Track Listing

1. Pigs On The Wing
2. Dogs
3. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
4. Sheep
5. Pigs On The Wing

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #786 in Music
• Released on: 1994-07-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Explicit Lyrics, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Although not in the same vein as the deliciously hallucinogenic earlier Floyd works such as Ummagumma and Dark Side of the Moon, Animals is innovative and musically diverse in its own right. Inspired in part by George Orwell's political fable Animal Farm, Roger Waters condemns the avarice and inequalities of capitalism, metaphorically and musically grouping humans as pigs, dogs, and sheep. The pigs are self-righteous hypocrites inflicting their beliefs on everyone else, the dogs greedy money-grabbers, and the sheep witless followers. Dark, cynical, and brilliantly composed, Animals is an ingenious and under-acknowledged album. --Naomi Gesinger

CD Description
By 1977 England was in the throes of punk, a musical revolution that held hugely successful "dinosaur" rock groups in contempt. So ANIMALS, the album Pink Floyd released that year, found the band as musically stripped down as they'd ever been. The overabundance of soundscapes, ethereal synths and lush textures of the past gave way to a leaner, more guitar-driven Floyd.
Yet thematically, Waters and co. still reached for the sky. Inspired in part by George Orwell's classic novel, "Animal Farm", ANIMALS divides humans into three categories--dogs, pigs and sheep--and features each classification in song. The dogs are merciless opportunists, grasping for success at any price; the pigs are pathetic, self-righteous tyrants; and the sheep are the mindless followers, being used by the dogs and pigs. This anthropomorphising was Waters' view of the dehumanising side of capitalism. And befittingsuch a lofty theme was the length of the album's three mainpieces--none shorter than ten minutes.
"Dogs" was co-written by David Gilmour, and it features some of his most inspired playing. The greed driving these dogs towards grander heights of materialism eventually leads to a solitary death from cancer, cloaked in an air of self-importance. "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" overflows with biting lyrics that scorn high-minded censors in general, and Mary Whitehouse (a self-appointed guardian of British pop music morality) specifically. The grunting of pigs preceedes Waters' venomous deliveryof each word, as Gilmour's scratchy playing and unsettling use of a Vocoder box become effective conduits for the song's malevolence.
"Sheep" starts out with the herd docilely grazing, blissfully unaware of the dogs lurking nearby. The sheep are led to the slaughter, before staging a revolt and killing off the dogs. The soundtrack of this defiance opens with Richard Wright's effect-free electric piano leading a galloping rhythm, before Waters' bass eases the group into a momentary lull. The pace picks up again, and Gilmour's slashing leads drive the song into a rousing climax, fading out with the peaceful sound of chirping birds.

Customer Reviews

The last Floyd classic
Stuck halfway between the exalted "Wish You Were Here" and the controversy-beset "The Wall", "Animals" remains a relatively publicity-shy Floyd album. Released during the rise of punk rock, it conceded nothing to the new attitude. Just three tracks comprise all but three minutes of the album. Much as I like much of the punk and new wave music, I've never wavered in my liking for "Animals". The track "Dogs" may be seventeen minutes long, but it consists of sustained energy and Roger Waters' vitriol. It is also superbly crafted, allowing the band to stretch out without losing control. As ever, Waters' articulation of his feelings about the human condition, in this case the social workplace, is more incisive than anything produced by more recent songwriters. "Dogs" is a potent combination of the violent and the eerie.

"Pigs", which opens side two, is memorable for some inspired lyrics, such as "You radiate cold shafts of broken glass". It's also widely remembered for its attack on Mary Whitehouse. The pauses between phrases add suspense to your anticipation of what's about to follow. There's a feeling that Floyd are tightening someone's noose.

"Sheep" provides a wonderful climax to the album, driven by a galloping rhythm reminiscent of the bass on "One Of These Days" from "Meddle". There's a macabre interlude in which the "Lord's Prayer" is subverted and an air of maniacal, bloodthirsty laughter. The tiny songs which bookend "Animals", "Pigs On The Wing" (1 and 2) at first appear insignificant, but against the tension of the rest of the album they provide a gentle release.

"Animals" is in the same league as the previous two albums and far better than "The Wall". If you like any of those albums, you'll probably like this.

A pivotal point in Pink Floyds history..
It’s no doubt this album hailed a significant shift in who had the most creative control over the band. Nine years since the departure of Syd Barett from the bands line up, after nine years of working strenuously together, it transpired that for this 1977 album it was Roger Waters, rather then David Gilmour, who contributed most to the output of the band. Five years and two more albums later, this shift in power would lead to the bands temporary demise and a much speculated lawsuit.

This was four years after what is generally acknowledged as Pink Floyd’s finest moment, Dark Side of the Moon, which was no doubt a seminal moment in recording history for a number of reasons. However, by this point the musical climate was changing. Floyd were beginning to be viewed as ‘Dinosaurs’, and a type of music called punk that had been brewing in NYC for many years had exploded onto the scene, changing social and musical attitudes worldwide (although soon the notion of punk music would become as equally contrived as the view of Floyd as a pretentious band for stoners). Floyd had become associated with an old age of hallucinogenic, hippy led space rock, and the long tracks that had peppered their fantastic 1975 album Wish You Were Here only enforced that view.

With those two points in mind, it’s not difficult to see why Animals does have a partly different sound to Floyd’s previous two masterpieces. It is edgier and more guitar driven, Waters (who supplies all the albums vocals) spits with more sarcastic malice then ever before. However, Floyd had thankfully not given up their penchant for epic tracks, and the album’s core three songs all clock in at over ten minutes. In fact, the album keeps many of the aspects that make Floyd such an excellent and unique group, such as the long instrumental sections and the ambient noises (heard here in the form of cows, sheep etc). It has a definite floydian stamp all over it, and that, for me, is why it is one of Floyd’s greatest albums.

With Animals, you get everything brilliant about Floyd cased into fifty minutes. Roger Waters’s lyrics are incredible, drawing on Orwellian influences and making them relevant to 1970’s society. He sounds as disaffected and angry as many a punk rocker on the song ‘Pigs (Three Different Ones)’, and although they give a definite indication to the lyrical directions he would take to an extreme on ‘The Wall’ and ‘The Final Cut’, they are less personal here, making them more relevant and in a sense more affecting.
Although Gilmour has less of a say here then on previous albums, his musicianship is reliably mindblowing, from the atmospheric ‘Dogs’ to the brooding riff on ‘Pigs’. This album stands as possibly the last time in the bands four member period that every member is utilised to the best of their ability.

Also, Unlike ‘The Wall’, which was indeed a sprawling, epic concept album, every track here stands up brilliantly in its own right. There is no filler. Each song is marvellous in its own way, and each could be a classic, yet for some reason the songs from this album do tend to be slightly overlooked. ‘Dogs’ certainly stands alongside ‘Echoes’ as Pink Floyd at their very best, despite the differences between the two songs. Seventeen minutes long, it is a simplistically complex creation which combines some of Water’s greatest lyrics with Gilmour’s mammoth guitar performance to create a warningly malevolent soundscape. The afore mentioned Pigs is a snarling tirade against society, driven by bleak, fast paced guitar and eerie keyboard. Sheep is bizarre, eclectic, but still brilliant, and the first and last tracks, Pigs on The Wing (parts 1 and 2) are both acoustic, and both poignant.

In the history of one of the worlds greatest ever bands, Animals could certainly be viewed as a transition album. Water’s social indignation began to monopolise the lyrics, and other members began to take a back seat when it came to song writing. However, taken out of context, it stands tall as an incredible, still very relevant album, a magical moment when all four members of the band came together one final time to create a small slice of still underrated musical perfection.

My first Pink Floyd album
Well, no it wasn't actually, it was my brother's, but nine months later I have practically everything that you could associate with Pink Floyd, inluding a my own much cherised copy of this album. From start to finish, Pink Floyd's 'Animals' is immaculate.

'Dogs' is the first Pink Floyd song that I ever listened to, and to this day remains one of my favourite songs. But the album starts and closes with the quieter 'Pigs On The Wing ', an acoustic piece written by Roger Waters. At first, these 1:25 songs may seem insignificant, but they aren't. They do two things; firstly, they provide gentle relief on an otherwise very intense album, and secondly, they enhance the animals image of this album. But in terms of how good they are, the middle three walk all over them.

'Dogs' got me hooked straight away (I'd ignored 'Pigs On The Wing 1'.) The riff at the beginning is amazing, Waters lyrics are up there with his very best, and the guitar solos are out of this world. I don't care what people say abou 'Sheep' (which is fantastic, by the way), 'Dogs' is the best song on this album. 17:04 of pure genius.

'Pigs (Three Different Ones)' is almost, but not quite as good. It is difficult to phrase this, but let's just say that 'Pigs (...)' is the least magnificent of the middle three tracks. That said, the riff is again superb, the lyrics pure vitriol and the guitar solo at the end absolutely monstrous. Gilmour shredding? You heard correct.

'Sheep' is the shortest of the three epic tracks on here, and is most people's favourite. Its bass riff at the beginning is remniscient of 'One Of These days' from 1971s 'Meddle'. But 'Sheep' is far, far better. Again, Waters excels himself by producing astonishingly thought-provoking lyrics, and Gilmour's guitar crescendo at the end is superlative. 'Pigs On The Wing 2' ends the album on a quieter note.

The concept behind 'Animals' is fairly simple. The dogs are the businessmen and self-important idiots whose ultimate fate is to die of cancer, dragged down by the weight of their own self-importance. The pigs are the fat cats and politicians who try and impose their moral values on others (Mary Whitehouse) and the sheep are those who follow the dogs and pigs blindly. George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' helped provide the concept, with Waters even reciting 'The Lord's Prayer' from Orwell's classic with a mechanically enhanced dark voice on 'Sheep'. Only Waters is singing about our modern day society, rather than Communism. However, the famous line from 'Animal Farm' can also be applied here, 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than othes'. Brilliant! Even if, even as Waters was singing abour political unjustice, certain animals were more important than others in his band. And Waters allows that he is something of a dog. Really? You have/had an ego? Wow.

'Animals' has lasted remarkably well, and is only marginally outdone by perhaps four or five of their other albums (well, they are really that good.) I think that this belongs in everyone's collection.