The Final Cut (Pink Floyd)

Originally conceived as a collection of leftovers from "The Wall", this 1983 effort turned out to be a compelling rock opera in its right. It is also the last Pink Floyd album to feature bassist/vocalist Roger Waters, who had completely taken over the band at this point, and the only album to not feature keyboardist/vocalist Richard Wright.
Musically, this is the most mellow album Pink Floyd ever made; the vocals are presented in a vulnerable and gentle fashion, the guitars seem to only pop up for some "Comfortably Numb"-esque solos, and the band even hired an orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen. Lyrically, this is another Pink Floyd concept album and deals with themes of war and loss.

The Post War Dream: An odd collection of samples and sound effects briefly dominate this song's introduction, the verses bring in gently sung vocals and organs in the background that wouldn't sound out of place at a funeral, and the song reaches an explosive climax with its moving chorus. You may have to turn your speakers up a tad to hear this one, but it's a sweet opener.
8 out of 10

Your Possible Pasts: Soft vocals and guitars come in for this song's verses while some interesting sounds carry on in the background, the chorus is another explosive segment with echoing vocals that bring to mind being unable to sleep at 3 am, and the song also features a powerful guitar solo and sweet organs in the background. One of my personal favorites, though not quite a classic.
9 out of 10

One Of The Few: Creepy accoustic guitars and memorable vocal lines dominate this minute long interlude. The melodies are great, but this is not the last we will see of them...
7 out of 10

The Hero's Return: Eastern melodies and building guitars dominate this song's introduction, the verses continue with more angrily delivered vocals and muscular guitar slides, the chorus features some bizarre layering, and a few accoustic moments pop up every now and then. Quite a haunting tune.
7 out of 10

The Gunner's Dream: Winds blows and soft piano open this song smoothly, the verses bring in more vulnerable vocals, the solo section goes in a more energetic direction with some sweet saxophone solos thrown in, and the song's climax brings in a more noticeable rhythm and some straining screams. An emotional tune though not as powerful as it could be.
7 out of 10

Paranoid Eyes: This song features more soft piano and vocals throughout, interesting bar sounds in the background, and a building though never exploding chorus. A sweet tune.
8 out of 10

Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert: Silence opens this song soon overcome by the sound of an explosion and the rest of this brief tune is dominated by amusing vocal lines, nicely complementing strings, and soft accoustic guitar in the background. An amusing tune though I feel it could've been developed a tad more.
7 out of 10

The Fletcher Memorial Home: Another ballad. This tune features the building orchestra in the background, mournful wails and layering, an amusing spoken segment, and another wailing guitar solo. I'd say this spoken bit and the guitar solo save it from being more of the same. Not to mention it was what got me interested in this album.
9 out of 10

Southampton Dock: This song comes in right away with softly sung vocals and sweet accosutic guitars, some subtle screams harmonize at certain points in the background, and sweet piano joins in towards the end. Another short tune.
7 out of 10

The Final Cut: Without paying attention, this song could easily slip by. It comes in with more soft vocals and piano for the opening verse, the choruses bring a more energetic rhythm and rising orchestra, the following verses keep the rhythm in tact, and another solo comes in after the second chorus. A pretty tune.
8 out of 10

Not Now John: Finally, we get a true break from the album's balladry with this aggressive tune. It features both Waters and guitarist Dave Gilmour performing lead vocals, a driving rhythm and mechanical effects during the verses, a few melodic moments that reference the "One Of The Few" melody, wonderfully complementing female backing vocals, and another excellent solo. Easily my favorite song on the album and its most accessible track, even if a few of the lines are somewhat silly.
10 out of 10

Two Suns In the Sunset: We now return to the more mellow style. This song comes with a more noticeable drum beat (Played by Andy Newmark for some reason) and somber accoustic guitars, solid vocal lines during the verses, sounds of flying planes throughout, the climax brings in wailing vocals and building keyboards, and the song closes out with another saxophone solo. A pretty effective closer.
8 out of 10

Overall, this album gets 95 out of 120, 79%, and 3.5 stars. With the exception of a few more powerful moments, this is definitely not the album to get if you are expecting energetic space rock. However, it is a truly heartfelt opus that should be able to appeal to fans of "The Wall". It's a good album to add to the Somber Sunday playlist...