Pink Floyd – The Wall

For some reason, my copy has the Columbia info blacked out with pen on the back cover and labels. Maybe the person who bought it hated Columbia Records? Or??? Was this something done by distributors etc.?
Any insight on this?

Wow this pressing sounds incredible. I haven’t heard the TML test pressing that is so often noted and the best sounding but I struggle to think it could sound better than this!

I'd like to provide some insight on this version because I think it's important to share. There are various versions of the pressing that feature different mastering. Copies with TML stamped and the letter "P" in front of the matrix number, for example "PAL-36184-1N," were cut by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab in the United States. Copies with "AL-36184-2A-2HZ:" and without the TML stamp were mastered at the Don Mills facility in Canada. My guess is that TML sent them stampers, and once they were wearing out, they made a new lacquer and new stampers in order to keep up with demand.

I personally have a version that has Doug Sax' mastering on all four sides, and one copy with side one, two, and four mastered at Don Mills. The Don Mills mastering is warm and rich, but it doesn't have the same weight, slam and presence that the TML stamper has. If you are looking to pick up a copy, a pressing with all four sides featuring the TML mastering is the one to get.

So good. I'm very impressed with this release. It's very quiet and incredibly dynamic and spacious. Someone told me Canadian pressings of this album were high quality and this confirms it for me. I'm normally a sucker for chasing down audiophile pressings of every significant album but this one does it for me and was reasonably priced as well.

HUGE sound, quiet with great dynamics, clear sound, and a wide soundstage. Best I've ever heard this album, don't bother with anything else, get a NM or VG+ copy of this and you're set.

Goddamn, this thing hits like a sledgehammer. Good air to the soundstage too, with pin-point imaging. Of course the recording & mix is outstanding, but these LPs sound exceptional.

Absolutely 100/100 album and pressing. Some of the dynamics and sound stage, especially on side 1, are the best I've ever heard. Period. My copy is extremely quiet and clean, so that helps alot. I think you will want a scuff-free copy on a quiet/brooding album such as this one. I would welcome any suggestions of other rock album pressings with this sort of magic.

Buy it.

Sounds crisp and clear! A Nice pressing. The cover is also good quality, but hard to fond un good shape since it is a White cover

This is truly one of the best original pressings that are out there. It’s worth a few extra $$ for a good copy.

You wouldn't think it possible that an album this egotistic could ever work, but because Roger Waters manages to balance on the line between harsh personal introspection and pitiful indulgence so well and so faithfully that The Wall ends up being a 5-star album for me. The character he creates ("Pink") is a character (and at times caricature) and while you get a deep sense that The Wall is semi-autobiographical, it feels largely like a crafted rock opera instead of a vehicle for a rich rock star to pout. And the music is sublime the whole way through, with the music tells as much a story as the lyrics. The Final Cut is a good example of Waters drowning in a deep-end of his own making. The Wall fortunately had a strong enough tether to keep his melancholy from dominating the entire album. The sadness is there, but also the rage, and the surrender. It's one of the most brilliant albums ever written, I'd say. But this is a Roger Waters album with members of Pink Floyd backing him up. This isn't the same band that brought us Dark Side, even if it's all the same members at play.

This Canadian pressing is so wonderfully mastered. It's always reassuring when a first issue was treated with care. No need to necessarily seek out remastered 180 gram, etc., copies if you can find yourself one of these!