The time of the traditional Pink Floyd was up, and they all knew it. Roger Waters and David Gilmour had entirely different musical ideals and plans by this point, and their relationship in particular, soured. If that wasn’t bad enough, Richard Wright was fired by Roger Waters during the making of this album. It was a tough time for all in Pink Floyd, and this is The Final Cut with the intention of delivering a landmark album. It’s not the greatest Pink Floyd album, but it’s a good listen. Let’s see why.

We begin with The Post War Dream with the sound of a car driving by and a television with the channels changing. It then has a keyboard melody along with some loose change clanging, before Roger Waters sings deeply about the scene of things in 1983. Margaret Thatcher had become UK Prime Minister and had radically changed the whole place to something arguably nightmarish. “Should we shout, should we scream? What happened to the Post War Dream?” screams Roger Waters here, in a clear political statement.

Next is Your Possible Pasts which is very much continuing the previous track. It has more varied instrumentation here, and sounds like a piece which sounds like a direct lament about the past. There is some really great guitar work by David Gilmour here, as well as some cool organ sounds as well. It’s clearly Roger Waters work here, and sounds very interesting, although is a far cry from the earlier Pink Floyd works.

One Of The Few has clocks ticking and acoustic guitar, talking about the nature of unregulated Capitalism and the effects of such policy. It’s pretty short, and is over swiftly.

When The Tigers Broke Free begins with a horn melody and some choirs singing a melody. It’s a touching piece, likely about a real life war situation and is quite sad in its delivery. It points to the horrors of war and what entails with such things. It’s an interesting listen, but it is not classic Pink Floyd. Seemingly, it is about the death of Roger Waters father.

Next is The Hero’s Return and it has some plucked acoustic guitars and some loud and surreal electric guitar parts. Roger Waters sings about Jesus and the scene of things in the late 20th century. It’s an intensely emotional listen, and is rather moving. It then goes into a good acoustic section before finishing up.

Following is The Gunner’s Dream which starts with radio talk and explosions. It then has some sad piano in it, along with some wind rushing noises. Roger Waters sings about memories returning about said dream. It talks more about the death and horrors at hand. There is some really nice saxophone in here as well, along with the continuing piano and other arrangements. It is about the horrors of war, done in an intensely emotional way. Towards the end, some awesome screaming paints the scene of the song. Very sad and moving.

Paranoid Eyes begins with the sound of feet walking on gravel, before going into a melodramatic song about things as they are. Roger Waters sings about hiding behind such a face, and shows insecurity throughout. It’s an interesting listen about such a day to day experience that is crushing. It’s difficult to interpret lyrically, but does mention that, as one grows older, one loses the innocent ways of the past. Deep.

Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert begins with a slow windrushing, followed by a nuclear sounding blast. Strings emerge, and sings about the politicians of the day who do awful and nasty things. It’s short and bitter.

Next is The Fletcher Memorial Home is next. Seemingly to many people, this is not an understandable sort of song, except it is about a place where politicians watch over people, perhaps referring to individual countries themselves. It’s a strange song, with beautiful musical accompaniment of piano and strings. It then goes into a great rock guitar solo and some aggressive sounding drumming here. It is actually very catchy to listen to. It then goes back into the beautiful part, where Roger Waters sings into the next song.

After that is Southampton Dock which is an acoustic led song which talks about the ships being made in the UK. It goes into a piece that is quite beautiful that leads into the next song. It’s an ode to English tradition. It’s short, once again.

The Final Cut is a commentary about some of the matters on the album, and sounds very well orchestrated and structured. It’s a very deep and personal statement about the scene of things in life, complete with strings. It talks about love as well, and the paranoia about things involved with love. It’s a madman statement without Syd Barrett. A good, if not melodramatic statement.

Not Now John is a continuation of the previous song which is actually upbeat and rocking. It’s markedly different from the other songs on this album, and sounds very more traditional rock and roll. David Gilmour’s guitar parts sound amazing here, and the whole thing is more of a David Gilmour effort from all recounts. It’s a loud and expressive tune. Sounds awesome.

Lastly, Two Suns In The Sunset is a nice listen to hear after the rest of the album. It’s an interesting listen and is a good, tranquil listen to end the album, until Roger Waters changes the scene of the whole song, singing about a road accident which goes horrid. There is a nice saxophone at the end here, a good way to end the song.

This is quite a deep listening experience, and definitely something for those who either want to hear some left-wing political statements or some meltdown psychotic stuff in a gentle way. It was sad to see Pink Floyd disintegrate around this time, and this was not the last cut under Pink Floyd’s name, but the end of Roger Waters and David Gilmour’s musical relationship. A good album that has aged quite well, but far from perfect.

Intense.

7/10