Is There Anybody Out There?

...where we came in

There's nothing I love more than a good value deal on a CD/DVD and my local Sam's just supplied me with a great one. Thhe special editon of Pink Floyd's Is There Anybody Out There?, The Wall Live 1980-1981. Comes with two cd's and a very nice booklet with interviews with the band members and staff about the live shows. This lovely set usually costs $50, but Sam's had it for $20, so how could I refuse. I'm a live music fanatic, and a huge Pink Floyd fan.

Well first the booklet. It has a bunch of really cool pictures from the live shows showing the building of the wall during the show up to its destruction at the end. Candid photos from backstage, and diagrams of the stage design are also thrown in. The interviews give a lot of really good insight into creating the show and the hardships of it.

Now onto the music. Now let me first say I'm a big fan of when artists will improvize and change things up from the way they sound on the album. There is some improvizing on this, but don't expect it to be radically different. Due to all the visual effects, pre-recorded parts, and epicness of the show, improvizing was very limited for The Wall. The major differences mainly consist of slightly extended guitar and keyboard solos. Who knows, had the wall been performed more than only 29 times they would have tried experimenting more. This being said, this album is probably best for hardcore Floyd fans. As I said, I'm a live music addict, and The Wall was one of rock's most important and epic tours, so I had to have it, even if it isnt radically different from the album. That doesn't make it bad though, I had always imagained The Wall being perfect for a live setting, which it is.

Well what are the standout songs from the show you ask. Well my favorite at the moment has to be Run Like Hell. It's a bit longer than the album version (7.22 min to 4.25 min) and has the band really cutting loose. Roger's spoken intro to the song alone makes it worth listening too. If you're a Pink Floyd fan who doesn't really want to buy the whole set, I definately recommend you at least get this song off Itunes or someone who has it.
Other stand-outs for me include In The Flesh? (which should open every concert by anyone), What Shall We Do Now (a song which was cut from the original album), Comfortably Numb (the one song where David Gilmour would get to improvize during final solo), and Outside The Wall (you couldn't hear roger's vocals very well on the original album)

Ok there is one key flaw with this release, and it has been pointed out by numerous other Floyd fans. The Wall live show was as much a visual experience as it was a musical one. The band members in the booklet reflect this sentiment as well. So why was a dvd of one of the shows not included? The last few shows at Earl's Court were filmed for use in The Wall movie, and occasionally bootlegs of these filmed scenes appear on youtube. It would have only made sense to include a dvd of a show with this set. Oh well, it will probably show up on a dvd sometime in the future, but ultimately I think it not being included prevents us listeners from fully experiences the performances (well to be honest I think you would have had to have been there to fully experience it, but yet get my point) A key example, The audience erupts when David Gilmour kicks off his first verse in Comfortably Numb, but what leads to this is the fact David is singing and playing his solos from on top of the wall on a crane. This image of David on top of The Wall is famous, and ever since I saw a video of it on youtube, it automatically comes to mind when listening to the live version of the song. Now I am glad that they chose to release a complete Wall live show on cd, but I do think that a dvd should have been included to complete the experience.

Ok final verdict. Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live is for hardcore floyd fans, live music junkies wanting a piece of live music history, and for huge fans of The Wall in general who want more of it. Now if you don't fall into one those categories, never fear. Itunes offers 30 second samples of each song, and youtube is filled with videos from the live shows, so you will able to judge whether or not its worth buying the whole album. Oh and also there is a cheaper regular cd version of the live show that doesn't come with the booklet and nice package, so be careful and make sure you are getting the version you want. I strongly recommend the special edition package although I had obstained from spending $50 on it for a long time till I found the $20 version.

Also let me make it clear that Is There Anybody Out There? is NO replacement for the regular Wall album. You should def listen to it first, as it captures the spirit of most of the songs best (in the flesh and run like hell being exceptions)

hmm thinking about it now, this year is the 30th anniversary of the original The Wall album. Hmmmmm do i smell a possible live show dvd/and or remaster of the oringal album?
One can hope :)

hey isn't this...

Repossession Blues---My tribute to Bob Dylan's 1978 World Tour

Well why not begin my posting here with who has been my musical obsession for the past 5 years. Last year was the 30th anniversary of Street Legal, and the 1978 World Tour that produced the live album, At Budokan. Since nothing was released to commerorate the anniversary (and to write the wrongs of Budokan), I decided I'd talk about it here, put up some videos, and look at the tour's highs and lows.

1978, its a year most Dylan fans skip over (some very eager to). It's sandwiched between two famous portions of Dylan's career, The 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue, and Dylan's conversion to Christianity in 1979. It was a very hectic and productive year that saw Dylan completely reinvent himself and his sound by putting together a "big band". Many complained that the sound was too slick and the radical reinvention of Dylan's classic songs destroyed their emotional weight. While i do agree some arrangements simply don't work, I feel there are many that do. Also I've always felt that Street Legal is one of Dylan's most underrated albums, and it holds the power to divide Dylan's fans more than any other.

Dylan was goin through a rough patch at the beginning of 1978. His movie Renaldo & Clara, which he had spent a million of his own money on, had bombed. His marriage to Sara had come to a very unpleasent end. Bob was eager to get back on the road, and recoup the money he had lost to his wife and film. He signed with promoter Jerry Weintraub, who managed Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. Many suspect the big band sound of the 78 tour was inspired by Jerry's clients, but other evidence suggests otherwise. Dylan began experimenting with saxophones and backing girls singers during the recording of his album Desire in 1975. Ultimately though Bob was unsatisfied and dropped the idea. The big band sound was most likely just the result of Bob wanting to experiment more.

In the later half of 1977, Bob gave Rolling Thunder bassist Rob Stoner a call, telling him that a new tour was in the works and he wanted him to bring some good musicians with him to California to rehearse. While Rob rounded up musicians, Bob rented an old factory and converted it into a studio, dubbing it Rundown Studios. When rehearsals finally began there was a flood of different musicians at the studio including Denny Siewell on drums, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar. None of these musicians made it very far in the rehearsals, as Bob reportly was not very happy with how things were going. This tour was being approached very differently from previous and following tours. Dylan is known for the spontanayity (sp?) of his live performances and playing a song differently every time he performs it. With this tour however, there would be a limit on how much improvizing the band cound do, due to its size.


As the rehearsals wore on a band finally formed, until the final lineup consisted of Billy Cross (Lead Guitar), Rob Stoner (Bass), David Mansfield (Mandolin, Violin, Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar), Steven Soles (Acoustic Rythm Guitar, Backing Vocals), Alan Pasqua (Keyboards), Steve Douglass (Saxophone, Flute), Bobbye Hall (konga drums and percussion), Ian Wallace (Drums), and Carolyn Dennis, Jo Ann Harris, and Helena Springs on backing vocals.

One interesting thing to note about these rehearsals is that they were recorded and now circulate as a 4-Disc compilation called Rundown Rehearsal Tapes. They offer an interesting look into how the arrangements evolved and there are some songs that didn't make it to the tour at all. Here are a few songs from the rehearsals for ya to listen too :)

Repossession Blues

If You See Her, Say Hello


The Times They Are A Changin


As you can tell Bob was trying out some very different things with his songs, and even throwing in some bluesy cover tunes. Unfortunately just as the band was starting to gel, the first date of the 115-show world tour approached and the band headed off to Japan.

The first leg of the tour consisted of shows in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The first show began at the Budokan on Feb 20th
Interview & Lonesome Bedroom from opening night.


A live album was recorded from two nights at the Budokan. It was initially only supposed to be released in Japan, but prodding from Columbia forced him to release it world-wide. When it was released it was widely panned. Many critics saying it sounded too slick and reminded them of a Las Vegas lounge band. The album is not a very good representation of the tour, but it does have several good songs (Love Minus Zero, Oh Sister, and One More Cup Of Coffee). The band still sounds like they are finding their way into the songs, which Bob would later agree with in an interview.

After the first leg wrapped up Bob and the band headed back to Rundown Studios to fine tune their set list (by the end of the tour the band would know around 80 songs). They also began recording Bob’s next album, Street Legal. Bob unfortunately grew impatient during the recording of the album, and rushed to get it done. The sound of the album suffered because of this. Many people commented that it “sounded like it had been recorded under wet cardboard” I can agree with that too. Thankfully the album was remastered in 2003 and now sounds great.
As the rehearsals and recording continued, anticipation for the upcoming European leg of the world tour was building, especially in England where Bob hadn’t toured since his famous 1966 tour (He did appear at the isle of wight festival in hmm…69 or 70 I believe). Bob’s new album was also being released on the eve of the first concert. Tickets for Bob’s six shows at Earl’s Court in London sold out immediately. On the night of the first concert a carnivalesque atmosphere swept over the huge indoor arena. Reportedly circus performers performed outside the venue. Finally on June 15 at 8:00 pm the lights dimmed and the show began…
Like A Rolling Stone (ok it wasn't the first song of the set, but i found it appropriate)


One newspaper headline the next day screamed "the best concert I've ever seen"
The raves continued over the next 5 nights at Earl's Court.
Love Minus Zero/No Limit


All Along The Watchtower


Forever Young/Times They Are A Changin

After six nights in London, the tour rolled on through Europe, playing in the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Scandinavia.
Baby Stop Crying---Dortmund, Germany


These shows along with Bob's new album received great acclaim in Europe. There was an energy to the European shows missing from the earlier leg of the tour. It's a shame Columbia didn't wait and release a live album from this leg of the tour. Also during this leg Bob took the time to visit many important European landmarks and absorb the culture. The band even traveled on a former Nazi train through Germany. The tour concluded with a return to England and playing to one of the largest crowds of his career at an old airfield. It's usually estimated between 200-250 thousand people attended the show.

Bob and the band then took a 3 month break before the America tour was scheduled to begin in September. They reworked some of the arrangements and learned new material, including some new songs that Bob had written with his new girlfriend in the band, Helena Springs.

Something was different when the tour hit America though. While the band was now top notch, Bob seemed to be growing more and more detached from the songs, (exceptions being the street legal material). The tour finally seemed to be wearing Bob down. There are several reasons that this might have happened. Firstly this tour was 3 times as long as the first two legs, at 65 shows. Bob was playing almost every night of the week for 3 months, and the shows lasted 3 hours. Also while the band had been playing at various, interesting historical venues in Europe, it was just sports arenas in America. The band has said that "grey dull sports arena after grey dull sports arena" started to get to them. Yet another problem was that the whole band got the flu and had to play shows anyway. and finally it was most likely because Bob wanted to simply try something different. American audiences weren't as accepting of Bob's latest incarnation as Europe had been. While Street Legal was critically acclaimed in Europe, it was attacked in America, and his shows were being compared to acts in Las Vegas.
Like A Rolling Stone


At a show in Arizona, someone threw a cross up on the stage. Bob picked it up as the show ended and back in his dressing room Bob found Jesus. Not long after guitarist Billy Cross said that on the tour bus he spied Bob writing the song that would become Slow Train Coming. After this religious experience Bob gained a new energy in the final month in a half of the tour. Bob began telling wild stories before many of his songs, including a bizarre story about a man who could eat a chicken whole. His vocals became fiery, and almost demented sounding. Bob's new enthusiasm eventually reached its zenith at the Charlotte, NC show, which is often sited as the best show of the entire tour.
Changing Of The Guards---Nashville, TN


Finally after a year of frantic activity the tour finally closed ended in Miami, where unveiled the song Do Right To Me Baby, which would be on his next and first Christian album. Band members said after the show talked how he was going to book more shows for the following the year, but they never heard from him again, as he packed up and headed for Sheffield, AL to record his new album Slow Train Coming, and embark on his next tour with a new band.
Gotta Serve Somebody


To this day there is still plenty of debate as to if it was a good tour or not. I will say some arrangements just didn't work, but in the end I think it was a worthwhile experiment and a lot of the big band arrangements still hold up. I guess the reason that the tour has always held my interest is because its so different from every other tour Bob has embarked on. I have a tendency as well to become interested in part's of musicians careers that most people ignore.

And thats all i have to say about that :)