Pink Floyd – The Wall: Original vinyl
Pressing vs. 30th Anniversary Reissue Vinyl Pressing
My summary:
Original pressing is punchier and the vinyl
surprisingly less clicky and poppy, especially when you consider my original
review copy (from a friend) looks scuffed.
The original pressing is much louder.
The reissue lacks a load of punch that is
most recognizable on the original on track “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2”. I just didn’t enjoy listening to it as much
as the original.
Personally I just didn’t enjoy the album as
much on the reissue, such a shame as the WYWH reissue is a better mix than the
original with the guitars much more evident.
Possibly that album is better from the middly EQ.
Why I believe the reissue suffers is that
although the vinyl is claimed to have been mastered from the original master
tapes, it doesn’t mention the original master has been fed through the digital
domain somewhere. Or maybe the master
tapes have just become tired after 40 years?
Sorry James Guthrie, maybe it’s just you – the mix is not open nor is it
warm like the original – let’s get Steven Wilson to remix and remaster this
album and go from there.
What have I gained from doing this?
What this review has done for me is that I
really like this album. I never really
played it enough because I was so into DSOTM, WYWH and Animals. The first two sides of this album are
sensational. Gilmour’s vocal on “Goodbye
Blue Sky” is pure Floyd at it’s very best.
I’m off to buy a copy of the original –
there are plenty of copies about as it was such a great hit. It’s a simply stunning sounding disk
considering it was made in 1979.
Overall rating:
Original Vinyl Pressing: 5/5
Reissue Vinyl Pressing: 3/5
Original Packaging quality: 3/5
Reissue Packaging quality: 6/5 (yes really
great!)
External observations.
The original pressing was kindly lent to me
by my close friend Steve Rogers. The
original sleeve has yellowed with age whereas the new reissue is very clean and
bright white. Noticeably, however, the
bricks have a different layout on both copies and this can be seen clearly in
the photo below. Of note also the
rendering between the bricks is a lot darker on the original whereas the inner
cover is more vibrant on the reissue.
Inside the cover
There are few differences on the inside
cover except that the reissue is much more vibrant and the production credit
section has moved to the left (see image below). Note that the original copy
says: “Written by Roger Waters”, whereas the reissue says “Words and Music
Roger Waters”.
The disks
Overall
The EQ is different between the two BUT you
have to remember that whilst the reissues of DSOTM and WYWH are remixes The
Wall is NOT. The Wall reissue is less
punchy (especially noticeable on the track “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2”.
The original vinyl is a reasonable grade,
it is only when you hold the reissue do you realize how much more solid the
reissue is on it’s 180gm vinyl. Between
the two however, there is more surface noise on the reissue (noisier
vinyl). My copy of the reissue also has
some annoying pops and clicks. Very
annoying for what is claimed to be an audiophile copy – it’s not!
The detailed review
Side 1:
- In the Flesh?
- The Thin Ice
- Another Brick in the Wall Part 1
- The Happiest Days of Our Lives
- Another Brick In the Wall Part 2
- Mother
On “In the Flesh” the reissue seems to have
less reverb on the drums. On the
original the drums appear to be recorded in a bigger room. The guitars (chords) on the original are panned
to the left yet on the reissue they appear to be more centrally mixed and, less
forward in the mix. Towards the end of
the song when just before the baby cries, there’s a lot going on with loud
music and the pane crashing/flying overhead.
I would argue that this tracks better on the original than on the
reissue. There seems to be a lack of
separation on the mix than with the original.
Maybe as I believe this is not a remixed album just a remaster, that the
EQ is responsible to this.
On “The Thin Ice” the piano seems further
back in the mix on the reissue. The
synth is more prominent on the reissue.
The vocal is more central in the mix than on the original.
With the reissue “Another Brick in the Wall
Part 1” is warmer and brighter. But
apart from that there is little to distinguish between the original and the
reissue.
Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 is so much
better on the original pressing – warmer, louder and great bass sonics – they
seem to have EQ’s the hell out of it on the reissue making it brighter in the
mid-range. When the kick drums punch at
the beginning of the track on the original it sounds like the speakers are
going to jump of the wall. The dynamic
range is reduce on the reissue which makes it lackluster by comparison. Shockingly so, making me immediately want to
recommend the original over the reissue.
In a word the reissue sounds “limp”.
Mother on the reissue has sibilance which
is NOT noticeable on the original – this is surprising as the original cut is
much closer to the deadwax over the reissue.
The track ends without the warmth and cleanliness of the original. It just sounds like a muddled EQ to me.
I had to keep looking at the vinyl to make
sure I was playing the reissue and not the original as it sounded worse.
Side 2:
- Goodbye Blue Sky
- What Shall We do Now?
- Young Lust
- One of My Turns
- Don’t Leave Me Now
- Another Brick In the Wall Part 3
- Goodbye Cruel World
The deep synth sound on the original
pressing of “Goodbye Blue Sky” is immense.
It just isn’t noticeable to the same extent on the reissue. However, the acoustic guitar sound benefits
from the more middly mid range EQ lift on the reissue. It’s a bit lost on the
original pressing. Also when Gilmour’s
fender bass string plays a lovely “country” crescendo at the end of the track
it’s lost on the original but really stands out on the reissue.
On the original “Young Lust” is a bit
muddled until the drums kick in it blows the speakers with its punch –
wonderful. An experience that is not
evident on the reissue. On the original
pressing when Gilmour’s Fender solo at the end of “Young Lust” sounds just like
a Fender sounds – beautiful natural single coil tones distorting naturally
through an overblown amp. This
experience is not there on the reissue.
“One of My Turns” has a problem on the
reissue. When Waters sings “And I can
feel…” suddenly I can here hiss coming up in the mix – it sounds like one of
the digital outboard systems has failed somewhere and emphasized the background
noise – it wasn’t present up to this point?
Side 3:
- Hey You
- Is There Anybody Out There
- Nobody Home
- Vera
- Bring the Boys Back Home
- Comfortably Numb
“Hey You” is one of the few stand out
tracks on this album. On the reissue
pressing Masons drums (if indeed it was Mason) really kick in. Next up “Is There Anybody Out There?”. So crisp on the original that it sounds like
Waters is in the room with me. The
acoustic guitar on this sounds really good and definitely benefits from the
tweaked EQ.
Listening to “Nobody Home” it strikes me
that the reissue is better suited to solo voice, minimal backing music and
orchestra. It really works on this track
and presents a much clearer soundstage when compared to the original
pressing. Just a touch of nasty
sibilance on Waters voice but apart from this the reissue handles it well.
We drift then into the, for me, real low
point in the album: “Vera” and “Bring the Boys Back Home”. If it weren’t for
Rick Wright’s subtle keyboard synth behind “Vera” I would never play it. Lucky for me it’s a relatively short track. On “Bring the Boys Back Home” the reissue
manages to cope really well with the choral and loud string and horn section.
Now for the highest point on this album:
“Comfortably Numb”. It is here that the
reissue presents a lackluster sound.
Minimal separation and a distinct lack of warmth that is very evident on
the original. Even the twelve-string
chord just before Gilmour comes in with “There is no pain, you are receding”,
gets lost in the reissue mix. Compare
Gilmour’s guitar solo on the reissue – it just doesn’t kick in as hard as on
the original and then during the solo the drums seem to get lost on the
mix. This track is so much better on the
original.
Side 4:
- The Show Must Go On
- In the Flesh
- Run Like Hell
- Waiting for the Worms
- Stop
- The Trial
- Outside the Wall
Do I really have to play this side? I really struggle the Broadway Musical
dramatics of “The Trial” and the album would be so much better if this track
were scrapped. It’s a pity Gilmour,
Wright and Mason didn’t gang up on Waters and make him scrap it. Gilmour, as a co-producer, should have
convinced Ezrin to take it out. Trouble
is Ezrin like theatrics – think, Kiss, Alice Cooper. It’s a shame as he has produced such dark
music as Nine Inch Nails. I can’t see
“The Trial” appearing on a NIN album!
On with the show!
“The Show Must Go On”: Well apart from me
not liking this side of the album it really shines on the original
pressing. The reissue is very toppy
again with an obvious EQ boost mid to top end.
On “Run Like Hell” the original press has a
clear and open sound stage with a great tight drum sound. On the reissue it sounds good but just not as
open as the original. I would even
suggest that the reissue sounds a little cluttered on this track. By “cluttered” I refer to me not being able
to pick out the detail of each instrument as well as I can on the original
pressing.
“Waiting for the Worms”, “Stop”, “The
Trial”, “Outside the Wall” are IMHO disposable tracks and there wasn’t enough
of a difference between them on the original and reissue. The Trial is slightly better on the original
with more depth and space yet the reissue is acceptable but not nice on the
ears in the louds orchestral pieces – it’s a bit too harsh for these ears.
So, to summarise, if you can find one, then
I would recommend the original pressing over the reissue. There’s a massive amount more punch to the
drums, more space in the stereo mix and everything just sounds so much
warmer. I was very disappointed by the
pops and clicks on my reissue and also some of the cuts are noisy when played
loud.
