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| Artist | Pink Floyd |
| Title | Animals |
| Type | Album |
| Released | 21.01.1977 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Style | Prog, Hard Rock |
| My rating | (10/10) |
Tracklist:
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Credits:
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After being a PF fan for some years now, my opinions on their music are stabilised enough, so I can confidently say this is my favourite album by this band. This era has something so epic and immaculate about it! It's a big shame that it's basically completely undocumented when it comes to officialy released live material... Imo, PF were at their absolute best during live shows. I believe that the true creativity comes from the limitations, and performing those huge behemots like "Dogs" or especially stuff from Dark Side offered them undeniably. But I digress, I'd like to tackle tackle this topic another day...
I have a lot of nostalgia to this record. I remember listening to this songs on YouTube during summer vacation in 2017/2018(?). I was hooked from the start, but the album haven't really clicked for me until a while later. I bought it on CD I listened to it frequently, hanging out with my siblings. Also, I remember one very miserable morning during the pandemic, that this album really spoke to me musically. Like I said, I have a lot of memories with this one...
The bookending "Pigs on the Wing" are really beautiful and kinda cute tracks, that I really appreciate. I like the idea that the "protagonist" of this record kinda reflects on his stance presented during the 1st part and sums this all up on the 2nd part. It's really charming and Roger did a good job coming up with those songs. A little fun fact about them is that there exists an extended version of them, that was feautered on some casette realease of the album (8-track tape I believe?). There, the two parts are connected to form one song, that features a neat solo by Snowy White (who was a session guitarist during the album-promoting tour). I think it's available on YouTube for those of you that want to check it out.
Next are the magnificent "Dogs". The song is sooo cool that it's kinda hard to say something about it without fanboying about the band. Gilmour sound exotically weird there, with all those
spicy scales that change with every measure if the song. I don't vene know how the hell did he come up with such weird chord progressions and melodies and phrasings... I think it really is
his best work in the whole Waters era. The lyrics too are interesting, especially the "STONE...STONE...STONE"
part that was memed to the oblivion on Reddit.
"Pigs (3 ones)" is I think the weakest point of this album but boy what a weak point it is! The outro to this song is so aggresively angry and just explodes with this weird fury that is accompanied by Gilmour's funky walking bassline! It's so fun, I love it. This record is extremely musically interesting, there are so much fun little things happening at every song and this is no exception really. I'm just not a fun of Water's long rants about politicians that I've never heard of and never will outside of this song.
Then there come "Sheep" that are fantastic in the whole other way than the rest of this album. This song is so driving and crazy, it has a certain, almost punk energy to it. It really shows that the band was heavily inspired by the punk movement. Gilmour's Big Muff guitar pedal is bringing a lot of aggression and fuzzy maddness to the table and it elevates those songs to another level. This way, the songs on this album sound like none other in the whole PF's expansive catalog - and "Sheep" is a prime example of that! I love David's epic sharp guitar interjections during Rogers vocal parts... And the outro, OMG the outro! You just have to listen, it's just undescribable how cool it is. Also, the STOOONE part bleeds through the side of the disc to this song and makes a comeback! Pretty nice easter egg.
A silent hero of this album is Rick Wright, who takes a completely different approach than on the rest of the records. Here, he primeraliy just creates soundscapes for other band members to fill. The unexpected breaks in the pace of the songs are comprised of his electronic noodling that creates an amazing, tense, but at the same time kinda calming, vibey atmosphere (eg. "Sheep" intro). Nick on the other hand, just drums lol. He's doing almost nothing on this record lol. But he plays really well! I've always appreciated the inclusion of the cowbell in "Pigs (3)"! It stands out, sound very cool and makes the sing more unique and fun.
In conclusion, "Animals" is an absolute epic album that may be PF's best work, even tho it sound almost nothing like anything they ever did! Awesome album by an awesome band. Underrated tbh.