Ordering Information Release date: March 21st, 1983
Recorded at: Mayfair, Olympic, Abbey Road, Audio International, RAK, Hookend and The Billiard Room Studios (July-December 1982)
Dedicated to Eric Fletcher Waters (1913-1944) The Final Cut is perhaps the most controversial Pink Floyd album of all. It is the closest thing to a Roger Waters solo LP that ever went out under the name of Pink Floyd. Some of the material had been written for
The Wall and was originally rejected by the rest of the group; but by this time, Wright had left the fold and Gilmour and Mason were reduced to the status of mere session men. Waters' domination of the group had reached its peak.
David Gilmour: "
I said to Roger, 'If these songs weren't good enough for The Wall,
why are they good enough for now?' We had the most awful time of my life. Roger had got Rick out, Nick wasn't around much and now he was starting in on me. A most unpleasant and humiliating experience."
By sticking to one basic theme — the betrayal of England's post-1945 utopian dream by government and greed — Waters was able to write far more incisively than he had done on
The Wall.
The album was reissued on CD in 2004 with greatly improved sound quality and a bonus track: "When the Tigers Broke Free". This had been released on a 7" vinyl single in 1982 and was supposed to be "from the forthcoming album Pink Floyd album", but was left off
The Final Cut in its original form. With extra percussion in the mix, this version is different from the one released on
Echoes.
Tracks (on 2004 reissue):- The Post War Dream
- Vocals by Waters.
- Your Possible Pasts
- Vocals by Waters.
- One of the Few
- Vocals by Waters.
- When the Tigers Broke Free
- Vocals by Waters.
- The Hero's Return
- Vocals by Waters.
- The Gunner's Dream
- Vocals by Waters.
- Paranoid Eyes
- Vocals by Waters.
- Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
- Vocals by Waters.
- The Fletcher Memorial Home
- Vocals by Waters.
- Southampton Dock
- Vocals by Waters.
- The Final Cut
- Vocals by Waters.
- Not Now John
- Vocals by Gilmour and Waters ("Can't stop..." to "Make 'em feel okay", then from "Hold on John" onward).
- Two Suns in the Sunset
- Vocals by Waters.
All songs composed by Waters
Total Playing Time: 43'14
Musicians Featured:- David Gilmour: Vocals, guitars
- Nick Mason: Drums
- Roger Waters: Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Michael Kamen: Piano, harmonium
- Andy Bown: Hammond organ
- Ray Cooper: Percussion
- Raphael Ravenscroft: Tenor sax
- Andy Newmark: Drums (on "Two Suns in the Sunset")
- The National Philharmonic Orchestra with Michael Kamen: Orchestration
- The Pontardulais Male Voice Choir, conducted by Noel Davis: Vocals (on "When the Tigers Broke Free")