Pink Floyd: 'The Final Cut' - is it really that bad?

[@brusselssprouts560]

WTF has the Falklands war have to do with the musical death nell? The Wall was Waters obsession with himself, and the Final Cut was exactly more than that, That is why he was rejected. A band isn't one or two people, because it is all in the band.

[@classicalbum]

I'm not sure I got a word of that.

[@Music-AsLife]

The Falklands war is what prompted the writing of the new material on the album. The Falklands itself has nothing to do with Pink Floyd's death knell. That just happened to be the album the they were working on when the shit finally hit the fan. I think that answers your question. The Wall definitely reflected a good deal of Roger's thoughts and feelings but I think it contained plenty that was not focused on him.

[@enriquegilmour]

I love love love The Final Cut.

[@frankmazzur5674]

@@classicalbum Waters is one of the greatest lyricists in rock history, but Gilmore's work on Comfortably Numb shows up on every list of "greatest guitar solos of all time". Just saying, Pink Floyd wasn't a Roger Waters vehicle. It was a band with more than one "greatest of all time" musician in it. Somewhere between The Wall and The Final Cut, Waters decided the guy who produced one of the greatest guitar solos in all history had nothing to do with the band's success. Megalomania is a funny thing.

[@nocturnal1970]

It's still a good album with great guitar and quirky songs like 'Not now John', and the lyrics are great on this album, lots of historical politics and the beautiful "Southampton Dock" BTW I have a fantastic vinyl copy of the final cut, probably as it didn't get much play LoL

[@deanmccaskill5495]

The way that “ Hold on to the dream”….. fades away and the sax comes in Chefs Kiss

[@TheMickvee]

"The rusty wire that holds the cork, that keeps the anger in, gives way, and suddenly it's day again." Roger's genius lyrics abound in this epic album. Been listening to it since 1983, and it is still relevant today.

[@johngrunwell6101]

Right you are!!! This took up a place in my heart in 1987, and it hasn't ever left.

[@Gledge9]

I agree, his vocals and lyrics on this album are great

[@steve-0493]

I'm a late bloomer of Floyd, yeah I heard the hits on radio back in tha day hahaha, but I'm early 40s,so it was after Division Bell that I started getting into them and working my way backwards etc..Anywho-a buddy of mine back around 94-95,gave me this tape(still have it)I liked some of the songs on it,and obviously as I got older and knew more of the bands history, yeah I could see David's opinion of it,yeah I can see how there were unused 'spare bricks' from The Wall..but I honestly love some of the anguish that Roger and the boys came up with,Mostly Roger lol..but still!! I'm a loner,so the Title Track hits me hard..Not Now John is obviously a banger!!2 sun's in the sunset, what a beautiful portrayal of nuclear war.. Fletcher Mem.Home-Colonial wasters,of life and limb, is everyone in??awesome!! Oy!get ur filthy hands off my desert.. What'd he say?..🛩🛩FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFHHHHHHHHHEEEEEWWWWWW...BOOOOOOOOOMMM💣💣💣💥💥💥💣🎆🎆..🎻🎻🎻..beautiful 'Massed Gadgets ' with that 1 😆🤣!! Ur possible pasts, good song,hurts cause yeah it makes me think of certain ppl I wish didn't have to depart my life.. One of the few-2nd part has that Run Like Hell tempo,very strong words no doubt.. I see why some ppl don't like it,but I got a few buddy's in their 30s who have a fondness for it too!so it's not all that bad!! 1 of the only faults I have with it,is the Fact that Rick's not there!!✌🍻✌🍻

[@antoniouchoa2195]

Been listening to It since 1983 as well, and I think it is more relevant today, and not just because of the mediocrity of music today, but because the themes of the album are in full bloom, as sad as it is. Absolute masterpiece, a nouvelle vague film in music, in bleak and white.

[@PetraKann]

"And as the windshield melts and my tears evaporate Leaving only charcoal to defend Finally, I understand The feelings of the few Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend We were all equal in the end"

[@PetraKann]

"Two Suns in the Sunset" A lyrical and musical masterpiece - still reverberates today.

[@JoanneTelling1]

Except for 'the big truck.'

[@johngrunwell6101]

@@JoanneTelling1 ???

[@guitarmandan9230]

Yes now more than ever

[@IHWKR]

It is a good song but would be a lot better without the screams.

[@TisTheDamnStickSeason]

Now more than ever I fear 😨

[@grantwallace1882]

The Final Cut is to me, the most emotional Pink Floyd album. It is best thought of as a Roger Waters album. I have always liked it very much.

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

correct

[@saulcaldwell]

When I first heard it, I thought it was awful and didn't relisten for years. Now it's my most listened to Pink Floyd album. It also seems very relevant today with the subject matter.

[@shawnminnier6117]

I loved it the day it was released and I still love it. I don't care about magazine critics because none of them have ever written an album.

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

Rolling stone .....what's it good for? Birdcage liner......and not much else. Dropped my subscription over 30 years ago and haven't missed it since...

[@erikc.2462]

@@dancalmpeaceful3903 What are you talking about??? Rolling Stone gave it 5 stars.

[@quinnrollen]

Cheers to that! They even gave The Wall an uninthusiastic review as well.

[@martinobrien4164]

This is a brilliant album. One of my favourites of any artist ever. As for "not having any tunes" - that is ridiculous "Not Now John", "The Final Cut", "The Heroes Return", "Two Suns in the Sunset" "Your Possible Pasts" - all of these are absolute bangers. This is as good as The Wall or DSOTM. I would also add it isn't Waters fault that nobody else in the band had bothered to write anything for four years. Thanks to Gilmour's guitar work though it sounds exactly like a Pink Floyd album!

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

The Wall and the Final Cut both suck.

[@vayres7512]

Exactly!

[@YouTubetyrantfascistslosers]

​@@CoolhandLukeSkywalkrWell we know your nan does!

[@rft2001]

I wouldn't call it as good as Dark Side but, yes, it's as good as The Wall.

[@cingi]

I have never read or seen any discussion/commentary on this album, to the extent of this deep and unbiased articulation of yours. Nothing left to add. Thank you for your work and effort man.

[@davidanderson9789]

This wasn't a Floyd album it was a roger waters solo album

[@frommetoyou1981]

​@@davidanderson9789 thats just what people say. But nick dave and roger are on it. Its very much Pink Floyd.

[@Number_51]

Great, unbiased breakdown. Couldn't agree more that, in the context of the rest of PFs catalogue, it doesn't quite get there for me. It does seem to fit better with Pros and Cons and KAOS and I do tend to think of it as a Waters solo album. Perhaps better even, than Amused to Death. To be fair, I also tend to think of Momentary Lapse as a Gilmour solo album and natural progression from his self titled debut and About Face. I do however think they got the band back together for The Division Bell. Even without Waters lyrics it sounds like Floyd musically and seems like more of a continuation of their 70s output then even The Wall.

[@Ballardian]

@@davidanderson9789 Officially and legally it's a Floyd album, and that's why he's reviewing it as such.

[@petersokol1603]

@@frommetoyou1981 no….they were doing it to get paid……..last thing this thing is…..is a Pink Floyd recording….it’s Waters ego and fuck you to the rest of the band before what he thought was his breaking up of the band….as usual…he was and still is a wrong asshole…….he whined and cried about his daddy dying in the war…his country saved by evil aggression……then tells the wife of the President of Ukraine to give up to poor Russia…..what a true drek of a human being.

[@mikevieira8583]

It's possible that I've listened to this record more than any other PF or RW album. It touches me in a way the others seldom do. Amused to Death comes close though...

[@darrylreid8145]

My I tunes shows how many times I played an album. The final cut was over 800 plays.

[@jasonlighton9636]

I'm the same way, I love this record and don't agree with the hate it gets.

[@mauroangelantoni6889]

Same here

[@guillaumerobert6236]

exactly the same here my fav Roger waters albums

[@spottedinsuffolk8306]

The final cut is a next level album,. Admittedly it has to be listened to a few times to grab you but once it takes hold it doesn't let go.

[@ambientideas1]

It’s one of my favourite PF albums, and I never understood the widespread criticism. Two Suns is one of the greatest dystopian songs ever written.

[@Rikalonius]

99 Red Balloons gets to the point much faster.

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

There's only one song with David Gilmour singing on the entire album, even though David Gilmour is the band's lead singer lol. I think there's only one guitar solo on it. It's 45 minutes of Roger Waters weeping into a microphone. It's lousy.

[@Rikalonius]

@@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr Yes, and one of the most underrated solos in Gilmour's catalog honestly.

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

@@user-otzlixr lead singer since 1968.

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

@@user-otzlixr Animals is when Roger Waters took the band over. Lol. You literally know nothing about Pink Floyd.

[@carloc8763]

Fantastic review. I personally loved the album since my first listening. I do not have a problem with those who consider this RW's first solo work, followed up by Pros and Cons. Again, I am absolutely fine. I immensely love anything that PF, RW and DG have recorded, as a band or solo artist. And this is for me no less masterpiece, both musically and politically.

[@authordavidabare7077]

Have always said this album is criminally underrated. Animals is my Desert Island Disk, essentially flawless IMHO, however Final Cut is also brilliant in the way it blends mellow, flowing sounds with bombastic, often unexpected stabs of sonic dissonance. Of course, it’s basically a Waters solo album, but there’s an undercurrent of PF that still resonates with the listener, and why does it matter anyway? Whether one labels this a PF album or a Waters album, denying its beauty is still ridiculous. According to me at least lol. Love it 🤘🏻😍🎧

[@normanmacfarlane6724]

Totally agree with you on Animals The blu ray mix is excellent Have a great day Peac4

[@frommetoyou1981]

Its a Pink floyd album. Dave's guitar see's to that! Its my favourite Floyd album.

[@jamesd7045]

The reviewer points out that Pink Floyd have never played any of the Final Cut live. True, I'm sure, but the post Waters Floyd never play any of Animals either (Waters plays tracks from both).

[@madmanmark8387]

@@jamesd7045 Les Claypool of Primus played Animals live. Les Claypools Frog Brigade. A really good album to hear Animals live.

[@jamesd7045]

@MADMAN MARK Thanks. I'll look out for it. When I saw Waters (2007? - Dark Side tour) he played Dogs and Sheep.

[@jonglassmusic5813]

When the Tigers Broke Free…chokes me every time. Love him or hate him, Waters lyrical genius is surely undeniable.

[@ugadawgs1990]

It has some solid contributions to the Floyd catalog. It is only considered so bad because the preceding albums were some of the best in rock history.

[@blatherskite3009]

There are few albums that I've had such a radical reassessment of. I was about 12 years old when it was released. My Pink Floyd-loving dad bought it, and I thought it was bloody awful - painful, even - with only one track ("Not Now John") that got any kind of positive reaction out of me. I never listened to it again - until about a year ago, when I thought I'd give it another chance. With about 40 more years on the clock (I hesitate to say "maturity"!) I found I understood all of the lyrics, and got all of the historical references. It was a very different kettle of fish. You do need a working knowledge of that early 80s period in UK history to really get the album, with Margaret Thatcher still in the ascendent; the decimation of our manufacturing industries, the fact we were going to war again (the lessons of WW2 seemingly forgotten already), and whatever "good" had come out of the post-WW2 period seemingly being dismantled before our eyes. The overall message of the album, i.e. that the common people who had fought and died in WW2 had been betrayed - stabbed in the back, as per the rather on the nose sleeve artwork - is a powerful one, and no less relevant today, even if some of the references to specifc events (e.g. the IRA "blowing up bandstands by remote control") might be lost on younger listeners who don't recall those events and were born into a world in which our manufacturing industries were already long gone and terrorism has a different face. There's no denying that it's an album which places the lyrics first and foremost, with "choons" a distant second consideration - a criticism often levelled at Waters' solo albums, and it could indeed be argued that "The Final Cut" _is_ a Roger Waters solo album, just with some guest Floyds contributing - but when the lyrics are this damn good, they can almost carry the thing.

[@jackflash3681]

Fantastic album,raw full of great lyrics

[@johngrunwell6101]

I only realized as an adult that it was my childhood introduction to the concept of "political capital."

[@JerseyMiller]

They do carry the thing op. It may not be art for the masses, but it is a great work of art none the less.

[@BobJJ9999]

Agreed! An understanding of the 80s in Britain is essential

[@Weaponofmassins]

Super underrated album. I've used it as a study in lyrical imagery in several different classes over the years. Growing up in the Cold War Era and during the Falklands Conflict, (I was 14 in 1983), this album was topical, current, and cannot, in my opinion, be viewed as a collection of independent tracks, but more closely resembles one 43 minute long track. High quality headphones turned up to 11, a darkened, comfortable room, a bottle of Cab-Sauv.... Perfect. That or turned up to 11 on an overnight highway drive where there isn't another town of person to be found for 100+ kms. If I'm on a road trip and don't have a copy with me, I just sing the whole album to myself from start to finish. Yes.... We know each other that well, this album and I.

[@fretboardmaster70]

If this album moved you, then that’s all what counts in the end. It moved me to tears the first time I heard it and it is one I still return to from time to time. It was the final nail in the coffin for the Waters “concept driven” Pink Floyd and marked the end of an era and unknowingly to us at the time… a beginning of a new one. Unfortunately, Pink Floyd without Roger Waters lacked concept, narrative and the depth of lyrical content although I enjoyed A momentary Lapse and The Division Bell. Those two tours were just were just totally mind blowing but you couldn’t help notice that something was missing. The same can be said about all the tours and concerts I’ve seen with Roger Waters. While the shows and performances are top notch, what is missing is the Pink Floyd sound that was Wright, Gilmour and Mason. There will never be anything like them ever again.

[@madmanmark8387]

I agree. I saw Roger as my first ever show 16 years old Radio KAOS tour at Madison Square Garden and Pink Floyd a couple of months later same venue. Definitely a missing element. Though I had never seen the band with all 4 members I am sure together they sounded great live in person.

[@saltyabcdef3202]

The Division Bell was a standout for the "new" Pink Floyd sans Waters but as far as I know that's it.

[@dorianlollobrigida360]

I must admit I was in total shock at the title of this excellently probing video essay: the critical reception of this album was negative? I purchased it as soon as it came out and I don't think I listened to anything else for an entire year.....In terms of lyrics alone this is a masterpiece. Only Lou Reed, Sheena Ringo (in Japan) and a handful of others rise to such levels: Through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes I can barely define the shape of this moment in time And far from flying high in clear blue skies I'm spiraling down to the hole in the ground where I hide If you negotiate the minefield in the drive And beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes And if you make it past the shotguns in the hall Dial the combination, open the priesthole And if I'm in I'll tell you (what's behind the wall)

[@ministerofdarkness]

I love The Final Cut! It's a headphone classic! True Masterpiece. PLAY LOUD

[@deanroddey2881]

The Final Cut is an amazing album, as is Roger Water's solo album "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking". The atmosphere on both is incredibly rich, and the lyrical content of The Final Cut is some of his best work.

[@vayres7512]

The Final Cut is an awesome piece of art.

[@RupertEnglanderTheMAMIL]

As a 13 year old child who was listening to the likes of The Thomson Twins (actually not much wrong with that) this was the album that made me realise that music could move you. I was utterly mesmerised by it and still remember vividly the first time I heard this album and the emotional response I had to it. It turned my music world upside down and me on to Pink Floyd and Roger Waters and remains to this day one of my very favourite albums.

[@MrMojoRisin]

Hi Barry. Glad you did this video. One of my favourite Floyd albums, definitely in my top 5 by them. Love the songs like the title track, The Gunner’s Dream, Southampton Dock & others. This album is full of emotion.

[@josephvanalstyne4049]

the most underrated album in the history of rock. the sound on this album is stunning. i was 12 when it came out. the only track played on FM in new york was(not now john). i myself love this album more than (the wall). the (final cut) to me is a lyrical audiophile masterpiece that is not respected. great video.

[@madmanmark8387]

I said the same thing about Not now John being the only track FM radio played. I'm a former native new York city resident and if I remember correctly WPLJ might have been still playing rock until they went to crap there was WAPP and WNEW and WBAB in Long Island.

[@Lee.Higginbotham]

I was 15 when DSOTM came out. Now it was stunning. This was stunning in how mediocre it is. Left over slop from The Wall and very little input from the rest of the band. Should have been a solo album. It sure sounds like one.

[@Silkyfur]

Despite preferring Dave's solo albums over Roger's solo albums, I still enjoy this album greatly. It's not as great as Animals, DSotM or Wish You Were Here, but it's definitely a good album. I barely consider it a Pink Floyd album, but the emotions, the bleakness and the tension is expertly captured on this album. I listen to it from time to time, and I find it a worthwhile and intense experience each time. Great video!

[@PetraKann]

Gilmour's solo albums dont say anything lyrically. In fact the lyrics are childish nonsense. Even Gilmour himself admits to being embarrassed as several songs he wrote in his first two albums. There are some good tracks on the first two albums, but generally you cant compare Waters with Gilmour in terms of putting together albums conceptually. Amused to Death is an absolute classic piece of work with the recently departed Jeff Beck sizzling with his solo work and sonic phrasing.

[@fingerlakeshiker]

yes, i think of it not so much as a Pink Floyd album but rather a really good piece of music.

[@frodofraggins]

Amused to Death is definitely Roger's best solo album imo. The final Cut is on par with his other solo albums though.

[@Silkyfur]

@@PetraKann Rattle that Lock by Gilmour is one of my favourite albums of the past 10 years. The song about his mother's dementia is very relatable, given my own father's dementia. Anyway, Gilmour's solo albums usually get a spin at least a few times per week while I am out driving, whereas Waters' albums only get a spin once or twice per year. But yeah, I agree that Amused to Death is a good album.

[@aidenswords5809]

Its not as boring as WYWH or Animals

[@Asmallcorneroftheinternet]

Personally, I like the album. It's definitely better than any of the trends chasing later albums under Gilmore's reign. Though, with it being unlike any other Floyd album. As well as being closer to a Water's solo album. I can understand why a lot of people would have a bad opinion about this one. Though I like listening to it, especially The Gunner's Dream and The Hero's Return. It's Roger Waters at his most raw and personal. Making the music even more beautiful and heartbreaking.

[@3ggshe11s]

While it's sometimes seen as a forgotten stepchild to "The Wall," I actually find that this album has a much deeper emotional resonance. "The Gunner's Dream" and "The Final Cut" for me stand alongside Pink Floyd's greatest works. Waters just had a way of marrying sadness with beauty on this album, in a way I've heard few other artists do. I don't love all of it, and some of the geopolitical references are terribly dated now, but I think it was a fine way for the Waters era of the band to bow out.

[@davidcaldwell4454]

A fair review. TFC is, no doubt, a polarizing album. Personally speaking, it is not only my favorite Pink Floyd album, it is my favorite album. But it’s not just an album… it’s a powerful, heavy, exhausting, thought-provoking, gut-wrenching, beautiful journey. Most masterworks are.

[@StonefieldJim4]

I love this album. My late friend used to play most of it on the piano. We'd sing along together. The last thing I said to her before she died was, "I can barely define the shape of this moment in time." The title song still floors me. I came to find Waters intolerable, but there was no doubting the depths he was prepared to plumb to wrest forth deeply affecting music. As for 'The Final Cut' not really being 'a Pink Floyd album', I tend to think of 'Animals' onwards as being records by 'The Roger Waters Band' (and 'the Pink Floyd' albums without Waters are, lets face it, the product of 'The David Gilmour Band'). In hindsight, perhaps 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond' was a memorial hymn to Pink Floyd, not just Syd.

[@sharktroubles]

It's an incredibly executed lyrical and musical period piece that, for me, puts me in post-war England and stands the test of time. The finest R.W. solo album.

[@crooner4848]

I loved this brilliant album, and the surround sound was pretty mind blowing.

[@adamjames6683]

Surround sound...?

[@crooner4848]

@@adamjames6683 Yes, the original vinyl album was the first to be recorded using surround technology. When listening with headphones, as well as the normal stereo left and right, there was also front and back, and even up and down. I don't know how it worked, but it did.

[@Af1st1]

I love this album myself!I understand it’s disliked by many fans!Roger really made this a solo album under the badge of Pink Floyd but it is a great album I play it as of ruin as Dark Aidw and Wish You Were Here!Another great overlooked album would be Obscured By Clouds! You should review that one it’s better than most folks know. !

[@louiswilkes7476]

Thanks Barry, interesting review. An album from a time when mega selling artists at least tried to tackle issues with depth.

[@jonolson4506]

Before I even watch this video, let me say that it's a FANTASTIC RECORD! It's deep, beautifully haunting and something that Waters needed to let out. Should it be a Pink Floyd record? Maybe, maybe not. I say yes and it's a bookend for "Waters' Floyd involvement as well as a summing up of "The Wall".

[@johnmavroudis2054]

Did the same thing you did... and we came to the same conclusions... at the end of the day... remarkable album.

[@kinggizzard8499]

Great review. It's a really unique album. I like all of the tracks apart from Not Now John, which felt like an attempt to squeeze out something vaguely radio friendly. Two Suns is a stand out track. Andy Newmark has a great touch on drums and went on to work on the whole of Pros and Cons. I did notice the track The Final Cut had very similar orchestral motifs to Comfortably Numb. I'm guessing that's Kamen's influence.

[@c11p]

I agree re: Not Now John. Talk about "sticking out like a sore thumb"

[@scottoz7891]

@@c11p Heavy METAL Floyd..

[@whoroger89]

It’s one of my favorite Floyd albums I certainly listen to it more then anything pre meddle or post waters

[@zootsanchez]

Getting into Floyd as a teenager I was always impressed with how raw and heartfelt this album was, and it compares very favourably with the soggy piles of yuppie dad-rock that Gilmour and Mason were happy to stick their names on. Gunners Dream, Fletcher Memorial Home and the Final Cut are three of the best ever Floyd songs. Gilmour even had a couple of his best solos on them.

[@riverisle1]

The top three albums of Floyd (in my opinion): Animals, 2.). Atom Heart Mother and three? The Final Cut. The Final Cut is a lyrical, vocal and sonic masterpiece that perfectly illustrates not only what was happening in the world at that time, but also what was happening (or not happening) in Floyd. And, as with all great Floyd albums, its messages and themes are still relevant (even more so) today.

[@MIB_63]

TFC has it's moments but it's a Waters solo album all but in name with zero input from other band members.

[@LeeGion_981]

Are you for real? 😂

[@mikearchibald744]

I always find my idea of favourite floyd album changes over time. But floyd itself is like George Carlin-when you ask who is the best standup, it changes over time, but george is always in the top five. At one point I listened to Animals non stop. At one time I listened to TFC non stop, but not nearly as long. Meddle is about my favourite album, but I like Ummagumma just for its folksy funness.

[@BrianClem]

Atom heart mother better than dark side? The wall? Really?

[@riverisle1]

@@BrianClem Really. AHM has a sonic and vocal beauty and an atmospheric presence like no other Floyd album. Dark Side was one of the last Floyd albums that I heard, not one of the first. To me, it's an introduction to a great book. It's not the book. The book is what comes after. The Wall is part of that book, but for me, overall does not stack up to Animals and TFC (and Wish You Were Here, probably my fourth favorite) in terms of lyrics and sound quality. You can't beat Holographic sound.

[@HansRickheit]

Internal band fighting aside, I think of this as Roger Water's best solo album. It's so much more sonically rich when compared to his other solo efforts - all of which I enjoy very much. I think Michael Kamen's contributions as pianist and orchestral arranger-guy was the highlight for me. (Listen to Michael Kamen's soundtrack for Brazil and you can hear a lot of similarities). I also like how the album plays with dynamics and the use of sound effects, although effective in other Waters' albums, never sounded better. When I was a kid, and this album had just come out, I was completely ignorant of Floyd's imminent break-up. I thought this was their best work to date. It felt like a very logical progression from The Wall album. Where I lived in the US, Roger Waters' solo album became available long before I even heard of the Pros & Cons album. What a disappointment! Then Floyd came out with that awful pop album, Momentary Lapse. I never much cared for 80's music, and it was all around me in high school. It seemed to me, at the time, that the only classic rock band that could put out a listenable album during that decade were The Who - and those albums were pretty feeble in comparison to their earlier releases. Thankfully, as the 80's drew to a close, everybody was switching over to CDs, and selling their old vinyl album for $1 each at local flea markets. I have fond memories of buying the entirety of Jethro Tull's 70's albums in a single afternoon and discovering their music. The music you listen to as a teenager becomes part of your DNA for the remainder of your life.

[@mikearchibald744]

Very true. In hindsight I don't mind Momentary Lapse too much, I found it interesting that with Radio KAOS the 'pink floyds' were about the only band doing really 'socially depressing' music. I'd heard at the time that Gilmour didn't even want learning to fly on the album because it was way too poppy but management insisted at at the time Dave was pretty amenable. It sounds very much like everybody trying their hardest to 'sound like Roger Waters' lyrically, which ended up making it even darker than Radio KAOS. But by that time I had all marillions albums and had pretty much switched over to that, it has the musical abilities of Genesis with the songwriting chops of Waters. Until it imploded too.

[@markblum5059]

Well put.

[@entropy_sci]

Roger Waters best solo album? "The Final Cut", "Amused to Death", and his recent "Is This the Life We Really Want?"...that's a very hard choice...for me, anyway.

[@thesaltnation5570]

Idk i love his other solo work too waters is just great

[@pinkfloydhomer]

Amused to death is a masterpiece as well

[@matsnilson7727]

I didn't give Pink Floyd a chance until I was in my mid thirties, so I'm definitely not a long time fan who's been there since the early days. The first Floyd album I felt brave enough to buy was (of course) DSotM so I guess you can say I played it relatively safe from the start. I mean, how can you not love such a classic album... 😄 The Final Cut is the latest Floyd album I bought, and to be totally honest, I actually didn't even know it existed. A bit embarrasing for me, I know, but I just never gave much thought to what they were doing a few years into the 80s. I must say that I found it very emotionally moving. Sure, the band might have been inches away from breaking down completely at that point, and maybe that contributes in some way to how it makes me emotional, but there's some really great lyrics delivered with a raw honesty. My latest listen actually brought tears to my eyes. It may not be cosidered a "true" Floyd album by some, but I like it quite a lot. Not their best, but well worth listening to.

[@UncleTonyGuitar]

I think it is worth noting that the technology of the moment, “Holophonics”, informed this album on both the writing and production levels. As you noted, one can hear Waters’ mouth moving. The billiards game at the end of “Paranoid Eyes”, almost inaudible over speakers, becomes a 3D environment in the headphones and produces the feeling of being transported to a British pub, creating a different experience when heard through headphones... more so than any other album I can think of.

[@johngrunwell6101]

I can tell you that I've been listening to this album consistently since 1987, and I've never consciously noticed a billiards game being played. I will have to follow your advice! I love hearing new elements in Floyd that somehow eluded me.

[@UncleTonyGuitar]

@@johngrunwell6101 Check it about 1:50 on...

[@MedardKrzisnik]

From my point of view, this is the most mature, honest, intense and brave record of Pink Floyd with Roger Waters. I can not stop listening to it because of its continuing relevance and humanity.

[@gregoryburne5251]

This was my first Floyd album at age 11.(1983 or so) I loved it. I enjoyed Roger’s anguished vocals. Fletcher memorial, Final cut, gunners dream, are some of my fave’s. I think it’s crucial to Pink Floyd’s catalogue. Love the album.

[@ericrichard5237]

My favorite album. Rogers voice is powerful and Gilmours solos are just NASTY! It sounds like he just went in there, looked at Roger, said F.U. and killed it. Listened to it at least 1,000 times, sometimes over and over for days.

[@jeramiahrossnz]

It is really interesting, to me this album puts the human condition on full display, the relationship between the band and the characters and stories in the music,, there are beautiful string arrangments, a few really good key moments, the few solos Gilmour does, Top class. It's like watching an arthouse drama period piece musically, but what you end up getting is Roger feeling the need to express something personal outside the context of the 4 members of Pink Floyd but still under that umbrella corporation that they had become at that time. I would agree with Waters singing on this album, it's raw and real, emotionally driven, when it can no longer hold the emotion he obviously feels, it breaks apart, and he lets it. Very brave for any artist to put themselves out under the spotlight so imperfectly. When I first heard this, I was pulled into its world of broken dreams after wars, all these musical stories unfolding. It would have made a good short film, the one song that really stuck out to me was the title track, it's so bittersweet and sad, the lyrics below speak of childhood lost, the fear of love, the reality of being alive and suffering from the human condition. For that reason, this album for me personally holds a place in my heart. There's a kid who had a big hallucination Making love to girls in magazines He wonders if you're sleeping with your new-found faith Could anybody love him Or is it just a crazy dream? And if I show you my dark side Will you still hold me tonight? And if I open my heart to you And show you my weak side What would you do?

[@StingrayMk1]

I spent many years not listening to this album. Not because I didn't like it (I LOVE it). But because it is simply too emotionally powerful, sobering, sad, grief-ridden.

[@saltyabcdef3202]

Same for me, seems like it's a requiem for a lot of things.

[@billmorgan306]

For me this is the moment underrated album pink Floyd ever did ..it resonates so much it today's world with how backwards we have become as a society and have not learned from some lessons in history..it's emotional moving and has the most powerful lyrics waters did for a long time...just my opinion..

[@mikearchibald744]

My issue is its spottiness. Some songs are socially great, the personal ones are as much copies of The Wall as somebody said the music was "when he wails "will you take the children away...and leave me alone" I was thinking "didn't we already deal with this on the last album? The socially relevant stuff led into Radio KAOS adn Amused to Death, which is where Rogers skills really lie.

[@TribalmonkeyS]

I listened to it without prejudice in my teens and thought it was hard to get into but love it now

[@Martroid]

It's always amazed me how so many people bag on The Final Cut as though it's such a drop in quality from previous albums, etc ... Personally, I think it's a work of unmitigated genius. I'm not anti-Gilmour either as I really loved A Momentary Lapse of Reason when it came out, and that one gets a load of hate too.

[@AbidChaudhry]

EXCELLENT review and assessment. I listen to The FInal Cut way more than More, or Ummagumma, etc. It sustained over time, and still gives me those shivers.

[@deantaylor1512]

Who on earth underrates this album …it’s a heartbreaking masterpiece….so what if Rodger took the band over to complete his vision…..all great art is born of pain and conflict … Pink Floyd is no different..

[@classicalbum]

Have a look at the other comments beneath this video

[@deantaylor1512]

@@classicalbum well my question has been answered…. In more ways then one so it seems…

[@Henez89]

Pink Floyd released better material when there was still some collaboration. Evidently "taking over" was not for the best, and The Final Cut isn't underrated by anyone. It's somewhere in the bottom half, where it should be.

[@terrytowelling8114]

It took me many listenings before I enjoyed this album, but once I did, I wore out two vinyls. It's more about the message in the words and the sometimes desperate vocal tones than the music. I suspect non-Brits and non-english speakers will struggle to get it. I love it.

[@eddyleger7662]

Hi, i know a few couples that don't know much about Pink Floyd muchh, really enjoy the whole album. Only explanation i have is that is great. The guitar lead on TheFinal Cut as very emotional when i hear it or play it live.

[@johnpeace971]

This album is only surpassed by Animals, which has Rick Wright to make it perfect. TFC has some of Dave's most heartwrenching leads, Roger's most heartfelt and skilled vocals, and some of the best production an album has ever had to this day. This album hits me in the feels. My favorite "red scare" record. My second favorite is Crack the Sky's From the Greenhouse, which I see as a sister to TFC

[@shaundriscoll1906]

Exactly

[@c11p]

Really happy to see this video made. Actually my favorite PF album, front to back. It might be self-indulgent, but it's immersive, emotive, dynamic, beautiful.

[@classicalbum]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@johngrunwell6101]

It's a BEAUTIFUL album, and I feel a bit bad for any Floyd fan who can't hear its brilliance. Some of Gilmour's finest - if brief - recorded moments. He's absolutely wild on "Not Now John," and his other solos are equally as epic and moving. I think it also has Waters' finest vocal performances, and the recording of his voice has never been better. I'm a huge Floyd fanatic, and I consider this album a special gift from Roger Waters to those who appreciate him the most. It also really captures the spirit of those days in the early/mid-80s, when nuclear armageddon was preying on the collective unconscious.

[@crabbitwife5463]

I remember buying the LP on the first day of issue. It was of it's time. Born in the early 60's , the fear of nuclear war was a real thing to me. The Falklands war and Thatcher brought strong emotions to the more politically aware in those days. This album ties up all of the fear, regret and uncertainty of the (then) recent past into a unique, personal, emotional package, which for me, made most contemporary music feel transient, empty and pointless in comparison. The Final Cut is full of emotion the like you rarely hear in popular music. So while it might not be up there with the best, it still stands by itself having used music as a conduit for a particular brand of political angst, hurt and the pain of human existence. Sometimes you need to feel the pain in order to fully appreciate the good. The Final Cut makes me feel and that is good enough for me.

[@fingerlakeshiker]

i bought that album 10 years ago listened to it some and decided there was not enough of Daves solos. i put it aside and about 5 years ago got it out again and fell in love with it.

[@Incognito_alien]

Just started watching the video but I love this album, it is incredible and still holds up after decades.

[@interstellaroverdriven6450]

A difficult album but not a bad album in any sense. For those that may want some add'l visual imagery to go with their Final Cut listening, I HIGHLY recommend the 'ThinkFloyd61' channel and the Final Cut animated videos that go with many of the songs. There are other great PF animated videos but I find the Final Cut ones are really touching, especially 'Two Suns in the Sunset'. Amazing work.

[@MarkH457]

Not bad at all, some excellent songs and Gilmour does some brilliant guitar work on this one, solo on title track is one of my faves. Needless to say that I was thrilled when Waters performed Not Now John when I saw him I'm 87'

[@jricoc3475]

I've always loved this album. I did not know there were Floyd or Prog fans who did not love this album. I know people were more into Madonna and Quiet Riot at this time, but that's no reason to dislike this album. I need to get it on vinyl; since I have it on cassette, CD, and MiniDisc ...

[@yippeethreeeight]

I cannot listen to this album without shedding a tear. When an album evokes that much emotion in me, it's good. Really, really, good.

[@thegooddoctor8479]

One of the best Pink Floyd albums. It is Pink Floyd at it's masterful best. The guitar leads are epic and the lyrics amazing. It could be talking about baseball, and it would still be amazing.

[@enkiitu]

I’m Argentinian and I have always loved this album. Maybe not Floyd’s best, but it has some moments of profound lyricism and gorgeous and effective music. I love it.

[@storm-sf5rj]

i love the Final Cut, i personaly think it is one of their best albums, two suns in the sunset is superb i would give it a 10 out of 10 but thats just my opinion

[@wallypinter7883]

While watching your video Barry I kept thinking of things that I could include in my response comments however the fact is that you managed to cover every aspect I could think of .All that remains is to say is that I can still vividly recall the feeling of utter disappointment felt during my first listening of the album following my purchase of it in 1983.It was thus destined to remain undisturbed among my vinyl collection and indeed I would estimate that I have only listened to it in various formats on a total of five occasions during the past forty years.

[@bernrudolph2422]

It's my favourite Floyd album, also a history lesson.

[@richardsmith8149]

Hi me again just realised there is some thought and quality thats gone on here ( editing for one ) many appolgies my friend keep up the hard work!!!

[@fatherhanktree2011]

Never been a massive PF fan,though of course I recognise they produced some of the greatest rock/prog music of all time...but I always had a soft spot for this album:Waters' political fury,more intense, focused and better-articulated than that of many a younger man;Gilmour's solos,absolutely hitting the spot;and the beautiful, elegiac nature of songs like The Gunner's Dream,or Two Suns in the Sunset....had this on old cassette that a friend made for me,the other side was Black Sabbath's Mob Rules,said cassette got very heavy rotation on my little portable device back in the day!

[@robertclarkguitar]

I cannot believe how perfectly you voiced your opinion near my own on this one. I agree. I totally agree.

[@jamesderekeikeland9048]

I really like this album, it slowly creeps into your soul, great review

[@bodders689]

This is a wonderful piece of work. I don’t hold with much of Waters’ politics, but much of it is incredibly moving. The bit when he sings about ‘a place to stay, something to eat’ is a manifesto for a better world. And I love his vocals. Second only to Wish You Were Here.

[@Codarmy72]

absolutely agree and when you look at the state of the UK with the corrupt government and old soldiers sleeping on the streets suddenly Roger's lyrics sound pertinent again. Marillion's Misplaced Childhood side 2 sounds even more relevant in 2023 aswell.

[@bodders689]

I completely concur regarding Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood. Although I prefer the first side! Blind Curve is sensational though. I hope I’m quoting this correctly, but when Waters sings And everyone has recourse to the law, and no one kills the children anymore’. It’s pure magic. I would love to see him perform the whole thing. I’m not a socialist like Waters, but I am an old liberal. And I’ll always stick with him.

[@elliotwalton6159]

When I first spun The Final Cut I was knocked back by the sheer anger. The Wall had lamented the countless number of fathers killed in the Second World War and here was England potentially sacrificing another generation of boys to grow up without dad. It certainly looks forward to Waters' solo careers. Certainly worth a listen.

[@Gledge9]

The Gunners Dream gives me a shiver down my spine (yes, like a tube train lol) wonderful

[@bucephalas67]

In 83 I was a 16 Yr old depressed anxious adolescent it was on my turntable constantly so even now I can sing the whole album

[@classicalbum]

You and me both

[@mitchellbracey5234]

It's dreadfully dark and pained. And it's kinda beautiful. Gotta be a high watermark in art rock.

[@thesaltnation5570]

The final cut isnt bad at all i love every song on it for the mental and lyrical aspect i relate alot with mr waters so his songs connect with me more than any other! ❤ this is an underrated masterpiece

[@TJPenitencia]

Nice job on this review! I have always thought that Gilmour's solo on the title track was one of his best, maybe top 5.

[@frankwebster9110]

There is plenty of evidence right here in the comments that long-time Pink Floyd fans consider it to be up there with the best of there albums. David's beautiful guitar playing always stands out for me. His angrier sounding vocals are pretty rare as well. It would be a shame if they hadn't released it. It's most definitely a headphone album!

[@billyz5088]

From the early 70's to the early 80's - Roger's lyrics became progressively more personal, more wordy and more specific about the stuff bothering him - so he sings a LOT of words on this record - but many of the songs are strong - and the guitar work - and esp. the lead guitar break on "Not Now John" is among Gilmour's best ..

[@SOALNightLive]

I also feel like the The Final Cut is the yin to Momentary Lapse's yang. Both show two of the main writers of Floyd, at the helm on their own.

[@BruceColon-BSides]

Great job. As always, some of most thoughtful, incisive classic rock commentary around. Taken on its own terms, its an interesting album and does have its moments. However, as a Pink Floyd album, it is definitely false advertising on a large scale.

[@jhillst]

Much of the praise toward The Final Cut is based on the lyrics, and by that criterion, it's admittedly a success -- making an anti-war album in the 1980s may seem anachronistic in retrospect, but Rogers stayed true to his hippie-era roots, and his anger at England/Thatcher for not learning the lessons of the Vietnam War is remarkable, as is his angst while pouring his heart out to the father he never knew. Musically, however, the album suffers in many respects. It has been reported that several of the songs were leftovers from the Wall sessions, and quite frankly they sound like it -- the title track and Not Now John sound much like Comfortably Numb and Young Lust, respectively, and the bass intro to The Hero's Return is copied directly from Run Like Hell. Elsewhere, the album is full of brief, uninteresting fillers with melodies that often sound like they were taken out of a church hymnal. So, your final assessment is pretty accurate -- it's not bad, but in the context of the Pink Floyd canon, not all that great. It's label as a Waters solo album is also well-deserved, even more so than The Wall.

[@mikearchibald744]

I think thats the ablum that Dave infamous says that Roger was picking out the refuse from other albums and Dave's argument was 'if it wasn't good enough then, why is it good enough now?" But since Roger had the lyrics I suspect the next line was "well do you have some thing better?" And clearly he didn't, so there you go.

[@SpaceCattttt]

The problem I have with it is that Waters had to make it personal. I mean, is it necessary to drag in the ghost of his own father all the time? Would he even care about Maggie's War if his own father hadn't died in WWII? I mean, it's hard to tell how much of this is genuine anger that's relevant to what was going on at the time, and how much was repeated bitterness from an earlier, unrelated conflict...

[@mikearchibald744]

@@SpaceCattttt Thats a very interesting point, although its also a little bit irrelevant. Gandhi was fighting for South Africa's independance, he was Indian so fighting for India. Although to be fair, Thatcherism really had little to do with World War 2. I think thats constantly an issue with an artist, paricularly one who goes into social commentary, the question arises as to how much they are 'using' an issue for inspriation. On a dfferent video somebody was maligning the lack of good music and many of us were saying there is LOTS of good music, in fact SO much its really hard to find. Storm says that about 'welcome to the machine', that Roger is biting the hand that feeds him, because of crourse Pink Floyd was an EMI employee since' Syds day, actually PF benefited for several unsuccessful albums from EMI sticking with them. Today they would have been dumped after MEddle and got NO marketing for Dark Side. My thinking though is that you have to transport yourself a century into the future and analyze it like that. Nobody knows squat about who even WROTE most protest songs, so their motivation is irrelevant. I've certainly said plenty that I think Roger certainly HAD brilliance, and people love his live shows, and I somwhat agree with his politics, but certainly don't get any moral cues from a guy with over a hundred million dollars, a permanent retirement of millions each year, and on his fifth wife. Until I find out he's pulled a Cosby though I won't take it out on his music. The MORE personal the better, as I just wrote elsewhere I agree with you more than disagree, I just wrote somewhere else that his line "will you take the chlldren away, and leave me alone' 'if I show my true self or whatever that line is, sounds like something that should have been in the Wall and left there. Now, as you say, it just sounds TOO personal and not even particularly lyrical. I tuess it MAY at least be original, which is something, but for Pink Floyd ANY repetition is simply not acceptabele. Thats the price you pay for being a GReAT band on a whole other level than most rock bands, you have to take that critcism at a higher level. I love The Strawbs, but when I listen to their cheesy stuff I'm not that critical because, well, its The Strawbs, its 'hardly Pink Floyd'.

[@Toggitryggva]

Excellent video! FK is probably my third favourite PF album (after Dark Side and Wish You). Not bad at all :)

[@CupofCloud]

One of the first pf albums I bought when I first fell in love with the band. Why? Because Final Cut was always priced lower than the other ones back in the day when there were still music stores. I remember being disappointed upon first listen, but damned if that album didn't grow on me. It might be the first album I cried to. I was young too lol like 13 or 14

[@scjames7372]

I found this album powerful and moving from the first time I played it. The reason for that is the presence of David Gilmour and Nick Mason. They both play beautifully on it, and the album would not have been the same without them. It's Roger's best writing and singing, IMHO, but the last of it. His solo followings cannot compare. Dave's solo on 'Your Possible Pasts' still can give me chills. Also, one cannot deny that the producers of 'The Final Cut' did a masterful job.

[@anthonyburgess3683]

Love this album, always have. Never understood why people are so down about it. It suffers from Wrights absence though and lack of Gilmours writing contribution.

[@classicalbum]

Agreed

[@Ballardian]

The Wall had very little Gilmour writing contributions either.

[@Angus_Macgregor]

An interesting summary. I bought it the day it was released in 1983, when I was 17 and it grated slightly (any mention of the name 'Maggie' got me on edge at that time) but within a few months I had come to really appreciate it. The production is just stunning. As you note, the way Waters vocals have been recorded are almost unconventional and the subtle nuances of additional recorded material/sound effects and the masterful use of stereo effects to add space and atmosphere is stunning. I would also argue that it is some of Gilmore's best lead work (you can almost hear that he is annoyed by the whole process). Apart from Animals, it is probably one of the Pink Floyd albums I listen to most. Thanks for the review!

[@antonionogueira8]

The final cut together with the pros and cons of hitchiking are my all time favorite albums. There is nothing particularly wrong with me.

[@superlead1002]

If you'd asked me if I thought this album was any good in 1983, I would have said no! However, after many years have passed, I've gone back and listened to it again a few times. I now feel much differently about it, and have a great appreciation for it lyrically and musically. I find it quite moving to be honest. It certainly stands a bit outside of the Pink Floyd circle, but it's the only Floyd album that has any song that brings tears to my eyes, especially the Final Cut.

[@sevans1966]

I've never had a problem with The Final Cut. A great album with fantastic songs. Not sure where the hate for it comes from.

[@la7dfa]

It is a heavy album to digest, but there is no question Waters was the genius in Pink Floyd. Not taking anything away from the three others who are amazing musicians and who sprinkled gold-dust on Waters's sketches.

[@JaceDanielFilms]

It's just that it's not very interesting. It's mostly Roger whispering

[@joegrnwave1]

It is!!! IMO, this is a Pink Floyd album in name only. I always thought of thos as more a Roger Waters solo album

[@erikjohnson3255]

I really like The Final Cut for all of the reasons that you stated in this video. It is definitely the sound of a band walking away from itself...the surrogate band has taken over. That sax solo at the end of Two Suns in the Sunset along with the closing line, "could be the human race is run" still leaves me in tears to this day.

[@63mckenzie]

I have to be in the mood for Walter's down beat solo stuff, and this is basically a solo album. It's better than its reputation and the album has grown on me over the years. Not Now John is great fun. It's regarded as the sequel to The Wall, but to me, it feels more like a sequel to Animals.

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

Love "Not Now John".....

[@redbirdct]

I've never really cared much if it's functionally a Waters solo album or a Floyd CD, to me this is a heartfelt, deeply emotional and moving piece of work. Here he bares his naked feelings, as sung in the title track, except on record he did had the nerve to make that cut. Gilmour's complaints and criticisms likely hurt all the more because the subject matter was so deeply personal to Waters. Yes it's dark and difficult but it's also very human and devastatingly human. While Floyd may never have played any of it live, I've seen Waters play "Southampton Dock" and "Not Now John" live in his solo shows.

[@tylerwilson3172]

It has always been my favorite Pink Floyd album of all time.

[@CAdams6398]

It's not mine, but i can totally relate!

[@deanoelcapitanno]

Agree