Review: Pink Floyd - 'The Final Cut' (1983)

Released in 1983, four years after The Wall, this album really should never have been credited as a Pink Floyd album. The dark, seething Final Cut is the work of Roger Water's, a reflection upon the death of his father in WWII, the Falkland’s War and the politics of Margaret Thatcher. All writing credits go to Waters, unlike previous Floyd albums, which had seen a more balanced contribution from all band members.

Often seen as a 'Part Two' of The Wall, The Final Cut featured many songs left behind from the outstanding double album released four years earlier. Perhaps David Gilmour's comment, "if these songs weren't good enough for The Wall, why are they good enough now?" should give listeners a warning. Like any band, Pink Floyd re-used old material, however the re-hash of four or five songs, was either displaying a strange sense of nostalgia or bad judgement and control issues, on behalf of Roger Waters.

The overpowering theme of war, loss and post-traumatic suffering make the composition often almost unbearable to listen to depending on your mood. Musically it is a superb album. However the content in unrelenting, from start to finish.

Personally the stand out tracks on the album are The Gunners Dream and Paranoid Eyes.

The Gunners Dream is a song I discovered some time in mid high school, when asked to edit a montage for my school's end of the year film screening. Until this year I didn't know which album it was from, but was always drawn to the power of Water's lyrics:

'And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream' 

Lyrically the album is some of his best work, and you can truly feel the emotion, brought on by the loss of his father, resonating when the first 'hold onto the dream' is ripped from his throat. It opens with the sound of helicopters, distorted radio and jarring wartime intensity, before being stripped right back to just piano and Water’s voice. The song peaks beautifully and can hold a listener for the duration, placing you in his story of loss, whilst being aware of keeping the visual narrative moving.

Paranoid Eyes is one of the darkest songs on the album, bringing an end to Side One of the album. Again, Water’s lyrical imagery is in full force, and it truly is one of his greatest strengths on this album. The song reflects the loneliness we can all feel, even when surrounded by a large group of people. The repeated lyric, ‘you can hide, hide, hide… behind paranoid eyes’, speaks volumes of human nature and our unique but often self-destructive ability to put up a front for the world.

The Final Cut would be the last Pink Floyd album Roger Waters would work on, with the collaboration of 1983, irreparably damaging relations which had already begun to fray during the making on The Wall. The following years saw Waters attempting to bar use of the Pink Floyd name, which failed, with David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason pairing off to release A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994).

Perhaps as a result of retrospect, this album holds a certain sadness, not only in its content, but in what it represented for the band. It was the end of an era, and musically, the content they released would never quite have the same strength, that came from their earlier collaborations.

Referenced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Final_Cut_(album)

Image by Jacqui Dee (not to be used without permission)