The Wall: Live in Berlin, 1990 [LIVE]

Roger Waters

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 20, 1990)
• Original Release Date: August 31, 1990
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000001FYU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,018 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Roger Waters staged this all-star revival of his Pink Floyd grand opus 11 years after the Floyd original and 7 years after The Final Cut, his last work with the band. It's a curious artifact of its time, as evidenced by the presence of the Hooters. Enlisting a mish-mashed cast of turn-of-the-decade stars, ranging from the Scorpions to Bryan Adams to Joni Mitchell, Waters attempts to give his production a new relevance. And, of course, where timeliness is concerned, there was some other business involving a wall going on in Berlin 'round about then. But aside from scattered highlights from the likes of Van Morrison (whose commanding "Comfortably Numb" makes one long to hear more from the Van the Man in a rock setting) and Sinead O'Connor ("Mother" is yet another example of her estimable interpretive powers), this Wall isn't so imposing as its studio predecessor. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Berlin performance is meant to be seen as well as heard, August 28, 2003

By	P. T. Mcdonald "ptmcdonald" (Tall Timbers, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There have been a lot of criticisms of the 1990 Berlin performance, but they all miss the point. The 1990 Wall concert was a social commentary, and was a part of the historical backdrop. Moreover, it was never intended to be experienced only by the ears. For Floyd purists, the original studio tracks that were laid down cannot be surpassed. If one simply listens to the 1990 performance you will come away disappointed in many respects. If, however, you watch the concert (BTW, it is playing on DirecTV this month, Aug 2003) and THEN listen to the audio tracks with the memory of the visuals, you will have a much greater appreciation of the event. Cyndi Lauper, for example, has been panned by every reviewer here. I think the energy she brought to the performance was exactly what was called for and is a credit to Waters for selecting her. I hate Sinead O'Connor but her performance here was brilliant, as was Joni Mitchell. I do think Van Morrison's performance was the low point of the concert but was not sufficiently bad to detract from the overall effect. The Wall concert in Berlin is one of my favorites, and I grew up listening to Waters & Gilmours sublime perfection in the studio. My recommendation? SEE the concert first. Once you do, you'll want this soundtrack in your audio library, and it won't get old no matter how often you listen to it. If you have both a good sound system as well as video, this is one you'll watch over and over, and like a fine wine it will age well.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An INCREDIBLE album, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

I don't know how anyone can possibly not like this album. Perhaps the only reason i can see is the fact that they are to rapped up in their picture perfect versions of the wall by the original Pink Floyd Wall. A live performance such as this is not about playing that ablum exactly as it appeared on Record, it is about re-exploring it, bringing it to new levels. Sometimes these changes are for the best, and sometimes they are for the worst. In this case, they were definitely for the best. This is an album that gets better after every song, and is even more incredible when viewed on video. Some of the great aspects of it are the orchestral masterpiece heard at the end of Aother Brick in the Wall II, the INCREDIBLE display of a band that played for Vera Lynn and Bring The Boys Back Home. That (the "Bleeding Heart Band") was made up of the combined forces of the Rudfunk Orchestra and the Combined Military Orchestra of the Soviet Army, and most of all THE TIDE IS TURNING. This song was a complete masterpiece, perhaps not in its original form, but in this form it is ellevated to new heights of power. A truly amazing album, and although a good time is not guaranteed for all (as some people feel that it has to be exactly as it appeared on the record) , this is an incredible album, an incredible experience.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just another brick in The Wall, January 23, 2001

By	Aaron Bock (Cross Plains, WI United States) - See all my reviews

There's just no end to the cleverness of the mind of Roger Waters. A concert such as this was only fitting after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. And only Waters could make it possible.

The concert is performed in all the originial glory of the original Wall tour in 1980 by Pink Floyd. This time however, there are performances by additional artists, such as the Scorpions, Van Morrison, Bryan Adams, and Sinead O'Connor.

The song lineup is essentially the same as the original Wall studio recording, with a couple added twists. For instance, in the concert the "Empty Spaces/What Shall We Do Now?" sequence is played in its entirety ("What Shall We Do Now?" has been omitted from the original Wall album for quite some time). And although "Outside The Wall" was performed at the concert, it is not heard here. Instead, the concert ends with an amazing performance of "The Tide is Turning" (released on Water's "Radio KAOS" album in 1987), in which all performers combine their vocals. Snowy White's guitar solo in this song is particularly incredible.

Many other performances by supporting artists on this album are great as well. The Scorpions' give "In The Flesh?" a bit of an added edge, Bryan Adams spices up "Young Lust", and Van Morrison adds an interesting vocal twist to "Comfortably Numb". However, I do have to disapprove (greatly) of Cyndi Lauper's singing of "Another Brick In The Wall Part I" (Class of '99 did it better on "The Faculty" soundtrack). If not for Lauper's voice, I would have given this album five stars.

Overall, this album has few flaws and the social impact of it at the time can also be felt by the listener (over 100,000 people from all over the world attended the show). I'd also recommend the VHS tape of the concert; there you can see the actual building and fall of the Wall right at the venue, and some stage antics of Roger Waters taken out of "The Wall" movie. If you only mildly follow Waters and Pink Floyd, I probably wouldn't recommend this ablum to you. However, if you are a true Floyd fan and a disciple of "The Wall", you should definitely not be without this album.