THE FINAL CUT

Roger and Co. had decided to release a ''Spare Bricks'' compilation with un-released material which was mainly featured on the The Wall Movie, however with some time and conmovation, this brought Roger use the new songs, and write more, and in the end resulting a entire new album, called The Final Cut. Which it focused on the ''Falklands War'' which had happened recently, and had concerned a lot to Roger. If we talk about war in music, you definitely will know from the very beginning it will be something pretty depressing, and not very up-lifting to say the least. Though, that was not it, depressing albums can be done wonderfully and be a work of art, though this was not the case due to Roger's, already achieved in their previous work, complete domination over the band, not letting any other member interfere in the album's compositions, this leading to Rick's already kick-out from the band, way back in The Wall sessions, however he played, nonetheless, in the following massive tour for it. So just like The Wall, this was really another Waters album, with Pink Floyd(half of it really) as a decent backing-band, however, Dave and Nick didn't let Roger make it a solo-effort, since they said that ''they knew songs didn't grow on trees'', whatever that means.

Despite the down's of pretty much everything said before in which Roger was the song-writer and was deeply influenced by the recent war, making a total personal, depressing album, the album as a whole resulted very cohesive and sounds well from start to finish, yes, it is depressing and it obviously doesn't sound like a 'Pink Floyd' album, but still with David apporting some few brilliant guitar solos, it can still be considered a 'Pink Floyd' album as much as The Wall was. The album carries a very slow and gentle, yet emotive, feel, very much in the likes of Side 3 of The Wall, with the exception of the one-song that was supposedly to be a single, 'Not Now John', which ironically, was the only song off of the album that sounded out-of-place, since it was rock-headed and featuring the only vocal-duties by David, which really corrupts the whole gentle and slow flow the album was having due to Roger's low-timbre vocals and melancholic melodies, as well as the effective, though a bit excessive, bomb sounds, and of the like, to make it as most war-driven as possible. Another positive factor are the lyrics, while definitely not positive, they're very powerful and meaning, also the already mentioned dark, low-timbre, mood, ends up being very effective for some specific times of your life.

Besides the album as a whole, I would really like to dedicate this review to dear Antoine, a forum member, which really motivated me and was a grandiose music fan, as well as a marvellous person, unluckily never had the chance to meet him personally. He was, surely, the biggest Final Cut fan, he loved it to pieces even if during his life-time in the forum talking with me, I bashed it, of course intentionally in a friendly way, saying it was the most depressing piece on earth. Now I am proud to say I have found a lot to enjoy from this album, the already mentioned calm and tranquil moments are moments which are great to contemplate and listen, and very effective to sleep with, despite the 'war sounds'.

In conclusion to the review, The Final Cut is a good album, while it definitely doesn't stand along their classics (prog-wise), still Final Cut's unique essence, which is a mix of melancholy and depression, plus the essential addition of it being written straight from Roger's heart, is surely what makes this a rewarding listen, and surely what made Antoine a *very* rewarding listen. Lovers of tranquil generally, yet with effective war-themed lyrics, music, this album is waiting for you.

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