITING consumers. Cheap pressings have unwanted noise from low quality materials and dirty environment. Where is QUALITY CONTROL at these pressing plants? They're literally robbing consumers.

Received a new variant with 10A / 7B / 6C / 6D

Sounds decent enough, but very quiet. I had to crank it several decibels above normal.

Hi! This 2018 compare to 2012 which better? Thank you?

This pressing isn’t that great. For an album as iconic, as sonically superior, the quality of music and lyrics - it needs and deserves a proper audiophile pressing! I’m not the sort who always prefers the first pressing over reissues/ remasters - but in this case, the first pressing (UK or German) is another level altogether

My copy is a bit disappointing, lots of surface noise, clicks and some loud pops, to the point of being distracting (especially on sides 3 and 4)... Pretty sad because this masterpiece is sounding really good on the rare clean ages, very dynamic and engaging. The quality of the remaster is really good IMO. The quality of my copy is a lot worse than my two other 2016 remastered Pink Floyd vinyl records (Wish you were here and Dark side of the moon). Will do a deep clean, maybe it will help, but I doubt it will remove all the clicks and pops... 3/5

Edit: Received another copy which is considerably better. A lot less noise, no major flaw like my first one. This one is still not perfect, but it's a lot more enjoyable. 3.7 / 5