THE FINAL CUT

Why? What possible reason would anyone want to follow up an epic album with this mess? To be honest I heard "Dark Side" and "Wish You Were Here" after they came out and those 2 albums really marked Floyd's best. I am a fan of "Meddle" as well. When "Animals" was released I bought it and was surprised as it is a departure from the previous 2 albums but it was still good and a nice change. They actually reused some material from 1974 (Wish You Were Here sessions) but it sure didn't sound like it. I know that bands shift over time as they cannot just stay in the same type of sound as it gets repetitive. "Animals" is actually one of my all-time favorite albums by them and by itself.

Floyd have always pushed the limit and when "The Wall" was released in 79' I went out and got it anticipating some similarity to Animals or the previous works but what I heard was so far removed. It took me a number of years to really appreciate it and today I do but it still marked a definite shift into songs packed with words and less instrumentals. I suppose it is only fair since it was essentially a rock opera. To this day it is not one of my favorite albums by any artist though I like it better than I used to.

Roger Waters is an egomaniac from what I have seen from his own words to this day and others in the band. He began dominating the studio sessions during "Animals." Gilmour admitted he didn't have any material but needed time and Roger was not keen on giving it and Mason and Wright were also not ripe with material. So, Floyd started to become something different; Waters different. "The Wall" was his baby and it sounds like it. And he to this day brags about it and how little anyone in the band did anything and says the same about most of their past albums as though he is Floyd. When "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" was released it was proven that Floyd survived. While it is different in many ways from previous work, I do like its sound far better.

So with Wright kicked out of the band (by Waters' demand) they reassembled while things were at an all time relational low. Once again, he dominated by pushing these leftovers trying to squeeze out a record. Gilmour was not happy but had little choice but to go along with it.

Okay, aside from the background and my own opinions on the previous music, what about the album? As I started out saying: Why?! I cannot get on with this record. If I disregard the words and listen to it all it sounds like is an extension of The Wall. The same sounds and textures and Waters' voice dominating the mix. But these songs are lacking at best. I cannot even find a song that I like all the way through. The

I didn't find much on this record to make me want to keep hearing it. It is simply a bad Wall album. I never bought this album when it first came out as I had heard it was more to make the record company happy and I only recently downloaded it and wish I had not. After hearing it several times it didn't get better. Floyd's last album post Rick Wright "The Endless River" sounds far more Floydish and enjoyable than this Roger Waters solo album wannabe. And that is really all it is other than a regurgitated Wall.

The instrumentation was sorely lacking. It is a lyrical mess. Gilmour guitar bits are a far cry from anything memorable and it is obvious he didn't really want to play on it. Mason's drumming is lethargic and the loss of Rick Wright is obvious as his work is part of the glue that makes Floyd what it was.

This album was a waste and really damages Floyd's overall reputation. I see it as a Roger Ego album that was far too similar to what came before it. 1 star.