Sunday, November 14, 2010

Between The Lines-Pink Floyd The Wall

Gerald Scarfe
Da Capo Press
2010

"It always amazes me to see the end result of what started as a few scribbles on a piece of paper."-Gerald Scarfe

I am an avid reader. I'll read just about anything but I really enjoy non-fiction. In this new feature on the blog, I will give quick capsule reviews of books that focus on rock and roll.

I stumbled upon this lavishly illustrated book and immediately had to have it. As a long time die-hard Floyd fan, I always appreciated the imagery that was so integral to the band and it's music. The man largely responsible for that has finally gathered his work which focuses mainly with various aspects of The Wall productions but also includes insight to all his various associations with Pink Floyd and Roger Waters throughout the years, including the new 2010 touring show of The Wall.

Early drawings of the famous flower sequence that took seven years to complete!

The book is beautifully designed with ideas, sketches, and final results with detailed commentary from the surviving members of the Floyd as well as Alan Parker, the director of the film.
It's incredibly fascinating to see how Waters' and Scarfe's imaginations developed into the crazy visuals that are synonymous with the band.

The initial ideas for the main characters for The Wall.

It's amazing that Scarfe rarely threw anything out and NEVER gave anything away. His archives are exhaustive and many images are presented here for the first time.

One of my favorite sections focuses on his collaboration with Waters on 'The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking' tour.

If you are at all interested in Pink Floyd, I can't emphasize enough that this book is a must.

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