THE FINAL CUT

As a spinoff that age old cliche, there are two types of people in this world. Those who like Gilmore, and those who like Waters.

As my previous Floyd reviews will mention time and time again, the classic Floyd carried with them a signature sound, a style unmatched by any other band before or since, and after "The Wall", that sound was lost forever with the schism between Gilmore and Waters. So, perhaps, it's best to approach this particular album as the supposed "third disc" of "The Wall". Except it wasn't, because Waters decide to change direction. Which explains a bit of the discomfort between the two.

Gone are the days of jams and guitar solos, and more of the 'image-provoking', as Waters took this album in the direction of an in memoriam for his father, who died in Italy during the second World War. As such, there is a solemness to this entire album, and very few instrumental highlights (something Waters didn't seem to care much for, then or since judging his solo work).

So perhaps looking at this album through a story-telling aspect, a concept album, much like "The Wall". To me, it all makes sense. As the Falklands War was raging in Argentina, tempers flared, much like the Vietnam War to America, and especially when it comes to the subject of war, I have no problem with Waters changing the direction to confront this subject matter. Perhaps it would have been better as a Waters solo album (which I might have argued could've been his best).

The problem with this is album, really, is that Waters, for the first time tries to sound sincere, but his voice just wasn't meant for that. Gilmore's, yes. Waters', not at all, so some of the tracks like "The Gunners Dream" where emotional climaxes are supposed to be met, just don't have the kind of tear-jerking fervor you'd expect from a war movie or some emotional heartbreak scene.

Make no arguments, this is a truly depressing album, discussing a truly depressing, but very important matter. It's not something I'll listen to ever again, probably, but its significance is deeply profound. Perhaps it was the moving images of "The Wall" that tipped Waters to stray away from this traditional Floydian sound of "Dark Side", "Wish You Were Here" and "Animals". But "The Final Cut" was the first glimpse at Waters' solo work, and one could almost imagine what "The Wall" would sound like if it was a Waters solo album. It probably wouldn't be the epic rock opera we see it today.

More importantly, though, this album to me feels like Waters' farewell to Pink Floyd as a sound, never before to be heard from again. I'm not going to say he corrupted it at all, it was just time for him to go his own way and find his own sound, a sound I personally don't think he's found yet, after all these years.

Or perhaps it was the dying sound of the 70's prog that swallowed every band's identity, shedding tradition, sound and storytelling for solo bursts, striking out solo, hitting the top, emerging on top of a mound of carcasses battered and bruised, but victorious. Perhaps it was any number of different outside effects that contributed to the demise of Pink Floyd and the "golden age" of prog. Maybe it was just never meant to be, like the separation of The Beatles. Maybe it wasn't fair of Waters to just take the wheel and go wherever he liked.

But maybe it also wasn't fair of Gilmore to criticize his desire to get this emotional weight of his back, so to speak. But just knowing it was a miserable time for the band trying to put this album out, the strain, the anger and the sorrow is clearly evident throughout. Perhaps that its greatest success, this album, the outpouring of emotion, both literal and metaphorical.

It may not be a great album from a prog standpoint, but it's a very important album, to understand its conception and realization. Now the only thing left to do is wonder if "Pink Floyd", meaning David Gilmore and Nick Mason, can reconcile their demons and bring a return to that classic sound, one last time...

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