Pink Floyd - Animals - 40 Years

It sucks there's so little info out there about the album. I want to know how the songs were worked out by the band. The "writing" by Roger obviously only yielded basic sketches. I want to know how exaclty that LONG despressing/sad/scary/utterly amazing keyboard section in Dogs came about.

 

Dogs. Gorgeous.

Sheep. Jaw Dropping.

 

Time flies.... so do pigs...

 

Same here, only difference is over the years I've become less of a "Dogs" guy and more of a "Pigs" guy as far as my "go-to" Animals track goes. "Sheep" is only my 'least favourite' more or less by default. I admit half the time I don't even bother with "Pigs On The Wing"...you know, "All right, get to the point, guys!"

Well, as you know "Dogs" and "Sheep" came out of the 1974 tours ("You Gotta Be Crazy" and "Raving And Drooling") with most of the basic musical elements already in place. Hearing the rough mixes of the Animals tracks that popped up on b--tleg a couple of years back (the "Extraction" series; there's one for the Wish You Were Here album as well; I'm sure they can be found on You Tube) is revealing. For example, at one point Waters sang all of "Dogs" (and as you can imagine, deciding to give the lead vocal during the first half of the song to Gilmour was a wise decision). If memory serves from those "Extraction" tapes, the "LONG, depressing etc" keyboard section you refer to was added later on. You almost have to wonder if that section was added specifically to give Richard Wright some sort of a "showcase" in the song.

Fun fact: the word "stone" in that section of "Dogs" is repeated, I believe, fifty seven times. Yeah...one night whilst under the influence of psychedelics and listening to Animals on headphones I actually kept count

 

Not sure if Jon Carin still tours with Waters (I believe he does) but he does a great job singing Dogs live. Some fantastic Gilmour guitar work on that album. He also plays those fast bass runs in Pigs (Three Little Ones).

Pretty pumped for the Waters tour this year.

 

I too am pumped because if he sticks to his current setlist, I'll actually get to hear some of the Animals material performed live. That is the main reason I got myself and my stepson tickets. I was quite annoyed Pink Floyd did not play any Animals songs when I saw them in 1994.

 

I think there was a suggestion Waters' vocal on the 'extraction' version of Dogs - which was still probably You Gotta Be Crazy at that point - might have been a guide vocal for Gilmour to follow in terms of attitude. Note the line "yeah...and in the end you'll pack up..." - it could be Waters is demonstrating the phrasing he wanted which Gilmour then followed closely on the final version.

Either way it seems unlikely Waters would have got away with singing the whole thing. Live they reverted to Gilmour singing the last verses as well, as he had done on YGBC in 74/75.

Regarding the central Dogs keyboard solo, the first versions of YGBC included a slow instrumental break here, following the main chords (as heard on the immersion Wembley 74 show - the last time this was done) so it wasn't a new idea as such. But I agree it was most likely intended on 'Animals' to give Rick a showcase, at least in part to compensate for guitar replacing keyboards so emphatically on the new arrangements in Dogs & Sheep.

 

Gilmour, at his best: why would I listen to Rattle That Lock, when I could have this?

 

Because Rattle That Lock is brilliant as well!

 

Not for me, I can't bear it.

 

My favorite Pink Floyd album, maybe them last great album (some days i love, others i hate The Wall).

 

What don't you like about it?

 

my personal favorite pink floyd album....very glimour oriented.

 

Everything, really. I think the songs are weak, and so it jars for me from there.

There's nothing for me, apart from that signature guitar sound, which I can find so much better elsewhere.

Like Animals, for a example.

 

To me, the last true Pink Floyd album. A magnificent decade ends ...

 

Bought it day of release from Derricks Music in Swansea, UK, and here's Christos, the man who sold it to me!



He looked pretty much the same back then! I remember his mother was working behind the counter too (they were the owners, Christos still runs the shop, I believe).

When I walked into to buy a copy they were playing it non-stop on a Garrard 301 or 401 (can't remember which, it was 40 years ago!) with SME 3009 II arm and Shure V-15 cartridge. So, I'd heard the entire album before I ever got it home!!

I've always wondered how history might have looked differently on things if the follow-up to DSOTM was an album containing Shine On..., Raving & Drooling and You Gotta Be Crazy, given that they were playing them live in `74.

 

I haven't read every post here yet, but I will. Bet my story is odder than anyone else's though...

Somehow, the existence of this album eluded me for 33 years. True story.
No one I knew ever played it, no one mentioned it to me, I just didn't know. Then I joined this forum. First listen grabbed me immediately, like all my favorites did initially, for 58 years, give or take.

Not one to fart around, I bought the 32DP CD for $85. from a forum member, who had given up selling it, and let his FS thread sink deep into the basement of the old place (2010). I still have it.

In 2011, I also bought the remastered CD. I also bought several different copies of the vinyl, from various countries, since my analog / vinyl setup is completely separate from my digital.

During one of my purges, I sold all the vinyl, except a first pressing UK, which I just played.
This afternoon, after learning the great Bernie Grundman was involved, I ordered a copy of the 2016 reissue, after many positive comments about it convinced me to see / hear for myself.
I really look forward to it.
.

 

Nick has said (last November) that 'Animals' would benefit from a remix, whether it gets one is a different story.

 

I hope not. The Obscured By Clouds remix was pretty bad.

 

I haven't listened to the 2011 Animals remaster yet. I am still blown away by the 1994 Doug Sax remaster. If Nick Mason thinks they can improve on that one, then I'm all in.

Animals on vinyl and 8-track always sounds muddy to me -- like it was mastered using the same DBX box that did Katy Lied in.

 

I want a remix in hi-res quad(i.e. DSOTM, WYWH) Obviously there was never an original quad mix, but I'm sure Mr. Guthrie could oblige. I'd also love the Snowy White Pigs on the Wing solo,(previously only available on 8-track) to be re-intergrated into the song, making it one song again. This would be my dream Animals release.

 

The Pink Floyd Snowy White version can (could?) be found on his Goldtop compilation. The problem with putting the full version (on CD or vinyl) would be... how and where to place it?

Snowy White - Goldtop: Groups & Sessions 1974–1994

 

That'd be on either disc 2 or 3 or 4 (wishful thinking)

 

My favourite Floyd album, Dogs being my favourite track on it

 

I love the whole album but Sheep is brilliant. They did a great job remastering it and all the others back in 2011.