Through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts

17/04/83 : The Final Cut - Pink Floyd

Before I started the Rolling Stone exercise, I'd heard one Floyd album (yes, it was DSOTM) and liked it, but didn't feel the need to take things any further.  I then had the opportunity to listen to another three and my opinion changed not one millimetre on the matter - I struggle to imagine this is going to change that.

And no, not really - but I'd say, from what I remember, that this is closest to DSOTM of the ones I've listened to.  Parts of it reminded me of Roger Water's Radio KAOS, which isn't all that surprising, I guess.  It's all very pompous and overblown (and more political than I was expecting) but it's kinda charmingly pompous and overblown - you roll your eyes and chuckle at it rather than hating it.  No track stood out from the field for me - I'm trying to decide if that's a good or a bad thing.  And no, I've never owned it and Mrs Reed doubly so, so we're down to 10.5/37

We're at #4 in the charts this week on their fourth week of a 23 week run, having spent their first two weeks at #1 - it feels a bit mad that this didn't really do all that much better than Kajagoogoo's effort at the time, but I suspect this is listened to much more often these days.  Above it in the charts were David (a new entry, so this will be the last we see of him for a bit), Michael and Bonnie.  What? No Spandau?  Ah - they're at #6.  The next new entry is Street Sounds Edition 3 all the way down at #26 - but much more up my street is Aztec Camera's High Land, Hard Rain which came in at #28 and is a very fine album from a 17 year old Roddy Frame which I'd like to write about one day.

Wikipedia has the expected large amount on the album (211 milliPeppers) - I only read the introduction but it was amusing enough because the band were (unsurprisingly) at war whilst making an anti-war album.  Richard Wright didn't bother turning up for this one (the only one he hasn't played on), Dave Gilmour said all the tracks were shit (without bothering to write any himself), Nick Mason didn't do any drumming (he did "sound effects" apparently) so Roger Waters did all the work, but then had to leave the band after the album because they all threatened him with a ruinous lawsuit.  Those boys, eh?  Critical reviews were mixed at the time (and some felt very harsh) but opinions have improved since - the commercial reception was good, but not as good as people wanted with it being their lowest selling album since Meddle in 1971.

"Customers also listened to" a bizarre combination of Floyd album reinventions - a punk version of DSOTM, a cello version of The Wall and an a cappella version of DSOTM, which I'd have to say has me both intrigued and slightly scared as what it might sound like.  Overall, I didn't mind this in places, but the whole album was a bit too much for me - but only a bit too much, which is pretty good going for Floyd (The Wall was a STRUGGLE, comrades).

10/04/83 - A first, but not in a good way
24/04/83 - Not as terrible as expected