The Rock Opera Greatness of "The Wall"

In 1979, stadium behemoth Pink Floyd released The Wall, one of the most powerfully influential pieces of rock opera of its time. The Wall went on a massive tour following its release, playing over 30 shows in the US and Europe. Is There Anybody Out There? chronicles the band's live performances at the world-famous Earl's Court in London from 1980 to 1981. If The Wall is your cup of tea, then Is There Anybody Out There? is your cup of tea on steroids.
The album begins where the story takes off: a "surrogate band" (which is referrenced later in the other version of "In the Flesh") playing the faint-of-heart-friendly version of "In the Flesh?" with the real band revealing itself at the conclusion of the dramatic fighter pilot bombing sounds. The show carries on with extended versions of "Another Brick in the Wall, pt. 2" and "Mother", with an alternate version of "Empty Spaces" only heard in the movie Pink Floyd's The Wall, leading into the never before released track "What Shall We Do Now?", with an absolutely magnificent performance of "Young Lust" to follow.
The main character of the story (simply named "Pink") is an alter-ego of bassist Roger Waters, the mastermind behind this brilliant masterpiece of musical bliss. The story captures the hardships Roger went through as a child growing up without ever knowing his father (of whom died in Anzio during World War II in 1944, a year after Roger was born), and the struggles Roger went through as he became a famous musician with a cult following, still unable to cope with the loss of his unknown father.
Like the original album, the live album is separated into two discs: disc one containing Pink's life of hardships of growing up without a father and being tormented in school up until he encloses himself in his own personal wall, with disc two containing the aftermath of Pink's decission to isolate himself from the rest of the world. "Hey You" starts out disc two with an extended guitar solo and a more complex bass riff, leading in the album's title song "Is There Anybody Out There?", where Pink begins to regret his actions of isolation with his continuing quest for human interaction.
His dream continues until "Comfortably Numb", where Pink is then woken up to find that his life has proven to be a less than desirable nightmare. "Comfortably Numb", one of Pink Floyd's most famous and well-known songs, does not disappoint in its spin-chilling entrance of guitarist David Gilmour's vocals in the chorus.
Pretty soon, Pink snaps out of his rut to return to his life of entertaining, which turns into a Nazi-like dictatorship where Pink singles out people in the crowd for their appearance. This sense of pseudo-nazism is bassist Roger Water's indirect comparison to what Pink Floyd has become through their fame and success as musicians: tyrants.
The show continues with Roger asking, "Are there any paranoids in the audience tonight? Is there anyone here who worries about things?" He then continues with his critism of them being "pathetic", where he dedicates the song "Run Like Hell" to those who are constantly looking over their shoulders for the littlest bit of their problems. "Run Like Hell" features the dual vocals of Gilmour and Waters, with an extended and thorough version of the song.
"Waiting for the Worms" then captures the power-hungry surge of Pink's tyrannical adventure, and his loosely based on the Nazi's capture of many European Jews during World War II. Pink is heard shouting orders through a megaphone to round up all "non-believers" and how they're "waiting" for several factors to support their raise up in society, ultimately "waiting for the worms to come." Pink then stops the raid, possibly referrencing the Nazi's defeat in World War II. Pink's hault of operations leads to a confession of his true intentions, where simply wants to go home.
"The Trial" is the thrilling conclusion where Pink stands trial for his crimes against humanity, possibly a referrence to the Nuremburg Trials, where many Nazi officials were found guilty of such dispicable crimes following the events of World War II. All of Pink's ties of the past come back to try him, his mother, his psychotic school teacher, and his kniving ex-wife. Pink says to himself many times that he is "crazy", which loosely referrences Roger Waters' real life struggle with insanity following the huge success of Pink Floyd.
In the End, Pink is sentence to tear down his wall of isolation, and so the show ends.
Is There Anybody Out There? is a brilliant work of art that will inspire as well as open doors to the eyes and minds of those who are otherwise blind. This is a must-have for any fan of music.

Rating: 10 out of 10