The Final Cut

by Pink Floyd

Overview

The Final Cut extends the autobiography of The Wall, concentrating on Roger Waters' pain when his father died in World War II. Waters spins this off into a treatise on the futility of war, concentrating on the Falkland Islands, setting his blistering condemnations and scathing anger to impossibly subdued music that demands full attention. This is more like a novel than a record, requiring total concentration since shifts in dynamics, orchestration, and instrumentation are used as effect. This means that while this has the texture of classic Pink Floyd, somewhere between the brooding sections of The Wall and the monolithic menace of Animals, there are no songs or hooks to make these radio favorites. The even bent of the arrangements, where the music is used as texture, not music, means that The Final Cut purposely alienates all but the dedicated listener. Several of those listeners maintain that this is among Pink Floyd's finest efforts, and it certainly is an achievement of some kind -- there's not only no other Floyd album quite like it, it has no close comparisons to anybody else's work (apart from Waters' own The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, yet that had a stronger musical core). That doesn't make this easier to embrace, of course, and it's damn near impenetrable in many respects, but with its anger, emphasis on lyrics, and sonic textures, it's clear that it's the album that Waters intended it to be. And it's equally clear that Pink Floyd couldn't have continued in this direction -- Waters had no interest in a group setting anymore, as this record, which is hardly a Floyd album in many respects, illustrates. Distinctive, to be sure, but not easy to love and, depending on your view, not even that easy to admire. [The Final Cut was re-released on CD in 216.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	01/15/2016
Label:	Legacy
UPC:	0888751709522

Tracks

1. The Post War Dream
2. Your Possible Pasts
3. One of the Few
4. When the Tigers Broke Free
5. The Hero's Return
6. The Gunner's Dream
7. Paranoid Eyes
8. Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
9. The Fletcher Memorial Home
10. Southampton Dock
11. The Final Cut
12. Not Now John
13. Two Suns in the Sunset

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Pink Floyd   Primary Artist
Michael Kamen   Guest Artist,Oboe,Piano,Conductor,Harmonium,Synthesizer,Drums (Bass)
Andy Bown   Organ,Organ (Hammond)
Richard Miller   Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Pontarddulais Male Choir   Vocals (Background)
Ray Cooper   Percussion,Tambourine
James Guthrie   Voices,Synthesizer
Raphael Ravenscroft   Sax (Tenor)
Roger Waters   Bass,Vocals
Nick Mason   Drums
Henry Lowther   Trumpet
Andy Newmark   Drums
Richard Millard   Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Irene Chanter   Vocals (Background)
Doreen Chanter   Vocals (Background)
David Gilmour   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
National Philharmonic Orchestra   Strings,Orchestra
Hugo Zuccarelli   Voices

Technical Credits

Andy Canelle   Assistant Engineer,Engineer
Joel Plante   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Willie Christie   Photography
Jules Bowen   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Bernie Grundman   Mastering
James Guthrie   Producer,Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Roger Waters   Composer,Lyricist,Producer,Group Member,Sleeve Design
Polly Samson   Composer
Richard Wright   Composer
Bob Ezrin   Composer
Nick Mason   Group Member
Michael Kamen   Arranger,Producer
Mike Nocito   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Anthony Moore   Composer
David Gilmour   Composer,Group Member
Jon Carin   Composer