The blockbuster success of Pink Floyd's 1979 epic "The Wall" did nothing to alleviate the internal enmity within the band; keyboardist Richard Wright had left the group officially in 1982; bassist Roger Waters had become entirely dominant, and his clashes with guitarist David Gilmour over composing and production credits left little for percussionist Nick Mason to contribute. The fans and critics were well aware of all this hostility, thus making the appearance of another Pink Floyd album quite a shock.
1983's "The Final Cut" (abtly titled, it was known as the band's final album, until a reunion in 1987, minus Waters) was a cold and rigid album, originally a vehicle for songs left off "The Wall" but soon transformed into Waters' outlet for anti-war rage and despair.
All twelve compositions are entirely Waters' composing, with Mason and Gilmour's instrumentation only appearing momentarily (or sometimes not at all) in each song, except the forceful 'Not Now John' (the album's only Top 30 single) and the closing track about a nuclear holocaust 'Two Suns in the Sunset,' in which Mason was replaced entirely. And although 'Not Now John' was a minor hit, none of the songs contained on "The Final Cut" are pop radio-friendly (then again, what Floyd songs from this era were?). There was next to no "teamwork" that went into making the album, as Waters now affirms that he wound doing most of it single handedly (with producer Michael Kamen), and Mason and Gilmour's comments about the album show that it was a miserable experience for them. But although "The Final Cut" is ultimately a Roger Waters solo album with the Pink Floyd banner, it is still poignant and emotional, lyrically poetic and musically balanced, absence of Gilmour's solos or Mason's rhythms aside. In many ways, "The Final Cut" is the quintessential Pink Floyd album--rigid and full of both stark and subtle cynycism, and grimly crafted. 'Your Possible Pasts' comes straight from the pit of Waters' stomach, 'The Gunner's Dream' is a despairing cry, and 'The Fletcher Memorial Home' is poetically and conceptually brilliant--depicting such politicians as Margaret Thatcher, Alexander Haig, and Ronald Reagan living in a symbolic home where they can boast their egos all day long. 'Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert' is a short but satisfying satire, and other tracks such as 'Two Suns in the Sunset' and 'Southampton Dock' are full of agony and subtlety.
Though it marked the peak of a bitter point in Pink Floyd's history, "The Final Cut" is an essential item of the band's repetoire.

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.

I am mostly a classical-music fan, but there are a few examples of rock music that, I believe, poke through into the realm of high art -- one other example is Jefferson Airplane's early work. I have yet to hear any rock album other than "The Final Cut" that combines intelligent, meaningful lyrics with such a truly creative score. It was surprise for me recently to hear someone refer to this album as the WORST rock album he had ever heard. I started talking about it to others, and found that people more inclined towards classical music and jazz rate this album very highly, while true rock fans generally give it very low marks. This in itself makes the album unique.

This album shows what rock music CAN do when it works well -- lasting commentary on political figures, war, technology, family, and genocide are all contained in this fine work.

Okay..I'll admit it. I'm guilty of not giving this album a chance to burn into my mind as I should have. I listened to it way back in '83 (while "The Wall" was still echoing in my head) and wrote off Pink Floyd as a group. My mistake. 17 years later, I now realize what Waters was saying. I heard the pain in his voice as he told me how close we were to that final goodbye. Hearing the screams of children as the second sun seared them brought a tear to my eye. Putting all of the people of power into a home and keeping them away from the "button" caused a little chuckle to escape me. This is an album that must be understood to be appreciated. In '83 I didn't understand what I was hearing. I wanted "Run Like Hell" and "Comfortably Numb". I wasn't ready for Poetry To Think By. I hope that Gilmour will agree with me that, looking back, letting Waters take center-stage for his last go with the band, and getting these things off his chest, was ultimately good.

I grow extremly tired of all you Roger Waters haters. If you are a TRUE, and I stress true, Pink Floyd fan then grab thish CD with no delay. This is a must for any Floyd collection. Waters bears more of his poetic soul for the masses in this album. Lyrically and emotionally moving. I have grown up with a never-dying hippie mother who made sure that I appreciated The Pink Floyd Sound since the time I was five, so I'd like to think I have a good understanding of PF. If you are a hardcore fan of PF then grab The Final Cut, Waters last PF album, with no delay. Make sure you get all the other, not so slandered, albums.

God Bless Pink Floyd,

D.A. Fletcher