THE FINAL CUT

Where most people entered the Floyd universe on their other, more highly praised albums, this was the one that first made me understand what all the fuss was about. In 83 I was 15 and I had heard THE WALL, but it seemed to complex and dark for me at the time (being into KISS, Styx and Cheap Trick as any 15 year would be), so I dismissed it without giving it an opportunity. I do vividly remember seeing the video for 'The Final Cut (title track)' with Waters' face half obscured and old newsreel footage and was immediately transfixed. The pain and longing in his voice captivated me, it was the first time I recall really being moved by what I heard. I rushed out and got the album and have been a diehard fan since.

Upon listening to it, I was not disappointed. It is an album of stark beauty and rich melancholy that to me still holds up today, though I do not listen to it as often as I used to. True, it is nowhere near as complex as their masterworks, especially as it drives home Waters' use of recurring melodic structures (something he has never gotten away from), but there is real substance here.

Where it goes wrong to most fans of Floyd is in its emphasis on lyric content over musicianship, which began with THE WALL (though it was tempered by the fact that they were still a band, self-destructing, but a band nonetheless). It is personal and very specific album dealing with Waters' attempts to resolve the loss of his father with the fact that the world is marching in a downward spiral. The political messages on display are severely dated as he stays very topical to the events of that year, but in the end it a rewarding listen.

The albums highlights are its title track which contains Gilmour's most gorgeous solo, 'The Hero's Return / The Gunner's Dream' with its ferocious drum stricks and cascading guitar line which culminates beautifully into its sad closing refrain, and 'Southampton Dock' which I originally dismissed, but its quiet charms have grown on me. Some of the tracks misfire badly, 'Not Now John' seems tired and uninspired, 'Two Suns In The Sunset' while being a good track is so over the top doomladen to be almost comical, and 'Paranoid Eyes' which is just plain bland.

I do strongly recommend this to those who enjoy Waters' solo work, and I will always be grateful to it as it opened a whole new world of music to me.