THE FINAL CUT

A far cry from the "golden age" of Pink Floyd... if this is even Pink Floyd. The absence of Rick Wright is amplified by the lack of any prominent keyboardwork. The atmosphere created by keyboards which once defined "the Pink Floyd sound" is absent. Gilmour's trademark solos also take a back seat. Which ignoring Mason (who hadn't had a writing credit since DSOTM) leaves us with Roger Waters.

Roger Waters has a lot to say, mostly about how miserable war is, how mad the world is and how Mrs Thatcher gets his goat. The music very much takes a backseat to the vocals, which are almost entirely delivered by Waters.

This is the main issue for me. I'm not a lyric person. I'm a music person. I go by the logic that if you took out lyrics, you'd still have music worth listening to; if you took out the music... you'd just have someone singing about something. I don't mind good lyrics, but they should work with the music, rather than make the music work for it. Give me atmosphere, give me emotion, give me soundscapes. In my opinion the best thing about Pink Floyd are their soundscapes. The Final Cut is not a soundscape. It's a collection of songs linked by a lyrical theme.

Some of the songs are good. Not Now John is an entertaining enough hard rock song. The Final Cut has some very well-executed moments. The Fletcher Memorial Home is in the vein of The Trial - it's an interesting listen, but feels a little light on the music front.

And then there's the rest of the songs. Can't say any of them sprang out at me for a decent length of time.

If you're a wordsey person, then this album may be more up your street. But if you're more interested in music, then you should direct your attention elsewhere.