THE FINAL CUT

I can agree with many Pink Floyd fans' assertion that The Final Cut should have been a Roger Waters solo album. On this one, the other members of Pink Floyd had been relegated to Rick Wright status, which is to say, session musicians with little or no collaborative effort. In the same breath, however, many of those same fans will readily admit that Roger Waters was the songwriting genius of Pink Floyd, and the one that is ultimately responsible for producing something that eludes nearly all progressive rock musicians: Commercial success without suspending personal creativity. Without Waters, there would be no Animals, Dark Side of the Moon, or The Wall. But on those great albums, there was clearly collaboration as well as variation; The Final Cut has a stripped-down sound and little variety. Regardless of all that, it stands as a great and poignant work, one that never ceases to sadden me, to appreciate soldiers past and present, to reflect on the difficulties of war, and to enjoy myself, all at the same time. I should state, that while this is clearly an anti-war album, I only consider myself anti-war in that I hate war but recognize its necessity to maintain peace. I state this only because I disagree with the attitude of the main, nay, only, songwriter, but I find it a profound and thought-provoking album. It's rather unfortunate, however, that Roger Waters was such a heel to his band mates.

"The Post War Dream" It starts off with the sound of a radio dial and various news reporters, and then Waters's soft sing, before giving way to the shouting and shrieking that will characterize the most dramatic parts of the album. There are extreme similarities between "The Post War Dream" and John Prine's 1972 song "Sam Stone," which is also about a war veteran. The two songs share the same chord progression, melody, and are in the same key.

"Your Possible Pasts" Featuring a swampy rhythm guitar and more soft-sung lyrics, this is a very dramatic song, much like the whole album. Gilmour produces an absolutely screaming guitar solo here- perhaps one of his best.

"One of the Few" Here is a track that offers insight into the character of the teacher in The Wall.

"When the Tigers Broke Free" A slow dirge commemorating the memory and lamenting the death of Roger Waters's father, it's a moving song, even if it has little to do with Pink Floyd, per se. It was not included on the original release.

"The Hero's Return" This short one features a great group of guitars. The lead guitar plays a neat melody on top of a delayed electric guitar that is reminiscent of several songs on The Wall. The acoustic guitar adds to the richness of the melody. Waters's vocal performance is initially an aggravated one, but becomes soft and haunting on a later verse. The final part (using a common chord progression that has been well-frequented throughout Water's work) flows into the next song.

"The Gunner's Dream" Even those who denounce this album as Pink Floyd's worst rarely criticize this song. It's one of the most chill-inducing and saddening pieces of music ever written. From the explosion, to the first piano chords (with that haunting, steadily ascending fifth note), to the reflective lyrics, to that moment when Roger Waters cries out to hold on to the dream and his voice transforms into saxophone- this song is remarkable in so many ways. It forces those of us on safe civilian soil to consider the uncomfortable loneliness of soldiers who are in the corner of some foreign field, having a dream that those of us back home are protected, well fed, and have "recourse to the law."

"Paranoid Eyes" Slow and brooding, this song relays the disillusionment a veteran has with his world after the war. He tries to make merry, but only becomes more sullen and drunk. It's sad, but beautiful. Again, there is an economy to the music, but the sound effects (like the footsteps and the laughter in the pub) and the descending piano runs are amazingly effective.

"Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert" This is another short track, naming names and describing Waters's loathing for the administrative decisions of his time.

"The Fletcher Memorial Home" By far the most scathing number on the album, Waters makes the bold claim that war-mongering leaders (in his opinion, the likes of Thatcher and Reagan) should be placed in a home bearing the middle name of his late father. There, they could feel important and wage war without disturbing the rest of us. The song features Waters at his whiniest. The music is sparse: Most of the instrumentation here is mere background sound to accompany Waters's snide poetry. While certainly not dreadful, it isn't the best this record has to offer. Waters's attempt to wax political only makes him come across as arrogant and condescending, especially for a man with such little foreign policy experience. Gilmour gets a rare chance to rip through a guitar solo, and this he does, but while mostly sticking to the notes in the chords.

"Southampton Dock" More of an introduction to "The Final Cut," this short song does a terrific job expressing the sadness of war ("there were too many spaces in the line").

"The Final Cut" Flowing directly from "Southampton Dock," Waters sings over a lone piano before the rest of the band comes in. This song features one of the best melodies present, and is definitely one of the most powerful pieces. It is difficult not to reflect on the post-war loneliness and misery many veterans must endure. An orchestral motif from "Comfortably Numb" is revisited during this piece, and Gilmour delivers a stunning dual guitar solo.

"Not Now John" "Not Now John" is the heaviest song on the album, one which was censored as a single. Once again, the lyrics, which dominate the song, are clever and well-written. The music is similar in feel to the heavier tracks on the previous album.

"Two Suns in the Sunset" The last song is mostly a quiet song mainly played on acoustic guitar. The lyrics, despite the pleasant major key the song is played in, reflect the doom that faces humanity after the dropping of a nuclear bomb: "The sun is in the east, even though the day is done-" hence the fireball of the destructive holocaust. In the middle section, it gets briefly heavy and Waters emits one of his piercing shrieks. The song returns to its peaceful form for the final verse, after which an oxymoronic saxophonist plays an easygoing solo.