1983 - The Final Cut - A Requiem for the Post War Dream

The Final Cut
Pink Floyd, 1983



Dedicated to Eric Fletcher Waters (1913-1944)

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Release date: March 21st, 1983

Released and remastered: March 29th, 2004

Recorded at: Mayfair, Olympic, Abbey Road, Audio International, RAK, Hookend and The Billiard Room Studios (July-December 1982)


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."

David Gilmour: "I'm certainly guilty at times of being lazy, and moments have arrived when Roger might say, "Well, what have you got?" And I'd be like, "Well, I haven't got anything right now. I need a bit of time to put some ideas on tape." There are elements of all this stuff that, years later, you can look back on and say, "Well, he had a point there." But he wasn't right about wanting to put some duff tracks on The Final Cut. I said to Roger, "If these songs weren't good enough for The Wall, why are they good enough now?" (from Comfortably Numb — The Inside Story of Pink Floyd)

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, a 16-page booklet featuring the original sleeve artwork designed by Roger Waters, 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")

The Final Cut catalog numbers:

• LP: Harvest SHPF 1983
• LP: EMI 8 31242 2
• CD: EMI CDP 7 46129 2
• 1997 US remaster: Columbia CK68517

Other information:

• Produced by Roger Waters, James Guthrie and Michael Kamen
• Engineered by James Guthrie and Andy Jackson
• Assistant engineers: Andy Canelle, Mike Nocito, Jules Bowen
• Sleeve design Roger Waters
• Photography: Willie Christie
• Artwork: Artful Dodgers

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