THE FINAL CUT

I personally enjoy The Final Cut from start to finish, although it is no "The Dark Side Of The Moon" or "Wish You Were Here" kind of concept album in the grand scheme of Pink Floyd albums it definitely does provide a great deal of emotional songs, some of which I think aren't given enough credit.

Many people think this isn't a "Pink Floyd" album seeing as that most of the members of Pink Floyd (David and Nick) expressed great contempt for the album and labeled it as a "solo album" by Roger Waters, which is a statement that I definitely agree with, but nonetheless it does contain all members working in unison to muster up the creative power to try and create an album that would carry on after "The Wall".

I like the concept revolving around the political turmoil of the early '80s and "Thatcherism" as well as how Roger tries to provoke rhetorical dialogue throughout the album pertaining specifically to the loss of his father (When The Tigers Brook Free) and (The Post War Dream). Those songs specifically pertaining to his father can be related to "The Wall" seeing as the "The Final Cut" was an album specifically filled with songs that were rejected from "The Wall" before it was released. Again many people try to compare this album to Pink Floyd's more successful concept albums but since Roger was at the helm steering most of what Pink Floyd was doing at that point, it really must be compared as a "solo" album and thus shouldn't really be given a comparison towards Pink Floyd's more rich concept albums.

I think Roger really illustrates strong pathos in many songs, songs such as: -The Final Cut (My fav on the album) -Not Now John -Fletcher' s Memorial House -Two Suns In The Sunset -The Gunners Dream this is appropriate to say nonetheless because musically some of the songs are indeed "not that great" when compared to other Floyd classics but lyrically you have to admit that they are quite moving and very dark in a way, which is Pink Floyd and specifically Rogers trademark.

The first time I heard the album, I thought it was quite amazing and really a good masterpiece, of course other people would disagree with me and I respect their opinions fully, but in my opinion, Michale Kamens orchestra arrangements, Davids great guitar licks, Nicks use of holophonics, and Rogers electrifying wordsmith abilities truly make use of an album that signaled the departure of yet another member from Pink Floyd. I only give this five stars because it really is an emotionally compelling album and compared to other solo albums by Roger (The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking, Radio KAOS) it is quite amusing. Of course when compared to "Amused To Death" I believe it has met its equal.