An interesting take on a classic: The Wall

Was I that one dimensional in high school? Yes, yes I was...

In high school I was introduced to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and I was entranced. I remember going to the theater to see the movie in 1982 in a chemically altered state. In the years since then, I continued to listen, but mostly I just played the songs I liked the most from the epic double album (Comfortably Numb remains one of my all-time faves).

Then, about 20 years ago, my then boss, Chip Ragan, sent me a cover version of Young Lust by this country/bluegrass artist called “Luther Wright and the Wrongs”.

Holy shit, it was an amazing rendition. A faithful copy, but with a flavor that is undeniably fun.

This spurred me to buy the whole album. They cover all the tunes, with some uplifts, and tweaks that are just amazing.

Better than the original? No. But is it a good adjunct? Oh yeah.

If you like Young Lust, do pick up a copy of the full album.

As to the original? I am not sure it aged well. A few years ago, I found The Wall on a streaming site, so I fired it up, and it was just so meh. I now recognize that it was originally a Roger Waters response to politics that he didn’t like, and it comes across as a sniveling story, not unlike the wall of shit that the Q-Anon followers spew.

Artistically, I enjoy it, but I believe this was the last album with Waters, and I believe that the new Pink Floyd got back to making great music.

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