Whispering Wall

Legendary Pink Dots | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 11, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Roir
• ASIN: B0001XAOVG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,758 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Whispering Wall is the Legendary Pink Dots’ latest album & third release on ROIR. The album will coincide with a 35-date North American tour. The Pink Dots know that the future, our man-made future is coming. And it is coming to get us. Whereas 2002’s "All The King’s Men" relied heavily on lush weighty soundscapes, "The Whispering Wall" provides Ka-Spel’s poetry more room to flourish. Prophetic lyrics & haunting vocals envelope the listener; each song a continuation of the on-going story the LPD tell—either through whimsical songs about Humpty Dumpty’s travails or frightful anecdotes about a society increasingly dependent on technology yet perilously incapable of doing without it. Please take a listen- it may be the most intriguing story you’ve heard in a very long time— Until next time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it manages to surprise me...still, May 28, 2004

By 

D. M. MATALLIN "Origami" (Valencia, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whispering Wall (Audio CD)

what can I say about The Legendary Pink Dots? it's my favourite band, they make a unique style, borrowing that psychedelia from bands like pink Floyd but more in a psychotic experimental way like Can, and adding that to an electronic music here all instruments are welcome...violins, saxophone, guitars, and samples, noises...and on top of that, or sometims in the middle, the naughty-boy voice of Edward Ka-Spel and his wonderful lyrics.

Ok and they have been releasing albums since 1981, probably the most prolific band in history with more than 30 albums in 20 years not counting the more than 10 solo albums by Ka-Spel and his 5 albums in collaboration with Skinny Puppy's Cevin key in The Tear Garden.

once said that, is this album able to surprise? yes and no. I mean, The LPD have a unique style...and as such, you can instantly recognise them. But the new album does manage to add an interesting new step for the band.

From the moment the album starts and we hear an electric guitar not reminding us of any previous LPD song, we realise they have succeed again. I was anxious to hear this album. 'All the King's Men', heir previous album was so important for me... 'The Whispering Wall' is very different, their psychedelic side from classic albums such as Maria Dimension is very present here. I don't think it beats All the King's Men, but that was a very difficult task anyway. Anyway it's too soon to judge, but it's obvious it's a great album, like 99% of LPD albums.

We have here songs with marked electric guitars (Soft toy), electronic ambient instrumental pieces (king of a small world), typical circus-like freaky melodies )Peek-a-boo), spoken Ka-spel trademark songs (The Divide), and an amazing three-part song that closes the album.

Buy it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Legendary Pink Dots - 'The Whispering Wall' (Roir), June 9, 2004

By 

Mike Reed (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Whispering Wall (Audio CD)

I wanted to give it a 3 1/2 star rating.Believe it or not,this is the band's 40th-something CD.They've been at it since 1980.One might even go as far as to say the LPD has become one of THE better known 'cult bands'.'The Whispering Wall' tends to showcase some of frontman Edward Ka Spel's way-out-there poetry.The tracks that sort of made me sit up and take notice were the airy psychedelic "In Sickness&Health","King Of A Small World",the somewhat industrial "The Divide" and the later half of "Sunken Pleasure".Keyboardist The Silverman and saxist Niels Van Hoornblower are still a vital part of the band.Should appeal to fans of Psychic TV,Skinny Puppy and Nurse With Wound.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True Originals, May 20, 2010

By 

Kenaz Filan (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whispering Wall (Audio CD)

There are lots of bands which claim to be "original;" most of them... well, AREN'T. The Legendary Pink Dots, on the other hand, are truly one-of-a-kind. In a world of cookie cutter synth bands, the Legendary Pink Dots are producing true outsider art. Like Edward Darger, the Rev. Howard Finster and Louis Wain, head Dot Edward Ka-Spel is one part visionary genius and one part endearing weirdo. The latest LPD offering, "The Whispering Wall," continues their long tradition of unclassifiable but utterly unforgettable music.

Many Goth/Industrial musicians take their cues from Peter Murphy, Andrew Eldritch and various anonymous synth-poppers. Ka-Spel's music is more reminiscent of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. He's got the same gleefully twisted way of looking at the world ... and, like Barrett, the same gift for surrounding himself with talented musicians. Niels van Hoornblower's saxophone and clarinet licks are as catchy and demented as Ka-Spel's lyrics: they provide a sweetly weird lounge backing to "Dominic" and add an Alice-in-Wonderland strangeness to the already strange "Peek-a-Boo."

Much Psychedelia sunk into sugary sweet tweeness, complete with unicorns and elves. The Legendary Pink Dots provide us with a truly psychedelic experience, one which touches upon both heaven and hell. Their pretty lights and flashing colors often lie alongside velvety darkness and industrial discord. "The Divide" evokes White Light/White Heat era Velvet Underground: Ka-Spel's spoken word ramble drifts above a Silverman/Steeg sonic sculpture that would have done "Lady Godiva's Operation" or "Sister Ray" proud. "Soft Toy" and "In Sickness and Health" also feature Phil Spector-esque Iron Walls of Sound: Ka-Spel's quirky lyrics sparkle amidst the chaos like flowers poking out of the rust and corrosion.

If you haven't heard the Legendary Pink Dots yet, this is a good place to start. "The Whispering Wall" is a CD which sounds like nothing else you have in your collection (unless, of course, you already own a few LPD discs)... but which will soon have you humming along. If you want to support originality in music (and if you don't shame on you), you'll buy this CD and everything else the Legendary Pink Dots have ever recorded.