The Final Cut is the twelfth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 21 March 1983 through Harvest and Columbia Records. It includes unused material from the band's previous studio album, The Wall (1979), and new material recorded throughout 1982.
The Final Cut is the last Pink Floyd album to feature founding member Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985. It is the only Pink Floyd album without founding member and keyboardist Richard Wright, who had left the band under pressure from Waters after the Wall sessions. The recording was plagued by conflict; guitarist David Gilmour felt many of the tracks were not worthy of inclusion, but Waters accused him of failing to contribute material himself. The contributions from drummer Nick Mason were limited mostly to sound effects.
Waters planned the album as a soundtrack for The Wall'''s 1982 film adaptation. With the onset of the Falklands War, he rewrote it as a concept album exploring what he considered the betrayal of those—including his father—who died defending freedom in the Second World War. Waters sang lead vocals on all but one track, and he is credited for all songwriting. The album was accompanied by a short film released in the same year.The Final Cut received mixed reviews. Though it reached number one in the UK and number six in the US, it was the lowest-selling Pink Floyd studio album worldwide since their sixth album, Meddle (1971).
Background The Final Cut was conceived as a soundtrack album for Pink Floyd – The Wall, the 1982 film based on Pink Floyd's previous studio album The Wall (1979). Under its working title Spare Bricks, it would have featured new music rerecorded for the film, such as "When the Tigers Broke Free". Primary songwriter Roger Waters also planned to record a small amount of new material, expanding The Walls narrative.
As a result of the Falklands War, Waters changed direction and wrote new material. He saw British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's response to Argentina's invasion of the islands as jingoistic and unnecessary, and dedicated the new album—provisionally titled Requiem for a Post-War Dream—to his father, Eric Fletcher Waters. A second lieutenant of the 8th Royal Fusiliers, Eric Waters died during the Second World War at Aprilia in Italy, on 18 February 1944,; for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry on Eric Waters see: when Roger was five months old. Waters said:
Waters had conflicting feelings about how his generation was tackling issues that greatly affected his father's generation. In an interview in 1987, he confessed: It says something about a sense, I suppose for me personally, a sense that I may have betrayed him. He died in the last war and I kind of feel that I personally may have betrayed him, because we haven't managed to improve things very much. That the economic cycles still over-ride everything, with the best intentions, the cycle of economic recession followed by resurgence still governs our actions. Guitarist David Gilmour disliked Waters' politicising, and the new creative direction prompted arguments. Five other tracks not used on The Wall ("Your Possible Pasts", "One of the Few", "The Final Cut", "The Fletcher Memorial Home", and "The Hero's Return") had been set aside for Spare Bricks, and although Pink Floyd had often reused material, Gilmour felt the songs were not good enough for a new studio album. He wanted to write new material, but Waters remained doubtful as Gilmour had lately contributed little new music. Gilmour said:
The title The Final Cut is a reference to William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar (1599): "This was the most unkindest cut of all". "When the Tigers Broke Free" was issued as a single titled "Pink Floyd: The Wall: Music from the Film" on 26 July 1982, with the film version of "Bring the Boys Back Home" on the B-side; the single was labelled "Taken from the album The Final Cut" but was not included on that album until the 2004 CD reissue.
Concept
The Final Cut is an anti-war concept album that explores what Waters regards as the betrayal of fallen British servicemen—such as his father—who during the Second World War sacrificed their lives in the spirit of a post-war dream. This dream was that their victory would usher in a more peaceful world, whose leaders would no longer be so eager to resolve disputes by resorting to war. The lyrics are critical of Thatcher, whose policies and decisions Waters regarded as an example of this betrayal. She is referred to as "Maggie" throughout most of the album, and on "The Fletcher Memorial Home" as "Mrs. Thatcher".
The opening track, "The Post War Dream", begins with a recorded announcement that the replacement for the Atlantic Conveyor, a ship lost during the Falklands campaign, will be built in Japan. Waters' lyrics refer to his dead father, the loss of Britain's shipbuilding industry to Japan, and Margaret Thatcher, before moving on to "Your Possible Pasts", a rewritten version of a song rejected for The Wall. In "One of the Few", another rejected song, the schoolteacher from The Wall features as the main character of the Final Cut short film, presented as a war hero returned to civilian life. He is unable to relate his experiences to his wife, and in "The Hero's Return" is tormented by the loss of one of his aircrew. "The Gunner's Dream" discusses the hope of a world free from tyranny and the threat of terrorism (with a reference to the Hyde Park bombing). It is followed in "Paranoid Eyes" by the teacher's descent into alcoholism.
The second half deals with various war issues. While "Southampton Dock" is a lament to returning war heroes and those who did not return, "Not Now John" addresses society's ignorance of political and economic problems. "Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert" deals with Waters' feelings about war and invasion, and "The Fletcher Memorial Home" (the title is a nod to Waters' father) reflects a fantastical application of "the Final Solution" on a gathering of political leaders including Soviet Leonid Brezhnev (who died before the album was released), Israeli Menachem Begin and Thatcher. "The Final Cut" deals with the aftermath of a man's social isolation and sexual repression, as he contemplates suicide and struggles to reconnect with the world around him. The album ends with "Two Suns in the Sunset", which portrays a nuclear holocaust: the final result of a world obsessed with war and control.
Recording
American composer, arranger, conductor, and musician Michael Kamen, who had contributed to The Wall, co-produced, oversaw the orchestral arrangements, and mediated between Waters and Gilmour. Along with Andy Bown, Kamen also stood in for keyboardist Richard Wright, who had left the band under pressure from Waters during the recording of The Wall. James Guthrie was the audio engineer and co-producer, while Mason's drumming was supplemented by Ray Cooper on percussion; when Mason was unable to perform the complex time changes on "Two Suns in the Sunset", he was replaced by session musician Andy Newmark. Mason also suggested the repeated reprises of "Maggie, what have we done" be rendered instrumental rather than sung. Raphael Ravenscroft was hired to play the saxophone, which was used in place of guitar solos on two tracks. Recording took place in the latter half of 1982 across eight studios, including Gilmour's home studio at Hook End Manor in Oxfordshire, and Waters' Billiard Room Studios in East Sheen. The other studios were Mayfair Studios, Olympic Studios, Abbey Road Studios, Eel Pie Studios, Audio International and RAK Studios.
Tensions soon emerged, and while Waters and Gilmour initially worked together, playing the video game Donkey Kong (1981) in their spare time, they eventually chose to work separately. Audio engineer Andy Jackson worked with Waters on vocals; Guthrie with Gilmour on guitars. They would occasionally meet to discuss the work that had been completed; while this method was not in itself unusual, Gilmour began to feel strained, sometimes barely maintaining his composure. Kamen too felt pressured; Waters had never been a confident vocalist and, on one occasion, after repeated studio takes, Waters noticed him writing on a notepad. Losing his temper, he demanded to know what Kamen was doing, only to find that Kamen had been writing, "I Must Not Fuck Sheep" repeatedly. Waters said that "a lot of that aggravation came through in the vocal performance, which, looking back, really was quite tortured."
Like previous Pink Floyd albums, The Final Cut used sound effects combined with advances in audio recording technology. Mason's contributions were mostly limited to recording sound effects for the experimental Holophonic system, an audio processing technique used to add an enhanced three-dimensional effect to the recordings; The Final Cut is the second album ever to feature this technology. The technique is featured on "Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert", creating a sound of a rocket flying by and exploding which surrounds the listener, especially when headphones are used. Sound effects are reused from the Pink Floyd albums Meddle (1971), The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979).
After months of poor relations, and following a final confrontation, Gilmour had his name removed from the credit list as producer, although he was still paid production royalties. Waters later said that he was also under significant pressure and that early in production believed he would never record with Gilmour or Mason again. He may have threatened to release the album as a solo record, although Pink Floyd were contracted to EMI and such a move would have been unlikely to succeed. Mason kept himself distant, dealing with marital problems. In an August 1987 interview, Waters recalled The Final Cut as an "absolute misery to make", and that the band members were "fighting like cats and dogs". He said the experience forced them to accept that they had not worked together as a band since their ninth studio album Wish You Were Here (1975).
Packaging
Art director Storm Thorgerson, a founder member of Hipgnosis (designers of most of Pink Floyd's previous and future artwork), was passed over for the cover design. Instead, Waters created the cover himself, using photographs taken by his then brother-in-law, Willie Christie. The front cover shows a remembrance poppy and four Second World War medal ribbons against the black fabric of the jacket or blazer on which they are worn. From left to right, the medals are the 1939–1945 Star, the Africa Star, the Defence Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
The poppy is a recurring design theme. The interior gatefold features three photographs, the first depicting an outdoor scene with an outstretched hand holding three poppies and in the distance, a soldier with his back to the camera. Two more photographs show a welder at work, his mask emblazoned with the Japanese Rising Sun Flag, and a nuclear explosion (a clear reference to "Two Suns in the Sunset"). The lyrics are printed on the gatefold. Side one of the vinyl disc carries an image of a poppy field, and on side two, a soldier with a knife in his back lies face down amongst the poppies, a dog beside him.
The back cover features a photograph of an officer standing upright and holding a film canister, with a knife protruding from his back: the film canister and knife may reflect Waters' tumultuous relationship with The Wall film director Alan Parker.
Film