Disco de Pink Floyd: “Final Cut”

An album with a perhaps somewhat-undeserved reputation, Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut" is listed on the back cover as "A Requiem for the Post-War Dream by Roger Waters, performed by Pink Floyd". This is probably the most accurate way to look at the record, it is a Roger Waters album, with David Gilmour and Nick Mason part of the backing band (keyboardist Richard Wright had been ejected from the band and even Mason's contributions were limited, with a percussionist added and another drummer on the closing track).

The album, like all the Floyd records prior, follows a concept-- intermingling reflections on the then-current world political climate (notably Thatcher's attack on the Falkland Islands) with the story of a soldier coming back from war to find the world quite changed (evidentally parts of this were originally written for "The Wall" to provide backstory for the teacher, who was also a veteran like the protagonist's father). Several themes are reprised a couple times throughout the album, most notably the "what have we done" vocal, which reappears sung or hummed (per suggestion of Nick Mason) throughout the record.

The result is a dense, lyrically-driven album that, like "The Wall" before it, largely abandons the open structures found on previous Floyd records. With Waters firmly in control and pushing his lyrical message, Gilmour's guitar is largely restrained and there's little of the openness and expansive structures of the previous albums. But this isn't necessarily a criticism-- Waters delivers his lyrics with a passion and intensity he rarely reached in the past, and a number of the pieces are superb, particularly when the backgrounds are at their sparsest, letting the lyrics breathe-- "Paranoid Eyes", "Southampton Dock", "The Final Cut" and "Two Suns in the Sunset" are all quite notable. The latter in particular is one of the best lyrics Waters has ever composed.

A couple notes about the remaster-- they've finally corrected the track split between "Southampton Dock" and "The Final Cut" (the last note of the former ended up on the latter) and added to the album is "When the Tigers Broke Free". Originally recorded for "The Wall" movie, it matches the mood and intensity of the record well, Waters is filled with venom, but the orchestration sounds out of place.

Ths is really a record that needs to be listened to for opinions-- I find it to be very rewarding in its own way. If you enjoyed "The Wall" and Waters' solo material (particularly "The Pros and Cons of Hitchiking", which is very similar to this), you should definitely check out this record.

This often brilliant but flawed album is the nearest thing to a Roger Waters solo album in the Pink Floyd catalog, much as "Momentary Lapse of Reason" would be the nearest thing to a David Gilmour solo album in said catalog. Keyboardist Rick Wright, responsible for the lush keyboard textures that helped characterize Pink Floyd's sound up to 1977's "Animals", had been forced out of the group three years earlier. Drummer Nick Mason's creative involvement had declined sharply since "Dark Side of the Moon", and guitarist David Gilmour, who had co-written such classics from the previous Pink Floyd album, "The Wall" as "Young Lust", "Run Like Hell", and "Comfortably Numb", got no writing credits in edgewise this time, was ousted from the production team, and was reduced along with Mason to the status of sideman alongside a bevy of session players, one of whom even replaced Nick Mason on drums on one of the songs.

"The Final Cut" was the culmination of a trend that started with "Dark Side of the Moon", the first Pink Floyd concept album with all lyrics by Waters, in which all tracks segued into the next and leitmotifs, especially in the form of sound effects, were used to reinforce the album "concept". Since it worked so well, it seemed the right idea to keep doing it for future albums. But with every subsequent album Waters' concepts and lyrics became more personal and he, understandably, wanted greater control over the album projects, and arguably came to see them as "his" rather than the group's.

"The Wall" however was a commercial success despite this tendency. Co-producer Bob Ezrin's imput helped make a narrative that was very personal to Roger Waters a more universal statement about authoritarianism, alienation and isolation.

The concept behind "The Final Cut", subtitled "a requiem to the post-war dream", was not as universally accessible- since it was about the death of Waters' father in World War II and his belief that the dream of a better world, that had motivated men like his father to fight to their deaths in that war, had been betrayed, and that the final betrayal ( "the final cut") was being dealt by world leaders like Britain's own Margaret Thatcher. You have to have a certain understanding, and more than that, a certain interpretation, of history in order to appreciate the concept behind this album.

Also, the music here doesn't sound much like the "classic" Pink Floyd sound- throbbing keyboards, soaring guitars, and so on. That doesn't mean it's bad, it's just different. Some songs here have a folk-rock sound ("Your Possible Pasts", "Two Suns in the Sunset"); others have a piano and orchestra backing ("The Gunner's Dream"; "Get Your Filthy Hands off My Desert"; "Fletcher Memorial Home", "The Final Cut"); and others combine the two styles in the same song ("Paranoid Eyes", "Southampton Dock") I like both of these styles myself, although some of the bits meant to move the narrative along are a bit weak musically- including "Paranoid Eyes", which is redeemed mainly by the organ solo in the middle, and particularly "The Post War Dream" , which sounds like it could have been done a lot better, and is not helped by a disgruntled Gilmour's guitar playing- he evidently didn't care for that song at all.

For whatever reason, "The Final Cut" was a relative commercial failure- compared not only to "The Wall", but even compared to Gilmour-driven Pink Floyd releases "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" and "The Division Bell".

The closest we get to hearing "old" Pink Floyd music is when Gilmour plays one of his solos, or during "Not Now John" (a bluesy number reminiscent of "Money" and "Have a Cigar", and on which Gilmour sings all but the final verse).

The last song, "Two Suns in the Sunset" is an ostensibly jaunty tune with lyrics which deal with a sudden death on the highway due to the "second sun" being a nuclear explosion..."The Fletcher Memorial Home" (Roger's father was Eric Fletcher Waters) imagines taking world leaders who make such a holocaust more likely with their bloody military adventurism, to the "Fletcher Memorial Home", and then, after a discreet interval, applying a "final solution" to the lot of them. An understandable thought, but it grates somewhat with me, since I find the idea of "final solutions" inherently creepy, to say the last, and anyway we're all ultimately responsible for what we allow (and often encourage) these leaders to do, as Waters himself suggests when he sings that "When the fight (World War Two) was over, we spent what they had made" (we wasted their sacrifice.)

The main fault, apart from the ones I've already described, is Waters' singing, which is hard to take, especially during the title track.

Not for those who like their listening easy.

This is a *superb* masterpiece of an album. It was recorded in several studios in the UK in 1982 and is the last Pink Floyd album to feature Roger Waters, who wrote it alone. Some people like to refer to it as a solo Waters album using the name Pink Floyd since it was dominated by Waters, but it does feature one Gilmour lead vocal, "Not Now John," and Gilmour's masterful guitar playing can be heard throughout this album. Waters actually offered to release it as a solo album, but Gilmour insisted that it be a Pink Floyd album. The songwriting is poignant and deep, and the lyrics are poetry. The production quality, of course, is flawless. In keeping with all of Waters' albums, this is a concept album. It deals with several different concepts. One of them is the state of world affairs at the time it was made, particularly the Falkland Islands War. It condemns Thatcher, Reagan, and Begin quite explicitly. Another concept deals with a WWII veteran who is now a schoolteacher who takes out his problems on the children and generally laments his life. There is also a story of a depressed man (likely, Pink from The Wall) who ultimately tries to kill himself but is stopped. The album ends with the theme of nuclear annhilation, and perhaps Pink's fate, left unclear at the end of The Wall, becomes clear. The songs really have to be heard to be believed - they are very emotional, deeply moving, and somber. Definitely nothing to be listened to while having a wild party or something like that. The album cover, designed by Waters, is also very interesting, including ribbons - stars, medals, and crosses for service in WWII. The album is dedicated to his father, who died in Anzio during WWII. All in all, this beautiful album is a true work of art and a very proper and graceful way for Roger to bow out of his musical relationship to David Gilmour, who was actually fighting against the creation and concept of this album tooth and nail. My personal favorite songs on this album are "The Gunner's Dream," "Paranoid Eyes," "Southampton Dock/The Final Cut," and "Two Suns in the Sunset." I love how the last song on this album, which Roger had intended to be Pink Floyd's last album, closes with the words "the end." ("Ashes and diamonds, Foe and friend, We were all equal in the end..." - what lyrics) These are some of the most emotionally moving songs Pink Floyd has ever recorded. This album can bring you to tears if you listen carefully.

Now that computer terminology has found its way into our daily vernacular, I think that the above metaphor is a quite fitting descriptive. And when talking about ROGER WATERS, why not use metaphor? He does....A lot. The Final Cut is the sonic equivalent of the 'expansion pack', in terms of the fact that - - all foundation for its musical and lyrical themes have already been cemented on it's auspicious predecessor, 'The Wall'. (had to drop some more in, sorry) This 'third album' of The Wall, goes on to further probe these common themes, but from an entirely different perspective. Gone is the character of 'Pink' and his drug-skewed reasoning. The Teacher returns to us, but in a more amiable and sympathetic form. The elusive female figure is retained, but absent is the domineering Mother.

"Would ya like to see - Britannia rule again?" The album is dedicated to Roger's father, Eric Fletcher Waters, who died during the British invasion of Anzio, Italy during WWII. The Final Cut is sub-titled, 'A Requiem for the Post-War Dream', meaning that 1. it is a mass for the deceased (his father/the dream) 2. it is the musical composition for such a mass. The story is told partly in the first-person and partly from the perspective of a young serviceman returning home from the war. The veteran hopes to return to a land of social, economic and political change, but his ideals are betrayed by future Prime Ministers and subsequently, by the Thatcher-led government. (The Maggie that Waters calls out to throughout the piece is most certainly, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher) The album gives us a brief overview of world affairs during the period of 1945-1983. Reference or allusion is made to conflicts in the Falklands Islands, Grenada, Beirut and Afghanistan. Fear of the rising powers of Japan and the U.S.S.R are evidenced in the lyrics, as well as the threat of nuclear proliferation.

This is Waters at his most confident and complex and delivered during his most prolific songwriting period (Wall through Hitchiking). Lyrically, the album is brilliant and stands by itself beautifully as a long form poetry piece, even without the music The vocal phrasing, ambient effects and progressive nature of the music all contribute to create an atmosphere and tone that is reminiscent of, yet distinctly set apart from "The Wall". (I believe that some tracks were written during The Wall sessions and 'Your Possible Pasts' actually appears in the 'bathroom stall scene' in movie.) DAVID GILMOUR'S emotionally gut-wrenching guitar work is still there but muted mostly on this effort. His distinctive axe work is most evident on the tracks 'Your Possible Pasts', 'Fletcher Memorial' and 'Not Now John', the last one being the only track that he lays vocals on. His diminished role opens up room for solo piano, hammond organ and some ballsy saxophone which are all integral in making the piece work. The whole album is enhanced further by the addition of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted and arranged by Michael Kamen.

"Thought I oughta bare my naked feelings, Thought I oughta tear the curtain down." The Final Cut is one of my favo(u)rite albums of all-time. (and I am familiar with hundreds of 'em) It's honest, heartfelt delivery strikes a chord with me that few other albums have. I can still listen to this album regularly, whereas 'The Wall' can only be appreciated after long periods of abstinence. I won't even touch upon the issue of whether this is really a Pink Floyd album or a Waters Solo effort, except to say, "Who Cares?" If Britney Spears wrote this masterpiece, I would be singing her praises instead of Waters'. The Final Cut is but one beautiful mosaic on the wall of the gallery known as Pink Floyd.

I somewhat agree with the critics who say the Final Cut is a Waters self indulgent LP. However, I love this album for two reasons. No 1- my grandfather was a WWII vet, and is easy for me to relate what Roger preaches about remembering and respecting the generation of simple people who saved our world from unspeakable evil and tyrany. This album also speaks to me on so many levels of depression, grief and isolation and is seemingly the soul voice of someone who has very little of a life outside of his music and his constantly thinking and racing mind like myself. Reason No 2- David Gilmour is an amazing guitarist, and the fact that his minimal ability as well as desire for musical input on this album makes his guitar work that much more astonishing. Perhaps the only album that has solos even more moving and captivating than The Wall's lead work. The solo on "The Final Cut" for me jerks even more tears than the incredible solos in "Comfortably Numb" and "Mother". Along with the orchestration of composing genius Michael Kamen, The Final Cut is a seamless fusion of sympthony, rock, blues and folk guitar, with the haunting poetics and vocals of one of the most egocentric, yet brillant lyricists and artists of our time, Roger Waters(not to mention is also an amazing bass player). If there is an irritating point of this album, it's the keyboard work, only great because of it's obvious imitation of Richard Wright. I felt it underminded his legacy with the band. Is Pink Floyd as magical today without Waters? Of course not. However I also couldn't bare the thought of Floyd without Gilmour, Wright, and Nick Mason, If you don't believe me, watch the irritable version of "The Wall, Live at Berlin" and see what I mean.