Poll: How do you rate Pink Floyd's "Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81" album?

Live album three of three!

The rules for this series: this poll is designed for people familiar with the album in question and with at least some familiarity with some of their other catalog (for comparison purposes). If the poll doesn't interest you, please kindly move on to a thread that does. Please simply consider how YOU would rate the album in question, in comparison with the rest of the Floyd's discography! And as always, a shout-out to member mrjinks for creating all the groundwork for this series.

Note: this is the third of three live albums in our series of polls. Please use the same criteria for rating these as the studio albums.

So, how do YOU rate this album?

Album history: "Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 is a live album released by Pink Floyd in 2000. It is a live rendition of The Wall, produced and engineered by James Guthrie, with tracks selected from the August 1980 and June 1981 performances at Earls Court in London. The album was first released in The Netherlands by EMI Records on 23 March 2000, who released a limited edition in the United Kingdom on 27 March. The general release followed on 18 April 2000 with US and Canadian distribution by Columbia Records.

The shows involved the construction of a wall on stage throughout the first half of the show. Once complete, members of the band performed in small openings in, atop, in front of, or even behind the wall. The album artwork featured the life-masks of the four band members in front of a black wall; the masks were worn by the "surrogate band" during the song "In The Flesh". "Goodbye Blue Sky" and parts of "Run Like Hell" were taken from the 17 June 1981 show, the very last performance by the four-man Pink Floyd until the 2005 Live 8 concert.

The album was re-released in February 2012 in remastered form as part of the "Immersion" boxset edition of The Wall."


Tracklist:
1-1. MC: Atmos 1:13
1-2. In The Flesh? 3:00
1-3. The Thin Ice 2:49
1-4. Another Brick In The Wall (Part I) 4:13
1-5. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives 1:40
1-6. Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) 6:19
1-7. Mother 7:54
1-8. Goodbye Blue Sky 3:15
1-9. Empty Spaces 2:14
1-10. What Shall We Do Now? 1:40
1-11. Young Lust 5:17
1-12. One Of My Turns 3:41
1-13. Don't Leave Me Now 4:08
1-14. Another Brick In The Wall (Part III) 1:15
1-15. The Last Few Bricks 3:26
1-16. Goodbye Cruel World 1:41
2-1. Hey You 4:55
2-2. Is There Anybody Out There? 3:09
2-3. Nobody Home 3:15
2-4. Vera 1:27
2-5. Bring The Boys Back Home 1:20
2-6. Comfortably Numb 7:26
2-7. The Show Must Go On 2:35
2-8. MC: Atmos 0:37
2-9. In The Flesh 4:23
2-10. Run Like Hell 7:05
2-11. Waiting For The Worms 4:14
2-12. Stop 0:30
2-13. The Trial 6:01
2-14. Outside The Wall 4:27




Previous polls:
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Currently 575 people have voted, with an average of 4.25.
A Saucerful of Secrets. Currently 340 people have voted, with an average of 3.78.
More. Currently 270 people have voted, with an average of 3.38.
Ummagumma. Currently 415 people have voted, with an average of 3.08.
Atom Heart Mother. Currently 423 people have voted, with an average of 3.71.
Meddle. Currently 464 people have voted, with an average of 4.70.
Obscured by Clouds. Currently 431 people have voted, with an average of 3.88.
Wish You Were Here. Currently 717 people have voted, with an average of 4.78.
The Wall. Currently 825 people have voted, with an average of 4.00.
The Final Cut. Currently 555 people have voted, with an average of 3.08.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Currently 376 people have voted, with an average of 2.94.
Delicate Sound of Thunder. Currently 245 people have voted, with an average of 2.87.
The Division Bell. Currently 462 people have voted, with an average of 3.27.
Pulse. Currently 298 people have voted, with an average of 3.33.
The Endless River. Currently 426 people have voted, with an average of 2.52.

 

Is it bad that I've considered myself a big Pink Floyd fan for years and this is the first time I've ever heard of this album?

 

I've heard of it, but never actually heard it. Interested to see how it ranks though. (I won't be voting.)

 

This is definitely their most obscure "core" release. I imagine we'll see a coincidingly low number of votes! I have no opinion on it yet since my CD just arrived yesterday from eBay where I finally found a good deal...

(There are none there for sale now, but check this page every now and then and they make one available: Pink Floyd : Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live CD $10 inc. shipping to US.)

 

Why yes....yes it is.

 

Amazing record. Prefer to listen to this album than the studio version. Run Like Hell and Waiting For the Worms are out of this world.

 

I too have been amazed at this release, more fun to listen to than the studio release and a great recording from the original Wall Tour.

 

My problem is, I have a recording from Nassau Coliseum so I know what the concert really sounded like live.
The mix for ITAOT cut things out that I was accustomed to hearing like: a sequencer during Run Like Hell, shortened a keyboard interlude between Goodbye Blue Sky and What Shall We do Now?, and a shortened piano introduction to The Show Must Go On. If it was Wright playing those parts and not the side musician, those are unforgivable edits in my mind.
Also, the mix was too damn perfect. All the life was sucked out of it.
I rarely listen to most of it but Mother is amazing!

 

I only got this fairly recently and I'm a bit divided about it - on the one hand, it's a stellar record of a unique and unrepeatable experience, and given how few concerts were done on this tour, it's remarkable it got released at all. On the other hand, it isn't all that different an experience from listening to the studio recording. I rated it as A Pretty Solid Effort, but it would be essential if it were just a bit more "live" and exciting.

 

I've never heard it so can't vote. Sounds intriguing, so far.

 

I like it, but not enough that I need to buy it. Maybe I should though to have the complete What Shall We Do Now?

 

I like the album probably is one you need in your collection!

 

Oh, that is also great on this album.

 

I loved the studio version of The Wall & played it so much over the years that I think I've sickened myself of it. This is my go-to version now. It's different enough that it puts a fresh spin on it & I really like the additional couple of tracks. A+ for me.

 

Spooky timing, as just a few hours ago, I lost an auction for this set, but found a BIN nearly immediately.
Somehow, I've never owned a copy until now.
Looking forward to it.

At present, I'm watching the Blu ray of Roger Waters - The Wall
.

 

I really enjoy this album as an alternate The Wall experience.
It's a well recorded, mixed and performed show(s) of The Wall.
And an impressive historical document to boot.
If your a Floyd fan and you like The Wall....I think it's essential.

 

Between "A solid effort" and "Best works/essential listening" because it isn't a traditionally great work like Dark Side, WYWH, etc., but it is a very good live project.

 

I don't care for it. I saw an '81 Earls Court show and it is like having a souvenir of the show on a bootleg. The performance is fine, but the CD does not sound good to me. It just lacks life to my ears. Frozensoda, above, states that the mix is too perfect and the life was sucked out of it. That could be. I'm not great at discerning what the problem may be, but I would just say it was mastered by someone that didn't know what it was supposed to sound like.

I really looked forward to it when it was released in the late '90s or 2000. I was disappointed from the first play. I don't play it much either.

This is not a criticism, but the emcee was much more interesting in the '81 shows. Among his litany of rules was one about no standing and that anyone who stood would be shot on site. As I recall, no one did stand. I'm sure it was due to a polite British audience rather than any actual concern. But the effect was good nonetheless.

I didn't vote because there was no category for good performance but subpar sounding CD.

 

I'd never heard of it either! Making the title kind of ironic.

 

Own it
Played it when I brought it
Haven't played it since
It's an ok album from memory

 

Genuinely surprised that this is considered obscure. I bought this in its longbox form on the day it was released, and absolutely loved it. I'd spent years from first reading about the Wall concerts to actually being able to hear the two guitar-two bass-two keyboard-two drum band (almost a precursor to 90s King Crimson!) and it blew me away. I love the studio album, but the space that everyone has to stretch out on the live set -even if it's regimented- and the discipline and enthusiasm in playing makes it a joy to listen to.

If Mason/Wright/Gilmour were not enjoying themselves musically, it doesn't show, but this is obviously Roger's piece and he is great. Love that nasty bass sound he has on 'Young Lust', but the absolute high is 'Run Like Hell' where he sounds genuinely unhinged in his in-character spoken intro ("Put your hand together, you're supposed to be enjoying yourselves. COME ON!"), and sets up the song perfectly for a breathtaking version.

The obvious downside is that it needs visuals, not just of the wall spectacle, but also seeing the band play together. It's impossible to tell who is doing which part, and for example I wouldn't have known that the end of 'Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2' is a guitar solo from both Gilmour and then one by Snowy White (or Andy Roberts?).

This also applies to Rick, as there's some very good keyboard work but I'd love to see how much is from him and how much is Peter Woods.

Nonetheless, I'd rate this as my favourite Floyd live album, hands down.

 

Actually, I forgot that this existed. It's fine, as I recall.

 

Great, another Pink Floyd album I need to buy...

 

James Guthrie, and Joel Plante.

 

Odd one. I normally can come up with a score straight away, but this has made such a small impression that I am going to have to listen to it. Guessing it's not going to be "essential"!

Shame they included the remaster in the Immersion set as I guess we will not see a separate version and I am struggling to justify the upgrade from the Experience edition.