When I said a lot of The Wall based released were coming out back in October, this is the big one I was talking about. Not just a big release in terms of scope, but in terms of scale as well. This box set by The Godfatherecords (Casino Records) includes four complete The Wall shows that were performed live by Pink Floyd at The Earl’s Court in London, 1981. In total, they did a five-show run at the venue, but this set includes only the last four dates. These are audience recordings, and the source quality of each one is pretty good. An exciting release to be sure, particular for Pink Floyd “completists”.
As you might imagine, putting together a box set that showcases four full concerts of The Wall wasn’t going to result in a small product. As we know, the studio album itself is a double LP and includes less material than the live versions. Keep in mind that we’re also talking about four complete shows here instead of just one, and it shouldn’t be any surprise to find that this set clocks in at a staggering 10 LP’s. I have to say that so far, I believe this is the largest unofficial box set I have purchased to date. I think the shipping weight was somewhere around six pounds, and when this thing arrived, it was impressive.
The box itself is a real work of art. Like the items contained within, this thing is heavy. It is also well made, and the artwork is well thought out and expertly produced. You really must give this thing a close look to appreciate all the areas of The Wall it covers. The artwork itself is glossy print, and the box is sturdy. As you might imagine, it’s also on the thick side in order to accommodate all those LP’s. I was glad to see that with everything packed in there, there was still enough room for me to add my own new inner sleeves, while leaving the original printed ones safely inside the box.
The ten LP’s themselves come in two different colors: five on pink wax and five on “acid green”. These colors are also translucent, which makes them look extra cool. The box claims that each one is 180g, but I have my doubts about that one. I wouldn’t say the discs are flimsy or anything, but I am almost positive that they weigh quite a bit less than that. Each disc has full color labels that get the job done and help you keep track of where you are in this colossal mound of discs. While the labels also have cool art to match the set, they are not unique. There are a couple designs that are repeated and used throughout.
One of my favorite parts of this set is the fact that each LP comes housed inside a fully illustrated sleeve, complete with artwork from The Wall. Unbelievably, each sleeve is also unique and has a different design. I would say this is an impressive level of dedication for an unofficial release. The only problem with these types of sleeves is that they can be prone to splitting. I read several accounts of people receiving their sets with this type of damage and was holding my breath for the entire month that mine was lost in the mail. When mine finally arrived, it did have some seam splitting, but it was very minor. As a usual practice for me, but certainly in this case, I stored the discs in MOFI sleeves to prevent any further damage. As mentioned previously, these fit inside the box without an issue.
In addition to the nice sleeves, there are also some other extras. These include a replica copy of The Wall tour book, a numbered certificate of authenticity, and a set of liner notes written by Alex the Gnome. The tour book is a top-quality reproduction, and the certificate is also very nice. It’s printed on thick stock, textured certificate paper, and the number matches the hype sticker you’ll find on the outside box sleeve. The liner notes are single sided and have some cool artwork on the opposite side. As always, Alex the Gnome stuff is an interesting read, and is not filler copied from Wikipedia like you find with so many releases these days.
Since this is another occasion where I believe my readers will know the material, I won’t post the set-lists for these concerts. All of them are available on YouTube and for download in the still free parts of the web, and it’s obviously the same set-list for each show. This is The Wall, and while similar, each performance has its own unique features for that evening. These final shows at Earl’s Court are the ones that were recorded to assemble Is There Anybody Out There?, which I have just recently discussed in another post. For me, it’s interesting to hear these concerts individually and then compare them with the final product. Some choices are obvious, but I certainly must wonder how they chose between so many great options for many of these songs.
What I think will really be of value to most people reading this is an actual review of the pressing itself. We already know everything looks great and is manufactured at a high level of quality, but is this set worth the massive price tag? These days on DOTDW, I avoid talking about the price of most things. This is for several reasons, but mainly because cost varies wildly based on where you are at in the world, and who has the item for sale. In this case though, this thing is going to be an investment for most people. When it was initially released, most sellers were asking around 270 to 300 USD, plus shipping costs. Since this thing is so heavy, you could have been looking forward to as much as 50 extra dollars added on to post this thing to you. Not to mention extra taxes and tariffs which are quickly becoming a reality all over the world. These days, now that it’s largely sold out, I’ve seen people charging 400 USD or more for one of these things. So… is it worth it?
The first step you should take if you are looking to determine if this set is for you is to look up the shows from Earl’s Court and take a listen. They do vary in loudness and overall quality. If there are multiple sources, it’s safe to assume that Casino used the best ones available. They are good like that. If you like what you hear and you’d love to have the shows on vinyl, here’s what I can tell you about the quality of the pressing. At least on the box I received.
As usual, I cleaned all ten of the LP’s which obviously took a while. When I got to the green ones, I noticed some type of sticky substance in the grooves. The best way I can describe it is like dried up glue from a glue stick. It wasn’t present on all five of the discs, but I recall it being there on at least three of them. As part of the cleaning system I personally use with my VPI, I had some enzymatic cleaner that took this stuff off after a couple deep cleanings. If you don’t have something like that, I’m not sure what you’d do to get rid of it. With a substance like this, it’s easy to mash it down into the grooves and ruin the disc. I know because I’ve done it before, back when I didn’t know any better. Since I cleaned it off before playing, I can’t say what kind of damage it would have caused to a stylus. My first thought, however, was that I didn’t want anything like that anywhere remotely close to my turntable.
As far as the pressing quality itself, I was disappointed to see that my copy at least, is not Casino’s finest release. Some discs are better quality than others, but starting on Side B of Disc 1, I got some really heavy and distracting clicks and pops all throughout that side. Taking a close look at the wax itself, I was unable to find scratches or any kind of feelable marks that one would normally be associated with this type of noise. I could kind of see some unusual, wavy sections in the vinyl though, and I suspect these might have something to do with the noise I was hearing.
As I listened and sampled around throughout the box, I realized that this is an issue that comes and goes. For a while, everything would be great, and I’d forget about it. Then, suddenly, I was hit with a lot of distracting clicks and pops again. It’s important to mention that nothing skipped or anything like that. The records that are affected don’t seem to be damaged as much as they may have been just a part of a bad pressing. Of course, I only have one set, so I don’t have anything else to compare them to. It’s possible that I just got very unlucky and other people might not have the same problem at all.
If I had received a product like this from a standard retailer, I would have certainly attempted an exchange or a return. When you are buying unofficial products though, these are the kind of risks you take. If something happens to go wrong, there is no one to contact about making things right. In a case like this, you can either cut your losses, or if you are the more dedicated and adventurous type, you can track down another set, spend another 400 dollars and see if that one’s better. I’ll admit that I’ve taken both of these roads before.
If the records are scratched, there is a decent chance that you just got unlucky, and another set will probably be fine. If you have the contacts, you can ask friends who bought the set if they had the same problems as you did, reassess the situation and then decide if you want to take the plunge a second time. If you suspect a pressing defect, like I do with this set, there is a better chance than not that each set will be affected, at least in some capacity. In a situation like this, buying extra sets will probably just result in flushing money down the proverbial toilet.
What are my overall thoughts on Goodbye All You People? Well, if you have read this far, you might be surprised that I don’t regret purchasing the set. It definitely has its problems, but those problems aren’t present throughout the entire set. When it’s good, it’s great, if you know what I mean. Also, a very important factor for me is that there are absolutely no skips on my set. If there were, I’d have probably thrown the thing in the trash, and I’d obviously not have been able to recommend it to you guys on any level in good conscience.
So, in conclusion, here are my final thoughts on this beast of a box set. Packaging and presentation are a solid 10/10. The artwork and production quality are second to none, and in my opinion, better than an official release. Source material? As I mentioned before, you should check this for yourself, but I would give it a 9/10. That is a 9/10 taking into consideration the fact that these are audience recordings. If you expect the audio to be 9/10 compared to a studio recording, you’ll be seriously disappointed. As far as the pressing quality itself, I have to be honest and say it’s about a 6/10. This is unusual for Casino Records, and I’d love to have the chance to hear another one and discover I just got a bad box. I’m not going to spend another 400 dollars though, so if anyone wants to reach out to me through Instagram to talk about it, please feel free.
If you can find one of these at what you consider a fair price (maybe from someone who doesn’t like it or can’t deal with the noise), this could be a good pickup for a serious Floyd collector. If you are cool with excessive vinyl noise, or just skipping the shows all together that have issues, I think you would love the set. If, like me, you just thought the box looked amazing and knew right away you were going to buy it no matter what, I’d say this is also for you. There is no doubt that it looks cool on the shelf and is a rare and intimidating piece that fellow collectors will certainly take notice of. If this one doesn’t sound like something you want to shell out for, I think you might be happier with First and Last Bricks, which I have written about in the past (another title from Casino Records). Whether you decide to go after a copy or not, I wish you better luck than I had!