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Pink Floyd "Animals"


Tom 1960

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After listening to the recent remastered version of "Dark Side Of The Moon", which includes previously unreleased live tracks from Wembley in 1974 I headed up to the attic yesterday to dig out an old copy of "Animals" on vinyl. While I enjoy Floyd's other releases such as "Dark Side Of The Moon", Wish You Were Here" and "The Wall", rock radio has pretty much played these albums to death. "Animals" doesn't receive close to the airplay there other releases do. So this has always been one of my favorite recordings by them. I realise I may be in the minority here in stating that. If you happen to be a fan of this album and even if you're not, I would enjoy reading your impressions. For me, hearing this album was like revisiting an old friend. Hoping we get a few responses here.

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I'd never heard this until last year...it came out just as I was going into my 'I'm too discerning for pop music' phase. Good lord, I never heard 'Wish You Were Here' as an entire album until about ten years ago!

Very much enjoyed 'Animals'.

Though it doesn't have the impact on me that the records I bought at the time did - the run from 'Atom Heart Mother' to 'DSoftheM' (including 'Relics'). But that says more about the power of nostalgia than the qualities of the record.

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I saw this tour. Was pretty cool.

I'm so over Floyd though. Just played to death all around me in the world I seemed to live in in the 'seventies and early 'eighties and I never need to hear them again.

Fans of Animals should find Porcupine Tree's "The Incident" pretty interesting.

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I was always into Floyd during their classic years. Inexplicably (at least to me), more people than I ever would have imagined prefer the Syd Barrett year(s). Personally, I have enjoyed that music to a certain degree, but I've realized that I would need to be in a perpetually drug-induced state to reap further rewards from it. I've also had this bothersome feeling that they could have been more if they had a drummer who was more "present" than Nick Mason. Nothing against him; he served the music well enough, but he just doesn't go that extra mile if you know what I mean. I've always loved Gilmour's writing and playing. His solo on "Comfortably Numb" still makes my hair stand on end to this day, and his phrasing on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is truly exemplary. Waters is a great composer, but I find his obsession with the dark side of life disturbing to say the least (I cannot listen to "The Wall" without being transported into his dark little mind), and I found his bass playing and singing to be average at best.

On the subject of "Animals", I love this record, and always felt that it did not receive the radio airplay it deserved because of the length of the songs. Further, it is interesting to learn that both Gilmour and Waters felt the band were done after DSotM, simply because of its success and the fact that they felt that, with it, they had accomplished all that they set out to accomplish. I was further shocked to learn that "Wish You Were Here" (my favorite Floyd record from this period) was basically a hastily put-together hodge podge of songs, and that Roger Waters absolutely hated Roy Harper's vocal on "Have A Cigar".

Edited by JETman
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For a good 15 year now, Animals has been my favorite complete album by Pink Floyd, though there are many individual tracks from years prior that continue to blow me away to this day. I also consider Animals to be the last "real" Floyd album, as I consider both The Wall, and The Final Cut, to really be more Roger-type projects (and if I had copies of either, I'd file them under "Waters" in my collection).

And on a related note, Les Claypool (of Primus) did a remake of the complete Animals album (HERE), recorded live, no less -- and it's nothing short of spectacular. I highly and unconditionally recommend it to fans of the original album.

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61LlIEC5YdL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

After listening to the recent remastered version of "Dark Side Of The Moon", which includes previously unreleased live tracks from Wembley in 1974 I headed up to the attic yesterday to dig out an old copy of "Animals" on vinyl. While I enjoy Floyd's other releases such as "Dark Side Of The Moon", Wish You Were Here" and "The Wall", rock radio has pretty much played these albums to death. "Animals" doesn't receive close to the airplay there other releases do. So this has always been one of my favorite recordings by them. I realise I may be in the minority here in stating that. If you happen to be a fan of this album and even if you're not, I would enjoy reading your impressions. For me, hearing this album was like revisiting an old friend. Hoping we get a few responses here.

Re the cover art:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station

Last section, "In popular culture", certainly worth reading.

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I'm with 7/4, Animals is the last interesting Pink Floyd album for me. I liked the Wall when I was a kid, but I haven't had any desire to listen to it in years. Animals is the last album, in my opinion, that is a band album instead of a Roger Waters album with members of Pink Floyd backing him.

You guys are so lucky to have seen them on the Animals tour! I saw them in '87 and '94 and enjoyed the '94 tour more than '87.

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Eh. This album has its moments for sure, but I think the band was past its creative prime by this point. The experimental edge was almost entirely gone as was Rick Wright's creative input. I'd compare it to some other late 70s prog rock albums like Going for the One and Wind & Wuthering. Nice albums, but not on the level of their earlier work.

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Thanks for the commentary guys. I'm glad there are a few of us who get great enjoyment from hearing this album. I envy those who were fortunate enough to have seen the tour back in '77. From what I've heard, Floyd shows were to be seen. Funny to read in the wikipedia story about the flying pig breaking loose and flying into Heathrow airspace. Now that's funny! :lol:

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Animals is one of my favorite albums. I think I first heard it around 1979 and it's fascinated me ever since. I'm also in agreement with others who have mentioned that it's the last real "Pink Floyd" album, not just Roger Waters and his backing band.

Animals has to be listened to from beginning to end to really appreciate it, you can play the songs separately and they are all good, but it's really an "album" and should be treated as such. It's every bit as strong as Wish You Were Here.

David Gilmour's amazing guitar is the primary focus and that's another reason this record ranks high on my favorite Pink Floyd recordings. It's a meaty and muscular sounding album. The coda to "Sheep" (which was paid homage to in "Time Flies" by Porcupine Tree) is one of my favorite guitar moments on record.

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It's funny, although the Wall came out when I was 10, and I heard "Another Brick In the Wall, Pt. 2" on the radio back then, my REAL introduction to Pink Floyd was Animals. I was 16 and I spent the afternoon listening to Animals with my stoner cousin. It was like a whole new world opened up to me. :eye::ph34r::lol:

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David Gilmour's amazing guitar is the primary focus and that's another reason this record ranks high on my favorite Pink Floyd recordings. It's a meaty and muscular sounding album. The coda to "Sheep" (which was paid homage to in "Time Flies" by Porcupine Tree) is one of my favorite guitar moments on record.

Amen and hear hear!!!

First heard this record in '87 when I was trying to get into PF and this was the record that stuck out to me more than any of the others I was hearing then (DSotM, WYWH, Wall. In fact, I could go on an anti-Wall rant if I'm not careful! ;) ) Didn't know at the time that PF was disintegrating rapidly, which I've always found oddly fascinating because they sound incredibly tight on this album ("Pigs (Three Different Ones)" notwithstanding).

And maybe Roger Waters isn't the greatest bass player in the world, but he does some handy work on the fretless on this album, which is alright with me! His lyrics also seem to be more focused than ever on this album, especially the first verse to "Dogs" which has stuck with me to this day for its insight and right-on-the-mark strategy for dealing in the business world.

You've got to be crazy, indeed!

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I get off of the Floyd train after Wish You Were Here, for the most part.

Everything after Pompeii/Meddle was less exciting. Echoes was, and still is, a revelation every time I hear it.

Hearing Animals brings be back to my youth, with a cassette dub of the album cranking out of my dad's Magnavox boombox. :tup

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I really like "Animals", but I've always liked "The Wall" and "Wish You Were Here" a bit more.

I will say this, back in the day, there was no better LP to spin when stoned than "Animals". :lol:

I remember a friend of mine who didn't hear the buried phony prayer in "Sheep" until it was pointed out to him. I thought everyone heard it.

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The album is forever associated with the first weekend at college (Illinois). With 2 hometown friends we walked across campus to visit another hometown friend at his dorm. We passed around a light blue bong while Animals played. The host friend spent most of the time describing which animal each of was. I was a sheep, and there was great debate whether one friend was a dog or a pig or a flying pig.

Afterwards we all decided to go out, and in a classic leaderless situation each of us assumed that one of us knew where we were going. Finally after about 10 minutes of walking around an upscale residential neighborhood in Urbana I asked if anyone knew where we were. With much stoned laughter the answer was no, so with my great sense of direction not impeded by pot I got us going back towards campus.

I took almost 20 years off from listening to any Floyd (probably just 5 hours in that span) because it was always on at parties in h.s. and often in college, and The Wall was released in my senior year of high school. But a couple of years ago I finally got to the point where I could play Floyd again. As Animals was bought on a trashed used LP I sprang for the remaster last fall. I like it. :)

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Listening to animals via YouTube

Have you tried Spotify yet? It's free and you can listen to all the Pink Floyd albums...plus just about anything else you're in the mood for.

Can you? I did a search yesterday and didn't find Animals, only an electronic tribute to it.

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Can you? I did a search yesterday and didn't find Animals, only an electronic tribute to it.

It's on there, but the opening and closing "Pigs On The Wing" aren't available to stream. They have most of the Floyd albums, missing some of the late 60s/early 70s releases.

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