Poll: How do you rate Pink Floyd's "Animals" album?

The second to last of our series... "Bleating and babbling we fell on his neck with a scream!!!"

The rules for this series: this poll is designed for people familiar with the album in question and with at least some familiarity with some of their other catalog (for comparison purposes). If the poll doesn't interest you, please kindly move on to a thread that does. Please simply consider how YOU would rate the album in question, in comparison with the rest of the Floyd's discography! And as always, a shout-out to member mrjinks for creating all the groundwork for this series.

So, how do YOU rate this album?

Album history: "Animals is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 23 January 1977 by Harvest Records in the United Kingdom and by Columbia Records in the United States. It is a concept album that provides a scathing critique of the social-political conditions of late-1970s Britain, and presents a marked change in musical style from their earlier work. Animals was recorded at the band's studio, Britannia Row, in London, but its production was punctuated by the early signs of discord that three years later would culminate in keyboardist Richard Wright leaving the band. The album's cover image, a pig floating between two chimneys of the Battersea Power Station, was conceived by the band's bassist and lead songwriter Roger Waters, and was designed by long-time collaborator Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis.

The album was released to generally positive reviews in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also a success in the United States, reaching number 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and although it scored on US charts for half a year, steady sales have resulted in its certification by the RIAA at 4x platinum. The size of the venues of the band's In the Flesh Tour prompted an incident in which Waters spat at members of the audience, setting the background for the band's next studio album The Wall, released two years later."


Tracklist:
1. Pigs On The Wing 1 1:25
2. Dogs 17:03
3. Pigs (Three Different Ones) 11:25
4. Sheep 10:25
5. Pigs On The Wing 2 1:23




Previous polls:
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Currently 577 people have voted, with an average of 4.25.
A Saucerful of Secrets. Currently 343 people have voted, with an average of 3.79.
More. Currently 274 people have voted, with an average of 3.38.
Ummagumma. Currently 417 people have voted, with an average of 3.08.
Atom Heart Mother. Currently 425 people have voted, with an average of 3.71.
Meddle. Currently 466 people have voted, with an average of 4.70.
Obscured by Clouds. Currently 433 people have voted, with an average of 3.88.
Wish You Were Here. Currently 718 people have voted, with an average of 4.78.
The Wall. Currently 826 people have voted, with an average of 4.00.
The Final Cut. Currently 558 people have voted, with an average of 3.09.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Currently 425 people have voted, with an average of 2.96.
Delicate Sound of Thunder. Currently 250 people have voted, with an average of 2.88.
The Division Bell. Currently 468 people have voted, with an average of 3.28.
Pulse. Currently 301 people have voted, with an average of 3.33.
Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81. Currently 235 people have voted, with an average of 3.68.
The Endless River. Currently 442 people have voted, with an average of 2.53.

 

Essential.

 

I'd rate it one of the best overall and certainly to me the best of the latter-day (1973 and later) albums.

 

Love this album. High on the list for me.

 

Love this album. So different from its predecessor. And for the few who haven't heard it; here's the full version of Pigs on the Wing.

 

This has been my favorite for years.

 

The run of Meddle to Animals are the classics. Seems like the polls are confirming my opinion.

 

Essential. I would probably put this just a smidgen under Dark Side of the Moon/Wish You Were Here/The Final Cut, and right with The Wall. All essential so I'm splitting hairs just for discussion.

I can't imagine having a back and forth with someone unfamiliar with Pink Floyd and not recommending that Animals is an essential listen.

 

Essential.

I'll say it again: essential.

My favorite Floyd album, along with Atom Heart Mother.

 

Absolutely brilliant, my second favorite Pink Floyd album.

 

Surprisingly, I'm going with "Not bad" for this one. I received it with great enthusiasm back in '78 or '79, listened to it a lot at the time and over the years, and there's a lot I really like about it, but, darn it, compared to the two previous albums it just isn't that solid. Here are the songs:

"Pigs On The Wing" (both parts because they aren't really different): A not really great tune. Depressive and lacking the cutting intelligence that marks the best of Waters' lyrics.

"Dogs": An often wonderful sonic concoction and some of Rick's best keyboard accompaniment in the latter days of Floyd. Sometimes the song sounds hypnotic, but sometimes it sound tedious. The lyrics are so very dismal - not poorly written, but almost comedic in their depressive quality. The shared lead vocal is quite special though.

"Pigs (Three Different Ones)": Musically this is for the most part an impressive track. The spacey intro is magic. However, it can seem turgid at times, and the Roger Waters vocal performance prefigures The Wall at its most grating. The lyrics are just OK.

"Sheep": Tedious intro, lovely slashing guitars, impressive energy, and even more Roger Waters shouting. The parody of the Lord's Prayer is silly and embarrassing. The story the song tells is so silly it almost detracts from the lyrical focus of the album in general. When your staging of Animal Farm ends with sheep ninjas, it's time to put down the bong.

Basically, I think the problem with this album is that it was a couple of longstanding concert tracks that were retrofitted with concept-album lyrics very quickly and not entirely successfully. However, the Floyd being the professionals that they are, they still managed to execute the musical presentation with such skill and serendipity that it still sounds like a great album, and with its unusual hard rock textures, it also sounds distinct from its previous fellows. My friends and I were proud to receive this as Pink Floyd's "heavy metal" album and its hard edge seemed self-justifying. However, after over 30 years of listening and reflection, I have to consider this one the least of the post Dark Side Floyd albums. Still, being the least may just mean that this diamond just isn't as large and sparkly as the others. So, it's Not Bad, trending toward Pretty Solid. Not essential though.

 

Okay, this is the second time you've done this OP. Are you out in my yard ?
I just put this on a minute ago !?!?!
Weird.
Anyway, it's become my favorite Pink Floyd album in just the last 7 years.

1985 32DP 360 Japanese CD
2011 Capitol CD remaster
2016 Bernie Grundman vinyl

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED : Les Claypool's Frog Brigade - Live Frogs Set 2
.

 

It's one of their best, it may be their best. The music and the message are just as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. It's Pink Floyd at their peak, and most cynical.

 

Essential. I was 15 when it came out in 1977. And I will never forget the first time I heard it. This local independent radio station in the Chicago suburbs called Triad (I believe--or that was the name of the cool music magazine the radio station put out) played the whole thing in its entirety at night when it was released. And when the "dogs" started barking, for a moment, I thought I was hearing these dogs outside my window. It was a very bizarre and unsettling feeling. The album just blew me away. Later that summer, Floyd on the Animals Tour at Soldier Field was the first "real" concert I ever saw. By the end of the year, I'd be all about the 1977 New York punk scene, and Ramones, Patti, TV, Hell, Talking Heads, etc. would be far and away my favorite bands (and still for the part are). But because of Animals, after all these years, I've never stopped being a huge Floyd fan, in spite of my continued love for those New York bands (Sorry, Johnny, no I Hate Pink Floyd ripped tee for me).

 

Well, rather the sloppily extended for 8-track version, with guitar solo by Snowy White.

 

I've never actually heard that - thanks. A royal shame they cut that phenomenal guitar work out, but I really think the album intro is more effective without it.

 

They didn't cut it out. See my post above.

 

I had the 8 rack and wore it out. I had tons of albums, tapes, singles, etc. I thought the 8 track sounded "boxy" back then and was like some other pre recorded tapes I had that sounded terrible. When I finally purchased the LP, I realized the "boxyness" was part of the overall sound.
One of my favorite albums of all time. I would love a deluxe edition

 

Essential.

 

One of their best, and David's heaviest guitar playing. Pigs (Three Different Ones) is one of my favorite Floyd tunes, especially the outro.

 

My favourite of theirs and easily the PF album I return to the most. Always loved this record from the first time I heard it several decades ago.

Cheers, SLuggy

 

My personal favorite by far. Dark Side and Wish You Were Here are probably better albums, but their impact is somewhat lessened by being over played.

 

Pretty solid, though I considered it a let-down at the time it was released.

Side 1 is great. "Dogs" ranks among my favorite PF tracks.

It was side 2 that was the let-down for me. Pigs (TDO) seems so..I don't know...mundane. And I never cared much for Sheep (though I liked it as "Raving and Drooling" on the WYWH deluxe set).

This is one of those album where I usually just played side 1.

 

One of their best, absolutely essential.

 

It’s their best album. Period.