Floyd's underrated 1977 gem done in deluxe Japanese style

Pink Floyd's Animals album was released in February of 1977 here in the US and the previous month in Europe(as they were on EMI Europe and Columbia/CBS for the rest of the world).

I first got this album on cassette in February of 1985(when I was 9 and had Pigs Three Different Ones cut in half but on CD the track is uncut) and I have the remastered CD today.

The album was coming hot off the heels of two chart-topping studio classics Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. The sessions for Animals took place between April and December of 1976 at the band's own studio Britannia Row Studios in London and like the last few albums was produced by the band members themselves.

If tensions were bad during Wish, they got worse during Animals. This was the first album where bassist/vocalist Roger Waters wrote practically every tune on the album and vetoed anything keyboardist Rick Wright came up with and restricted guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour's contributions to one track, the classic Dogs.

The album kicks off with Pigs on the Wing(pt. 1) which was a love song to his then-wife Carolyne. Part two of Pigs on the Wing ends the album. Next, was the aforementioned 17 minute epic Dogs. This song was originally called You Gotta Be Crazy but the lyrics were changed to tell the tale of the Donald Trump tycoon types whom are power-hungry people whom kick, bite and claw their way to the top and then eventually grow old and die of cancer caused by the weight of their self-importance.

Next, is the 11 minute plus epic Pigs(Three Different Ones) which talks about bigoted political leaders. The last verse, "hey you Whitehouse" was misconstrued as an attack on President Ford but is about the late moral majority leader Mary Whitehouse. That track had great guitar work from David(whose guitar dominates throughout the album). The track Sheep, originally called Raving and Drooling, is the final epic on the album and is about the weak-minded people who follow what the dogs and pigs say before finally rebelling at song's end parodying one of the psalms in the bible.

When this album was initially released, the album was seen as a critical and commercial disappointment compared to its two predecessors due to the three awkwardly long songs on this album. Animals quickly went Platinum(eventually 4 million in US sales) and shot to #3 but quickly fell from view because the songs were too long, big deal!

With the 2000 remaster that Capitol reissued from the 1997 Columbia remaster done by James Guthrie and Doug Sax, Animals today sounds fresh and competent.

The tour to support this album was not a memorable tour for the band. Whilst the rest of the band got used to larger crowds and stadiums, Waters' persona changed from a happy person into a mean, embittered sourpuss(which he still is to an extent today). On the final night of the Animals tour, Waters admitted to spitting on a fan which would give birth to The Wall.

In June of 2001, EMI in Japan reissued Animals with the same 2000 remaster that Capitol/EMI outside Europe issued. However, it has the original vinyl artwork from the gatefold to the lyric sheet sleeve and even the original picture labels.

This version of Animals rivals the 2000 Capitol remaster and is highly recommended!

The original

I originally bought this album in 1977, and after having nearly worn out my Dark side of the Moon and Wish you were here albums, wasnt sure what Animals would be like.



There had been rumblings from the media that it would be vastly different, and indeed it was. Somewhat more commerical than expected it still had tremendous guitar work fron David Gilmour.



Many reviews bag this album as being troubled by internal band rifts. This may well be the case, however I am more intersted in the music.



It was a little difficult to listen as the style was nothing akin to earlier albums, but I have since come to appreciate this work for what it is, a very tongue in cheek putdown of the political scene of the day.



The music is as unique to Pink Floyd as ever and the blend of tracks is excellent. This album should be a must in any Floyd lovers album collection.