Roger Waters builds The Wall higher with inflated super deluxe
Fans won’t miss the irony. Pink Floyd‘s The Wall is an album that deals with isolation and alienation and was famously performed live in 1980 with a physical division (a literal wall) being built between audience and band.
The Wall, as performed live by Roger Waters between 2010 and 2013 is being released on audio and video formats, but yesterday a super deluxe edition was announced that is so expensive that it really does divide the Us and Them. The barriers have come up again and while Waters isn’t literally spitting at his audience anymore, perhaps in this inflated, grotesque and overblown package fans might find a kernel of the same disdain.
The super deluxe contains four 180g coloured vinyl records, a book, two CDs and three blu-rays and costs $500 plus taxes and shipping.
To put that in perspective Waters thinks him performing his old band’s album live has the same worth as every note Bob Dylan recorded in 1965 and 1966.
There are some exclusive elements here such as “a new documentary about the making of the tour” and “The Simple Facts – A Conversation with Nick Mason and Roger Waters” on blu-ray although “only available in this package, the brand new score by Roger Waters, and the full live soundtrack” is a confusing statement that hints as something unique, without actually explaining it.
But let’s be clear, you can buy the special edition two-disc blu-ray, the 3LP vinyl set and the two CD edition separately for $82. So the premium of $418 buys you the book and some fancy packaging (“Hand applied graphics. Each set is unique”). In perhaps the most ridiculous piece of music marketing ever, the official site boasts that this set is “5 1/2 feet when fully open” and “weighs 25 Ibs”. Whoopee Doo. When you have to start boasting about size and girth you know you’re in trouble.
The good news is that those who’ve already pre-ordered some of the individual sets won’t have to cancel to pre-order the super deluxe because it’s a ridiculous proposition. Preposterous.
Let’s face it it’s not even the real deal. Yes, Waters wrote most of it, but he didn’t perform it originally, Pink Floyd did. So a $500 price-tag for a live covers album? I don’t think so.
You can read more about the super deluxe edition of Roger Waters The Wall here (and pre-order if you should so wish). It will ship in January.
- 4 discs of 180 gram audiophile vinyl in red, white, clear and black, with a unique engraving.
- 170 page full colour hard cover book showcasing live and behind the scenes images from the 2010-2013 tour and the film.
- 2 CDs containing the full live soundtrack
- 3 Blu-ray discs containing the full feature length film and bonus features:
The Simple Facts – A Conversation with Nick Mason and Roger Waters
A new documentary about the making of the tour
Buenos Aires Time Lapse
Athens Time Lapse
A Visit to Frank Thompson
Facebook Films (36 mini episodes)
Comfortably Numb Live at The O2 with special appearance by David Gilmour
Outside The Wall Live at The O2 with special appearance by David Gilmour and Nick Mason - Download code for digital versions of all music included in the package
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MINE CAME SIGNED LOVE PETE TOWNSHEND -AS ROGER GOT BORED SIGNING THEM AND GOT CREATIVE IN SIGNING THEM AFTER AWHILE- STILL ITS AMAZING BOX SET WELL WORTH THE %500 IF YOUR A ROGER/WALL FAN AS I AM
Paul, have you seen THIS?
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/will-you-purchase-the-new-roger-waters-the-wall-super-deluxe-edition.474266/page-6#post-14478290
Arrived this morning. Had to pay the UPS guy £25.60 in import duty. :(
Thought that was all covered in the original cost – hell it was expensive enough.
Rather heavy BTW.
The inner cover of the book is signed ‘Love Roger’. But no XXXs
So its 23 may and still not received this boxset,has anyone actually received theirs???
Anyone actually seen a review of this anywhere?
Has anyone here actually got one? Did they ship in January as planned?!
No,they didnt ship in january,was put back to march,,its now may and still nothing
putting the 2 set cd “is there anyone out there
(livewall80-81) on 1 audio blue ray. and also have a random feature at the main menu. in this day and age using 1 audio dvd
of the wall is better then a 2 cd set.(just the music. no extras.so the random works)lets move on from 2 cds set.1 disc better.
I bought a copy for myself – almost got 2. Cheers
Most of the comments are – imho – really ridiculous. These posts are showing clearly the disappointment of those who cannot afford the box. The outcry is just big because most of you would like to buy it basically but it’s too expensive for you. OK, that’s understandable. But note, those fans who can effort this edition are just buying the box – period – and they do not complain. Don’t be naive and believe that nobody will buy the box due to the 500 bugs. I am pretty sure, that this box will be sold out pretty soon – and if you try to get one of those later, you will have to pay much more on ebay… On the other hand, there are enough alternative you may buy to enjoy the film and the music – so what is the problem really? I am looking forward to get two of the boxes in January – and I have a big smile on my face as I write this… Now I know that I’ll own something really special! :-)
The problem is that there is at least one exclusive disc of potentially interesting material that few fans are going to buy seeing that the other discs in the box can be had for much less money independently. It’s like buying a planet for a goldmine.
It seems to me that signing each copy has in fact pushed this boxset into even MORE rarified territory than it was before (maybe that’s the point?)
I expect Mr Waters sees this as a mere blip and it probably won’t affect his sales negatively. And one man/woman’s £15 is another’s £1500.
I see that there has been an amendment to the details on this set:
They are now all signed by Roger Waters
There are 3,000 been made (I think that’s a very ambitious number)
However, there has been no change to the price.
Interesting, thanks! Wonder if that was in response to the negative feedback from SDE readers!
I would like to think it is in response to all the negative feedback, not just here, but pretty much everywhere. It’s a step in the right direction but not nearly enough in my opinion. Next step I would like to see would be at least a 50% reduction.
Yes, this is called “Piracy and torrent support”. I do not think Mr. Waters can have this of his own head and mind. 1.5mio USD turnover is generally peanuts, but prevents majority of fans to enjoy all of his work. I would spend 200USD without even an eye blink. But this is ridiculous.
Adam says:
I think it’s fair that if rock stars are asking a lot from us monetarily, we should be able to ask a lot from them artistically.
You and Robert Fripp in a room together would be a YouTube worthy event.
I’m sorry to say I’m not quite sure what you’re referencing, exactly. I assume Mr. Fripp would disagree with me, but it would be interesting to know how, exactly. (Besides, I sincerely doubt I could hold my own on the subject of art with Mr. Fripp – you would definitely be asking for your time back.)
To be clear, I believe fully that from a purely artistic perspective, artists don’t owe anyone but themselves anything. I would never deign to tell Mr. Waters or Mr. Fripp what kind of music to make, or what kind of packaging it belongs in. But once the art becomes an object that the artist wants to sell, once the artist decides to enter the world of commerce, there necessarily exists a negotiation between the artist and the consumer.
My statement above is qualified with an “if”. We do not have the right to ask anything artistically of the artist in a vacuum. Once there is product, though, the question of value for money necessarily arises, and if the artist wants a lot of money for their artistic product, the artist should expect that we may question the value (artistic or financial) of that product.
It is clear that the general consensus on this message board is that money being asked for does not match the artistic value of the product on offer, and a number of people have offered their reasons why. Those who have decided to buy it are either being silent, or (in the case of Martin above) simply asserting that it does meet their artistic expectations. They don’t owe us a “why,” but it would make this conversation more interesting if they provided one.
Well, yes, Mr. Waters can choose to sell whatever he wants at whatever price he wants. And, yes, all of us can choose not to buy it if it doesn’t seem worth it.
In this case, I think the outrage is caused by a few factors:.
1. Yet another version of the Wall.
2. Most of this stuff is available in the far cheaper video and audio sets.
3. The price difference between those sets and this one is pretty vast, to be fair. And what you actually get for that price difference is….packaging? Hey, this is why I went with U2’s “super” deluxe set of Achtung Baby, rather than the “uber” deluxe one. Packaging can be nice, but it’s rarely worth paying for on its own without some content of value to go with it. In U2’s case, the packaging seemed to be worth about $200. In this case, it appears to be over $400. The reason I like Roger Waters is the music he makes, not the boxes he chooses to put that music in.
4. Waters’ own socialist-leaning political views make a money grab like this a little harder to swallow. Heck, the show itself features dollar signs being dropped from military jets. There were already some mental gymnastics involved to pay triple digits on concert tickets, much less $500 for this thing that’s supposedly critical of capitalism.
And just one other minor point here–for all that money, you STILL can’t watch just the concert, without the interstitial stuff? That’s almost perverse.
Anyway, no sale for me. I may still get that Blu-Ray set–but I wish I could just watch the concert, and it wouldn’t have cost much to include the audio CDs in it, too. But as I stated elsewhere, if I have an interest in just listening to a live version of the Wall, the Pink Floyd version from 1980-81 is probably all I’ll need.
The reason why people are so upset because of the price is just that they like to buy it in general and maybe thought they can buy it for 100 bucks.
Now we know what “super deluxe” mean: it’s unnecessary, luxurious, looks nice, is heavy (maybe because of the quality of the materials used – therefore I disagree with the author: it IS important to know that this box weights that much), it comes with some nice specials and it will cost 500,- USD.
So what? Don’t buy it. Buy the Blu-ray or the DVD and/or the vinyls – all affordable alternatives.
People who can afford the box, may not be commenting this or complaining that loud, they just going to order the box. (Like me – to be honest, I ordered two boxes). Do not expect that your whining will change the price tag.
You’re buying two. That indicates you don’t really think it’s worth $500; you are speculating that you’ll be able to sell the second one for more than what you paid for it to defray the cost of the first one. I wish you good luck with that endeavor – the rest of us are just jealous we can’t afford to take a chance like that.
That said, I think that given the audience of this website (people who think that well-designed deluxe physical packages are worth a premium price), it’s an interesting discussion over what people think is worth spending money on. I’ve spent well over $500 on product and concert tickets involving Mr. Waters’ various enterprises over the years, and I think many of us might be inclined to do so on a deluxe package of some sort. What the comments here indicate is that, for most of us, this does not even remotely resemble that package.
(And to the previous commenter, the “exclusive score” may or may not be an “important musical element,” there’s not really enough info to say.)
I think it’s fair that if rock stars are asking a lot from us monetarily, we should be able to ask a lot from them artistically. From my perspective, and clearly many others’, the artistic value of this box doesn’t justify the price. Feel free to disagree; that’s what these comment areas are for. I’d love to hear why you think it’s worth $500. Maybe it will change my mind, who knows?
Honestly I don’t understand all the outrage. If he had made important musical elements unique to this silly boxset then I could understand the disappointment but you can have basically everything but the bloated packaging without spending this ridiculous amount.
What’s the problem if some people with more money than sense want to buy it? Or do you think that Roger Waters is denying your right to collect any stupid thing that relates even remotely to your musical heroes of 40 years ago?
Well, guess what? You have no such right.
Let me start off by saying I couldn’t care less about this package one way or another.
However, scrolling through all these “outraged” comments is about the funniest thing this side of a punctuation debate about a listing over on the Discogs forum. A few pertinent points, then.
1. This ENTIRE SITE is devoted to things that, 8 or 9 times out of 10, the item purchases WILL ALREADY HAVE in some form or another. So for all you people who are so blustery over the price of this thing, I would be absolutely FASCINATED at your math skills when it comes to justifying how it is you’ve bought the exact same material god knows how many times again and again, in a different “format”.
2. It is mostly funny, but also really pretty sad, that so many people keep laying this at Roger’s feet. Yeah, let’s think about this for a minute. Doesn’t Roger Waters seem like the kind of guy to you who sits around in his spare time devising deluxe packages, and then figuring out how much he can charge for it? Well, obviously, to most of you, he does. Which takes us back the first statement of this paragraph.
3. This package (just like EVERY package this place covers) was, I can assure you, METICULOUSLY researched by whoever it is (aside from Roger) that’s actually going to make money on this. They know how many they’re going to sell, they know how many they’re going to manufacture, and they’ve already got plans for how they’re going to spend that money. I’m sure they’ll be absolutely GUTTED that none of you fine folks blabbering on here are going to be purchasing it. That is, if they didn’t already have all of the above mentioned parameters well worked out and locked down.
4. And finally, to everybody that thinks this is such an outrageous travesty – fear not. They’re also watching other artists, and planning similar packages, at price points you WILL fork (or bend) over for. So the fact that you’re not the millennial or post-boomer robot with money to burn on this one is neither here nor there. This is for them, not you. You’ll soon get your turn on another fine piece of product that your bank account can tolerate. So here’s a napkin – take care of that spittle on your chin, there. It really doesn’t become any of you.
It’s amazing how far up his own ass Roger’s head seems to be. First he releases a hybrid documentary/concert rather than standalone concert…and now this. If this was the 1980 show signed by David, Rick, Nick, and Roger then I would consider shelling out that kind of money for this.
For those saying “simple, don’t buy it”, that’s not the point. He goes WAY out of his way to despise the capitalism that has made him rich beyond anybody’s wildest dreams. I’ve never understood the Liberal/Socialist “artist” types.
What do you expect from a hard socialist.
Still waiting for a Pink Floyd surround sound mix. Not his interpretation of a masterpiece.
The Gall!
I agree with the comments if you don’t want to by it at the inflated price, i totally agree with the above thoughts as they say you don’t have to by it, so true on that front and by the looks of it no one will! Some of the comments are hilarious, as the above thoughts if you think it’s worth it
don’t purchase it easy so true, but one great thing you can still give your opinion like 86 other comments and as you say there is no harm in that is there? Didn’t think so.
I own “the Wall” in 5 variations:
1) the studio album
2) the Berlin version
3) the Floyd live version
4) the Immersion box
5) the Wall motion picture
Honestly what I wanted was a 5.1 High Res Blue Ray version of the studio album.
Better yet a 5.1 surround sound edition of Animals.
I loved the new concert but as Nick himself pointed out, the latest concert is pretty faithful to the studio album.
So … go to it Mister Waters … give us another remake. F$&k it to death.
You are going to need the cash when your latest divorce settlement goes through.
GR
Hey guys, if you don’t think it is worth it, don’t purchase it. Wow, that was easy. – Peace.
Exactly! I mean, why discuss anything, ever??????
I think this has come down in price it was £19.99 I think now £14.99!
http://amzn.to/1GvDgjU
“It will ship in January.”
But to whom?
Hi, Limited? 500? Who knows? greetings h. mutzel
Completely agree. Someone somewhere has completely misread the market and is I suspect aiming for the same market as the Genesis Publications books. Sadly he has missed. I might have paid as much as one of the immersion box sets for this as I’m a big fan and saw the show but $500? No chance.
Maybe he needs the money to fund his BDS campaign?
Is that all he’s charging, is there a chance i can spit on the price, or i guess
that’s going a little overboard i do apologize for my over the top comment
i really should have been a little more circumspect, slightly over inflated
price you would have to say? Could that actually be like his ego? I must admit The Wall was a fave album of mine & I am with you Phil no marbles
included! Now as the release date will be getting closer by the day, the chances of a “bargain” price? Or Zeppelin suggested “The Song Remains
The Same” um i just might give that a miss!
Each man has a price Rog
And yours is pretty high
Still cheaper than a VIP package to one of the shows (probably)!
Sorry Mr Waters, I cannot resign myself to:
-Buy the 500$ 3 Bluray edition box. It’s too expensive. Who do you think I am ?
-Buy the stand-alone Bluray version, because it has only 2 Blurays so some audiovisual material is missing. Why should the richer man get the whole cake while the poorer has to feast on the crumbs ? Doesn’t the latter deserve to enjoy the complete experience too or do you consider the poor to be a lesser fan because his bank account isn’t big enough ? I won’t buy an incomplete product, knowing that a more complete edition is available (even though it’s out of reach). Who do you think I am ?
I am therefore obliged to NOT buy any version of your new release because the version I want does not exist (i.e. just the 3 blurays with the full audiovisual experience). I really wanted to tho, …… but this is your call. I suggest you add two letters to the name of your show from now on to a more accurate:
ROGER WATERS
THE
WALLET
I am Amused to Death!!
A further thing on this. The actual content doesn’t ship until 2016. So you pay an over the top price for the supposed super version, but if you want the content when everyone else gets it you have to then go and buy the standard version
Wrong on so many levels
But you do get a “”Save the Date” folio that contains 2 art prints” aka a glorified IOU
I don’t know if it’s fair to call Mr. Waters hypocritical. It’s been pretty obvious over the years that he’s not above charging a premium for much of his material. Many artists cop an anti-consumerist stance while selling high-priced music and concert tickets, and I think it’s mostly fair as an artistic statement.
I think it is also fair to say that this isn’t even remotely Mr. Waters’ best material that he’s trying to exploit here. You could buy all three Immersion boxes, plus whatever the cost of the eventual 5.1 PF “The Wall” comes out to be, plus one of the pricier formats of Amused To Death, and you’d still have nearly $100 left over. And you’d have FAR higher-quality material than this.
Eric, I don’t think many people would care if the Rolling Stones or KISS were making a $900 box set with stickers placed on the box by Gene or Mick themselves. Everyone knows those bands are in it for the money.
The issue people have is Roger’s holier than thou stance on consumerism and the subject of the product itself. It’s well documented that Roger felt disconnected from the fans when he wrote The Wall. It’s just a bit comical to come out with a $500 box.
May be worth it….
Is there a version of the gig where Waters doesn’t provide narcissistic drivel between songs – I’d pay for that.
Can the team that edited Jar Jar out of Star Wars do the for the Wall?
Reminds me of his overpriced signature model Fender P Bass. Paying extra for Rog’s name alone. Besides the only way it would truly be a Waters Signature model is if it handed itself over to your band’s more talented guitarist to play the hard parts for you.
This is a box set that goes all the way up to 11…..
You know, the handful of music executives that are still managing to hang onto their jobs just cannot help themselves. I have no doubt that the people who made this pricing decision (because, no matter how egomaniacal Mr. Waters may be, someone at the top still had to sign off on this pillage job) are part of the same braintrust who decided, back in late 90’s, that the list price for a new compact disc could justifiably be raised to just over $20. I managed a small compact disc-only shop from 1988 to 2003 and, let me tell you, when times were good, I was routinely reading interviews in Billboard with record executives who would breathlessly spout how the industry was cheapening their product by selling it too CHEAPLY. Is it any wonder that the moment the general population (I’m not including us, of course!) found themselves presented with Napster that they leapt on the chance to steal?
But, has the wheezing remains of the industry learned? Absolutely not.
Here we are in the tail-end of 2015 and the few executive/weasels left standing are STILL doing their best to fleece those of us who still truly care about physical product out of every last cent that we have to spend. What I’m feeling is not so much abuse as it is a total bewilderment at how they fail to recognize how self-defeating their behavior is.
I mean if it had have been signed by the man himself, may have given it a little bit of thought, but still … Eye watering price for a ‘deluxe’ edition with minimal content … My shelf and wallet says ‘No’.
Are people outraged? Most people find it hilarious do they not?
Wha-haha….
There are no words.
Remember Roger’s dedication in the RADIO K.A.O.S.-booklet? “This record is dedicated to all those who find themselves at the violent end of monetarism”. Way to go, Roger!
I thought of that quote too – Roger clearly has no problem with monetarism if it ends up in his wallet…
Well you have choice. Buy it or don’t. But one thing for sure is just shut up about it. I own an Audi TT but how I would love an Audi R8. After all they are both cars with 4 wheels but one is slightly more special. I think you know where I’m going with this.
Surely this is a test, to see just how far the buyers of physical product can be pushed!
Waters is milking his PF past because his solo career went nowhere.
What a load of tosh, he was and still is the member who made them what they were
I won’t be purchasing…but the level of sanctimonious drivel in some of these replies is a bit much… Guess what folks, you don’t have to buy it! You can still get your copies of the concert…Act outraged over something worth getting outraged about.
Big fan of Pink Floyd except for the what-for,bitter, angry, depressing Wall. This outrageous price continues the theme of disdain and downright meanness. IMHO, of course.
Good thing they included the length; my shelf is only 5′ long. Whew, saved myself $500+ right there!
People always exaggerate the length of their shelf…
Is Roger having a laugh? I guess he needs a new yacht or something.
As Paul said, to do this for the Wall of all releases in the history of mankind is irony of ironies.
I don’t have the Money for this, I’ll stick with the cd and 2 blu-ray sets although I’m going to miss the extra blu-ray. Why keep a making of the tour documentary exclusive for the 17 people who will buy this ?
1500 people to be precise and so glad I got one
For that price I would have expected it to include one of the actual bricks from the tour. (Autographed, of course.)
I paid about $400 less to see it live. And the $25 tour program was very nice.
Wow I don’t think I’ve ever read so many self-declared Waters fans saying that they’ll be avoiding this one. Perhaps folks are hoping that their Sinificant Others will buy it for them for Christmas!
I don’t understand why a double album in 1979 has mutated into a quadruple album in 2015…
Well said Paul! I used to have a lot of respect for Roger but no more. He has revealed himself to be just another greedy capitalist…..or should that be champagne socialist?
For that price, he might have thrown in a couple of discs of the Scissor Sisters covering the entire album.
A nice move should have been Roger launching a survey “The SDE is going to cost you $ 500 and it will contain the following: (list of features). What do you want more?”…my hope is that they see the reactions and adjust the box content…or it will be a historical flop!
(in my experience) fans that follow one artiste (or more) and are determined to have every release in every variation from acetates & test pressings to mock up sleeves and the like (and that’s one of the great things about record collecting) when faced with something that they cannot afford (or justify the expense) almost immediately lose interest in collecting that artiste simply because they won’t have a COMPLETE collection anymore and from then on only buy one variant of each release… result = major loss of sales.
Someone has already said OWN GOAL.
Ditto!
The only Thing I have to say about this is : Why Roger?! Why?!
No marbles = no purchase!
Seriously though, wtf Roger? The Wall is good but not That Good. I am a massive fan, however I never bought the Wall immersion box simply because no 5.1 hi Rez version was in it as honestly snippets of demos are not something you’d ever listen to more than a couple of times. This is the 3rd live version to be released (4th if you count the re-released wall 90 SACD etc). Yet still no sign of the original Pink Floyd 1980 video. Do yourself a favor Roger and do your new film (with 2 versions with/without road trip footage) and the 1980 Earls Court live Wall Pink Floyd film… that is what the real fans want, oh and the 5.1 SACD etc of the wall album would be very nice too!
It must be a misprint and should say $100, then I might pull the trigger.
Just give me a 5.1 version, and then I can be done.
It goes without saying – I want a 5.1 of the ORIGINAL studio album, without overdubs and added doo-wops.
Thank you Mr. Waters.
I’m a big Pink Floyd fan but never really got into the wall.
I’m still hoping for immersion sets of some of their earlier albums.
No 5.1 mix of the original wall album was the final deal breaker.
I didn’t know Roger waters was broke and needed the money so bad.
HEHE
You summed that up perfectly Paul…well said!!
The Pixies box from a few years ago was even worse than this. Same price for the studio albums not remixed or remastered and a bunch of silly art. This is ridiculous but The Pixies set the bar so high it may never be surpassed.
To be fair, for that price you also got all the albums in 5.1, plus a live concert, plus it was signed by all members of the band. And the same content was available much cheaper, minus the vinyl, extra book, and signatures, so I don’t think it tops this one.
No, the most ridiculous box set was Björk’s Biophilia box with the tuning forks in it for $800. I’m about the biggest Björk fan you’ll find, but even I thought that was insane.
That Super Deluxe Edition price has made me feel uncomfortably numb.
Goodbye Real world….
The Wall is my most loved album- in part because in 1979 I was a teenager and finding my way in the world, and I’d listen to the album for hours and hours on end, and it always brings me back to those days.
It’s the one album I associate with more than any other, even still today.
I bought an original vinyl press in 1979, have a few others since then, a cassette version, at least 2 versions on CD, a vinyl re-issue from some years ago, the old film on betamax (saw it many times in the cinema), a Japanese Gold CD version, 2 of the recent presses on vinyl, the immersion set, the recent single box in vinyl, concert programs from both 1980 and 1981, the ISAOT CD, a bootleg ’81 vinyl from Earls Court…and I saw Roger a few times at the O2 and saw the film at the cinema when it was shown 2 weeks ago.
After the recent re-release of Amused to Death (whilst it was 2 years delayed, it was a really outstanding effort) I was looking forward to buying The Wall live, and expecting something special. However this ‘special’ edition is a joke… not only does it not really offer anything new that anyone wants (for example the live footage of the ’81 Earls Court shows that are available) it’s not due for delivery until 2016, it’s only available from the USA (so that’s another $150+ for tax and postage) it’s totally pointless, and the cost is absolutely obscene.
Sorry, if I’m not even gullible enough to buy it then that says it all.
insanity of this “offer” is one thing. The mediocre quality of the musical performance is another reason, why I am not very keen on buying any CDs or vinyls. I ordered the blue ray because I was very impression by the visual performance I had the chance to see twice in the recent tour. The musical performance was predictable from start to end, even Snowy Whites guitar solos. I wouldn’t pay 20 Euros extra for the audio material.
While The Wall, as performed by Roger Waters in 1990 and recently, was interesting it has never come close to the Pink Floyd performances for me. Having bought the Immersion box all I really want is a 5.1 mix and I will then consider my Pink Floyd The Wall music collection complete.
I hope nobody orders this so it sends a message to the people producing this overpriced, underwhelming, piss-taking crap.
As Paul said earlier, James Guthrie has confirmed the original album of The Wall in 5.1 is his next project.
http://www.soundbard.com/soundbard/perfect-surround-sound-sense-james-guthrie-on-mixing-roger-waters-and-pink-floyd-in-5-1/
It’s in the last few paragraphs but the whole interview is worth a read for Floyd/Waters fans.
Thanks for that interview – I am SO in for the surround Wall in high resolution!
Yes, after the (deserved) vitriol on this page, it’s a refreshing reminder of why we actually like Floyd and Waters.
Makes the US $150 I paid for a signed copy of the Here Comes the Nice
box set look like a pittance.
This is so obscene, I’m actually contemplating canceling my order for just the Blu-ray. I saw the show live and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I guess those memories will have to suffice. This is really a poke in the eye.
For $500 he couldn’t even be bothered to sign it? Yeesh.
Oh yes he has and what a great piece of memorabilia it is, so glad I own one
I’m a big Pink Floyd fan, have all of the boxes etc. I won’t be buying this. Not beacuse I cannot afford it, but out of sheer principle. This box set is an abomination and an insult to music lovers. RW’s site does not even detail the box’s contents by way of a track list (i.e. there’s even no way of knowing what exactly any exclusive content would be)! This is not about music anymore, all the more about greed and ego. A real disappointment and let down, this one. I ordered the deluxe blu-ray edition, the Japanese double Blu-spec2 cd release and the triple vinyl for just over a 100,- euro total delivered. That will be all I need this time around.
No wonder Gilmour couldn’t stand him.
David Gilmour is doing exactly the same with ” The endless river” and live at Pompeii
Have to admit I’d expect an interactive wall mountable art installation for that price. Or at least a ticket to a concert. In fact a small intimate meet & greet for purchasers of this might add to the definable value. I’m all for the industry seeing what’s possible but when the audio recording of the concert is many, many times the cost of seeing the gig a few times then it takes a bit of adjusting on the scale of the late Steve Jobs famous ‘reality distortion field’.
If nothing else, hopefully this represents the last drop of milk that Waters attempts to wring from the cash cow that is The Wall. I mean, great album and all, but move on already.
It won’t be because James Guthrie has confirmed he’s working on the 5.1 of the album ‘next’…
He’s not done milking the cow. The stage production of The Wall is set to premiere in London and then Broadway.
I think I can feel one of my turns coming on…
“When you have to start boasting about size and girth you know you’re in trouble.”
Haha. This one gave me a laugh and thank you for that because the handling of this new Wall show has been pretty absurd from top to bottom.
I was totally behind Waters “re-imagining” the concept to be more universal and bringing the social commentary to the forefront of the “sad rock star” who was front and center in the original. Cool stuff.
…And then this production, which was supposed to be LESS about Waters himself comes out on Blu-ray in movie form with, you guessed it, MORE footage of Waters interrupting the show. Ugh… Ok, Rog, maybe I’ll still give it a shot. After all, I’ve enjoyed your work before (yes, even Radio K.A.O.S.). Why should this time around be any different?
Oh… a super deluxe with hand-applied (i.e. “You did it wrong, Francis!”) artwork that offers no new content for the cost of multiple payments on a car… Keep whining about the have-nots, Rog. Maybe they’ll feel your sympathy if you mope extra hard over the creme brulee tonight…
Seriously, this is a… yeah, this is a botched campaign and – sad though it probably sounds – rather hurts my impression of Mr. Waters after all of his moralizing and posturing. True, nobody HAS to buy this, but what’s the point of a universal message a fair chunk of your fanbase would have to pirate in order to hear? I really wanted to think that this release was just something I didn’t like because it was “different,” but no. It’s really starting to look like a massive comedy of errors. Shame too.
Thanks for the heads up in any event, Paul.
This box set is not even numbered and signed? The NIN Ghost I-IV Ultra deluxe Box set was also over-prized, but it was all in all a nice collectors item. But this one…. a real shame.
Oh yes it is, I’ve got one and it is a great piece of work, autographed and numbered.
There are only 2 copies of this available and Roger is including one of his little fingers in each.
Disgusting comment.
Have to agree with Jim’s comment. Those in charge need to understand that CD/Blu Ray buyers still hold the majority in the market place. Leaving this one off the list just as I did the ridiculous Goldfrapp/Tales Of Us box set. That cost $140 to get to Australia and all because they put the damned vinyl in it. I’d love to know just how many people shell out for these overpriced items. To deluxe edition designers reading this, please, Please sell the vinyl separately.
WOW! I was looking forward to this announcement, and am frankly, disgusted with this. In what world could that blatant price gouging be justified? The Pink Floyd Immersion Edition box sets, whilst the price seemed to me to already be unreasonable, they were though great purchases* and I have had much enjoyment from them, and have content not available elsewhere.
*THIS*, however, as people have said, one has little reason to buy for the extra content, but it’s nice to have a nice, comprehensive box set. I can afford this, but I will not be buying it (both on the principle, and because it’s not anywhere near close to value for money).
Disgusting behavior, Mr Roger Waters! Paul, I couldn’t agree more with your comments.
I’ll stick with the BluRay (2 disc) plus the CD (I would have liked a combo of those two, but, hey…) I already have on pre-order, which I jumped at the chance of buying, after having seen the film in the cinema the other week.
Makes you think that the industry deserves the bittorrenting that goes on, when stuff like this is happening…
Very disappointing.
* – didn’t buy The Wall Immersion as it didn’t have any hi-res/multi-channel content.
I’m a fan of Floyd and Waters specifically. I leapt on the multichannel releases of all including David Giulmour’s latest and the super secret multifun release of “On an Island” included in the Gdansk set. Now then…this set would surely provide my line of credit with a proper rodgering…
But wait…all of a sudden the Steve Hackett “Premonitions” set makes fiscal cents! So there’s that…
Thank you Rodger…I will enjoy the double blu-ray and double cd set immensely AND the Steve Hackett set guilt free…
I’ve been a fan of Pink Floyd and The Wall as a performance piece for a long time and saw this new show in Manchester. The graphics on the wall were well done but I still much prefer the Pink Floyd performances on The Wall studio and live album over the new interpretation.
I am not impressed by this box set for many reasons, most of which you have rightly observed and I particularly don’t like paying over the odds for multi-format releases as I personally have no use for vinyl. The Division Bell box also suffered from that in terms of content and price.
I will stick with the £20 Deluxe Bluray and £15 CD. I don’t feel I am missing out on anything either and as the rest of the box seems to be mainly design related I will view pictures of it online and probably get the same experience as seeing the physical product.
Any idea what this is? : the brand new score by Roger Waters
Roger’s marketing managers and accountants would have calculated that at $500 there would be a lot of people stupid enough to part with their hard earned for this set. THAT is the brand new score by Roger Waters!!
Total price for UK customers including shipping, vat, customs costs etc…… Just under £500
Absolutely shocking price for a music box set with contents to the value of approximately £100 (and I think that’s been on the generous side)
I think this is pretty similar to the Scratch My Back super deluxe box Peter Gabriel released in 2010. I think that one was close to $400 as well, and that only contained two cd’s and a coloured vinyl with some over the top packaging, the usual ‘art print’ etc. And I bought it :-)
$500 is too much as I’m not THAT big a fan of Floyd or Waters (even though I have most of the usual albums on my shelf etc). But I love the look of the thing! Such a shame it’s just a live album of almost 40 year old music. I wonder what he’ll think up when his long-announced new solo material launches (if it ever will).
At first I assumed he had re-recorded the entire album himself again, but I think somewhere else it is noted that the ‘exclusive score’ is the actual score to the movie – e.g. probably instrumental background music.
At least the Gabriel piece had something in it that was hand numbered and signed. (And it contained a USB with two differently-mixed 24/96 versions of the album.)
For $500 plus shipping and taxes (for those of us in Blighty, where Waters comes from, and where he established his career), this really is taking the piss, and I can’t see many taking this one up.
I’d love to know the eventual order figures. A few tens maybe? Unless I win millions on the Lotto, I can’t see me ever buying this. I might have been willing to have a punt if it were £100 or so but this is just outrageous.
A massive miscalculation of the part of someone (Sony?)
I’ll wait until the hyper deluxe Edition is released. Only 125,000 GBP for a “Best of The Wall live” CD-Single, a Reprint of an autograph by Waters’ assistant and a full set of large white bricks to build your own wall, about 900 ft long and 50 ft high.
… mortar and trowel not included tho’
I like your style Paul… made me chuckle.
I’m in total agreement with you.
This is outrageous. Feels a bit like… “oh lets think of a price and double it!”
Wow, the full 66″ inches worth.
Some folks will buy these, im not sure why but they will.
Maybe its a ironic statement on the nature of consumerism ?
But er… thats a big maybe.
i’ll have two please.
When I saw this announced, and saw the price, I scrolled down fully expecting the S(SS)DE to be signed by Mr Waters – it isn’t – for $500 …. blimey ….
I’d preordered the special edition Bluray and the CDs, but was eagerly looking forward to this with a mind to cancelling my existing orders. When I saw the contents, I was delighted – and then I saw the price tag. Adding insult to injury, it ships from the US only, so UK customers have an extra $100 for shipping, doubtless with customs charges on top, and a pretty high likelihood that it’ll arrive damaged anyway.
From an artist who has made a career of his socialist principles, this is a sick joke.
Oh, and in spite of including a third Bluray, Waters has still failed to include a version of the concert without the documentary inserts. If he’d done that, I’d be tempted to pay for it, but presumably our Rog’s ego wouldn’t permit the fans to just enjoy the concert without his sermonising…
Don’t sit on the fence Paul
Agree with everything you said Paul.
This is a prime example of the over ambitious, overpriced, bloated box sets real music fans can do without. It’s over £300 for heaven’s sake and you can buy pretty much everything in it individually for far as you rightly point out.
I am yet to meet anybody who wants to pay extra for the vinyl in sets like this when they actually want the CD/Bluray/DVD and nice packaging. I wish a dividing line could be drawn between the vinyl enthusiasts and those that want the other formats.
It’s an art piece with the associated, pointless flamboyancy and costs, masquerading as a music box set and I will be more than happy with the individual CD and Bluray releases. I still much prefer the original The Wall studio album and Is There Anybody Out There live albumshowever, over this modern day influenced performance.
Jim, above, notes that “t’s an art piece.” I’d argue exactly the opposite: This isn’t Art (it isn’t even art). It’s commerce, pure and simple.
The idea that “Art” has to be vastly expensive, and luxurious and beyond the reach of mortals is something that so many artists and musicians have pushed against for decades (at least until management mentioned tax bills retirement plans and villas in the Carribbean), and we’ve forgotten that the Art (where one exists) is very often the three minute pop song.
I love a box set, but even I have to admit that this – and several other recent ‘deluxe’ editions – serve no purpose other than scraping more $$$s out of the pockets of a shrinking demographic and into the coffers of the labels management and (finally) artists.
I’m passing on this, cos I picked up “The Wall” on vinyl for a fiver last week in Oxfam.
But the autograph inside the book makes this extra special and only 1500 maybe instead of the original 3000 that was meant to have been made. I have one and it is superb.