When I first listened to this album, I just loved it from beginning to end. The rock element to this album is probably the best they've ever done, in my opinion. I especially was completely blown away at the end of Sheep, my favorite track off the record, and that repeating riff that plays during the outro of the song. At this point I was listening to every single Pink Floyd album I could, and I just kept getting more and more blown away, I had no idea that music could be THIS amazing. It's one of the greatest albums on earth and I'm so glad that I discovered the Floyd, now my favorite band of all time and guaranteed to stay that way. Edit: Just got my turntable along with Animals as well as The Wall for Christmas!
@@davidwatson4728 yes you are 100% correct. So underrated it’s sickening. In part because it came after dark side and wish you were here it was kinda swept under unfortunately
I was at that "In the flesh" tour in 1977 in Phoenix Arizona where Pink Floyd did that concert. They did it at what was called the madhouse on McDowell Coliseum where the Phoenix Suns used to play. That show was Beyond phenomenal!! They played all of "Animals" took a short break then all of "Wish You Were Here" left the stage people were going crazy and they came out and played half of "Dark side of the Moon" for their encore! I remember at the time thinking to myself: "I really hope they film this somewhere with some decent equipment so I can see this again"!!! I still do hope they did record that concert cuz it was Unforgettable!!! I agree with you on Pink Floyd doing timeless music. The reason it's Timeless is because they don't sing about what's happening at the time nor do they try to sound like something that's popular. They never cared what sounded popular they simply made what they thought sounded good and turned it into music. This is why Pink Floyd is their own genre you can't call them rock or anything specific they're almost impossible to put a label on! Also animals doesn't have that ethereal sound and feeling I would term it more biting and Powerful plus spitting at greed power and Corruption!
I wish I was 5 years older. Was 14 in 79 at my first concert. People just a few years younger don't understand how bands toured in the 70s and early 80s. This year destroyed my one pleasure, live music. Your description is like a musical wet dream. Wish I was there.
I think the conflict between Waters and Gilmour brought out the best in both of them. Gilmour was in a pop group, Waters commanded a musically progressive, political vehicle. Gilmour was never overly bothered by philospophy and politics. If it had been down to Gilmour we would never have had Wish You Were Here and Animals, we'd have an album comprising Raving and Drooling, You Gotta Be Crazy and Shine On You Crazy Diamond instead. Waters won that battle and Gilmour wasn't happy, which is why his guitar playing on Animals is so avant garde and very very angry. I think it's the best he ever played.
I'd looooove a Middle Years box set with a newly remixed version of this record along with a fully remastered soundboard recording of the concerts with footage. Like the same treatment as Pompeii and Delicate Sound from the last two. Its probably unlikely cause of Roger and Davids relationship but a boxset with that would sell like crazy
@@thomascars1Thought it was really solid - one of, if not, the best Floyd remixes to come out. I love the added clarity, like putting on glasses to see the finer details of the painting and to me the new mix makes it sound like a Roger Waters solo album (not in a bad way, just makes me hear it very diffrently) However, I think the release itself was so lacking for better words. The lack of any bonus content, demos, live soundboard recordings, anything really is a huge killer for me when they remix and release these types of albums. Also, I'll probably keep coming back to the original mix because that I'm used to that 70's warmth in production. TL:DR great remix but I may have overhyped it and wished there were more additional tracks included
Nick Mason was actually asked about an Immersion Box Set for Animals and he stated that the album has been remixed in stereo and in 5.1 surround sound that both Gimour and Waters okayed but that they were having issues finding outtakes, demos, and live recordings which he said has basically stopped the box set from coming out. Hope they find something soon.
This whole series was amazing. Congratulations on the great work! I felt that this final piece was a true and touching attempt at showing what the album meant to you, and it really spoke to me. You did amazing!
Thanks for spending the time and effort to present this album, which a lot of people overlook due to whatever reason they care to give for not paying more attention to this masterpiece of human nature. Granted, they used the book "The Animal Farm" to get their point across, the way they did it was so unusual that the album stands alone. If this would have been the only record they ever made, it would have been heralded as a groundbreaking album of epic proportions, yet all their other albums overshadows Animals because of (state your reasons) only to the listeners detriment. My personal favorite by Pink Floyd, and a reflection of the time it came out, but also a reflection on society today, especially recent events...
Love your series on this complex, difficult and lovely album. I think many would agree with your sentiments. It's a hard album to quantify. Often a hard album to swallow. But, I think that's why I'm so intrigued by it still. One thing I know for sure. It showcases some of David's best guitar work. Obviously there is a lot more, but I think you did a great job encapsulating its many facets. No need for me to reiterate. Thanks!
I have always loved this album mostly for Dogs but in the last couple of months it has become probably my favourite Pink Floyd album, I think it’s because of the way how I feel about the world right now and listening to it closely I appreciate the melodies more that each member brings to each song. I find that the melodies say so much about the themes of the story even without lyrics. I really feel this is Pink Floyd at their peak and everyone was at the top of their A game.
I felt the exact same way the first time I heard Animals. I had heard the hype and I listened to the whole album about 4 times before I got it. Now it's one of my favorites.
When I first heard animals, it was very dark. I heard the euphoric state of dsotm but this was more heavy in some aspects. I understand why some would be a little put off by it. Loved your vid!
I saw in an interview with Roger theyve got the remixes made and he tried to organise a meeting or a discussion with David (he called it a peace offering) and he wants to release it but David didnt comply. I think its in a webcam interview on Roger's channel.
We'll probably never know what happened. I do know this: Roger and Sid were close friends since childhood, and when Sid established himself as the lead man in Pink Floyd Roger was number two. when Sid left reality it was Roger who took over leading the band. Some will say that he was some kind of domineering tyrant but those criticisms come mostly from those who have little or no knowledge of English life after the end of WW II. If Roger was a little less outspoken than Dave perhaps things might have been different - but when tons of money are at stake it can change the best of friends. After all - this was Roger's band before Dave joined. The rest is speculation.
Your completely right I've seen the interview with Roger and Gilmour blew him out as he owns all the rights to Pink Floyd back catalogue once Roger left that was part of the court settlement in 85..The meeting took place with Nick Mason as Rick had sadly passed, Nick is a good friend of Roger and Gilmour but Dave won't budge, I think maybe it's his way of getting revenge from when Roger was in the band and totally controlled the direction of the band + Gilmour will never forgive Roger for kicking out Rick who was Dave's closest friend in the band, Roger admits his ego back then was to blame for the demise of the original band
@@merrillmilner8717 hi Merrill I've heard Roger admit his ego took control of the band but he also left because Roger was the only member who was writing and bringing stuff to the table and he said he got frustrated because no one else was as driven and he said I wasn't prepared to wait for 2 years for somebody to come up with any ideas, so you can understand his frustration with the rest of the band, like you say money makes people lazy and Roger although delighted with the money and adulation he still wanted to make more albums that's what was most important to him, virtually all the writing of Animals was Roger's specifically as his passion for commenting on the dissatisfaction of the times+ he is very aware of politics and the unfairness of people around the world
Jesus, when I clicked on this video I started thinking about how I felt about Animals and it was like you were voicing my thoughts. I got into Floyd in the late 70's as a young teen and it wasn't until about ten years ago that I really gave Animals a proper listen. I have always worshipped Zeppelin / Sabbath / Purple as the unholy trinity but once I got into Animals the trinity became a quartet, as well as Gilmour joining the other three as my favourite guitarists. You called Animals brutal, and that is spot on. It is now my 2nd favourite Floyd album behind The Wall and they are only separated by a wafer thin margin. On Us + Them Rog and his band do great versions of Pigs (three different ones) and Dogs. Bravo, great round up of this genius of an album.
You're spot on about Animals being tough to get into early on and needing to be older to really understand. All their other records have a lot of themes that are more universal and understandable when you are young, like isolation, loss, alienation, sadness, wonder, that sort of stuff. Animals is different. It's a cynical, bitter record with a very adult view of people that doesn't really hit until you've been around long enough to truly understand the allegories of the types of people being portrayed in the songs. I went through a massive Floyd phase as a teenager and barely listened to it, but these days when I get the itch to put them on, I pretty much always listen to Animals first. Also props for displaying Obscured by Clouds in the corner. I still think that's their most underrated record.
I connect with this album so much and is probably my favorite Pink Floyd. I understand why you feel the way the way you do about it. It means more to me lyrically now than it did when I was younger...especially as a working 56 year old it really resonates!
This youtube doesn't understand anything. For example: This channel, the presenter has style, the scenery is very cool, the content is interesting, but how can you not have 500 thousand subscribers yet? CZcams doesn't know anything, is the world population becoming ignorant? Vinyl Rewind towards 500mil !!!! Whoever is subscribed has the duty to publicize and help the channel to grow, I support this idea
Man loved the Raging Bull analogy, you can't look away and it fascinates but its not something you think of first as providing 'a good time'. Anyway, your deep dive -album series are 2nd to none. Hope there's more to come.
I definitely love the more ethereal side of Pink Floyd, but what drew me into this album was just how dark and deep the abyss went down. It's a masterclass in lyrics and music coming together to form a cohesive, in this case vicious, statement.
Big corporations against the individuals, yep pretty much the time we're living in. Pink Floyd ahead of their time forever and ever. Btw glad to see someone else as chocked as me about this record. They just exploded the boundaries of time in it, yes
Darkside will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first vinyl I ever bought with money I made doing a paper round and couldn't wait for it to hit the shops and it's just about perfect. But Animals has always and will always be my favourite Floyd album. Yes I like WYWH and I appreciate the Wall. But especially with the Wall it seemed more Roger getting something, maybe his anger out and the others just kinda went ali g with the project for Roger's sake. I must say though that David's solo on Comfortably Numb is the greatest solo of all time and I cant imagine anything else coming close! But Animals will always be my go too all album as I cant find fault in any of the songs and its seamless from start to finish! And it seems everyone of them had a equal input into creating the album! To me it will always be the best and maybe the fact we have never heard it live since or not one song has made it into a live album or set list adds to its mystery and only certain fans can see it's the perfect album and says everything about the band as 4 people playing together without one pushing their own agenda! Hate me if you want, disagree as we all think differently but this is my No1 and the fact it gets overlooked by most suits me fine!
When Roger said that Dark Side of the Moon was about being human, it was only a small part of his bigger picture. After meandering through previous releases, he found his footing in Meddle, which established the basic theme of all Pink Floyd's music. Having lived through the Counter Culture, his songs (and subsequent stage shows) reflected the times as they were. Then came Wish You Were Here, and it all changed. I can only speculate here, but I think Roger started feeling disconnected from his audience way before Animals was even a thought. The ideals he used to believe in turned out to be just that - with little or no social merit, and he slowly drifted away from that (along with having gone through a painful divorce). He realized that the "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together" mantra had no basis in real life; he became quite wealthy (though not until later on in his career) while his fans either wound up struggling to get by - or became the people he loathed in song. Even his so-called "brothers" were ripping him and the band off for personal gain. For him, it was clearly an end to this era. Leading up to Amused To Death, He wrote songs that were pretty much a half-hearted attempt at recapturing that freak flag and anti-war sentiment but it was all to no avail - the ship sailed and most of the fans had moved on. Amused To Death went in the direction of us becoming too complacent as we turned into consumers - sitting on our butts while we distracted ourselves with useless diversions on the internet. Finally, Roger became an podcasting activist, and I've lived long enough that my own opinions have more value than his. And so we parted ways.
Thanks for all your excellent videos on Pink Floyd. I am a huge PF fan, I find the Animals tour the most fascinating. I'ts hard to accept that there is no decent footage of what was such a historic event. I hope if anything surfaces you will let me know. Your videos are great and hope they continue. Cheers !
The Wall was filmed for 7 nights, 2 of them being rehearsals, and taped for 3-4 nights. Also, there are confirmed soundboards of the Animals tour according to Nick Mason himself, though i doubt they sound good. And one final note: The new transfer of footage from Cincinnati 77 is coming soon, and looks incredible. Love these videos man, keep them up!
Thank you for the deep dive into Animals - in my opinion the most overlooked and underappreciated album by Pink Floyd, historically. But recently, it is picking up such a huge following - thanks to people like you - to where it is finally receiving the attention and due it deserves. One of the many reasons it has never received more love is because, as you said, it came out after the massive followings of Dark Side and Wish You Were Here, and those fans who love (as you call) the 'ethereal' Pink Floyd just didn't get this new, hardened, dour, angry Pink Floyd. Myself, I have loved it since I first heard it. I could accept this being a great album because to me, Pink Floyd were always changing - experimenting - and were never the same sound from album to album. All the best bands did that in the 70's. I couldn't be happier that you mentioned an Immersion box set, because I have been asking for one since Dark Side and WYWH came out. I think this is essential to their legacy, and hated the fact they skipped it because I love it much more than The Wall. As Julian stated in his comment below, they have the material, but it will take a burying of the hatchet (that seems to dull at times, but sharpens again after those small glimmers of hope fade from the blade) for Roger and David to come together and work on it with Nick. All four of them (when Richard was alive) agreed this was their least favorite recording of a Pink Floyd album, so why haven't they gotten together already to make it the album they always wanted it to be - if nothing else, for the fans? For some reason at this time David does not want to agree to that, which makes me feel this is his way of spitting on the fans, much like Roger did, all those years ago. If it's not him extending an olive branch he doesn't want any part of Roger's. He's not hurting Roger, he's hurting all of us. I can only hope this can and will happen before one of them (or even me!) passes, where we only get one or two of the three sides of the input necessary to give us all the version we - and they - deserve. It's bad enough Rick can't be there to offer his input, since his keyboards are essential to the Pink Floyd sound, so they should make this more of a priority - as maybe a final tribute to Mr. Wright's talent. As well as their own. Nobody sounded like they did together. Just one fan's opinion...sorry for the long-winded comment. Again, thank you for these videos!
I will never consider this one as one of their best three albums. Don't know what it is but I miss that floydian thing...that magic you can find on Dark side or Wish you were here. The story and the guitar creations that David created on The Wall are top notch musical stuff.
A 4 or 5 lp box with an album remix, early versions and a full live show would definitely be amazing and I would buy it in a heartbeat. I know they were working on an Animals 5.1 reissue but because of tensions between the members of the band this isn’t released yet sadly
I totally agree. Animals never made sense to me either the first few times I listened to it. The more I listen to it though, the more I like it. I think it may even be my favorite Pink Floyd album now.
Great work, Eric, as always! You’ve helped me rediscover this album in a whole new way. I remember hearing it in my teens and just not getting it or getting into it...and now, thanks to you, I’ve been listening to it all week. Amazing.
Me, my best friend and our girlfriends at the time saw the Cincinnati show in 1977 during the summer between our Junior and Senior year. Best show I saw that year. I still have my ticket stub.
I don't care how much of a Roger Solo work it is, and I don't care how much drama was going on behind the scenes, but we need a middle years boxset and it would need to include The Final Cut. Give us the rumored The Wall HD footage Roger has, the Final Cut mini-movie, the Wall 1983 film on Bluray for the first time, 5.1 mixes of Dark Side through The Final Cut, the content from the immersion sets (but include the full Roger Waters demos of The Wall instead of just excerpts), and heck give us a video of Roger and David wearing a "This is our getting along shirt" and have them do an unboxing video of it together while wearing it.
I love The Final Cut. It came out my senior year in HS and was the first Floyd record I ever bought the week it was released. It's still an emotional experience for me, almost 40 years on.
@@TheAgeOfAnalog Me too. I was in my first year at university when it came out and I bought it on its first day of release. It contains some of Roger's best lyrics.
A long while ago I tried to make a fan one. Included Wembley 74, The Wall demos, Oakland 78, The Hard Way/Wine Glasses, the 1975 Abby Road demos. I still wanna do it but my King Crimson collection is clogging up my google drive
I like how he sounded a bit speechless throughout, which evidently is quite accurate to how I was after first listening to Animals. Also, can someone PLEASE give me pointers to where he got those storyboards for the canceled animation?
Love this album. I was a huge Floyd dan beginning in 1975 and for whatever I had never heard it until I was in Naval aircraft school in Memphis in 1980. I like to from the very first listen.
My reaction to Animals was similar to yours, I remember that I almost never let the cd play Sheep, and I couldn't quite understand such a change from Wish You Were Here... but, the true is, I wans't lesson, then one day I stop, and really lesson to this album for the first time and then everything change... it was like I just found a treasure hidden right on my face... today, Animals is on my personal list of favorite albuns of all time and in 2018 when Roger came to Brazil I was able to fullfill a personal dream of watching this album be played live and was a very incredible experience
Gotta do wish you were here & dark side next in depth. I’m a huge floyd head & know most of these facts already due to years of diving into them but appreciate everything that you do! Pass the knowledge down to the people that don’t quite got that bug yet! Keep on keeping on man! ⚡️ sending love!
Didn't really appreciate this album at first, wasn't until I heard the amazing claypools flying frog brigade live cover of the whole album that I got it. Glad I still have my dad's couple of pink Floyd albums, including this one though, it's one of my fav Floyd albums now.
Aside from The Final Cut which was basically a 3rd disk of The Wall. Floyd's 70s albums were each unique yet showcased their creativity and talent. So many bands struggle to do something different yet not lose their edge.
Man... I love your pure and honest love for this album. You are having a conversation with me that I have never had the pleasure of having with anyone in real life yet...(my favorite Floyd album since I heard on LSD in High School in 1994...shh...😉)🤘🏽🤘🏽🖤 I discovered your channel this September and I watched your Pink Floyd videos 1st and it was the history/story’s/ details I’ve always wanted to know about “my”Pink Floyd(Meddle-Wall). Since discovering you I have thoroughly enjoyed all your album reviews(“Kids See Ghosts” was a welcome and unexpected surprise✊🏽) AND, totally dig on your tiki drink recipe videos too! 😺 Keep doing what you do and stay “gold” baby🤘🏽 ima keep watching🖤 P.S. I gonna watch Raging Bull with new eyes 🙈➡️🐂
Took 3 or 4 listens a couple years ago for me to really get into Animals, but after that I was obsessed and it was my favorite Pink Floyd album for some time. Dogs is a masterful composition, certainly one of Gilmour’s best. Probably their angriest and most dejected album as a whole. Right now Wish You Were Here is my favorite and I’m not sure if Animal’s will ever be again but I understand where people who think it’s the best are coming from. I also noticed I listen to single tracks off Animals rarely, I usually have to take in the album as a whole.
This is by a wide margin my favorite Pink Floyd album. The songwriting, the performance, the pure cohesion of concept. Although I guess I should caveat that with the Wall doesn't make my Top 10 hahah And yeah this needs the Immersion treatment!
First time I listened to Animals was also the first time I took LSD. They mixed quite well. Gilmour’s solo in Dogs is the most amazing music and sound I’ve ever heard.
That was an interesting video. Watching someone think and speak is often a rare commodity on CZcams...and in life. It was a genuine experience .Regarding vaulted stuff...i would assume the members of Floyd would prefer to have it out during their lifetimes. If for no other reason than to be satisfied with how it will benefit their estates...in addition to artistic considerations. Maybe it's being parced out for maximum impact on the consumer.
Hey man! Really enjoyed this series and your videos in general. Animals is my favorite Floyd album and has been ever since I first heard it. Thanks for doing this. I adore the Beatles and Floyd, but I’d LOVE to see your take on The Who - especially Quadrophenia. In my opinion it’s the best British rock album of all time. Anyway mate, well done.
OKAY I SWEAR TO GOD THAT WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY ACTUALLY HAPPENED: THERE ARE OFFICIAL LIVE RECORDINGS. (sorry for the caps lock, but I'm seriously excited) Sooo I was in Rome, about two years ago or more, went to see the Pink Floyd Exhibition: their mortal remains. I was pretty ignorant back then, so I did not really know about the incredible lack of live footage from this era. I went through all the rooms, and stopped to look at all kinds of videos and infos. But there is this room, or actually more like a corridor, with some memorabilia from the Animals era (I do actually remember the exact location of it: the corridor was on the side of the The Wall room, for who has seen the exhibition, the one with all the inflatables, the Nobody Home tour set recreation and the plane hanged to the ceiling). And here comes the thing that still to these days I'm asking myself whether I was hallucinating or not, and why tf did I not film that. I remember clearly that there was a sort of display, like a tv or sth, showing a live footage of Sheep, or some other song from Animals (pretty sure it was sheep though). And I'm almost sure it was professionally recorded, and not some fan footage. I've also discussed about it with my high school philosophy teacher, that went as well to that same exhibition (he was a huge PF fan) and was surprised to see that footage. I've been trying to find that performance online multiple times, and also went on all kind of Pink Floyd blogs to see if there was any mention of it somewhere. Unfortunately, I am still waiting to see that performance again. I've also seen an high quality performance of Breathe in the air, from 1973, in a documentary, but I think that that one is not as rare as the Sheep one, since I'm pretty sure I've seen it somewhere else. Can you PLEASE help me to track down that 1977 performance, or at least to gather some more info about it? Thanks, Luca.
Thanks heaps for your insights into this album over the past several videos. There were some great pictures in Nick Mason's book which would be great to see in an enlarged size as part of a booklet in any immersion set. A video of one of the 'In The Flesh' concerts would be great but, like you, I'm not holding out a lot of hope for that. I can do without a scarf, but would rather see lots of studio run-throughs and outtakes from the recording sessions (like the deluxe edition of FM's Tusk).
It has been mixed in 5.1, and is awaiting release but there are many reasons why it's not been released yet. Jon Cain has heard it and said on his Facebook feed that it sounds stunning. The thought is they've used some of the original quad mix for the 5.1
The biggest reason why there hasn't been a Animals box set is Dave & Roger. Both of them are in total agreement that they've never liked the final mix of the album and feel it needs to be totally redone. The problem is that they would have to agree to sit in a studio for weeks an get along long enough for the new mix.
I like that it doesn't have any radio songs. It's far and away my favorite Pink Floyd album and a big reason is because it was never played on the radio. Now I've been a fan of the album for thirty years but it's remained my favorite because I get to choose when I listen to it. As a kid who listened to a lot of classic rock radio, I heard Pink Floyd constantly, and it's really burned me out on a lot of their music. I think if I'd never heard anything off of Dark Side on the radio, I'd probably love that album a lot more. Of course another reason this is my favorite Floyd album is because it's so dark and I love dark music.
I first heard this album in 9th grade when it first came out. I was a stoner and stuck with the 3 previous albums and later the Wall. Like you in college I really listened to it and it is now my favorite album of any group. I enjoy your drops since I usually agree and it is like listening to a friend. I dream of what could be done with VR and 5.1. What great experiences the fans could enjoy if David and Roger weren't such assholes. Have seen both live solo and Floyd in the 90s, too young for the real thing. Again thanks for your work.
I'd love to see you dive into the next two on the big four, or the big five if you want to include Meddle, which I think literally everyone would love if you did! Thank you so much for this series and your Wall series!
Agree with you! They almost got it right with the Immersion sets and the Early Years boxset. But the band aren’t keen with releasing any cutting room floor stuff. I’d recommend the Oakland Coliseum show where they encored with Careful With That Axe
I never appreciated Animals as an album when I was young. I'm now well into middle age and have only recently appreciated how great it is. It took years of work and involvement in business to recognise the people in the songs, to see how unpleasant some people are and to reflect that for a lot of people their ambitions and dreams aren't always fulfilled and they look back over parts of their life with a sense of disappointment.
Absolutely, and the way people will use others for their own gain. Dogs has to be one of the saddest songs Waters wrote- the dogs made a deal with the devil and didn't realize it until too late.
Relics was the first floyd album i ever heard than the wall then dark side when i heard this it just blew me away i have listened to this at least once a week for the last 37 year still takes me on the most amazing journey people ask me why and i have thought about it not many people mention this but the bass is just fucking amazing just listen wow
Indeed, without the bootlegs we wouldn't know the live versions of many early seventies Pink Floyd tunes. As for Animals, In The Flesh tour Live at Alameda Coliseum Oakland, CA U.S.A May 9, 1977 is well worth listening to. Snowy White is also playing lead and there are some amazing performances. The vitriol on Pigs ( Three Different Ones) is felt much more on this live version than the studio album.
I was 7 when I first heard Another Brick... Part II, and that was it for me, I was a Pink Floyd fan! I then heard the whole album and I could not get enough, although I didn't quite understand it at the time (as if I do now, ha ha). Then I heard Dark Side, and I thought (and still do), it was good, and a lot less bleak than The Wall, with The Wall being the better of the two. WYWH was a little lighter than Dark Side, and I too quite liked it. Roll on several years later, and I am playing guitar or bass in bands, and I listened to all the PF I could get my hands on, but I could not get into Animals. I am Scottish, and around the age of 18, I gained a political conscience (thats - Maggie Thatcher and the Tories Vs Scotland! bloody POLL TAX!!). Then I got Animals. I could see what Roger meant, with Dogs, Pigs, Sheep. I developed a new found liking for the album. Its hard, its angry, its menacing, its brilliant. Now I think its the best PF album, and musically, I think it is the most complex PF ever sounded. Leaving out Pigs on the Wing Part 01 & 02, the chords are more elaborate, bass lines more rhythmic, lead guitar not stuck in the 2 modes and blues scales normally used. Pink Floyd sound tighter than they do on other records, it is quite metronomic (in a good way). It sounds more polished and together than before, and since. I don't mean the other records are sloppy, they are a bit more laid back (even though The Wall is played to a click track live). I think the Immersion series has been good, but all three could have been a lot better, I am sure they have hours and hours of material that did not go into them. I wanted to hear them from concept to polished article, warts and all! I hope that David and Roger can agree on what come out in the Animals one (if it ever does), and they make it as big as they possibly can, because that is what the fans want - Everything! Great series by the way, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole Pink Floyd series. Nice one man, keep it up. Cheers Jolly PS I am a believer that PF should have stopped after The Final Cut. I don't think the next three albums feel like PF records, maybe just one song on Delicate and two, maybe three on Division. Others will disagree, and you are welcome to, just don't dis my opinion please. J
As others have commented. In a recent interview Roger said that he tried to reach out to David multiple times to get the Animals box set out and that David has some major hold up with this for some reason that he did not have with the other box set. Roger himself said he didn't understand why David had no problem with the other box sets but this one he essentially wont even discuss.... sad... But yeah... It's David, not Roger who is holding things up.
I think that maybe Dave doesn't have any production on Animals that's why he uses it as a way of getting back at Roger, he blames him for kicking out Rick who was Dave's closest friend in the band and as Dave owns all the rights of the band after Roger left, Roger's ego also nearly broke Gilmour apart which Roger now fully admits he was a control freak back then but also correctly says he was the only band member who was writing and coming up with ideas and concepts
It’s important to remember re: talk of an Animals box set, that this wasn’t a particularly creative period for the band. You Gotta Be Crazy/Dogs and Raving and Drooling/Sheep were well-worn pieces and had already been kicked around live for several years. In entering the studio in 1976 to record, there simply weren’t a lot of new, vital musical ideas percolating in the Floyd cosmos. Waters once talked about the creative malaise that affected them during the WYWH sessions as giving off a low energy, almost mechanical feel during recording (the result of the enormous, personal stress following the success of DSotM). Regardless, WYWH still featured some brilliant musical ideas and became a landmark recording despite lacking some of the energy of their best earlier work. And as it were, Animals is laden with some of the same dullness. The difference being, in this case, that the songwriting and ideas are not nearly as vibrant or strong, from start to finish. So the Animals outtakes are not very revelatory. There are a couple versions with different lyrics, or sans Gilmour’s guitar, the Snowy White outtake, or, in the case with Dogs, an exceedingly bad and cringey demo with Waters singing lead on the entire song. It’s also worth noting that Animals was the first time that a Floyd album was dedicated to a more rigid and decidedly “closed” form of conceptual/lyrical narrative. This contributes greatly to the marked lack of that trademark Floyd transportive quality in the tunes. Still, the album’s lyrics managed to align thematically and emotionally with the turbulent uncertainty of the late 70’s and its more stripped-down production and angry, dystopian theme happened (accidentally, i believe) to fall in lockstep with the underground/DIY ethos of the emerging punk movement. The most compelling curiosity pieces related to Animals are: 1) the 1975 Wembley soundboard of You Gotta Be Crazy, already released with the WYWH box set, which shows what a wonderful tune it was in its earliest incarnations, albeit with different lyrics and a more open-ended lyrical narrative about the corporate world and working for The Man. 2) some very solid, edgy performances from the In The Flesh 77 tour- most notably an epic, hair-raising Pigs from the final show, at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, where (it is claimed) the infamous spitting incident takes place during the extended jam at the end.
I remember first time i heard Dogs, I think my best friend wanted me to hear it he was already big PF fan and I liked few "mainstream PF songs", so after like 30sec I just couldn't bear it to listen more. Now its one of my favourite songs, and I just doesn't understand and I cant remember why I couldn't handle it. Maybe it was just to hard for me. Almost same thing did to me Instellar overdrive, but it took me really long time to really love that song. It was probably after watching Tonite Let's All Make Love in London to truly appreciate the song . And I think you can truly aprieciet the only after you really listen it. So close eyes and just listen, don't do anything beside its same like u get psychedelic pill.
Here's a quote from a Rolling Stone interview with Guy Pratt, published in mid-sept 2020 Back then, they were friendly enough to play together at shows like that. What happened? They seem to truly hate each other again. "It’s really not in a good place now. I don’t know. It’s best I don’t talk about it."
David doesn't consider Roger a member of Pink Floyd anymore, and thus won't promote his material on any official Pink Floyd outlet, despite David also saying he's done with Pink Floyd. Made sense when the band, minus Roger, was still active. Now though not as much, so Roger is pretty pissed about it
Funny story... One summer my dad made me carve out the side of the hill with a pick axe to put up a wall dividing our driveway from the neighbors yard. To make the work go by easier, I brought out my record player and put on "Animals." As the afternoon dragged on, the hot sun began to melt the album to the point you could no longer tell if the strange noises coming forth were the intended result or caused by to the vinyl warping. Now I know what you're thinking, wasn't there a better suited Pink Floyd album to listen to while building a wall? There was! ...but I at that point I hadn't yet discovered "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn."
My wish list for a deluxe set: ~Remix the original album. The mix we got was great, but I'd be willing to hear a revisit like the Beatles have been doing in recent years. ~A live disc. It can be from multiple shows, sure. Just find the best quality and best performances from the soundboard recordings that are available. Or do like Gentle Giant and make professional mixes of existing bootlegs. ~Video! For whatever reason, the Floyd didn't document much of their live shows from 1973-1977, which I think is a real shame. If there is, in fact, professionally shot footage from the In the Flesh tour, it must come out in an _Animals_ set. And throw in the Algie film, too. Why not? ~A disc of bonus material: I'm thinking live 1975 versions of "You've Gotta Be Crazy" and "Raving and Drooling," which featured different lyrics than any other officially released versions. I think those versions may have also made it into the studio as early recordings for the albums that would eventually become _Wish You Were Here_ and _Animals._ And, of course, you gotta have the studio recording of "Pigs on the Wing, Parts 1 and 2" featuring the Snowy White guitar solo.
I always equated Animals to Zep's Presence. Both aren't as popular as the big ones and they're alot heavier and guitar-laden. Came out the same year too. And actually my favorites from both groups.
Your videos are really good. I like what you did with The Wall. Have you ever considered doing videos on other rock operas? Like Tommy or Quadrophenia or Joe's Garage?
If you listen to some of live shows from 1975 .. PINK FLOYD 26th April 1975 Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California #PabloFlaming. you'll hear the 2 first songs. 01-Raving And Drooling and 02-You've Got to Be Crazy are basically the songs from the Animals album but its like all 3 mashed together. There are some demo's of Animals out there to be heard also. There is also 2 different verisions of "pigs on a wing" the 8 track tape version and the Album/cassette version
David was once asked about which is the solo he is most proud of having played and he didn't reply Comfortably numb but one take of Dogs that he played on the studio recording the song and Waters accidentally deleted. He said that was a pretty good solo. I can't remember where I read it...maybe in the Nick Mason's book.
With regards to "how they came up with those sounds", I think it's down to just pure unbridled creativity. I look back at some of my own early songs and recordings (and I'm by NO means comparing myself to PF here :) ) and wonder how I came up with them or even played some of the parts. I think it happens to all artists if they're given time to keep writing and experimenting - they just keep pushing and developing and getting better, coming up with more interesting and intricate ideas and being able to execute on them. There was a long time through the 90's and early 2000's where artist development was lacking and sadly a lot of bands didn't get to that really creative stage because of commercial pressure, but now with artists being able to use the internet to release their own material it's happening again.
I still remember the first time I had a taste of Animals. Me, 12, hanging out with a girl that 3 years later became my summer girlfriend. It was Pigs (three different ones), part of a CD MIX she made. Then I heard Dogs, instantly sold. After listening to Sheep, it instantly became my favorite Pink Floyd album, sadly after Dark Side.
I purchased this album when I was 9 years old! xD It definitely shaped my outlook on life to be distrustful and suspicious at a very early age. My aunts had Dark Side and Wish You Were Here but not this one. I must have listened to this album 1000 times now over the years --- it is not my favorite but it has MOMENTS that are among The Floyd's best.
The 5.1 mix is done,and Roger wants to at least release a vinyl version, but David is steadfast on not releasing it. There is a bootleg "Best of the 1977 tour" which takes the best of all of the available bootlegs ,which includes the last performance of "Careful with that axe,Eugene",which is worth having.
i would love to see this as a box set
I agree 100%
Me too, I seriously need to hear the full guitar solo from Pigs
@@beeee__ Do you mean gilmours lost solo? I'd love to hear that too
@Daffodil Productions it’s sort of there’s gonna be a 1 LP, 3 CD set but most
Of it will be available separately
When I first listened to this album, I just loved it from beginning to end. The rock element to this album is probably the best they've ever done, in my opinion. I especially was completely blown away at the end of Sheep, my favorite track off the record, and that repeating riff that plays during the outro of the song. At this point I was listening to every single Pink Floyd album I could, and I just kept getting more and more blown away, I had no idea that music could be THIS amazing. It's one of the greatest albums on earth and I'm so glad that I discovered the Floyd, now my favorite band of all time and guaranteed to stay that way.
Edit: Just got my turntable along with Animals as well as The Wall for Christmas!
Fully agree. Sheep has a great outtro. And the album is criminally underrated. Some of David Gilmour's best work was on Dogs.
Crab Applez I couldn’t agree more
@@davidwatson4728 yes you are 100% correct. So underrated it’s sickening. In part because it came after dark side and wish you were here it was kinda swept under unfortunately
I was at that "In the flesh" tour in 1977 in Phoenix Arizona where Pink Floyd did that concert. They did it at what was called the madhouse on McDowell Coliseum where the Phoenix Suns used to play. That show was Beyond phenomenal!! They played all of "Animals" took a short break then all of "Wish You Were Here" left the stage people were going crazy and they came out and played half of "Dark side of the Moon" for their encore! I remember at the time thinking to myself: "I really hope they film this somewhere with some decent equipment so I can see this again"!!! I still do hope they did record that concert cuz it was Unforgettable!!! I agree with you on Pink Floyd doing timeless music. The reason it's Timeless is because they don't sing about what's happening at the time nor do they try to sound like something that's popular. They never cared what sounded popular they simply made what they thought sounded good and turned it into music. This is why Pink Floyd is their own genre you can't call them rock or anything specific they're almost impossible to put a label on! Also animals doesn't have that ethereal sound and feeling I would term it more biting and Powerful plus spitting at greed power and Corruption!
I wish I was 5 years older. Was 14 in 79 at my first concert. People just a few years younger don't understand how bands toured in the 70s and early 80s. This year destroyed my one pleasure, live music. Your description is like a musical wet dream. Wish I was there.
I think the conflict between Waters and Gilmour brought out the best in both of them. Gilmour was in a pop group, Waters commanded a musically progressive, political vehicle. Gilmour was never overly bothered by philospophy and politics. If it had been down to Gilmour we would never have had Wish You Were Here and Animals, we'd have an album comprising Raving and Drooling, You Gotta Be Crazy and Shine On You Crazy Diamond instead. Waters won that battle and Gilmour wasn't happy, which is why his guitar playing on Animals is so avant garde and very very angry. I think it's the best he ever played.
I'd looooove a Middle Years box set with a newly remixed version of this record along with a fully remastered soundboard recording of the concerts with footage. Like the same treatment as Pompeii and Delicate Sound from the last two. Its probably unlikely cause of Roger and Davids relationship but a boxset with that would sell like crazy
That would be epic!
100%
They might call it “Golden Years” because those 4 to 5 records are arguably the most recognizable years of Pink Floyd
What do you think of that 2018 remix?
@@thomascars1Thought it was really solid - one of, if not, the best Floyd remixes to come out. I love the added clarity, like putting on glasses to see the finer details of the painting and to me the new mix makes it sound like a Roger Waters solo album (not in a bad way, just makes me hear it very diffrently)
However, I think the release itself was so lacking for better words. The lack of any bonus content, demos, live soundboard recordings, anything really is a huge killer for me when they remix and release these types of albums. Also, I'll probably keep coming back to the original mix because that I'm used to that 70's warmth in production.
TL:DR great remix but I may have overhyped it and wished there were more additional tracks included
Nick Mason was actually asked about an Immersion Box Set for Animals and he stated that the album has been remixed in stereo and in 5.1 surround sound that both Gimour and Waters okayed but that they were having issues finding outtakes, demos, and live recordings which he said has basically stopped the box set from coming out. Hope they find something soon.
Damn! Screw the out takes and give us the live, 5.1, and hi res disc's.
This whole series was amazing. Congratulations on the great work! I felt that this final piece was a true and touching attempt at showing what the album meant to you, and it really spoke to me. You did amazing!
I agree 100%. The emotion and the loss for words really convey his feelings about the album.
There is three albums I never got on with until I was a lot older, “Ummagumma”, “Atom Heart Mother” and “Animals”. Now appreciate them a lot more
Three underrated albums
More is pretty good also
Same, they were such mature works. 💀🔥
Thanks for spending the time and effort to present this album, which a lot of people overlook due to whatever reason they care to give for not paying more attention to this masterpiece of human nature. Granted, they used the book "The Animal Farm" to get their point across, the way they did it was so unusual that the album stands alone. If this would have been the only record they ever made, it would have been heralded as a groundbreaking album of epic proportions, yet all their other albums overshadows Animals because of (state your reasons) only to the listeners detriment. My personal favorite by Pink Floyd, and a reflection of the time it came out, but also a reflection on society today, especially recent events...
👍
A 5.1 mix and a Live Album, specially the oakland gig had an incredible performance, Floyd at its peak musically.
Love your series on this complex, difficult and lovely album. I think many would agree with your sentiments. It's a hard album to quantify. Often a hard album to swallow. But, I think that's why I'm so intrigued by it still. One thing I know for sure. It showcases some of David's best guitar work. Obviously there is a lot more, but I think you did a great job encapsulating its many facets. No need for me to reiterate. Thanks!
I have always loved this album mostly for Dogs but in the last couple of months it has become probably my favourite Pink Floyd album, I think it’s because of the way how I feel about the world right now and listening to it closely I appreciate the melodies more that each member brings to each song. I find that the melodies say so much about the themes of the story even without lyrics. I really feel this is Pink Floyd at their peak and everyone was at the top of their A game.
In 1978, at the age of 15 I found my self on vacation with my parents. All I had was a cassette copy of Pink Floyd Animals. Enough said.
I felt the exact same way the first time I heard Animals. I had heard the hype and I listened to the whole album about 4 times before I got it. Now it's one of my favorites.
When I first heard animals, it was very dark. I heard the euphoric state of dsotm but this was more heavy in some aspects. I understand why some would be a little put off by it. Loved your vid!
I saw in an interview with Roger theyve got the remixes made and he tried to organise a meeting or a discussion with David (he called it a peace offering) and he wants to release it but David didnt comply. I think its in a webcam interview on Roger's channel.
We'll probably never know what happened. I do know this: Roger and Sid were close friends since childhood, and when Sid established himself as the lead man in Pink Floyd Roger was number two. when Sid left reality it was Roger who took over leading the band. Some will say that he was some kind of domineering tyrant but those criticisms come mostly from those who have little or no knowledge of English life after the end of WW II. If Roger was a little less outspoken than Dave perhaps things might have been different - but when tons of money are at stake it can change the best of friends. After all - this was Roger's band before Dave joined. The rest is speculation.
Your completely right I've seen the interview with Roger and Gilmour blew him out as he owns all the rights to Pink Floyd back catalogue once Roger left that was part of the court settlement in 85..The meeting took place with Nick Mason as Rick had sadly passed, Nick is a good friend of Roger and Gilmour but Dave won't budge, I think maybe it's his way of getting revenge from when Roger was in the band and totally controlled the direction of the band + Gilmour will never forgive Roger for kicking out Rick who was Dave's closest friend in the band, Roger admits his ego back then was to blame for the demise of the original band
@@merrillmilner8717 hi Merrill I've heard Roger admit his ego took control of the band but he also left because Roger was the only member who was writing and bringing stuff to the table and he said he got frustrated because no one else was as driven and he said I wasn't prepared to wait for 2 years for somebody to come up with any ideas, so you can understand his frustration with the rest of the band, like you say money makes people lazy and Roger although delighted with the money and adulation he still wanted to make more albums that's what was most important to him, virtually all the writing of Animals was Roger's specifically as his passion for commenting on the dissatisfaction of the times+ he is very aware of politics and the unfairness of people around the world
Jesus, when I clicked on this video I started thinking about how I felt about Animals and it was like you were voicing my thoughts. I got into Floyd in the late 70's as a young teen and it wasn't until about ten years ago that I really gave Animals a proper listen. I have always worshipped Zeppelin / Sabbath / Purple as the unholy trinity but once I got into Animals the trinity became a quartet, as well as Gilmour joining the other three as my favourite guitarists. You called Animals brutal, and that is spot on. It is now my 2nd favourite Floyd album behind The Wall and they are only separated by a wafer thin margin. On Us + Them Rog and his band do great versions of Pigs (three different ones) and Dogs. Bravo, great round up of this genius of an album.
Appreciate your work on Animals and totally agree that it's a joke we don't have an "immersion" package by now.
You're spot on about Animals being tough to get into early on and needing to be older to really understand. All their other records have a lot of themes that are more universal and understandable when you are young, like isolation, loss, alienation, sadness, wonder, that sort of stuff. Animals is different. It's a cynical, bitter record with a very adult view of people that doesn't really hit until you've been around long enough to truly understand the allegories of the types of people being portrayed in the songs. I went through a massive Floyd phase as a teenager and barely listened to it, but these days when I get the itch to put them on, I pretty much always listen to Animals first.
Also props for displaying Obscured by Clouds in the corner. I still think that's their most underrated record.
I connect with this album so much and is probably my favorite Pink Floyd. I understand why you feel the way the way you do about it. It means more to me lyrically now than it did when I was younger...especially as a working 56 year old it really resonates!
This youtube doesn't understand anything.
For example: This channel, the presenter has style, the scenery is very cool, the content is interesting, but how can you not have 500 thousand subscribers yet? CZcams doesn't know anything, is the world population becoming ignorant? Vinyl Rewind
towards 500mil !!!! Whoever is subscribed has the duty to publicize and help the channel to grow, I support this idea
CZcams is just an algorithm and it gives the masses what the masses want which is mainly cat videos
Man loved the Raging Bull analogy, you can't look away and it fascinates but its not something you think of first as providing 'a good time'. Anyway, your deep dive -album series are 2nd to none. Hope there's more to come.
I definitely love the more ethereal side of Pink Floyd, but what drew me into this album was just how dark and deep the abyss went down. It's a masterclass in lyrics and music coming together to form a cohesive, in this case vicious, statement.
My favorite with out question - best work from the Floyd
Would you ever consider doing a review of “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” by Genesis?
Omg yes I love genesis Peter Gabriel period I don't really like phill but I love trick of the tail
Yes! LLDOB is probably my favourite rock opera.
Masterpiece record
Would be super lit
Be sure and watch the Illustrated version of Lamb here on CZcams --- same guy also illustrated "Supper's Ready" 👍
Big corporations against the individuals, yep pretty much the time we're living in.
Pink Floyd ahead of their time forever and ever.
Btw glad to see someone else as chocked as me about this record.
They just exploded the boundaries of time in it, yes
I would die happy if I could watch/listen to super clean video of the Animals tour.
Darkside will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first vinyl I ever bought with money I made doing a paper round and couldn't wait for it to hit the shops and it's just about perfect. But Animals has always and will always be my favourite Floyd album. Yes I like WYWH and I appreciate the Wall. But especially with the Wall it seemed more Roger getting something, maybe his anger out and the others just kinda went ali g with the project for Roger's sake. I must say though that David's solo on Comfortably Numb is the greatest solo of all time and I cant imagine anything else coming close! But Animals will always be my go too all album as I cant find fault in any of the songs and its seamless from start to finish! And it seems everyone of them had a equal input into creating the album! To me it will always be the best and maybe the fact we have never heard it live since or not one song has made it into a live album or set list adds to its mystery and only certain fans can see it's the perfect album and says everything about the band as 4 people playing together without one pushing their own agenda! Hate me if you want, disagree as we all think differently but this is my No1 and the fact it gets overlooked by most suits me fine!
Animals was my first Pink Floyd album (one of my first albums TBH). Still my favourite.
Piper at the gates of dawn - Obscured By Clouds
Dark Side - The Wall
The Final Cut - The Endless River
Three box sets
When Roger said that Dark Side of the Moon was about being human, it was only a small part of his bigger picture. After meandering through previous releases, he found his footing in Meddle, which established the basic theme of all Pink Floyd's music. Having lived through the Counter Culture, his songs (and subsequent stage shows) reflected the times as they were.
Then came Wish You Were Here, and it all changed. I can only speculate here, but I think Roger started feeling disconnected from his audience way before Animals was even a thought. The ideals he used to believe in turned out to be just that - with little or no social merit, and he slowly drifted away from that (along with having gone through a painful divorce). He realized that the "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together" mantra had no basis in real life; he became quite wealthy (though not until later on in his career) while his fans either wound up struggling to get by - or became the people he loathed in song. Even his so-called "brothers" were ripping him and the band off for personal gain. For him, it was clearly an end to this era.
Leading up to Amused To Death, He wrote songs that were pretty much a half-hearted attempt at recapturing that freak flag and anti-war sentiment but it was all to no avail - the ship sailed and most of the fans had moved on. Amused To Death went in the direction of us becoming too complacent as we turned into consumers - sitting on our butts while we distracted ourselves with useless diversions on the internet.
Finally, Roger became an podcasting activist, and I've lived long enough that my own opinions have more value than his.
And so we parted ways.
Thanks for all your excellent videos on Pink Floyd. I am a huge PF fan, I find the Animals tour the most fascinating. I'ts hard to accept that there is no decent footage of what was such a historic event. I hope if anything surfaces you will let me know. Your videos are great and hope they continue. Cheers !
The Wall was filmed for 7 nights, 2 of them being rehearsals, and taped for 3-4 nights.
Also, there are confirmed soundboards of the Animals tour according to Nick Mason himself, though i doubt they sound good.
And one final note: The new transfer of footage from Cincinnati 77 is coming soon, and looks incredible.
Love these videos man, keep them up!
with taped you mean film tape, right?
footage for the wall or animals
what a new transfer of the super 8mm from Cincinnati? That's great news, some of the best Animals footage I've ever seen
Hellz Yeah!
@@patricksommer3971 Taped = Videotape. August was videotaped, and June was filmed. (The Wall tour)
Thank you for the deep dive into Animals - in my opinion the most overlooked and underappreciated album by Pink Floyd, historically. But recently, it is picking up such a huge following - thanks to people like you - to where it is finally receiving the attention and due it deserves. One of the many reasons it has never received more love is because, as you said, it came out after the massive followings of Dark Side and Wish You Were Here, and those fans who love (as you call) the 'ethereal' Pink Floyd just didn't get this new, hardened, dour, angry Pink Floyd. Myself, I have loved it since I first heard it. I could accept this being a great album because to me, Pink Floyd were always changing - experimenting - and were never the same sound from album to album. All the best bands did that in the 70's.
I couldn't be happier that you mentioned an Immersion box set, because I have been asking for one since Dark Side and WYWH came out. I think this is essential to their legacy, and hated the fact they skipped it because I love it much more than The Wall.
As Julian stated in his comment below, they have the material, but it will take a burying of the hatchet (that seems to dull at times, but sharpens again after those small glimmers of hope fade from the blade) for Roger and David to come together and work on it with Nick. All four of them (when Richard was alive) agreed this was their least favorite recording of a Pink Floyd album, so why haven't they gotten together already to make it the album they always wanted it to be - if nothing else, for the fans? For some reason at this time David does not want to agree to that, which makes me feel this is his way of spitting on the fans, much like Roger did, all those years ago. If it's not him extending an olive branch he doesn't want any part of Roger's. He's not hurting Roger, he's hurting all of us.
I can only hope this can and will happen before one of them (or even me!) passes, where we only get one or two of the three sides of the input necessary to give us all the version we - and they - deserve. It's bad enough Rick can't be there to offer his input, since his keyboards are essential to the Pink Floyd sound, so they should make this more of a priority - as maybe a final tribute to Mr. Wright's talent. As well as their own. Nobody sounded like they did together.
Just one fan's opinion...sorry for the long-winded comment.
Again, thank you for these videos!
It will never happen. They are too old now and don't care anymore. But i could be wrong. (not holding my breath)
Cheers
I will never consider this one as one of their best three albums. Don't know what it is but I miss that floydian thing...that magic you can find on Dark side or Wish you were here. The story and the guitar creations that David created on The Wall are top notch musical stuff.
A 4 or 5 lp box with an album remix, early versions and a full live show would definitely be amazing and I would buy it in a heartbeat. I know they were working on an Animals 5.1 reissue but because of tensions between the members of the band this isn’t released yet sadly
I totally agree. Animals never made sense to me either the first few times I listened to it. The more I listen to it though, the more I like it. I think it may even be my favorite Pink Floyd album now.
Great work, Eric, as always! You’ve helped me rediscover this album in a whole new way. I remember hearing it in my teens and just not getting it or getting into it...and now, thanks to you, I’ve been listening to it all week. Amazing.
Me, my best friend and our girlfriends at the time saw the Cincinnati show in 1977 during the summer between our Junior and Senior year. Best show I saw that year. I still have my ticket stub.
I don't care how much of a Roger Solo work it is, and I don't care how much drama was going on behind the scenes, but we need a middle years boxset and it would need to include The Final Cut. Give us the rumored The Wall HD footage Roger has, the Final Cut mini-movie, the Wall 1983 film on Bluray for the first time, 5.1 mixes of Dark Side through The Final Cut, the content from the immersion sets (but include the full Roger Waters demos of The Wall instead of just excerpts), and heck give us a video of Roger and David wearing a "This is our getting along shirt" and have them do an unboxing video of it together while wearing it.
I love The Final Cut. It came out my senior year in HS and was the first Floyd record I ever bought the week it was released. It's still an emotional experience for me, almost 40 years on.
@@TheAgeOfAnalog Me too. I was in my first year at university when it came out and I bought it on its first day of release. It contains some of Roger's best lyrics.
@@mikenash7049 and his best singing
A long while ago I tried to make a fan one. Included Wembley 74, The Wall demos, Oakland 78, The Hard Way/Wine Glasses, the 1975 Abby Road demos. I still wanna do it but my King Crimson collection is clogging up my google drive
Couldn’t care less about Roger’s solo work. I personally think he sucks on his own.His politics now makes his solo crap unlistenable to me.
I like how he sounded a bit speechless throughout, which evidently is quite accurate to how I was after first listening to Animals.
Also, can someone PLEASE give me pointers to where he got those storyboards for the canceled animation?
Love this album. I was a huge Floyd dan beginning in 1975 and for whatever I had never heard it until I was in Naval aircraft school in Memphis in 1980. I like to from the very first listen.
My reaction to Animals was similar to yours, I remember that I almost never let the cd play Sheep, and I couldn't quite understand such a change from Wish You Were Here... but, the true is, I wans't lesson, then one day I stop, and really lesson to this album for the first time and then everything change... it was like I just found a treasure hidden right on my face... today, Animals is on my personal list of favorite albuns of all time and in 2018 when Roger came to Brazil I was able to fullfill a personal dream of watching this album be played live and was a very incredible experience
Can you do one for The Piper At The Gates of Dawn please
Yes I love your vids do a one on dark side of the moon plsssss
He did already
Polyphonic has done a deep dive into each track of DSotM. Highly recommend.
@@rollovercook5084 yea but it was a joke
Gotta do wish you were here & dark side next in depth. I’m a huge floyd head & know most of these facts already due to years of diving into them but appreciate everything that you do! Pass the knowledge down to the people that don’t quite got that bug yet! Keep on keeping on man! ⚡️ sending love!
Didn't really appreciate this album at first, wasn't until I heard the amazing claypools flying frog brigade live cover of the whole album that I got it. Glad I still have my dad's couple of pink Floyd albums, including this one though, it's one of my fav Floyd albums now.
Would love a Piper at the gates of dawn review. By far my number 1 album love the whimsical tone of the whole thing.
Aside from The Final Cut which was basically a 3rd disk of The Wall. Floyd's 70s albums were each unique yet showcased their creativity and talent. So many bands struggle to do something different yet not lose their edge.
just going threw the tour ...you can hear the difference in the crowed as it goes on ...and the tone of Rogers voice with them
1 of my favorite Floyd albums. Great job thanks!
Man... I love your pure and honest love for this album. You are having a conversation with me that I have never had the pleasure of having with anyone in real life yet...(my favorite Floyd album since I heard on LSD in High School in 1994...shh...😉)🤘🏽🤘🏽🖤 I discovered your channel this September and I watched your Pink Floyd videos 1st and it was the history/story’s/ details I’ve always wanted to know about “my”Pink Floyd(Meddle-Wall). Since discovering you I have thoroughly enjoyed all your album reviews(“Kids See Ghosts” was a welcome and unexpected surprise✊🏽) AND, totally dig on your tiki drink recipe videos too! 😺 Keep doing what you do and stay “gold” baby🤘🏽 ima keep watching🖤 P.S. I gonna watch Raging Bull with new eyes 🙈➡️🐂
Took 3 or 4 listens a couple years ago for me to really get into Animals, but after that I was obsessed and it was my favorite Pink Floyd album for some time. Dogs is a masterful composition, certainly one of Gilmour’s best. Probably their angriest and most dejected album as a whole. Right now Wish You Were Here is my favorite and I’m not sure if Animal’s will ever be again but I understand where people who think it’s the best are coming from.
I also noticed I listen to single tracks off Animals rarely, I usually have to take in the album as a whole.
This is by a wide margin my favorite Pink Floyd album. The songwriting, the performance, the pure cohesion of concept. Although I guess I should caveat that with the Wall doesn't make my Top 10 hahah And yeah this needs the Immersion treatment!
Would love to see this as a one step! I love this album... pure genius.
First time I listened to Animals was also the first time I took LSD. They mixed quite well. Gilmour’s solo in Dogs is the most amazing music and sound I’ve ever heard.
The immersion box set for animals should have a Lego Battersea power station building! :D
This is indeed one of those records you begin to like as you get older.
That first bend in Dogs is euphoric!
I remember when you had like 30k? I thought you were so underated so I'm glad you're getting so much more subs!!!
A box set of this would be SO SICK.
That was an interesting video. Watching someone think and speak is often a rare commodity on CZcams...and in life. It was a genuine experience .Regarding vaulted stuff...i would assume the members of Floyd would prefer to have it out during their lifetimes. If for no other reason than to be satisfied with how it will benefit their estates...in addition to artistic considerations. Maybe it's being parced out for maximum impact on the consumer.
Hey man! Really enjoyed this series and your videos in general. Animals is my favorite Floyd album and has been ever since I first heard it. Thanks for doing this. I adore the Beatles and Floyd, but I’d LOVE to see your take on The Who - especially Quadrophenia. In my opinion it’s the best British rock album of all time. Anyway mate, well done.
OKAY I SWEAR TO GOD THAT WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY ACTUALLY HAPPENED: THERE ARE OFFICIAL LIVE RECORDINGS. (sorry for the caps lock, but I'm seriously excited) Sooo I was in Rome, about two years ago or more, went to see the Pink Floyd Exhibition: their mortal remains. I was pretty ignorant back then, so I did not really know about the incredible lack of live footage from this era. I went through all the rooms, and stopped to look at all kinds of videos and infos. But there is this room, or actually more like a corridor, with some memorabilia from the Animals era (I do actually remember the exact location of it: the corridor was on the side of the The Wall room, for who has seen the exhibition, the one with all the inflatables, the Nobody Home tour set recreation and the plane hanged to the ceiling). And here comes the thing that still to these days I'm asking myself whether I was hallucinating or not, and why tf did I not film that. I remember clearly that there was a sort of display, like a tv or sth, showing a live footage of Sheep, or some other song from Animals (pretty sure it was sheep though). And I'm almost sure it was professionally recorded, and not some fan footage. I've also discussed about it with my high school philosophy teacher, that went as well to that same exhibition (he was a huge PF fan) and was surprised to see that footage. I've been trying to find that performance online multiple times, and also went on all kind of Pink Floyd blogs to see if there was any mention of it somewhere. Unfortunately, I am still waiting to see that performance again. I've also seen an high quality performance of Breathe in the air, from 1973, in a documentary, but I think that that one is not as rare as the Sheep one, since I'm pretty sure I've seen it somewhere else. Can you PLEASE help me to track down that 1977 performance, or at least to gather some more info about it?
Thanks, Luca.
Thanks heaps for your insights into this album over the past several videos. There were some great pictures in Nick Mason's book which would be great to see in an enlarged size as part of a booklet in any immersion set. A video of one of the 'In The Flesh' concerts would be great but, like you, I'm not holding out a lot of hope for that. I can do without a scarf, but would rather see lots of studio run-throughs and outtakes from the recording sessions (like the deluxe edition of FM's Tusk).
Another cracking video. Please keep up the great work!
It has been mixed in 5.1, and is awaiting release but there are many reasons why it's not been released yet. Jon Cain has heard it and said on his Facebook feed that it sounds stunning. The thought is they've used some of the original quad mix for the 5.1
The biggest reason why there hasn't been a Animals box set is Dave & Roger. Both of them are in total agreement that they've never liked the final mix of the album and feel it needs to be totally redone.
The problem is that they would have to agree to sit in a studio for weeks an get along long enough for the new mix.
I like that it doesn't have any radio songs. It's far and away my favorite Pink Floyd album and a big reason is because it was never played on the radio. Now I've been a fan of the album for thirty years but it's remained my favorite because I get to choose when I listen to it. As a kid who listened to a lot of classic rock radio, I heard Pink Floyd constantly, and it's really burned me out on a lot of their music. I think if I'd never heard anything off of Dark Side on the radio, I'd probably love that album a lot more. Of course another reason this is my favorite Floyd album is because it's so dark and I love dark music.
I first heard this album in 9th grade when it first came out. I was a stoner and stuck with the 3 previous albums and later the Wall. Like you in college I really listened to it and it is now my favorite album of any group. I enjoy your drops since I usually agree and it is like listening to a friend. I dream of what could be done with VR and 5.1. What great experiences the fans could enjoy if David and Roger weren't such assholes. Have seen both live solo and Floyd in the 90s, too young for the real thing. Again thanks for your work.
There is something magical about Animals, just listening to the album does something almost intoxicating.
I'd love to see you dive into the next two on the big four, or the big five if you want to include Meddle, which I think literally everyone would love if you did! Thank you so much for this series and your Wall series!
Thank you for sharing a very thoughtful retrospective on my favourite PF album. Loved your videos on ‘Animals’. 👍🏻
It is very disappointing that David never plays anything from this album live. His playing is outstanding and should have been in his repertoire.
Agree with you! They almost got it right with the Immersion sets and the Early Years boxset. But the band aren’t keen with releasing any cutting room floor stuff. I’d recommend the Oakland Coliseum show where they encored with Careful With That Axe
Excellent wrap up, Eric!
I never appreciated Animals as an album when I was young. I'm now well into middle age and have only recently appreciated how great it is. It took years of work and involvement in business to recognise the people in the songs, to see how unpleasant some people are and to reflect that for a lot of people their ambitions and dreams aren't always fulfilled and they look back over parts of their life with a sense of disappointment.
Absolutely, and the way people will use others for their own gain. Dogs has to be one of the saddest songs Waters wrote- the dogs made a deal with the devil and didn't realize it until too late.
Relics was the first floyd album i ever heard than the wall then dark side when i heard this it just blew me away i have listened to this at least once a week for the last 37 year still takes me on the most amazing journey people ask me why and i have thought about it not many people mention this but the bass is just fucking amazing just listen wow
Indeed, without the bootlegs we wouldn't know the live versions of many early seventies Pink Floyd tunes. As for Animals, In The Flesh tour Live at Alameda Coliseum Oakland, CA U.S.A May 9, 1977 is well worth listening to. Snowy White is also playing lead and there are some amazing performances. The vitriol on Pigs ( Three Different Ones) is felt much more on this live version than the studio album.
I was 7 when I first heard Another Brick... Part II, and that was it for me, I was a Pink Floyd fan! I then heard the whole album and I could not get enough, although I didn't quite understand it at the time (as if I do now, ha ha). Then I heard Dark Side, and I thought (and still do), it was good, and a lot less bleak than The Wall, with The Wall being the better of the two. WYWH was a little lighter than Dark Side, and I too quite liked it. Roll on several years later, and I am playing guitar or bass in bands, and I listened to all the PF I could get my hands on, but I could not get into Animals. I am Scottish, and around the age of 18, I gained a political conscience (thats - Maggie Thatcher and the Tories Vs Scotland! bloody POLL TAX!!). Then I got Animals. I could see what Roger meant, with Dogs, Pigs, Sheep. I developed a new found liking for the album. Its hard, its angry, its menacing, its brilliant.
Now I think its the best PF album, and musically, I think it is the most complex PF ever sounded. Leaving out Pigs on the Wing Part 01 & 02, the chords are more elaborate, bass lines more rhythmic, lead guitar not stuck in the 2 modes and blues scales normally used. Pink Floyd sound tighter than they do on other records, it is quite metronomic (in a good way). It sounds more polished and together than before, and since. I don't mean the other records are sloppy, they are a bit more laid back (even though The Wall is played to a click track live).
I think the Immersion series has been good, but all three could have been a lot better, I am sure they have hours and hours of material that did not go into them. I wanted to hear them from concept to polished article, warts and all! I hope that David and Roger can agree on what come out in the Animals one (if it ever does), and they make it as big as they possibly can, because that is what the fans want - Everything!
Great series by the way, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole Pink Floyd series. Nice one man, keep it up.
Cheers
Jolly
PS I am a believer that PF should have stopped after The Final Cut. I don't think the next three albums feel like PF records, maybe just one song on Delicate and two, maybe three on Division. Others will disagree, and you are welcome to, just don't dis my opinion please.
J
As others have commented. In a recent interview Roger said that he tried to reach out to David multiple times to get the Animals box set out and that David has some major hold up with this for some reason that he did not have with the other box set. Roger himself said he didn't understand why David had no problem with the other box sets but this one he essentially wont even discuss.... sad... But yeah... It's David, not Roger who is holding things up.
I think that maybe Dave doesn't have any production on Animals that's why he uses it as a way of getting back at Roger, he blames him for kicking out Rick who was Dave's closest friend in the band and as Dave owns all the rights of the band after Roger left, Roger's ego also nearly broke Gilmour apart which Roger now fully admits he was a control freak back then but also correctly says he was the only band member who was writing and coming up with ideas and concepts
It’s important to remember re: talk of an Animals box set, that this wasn’t a particularly creative period for the band. You Gotta Be Crazy/Dogs and Raving and Drooling/Sheep were well-worn pieces and had already been kicked around live for several years. In entering the studio in 1976 to record, there simply weren’t a lot of new, vital musical ideas percolating in the Floyd cosmos. Waters once talked about the creative malaise that affected them during the WYWH sessions as giving off a low energy, almost mechanical feel during recording (the result of the enormous, personal stress following the success of DSotM). Regardless, WYWH still featured some brilliant musical ideas and became a landmark recording despite lacking some of the energy of their best earlier work. And as it were, Animals is laden with some of the same dullness. The difference being, in this case, that the songwriting and ideas are not nearly as vibrant or strong, from start to finish. So the Animals outtakes are not very revelatory. There are a couple versions with different lyrics, or sans Gilmour’s guitar, the Snowy White outtake, or, in the case with Dogs, an exceedingly bad and cringey demo with Waters singing lead on the entire song.
It’s also worth noting that Animals was the first time that a Floyd album was dedicated to a more rigid and decidedly “closed” form of conceptual/lyrical narrative. This contributes greatly to the marked lack of that trademark Floyd transportive quality in the tunes. Still, the album’s lyrics managed to align thematically and emotionally with the turbulent uncertainty of the late 70’s and its more stripped-down production and angry, dystopian theme happened (accidentally, i believe) to fall in lockstep with the underground/DIY ethos of the emerging punk movement.
The most compelling curiosity pieces related to Animals are:
1) the 1975 Wembley soundboard of You Gotta Be Crazy, already released with the WYWH box set, which shows what a wonderful tune it was in its earliest incarnations, albeit with different lyrics and a more open-ended lyrical narrative about the corporate world and working for The Man.
2) some very solid, edgy performances from the In The Flesh 77 tour- most notably an epic, hair-raising Pigs from the final show, at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, where (it is claimed) the infamous spitting incident takes place during the extended jam at the end.
I remember first time i heard Dogs, I think my best friend wanted me to hear it he was already big PF fan and I liked few "mainstream PF songs", so after like 30sec I just couldn't bear it to listen more. Now its one of my favourite songs, and I just doesn't understand and I cant remember why I couldn't handle it. Maybe it was just to hard for me. Almost same thing did to me Instellar overdrive, but it took me really long time to really love that song. It was probably after watching Tonite Let's All Make Love in London to truly appreciate the song . And I think you can truly aprieciet the only after you really listen it. So close eyes and just listen, don't do anything beside its same like u get psychedelic pill.
Here's a quote from a Rolling Stone interview with Guy Pratt, published in mid-sept 2020
Back then, they were friendly enough to play together at shows like that. What happened?
They seem to truly hate each other again.
"It’s really not in a good place now. I don’t know. It’s best I don’t talk about it."
David doesn't consider Roger a member of Pink Floyd anymore, and thus won't promote his material on any official Pink Floyd outlet, despite David also saying he's done with Pink Floyd. Made sense when the band, minus Roger, was still active. Now though not as much, so Roger is pretty pissed about it
Funny story... One summer my dad made me carve out the side of the hill with a pick axe to put up a wall dividing our driveway from the neighbors yard. To make the work go by easier, I brought out my record player and put on "Animals." As the afternoon dragged on, the hot sun began to melt the album to the point you could no longer tell if the strange noises coming forth were the intended result or caused by to the vinyl warping.
Now I know what you're thinking, wasn't there a better suited Pink Floyd album to listen to while building a wall? There was! ...but I at that point I hadn't yet discovered "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn."
My wish list for a deluxe set:
~Remix the original album. The mix we got was great, but I'd be willing to hear a revisit like the Beatles have been doing in recent years.
~A live disc. It can be from multiple shows, sure. Just find the best quality and best performances from the soundboard recordings that are available. Or do like Gentle Giant and make professional mixes of existing bootlegs.
~Video! For whatever reason, the Floyd didn't document much of their live shows from 1973-1977, which I think is a real shame. If there is, in fact, professionally shot footage from the In the Flesh tour, it must come out in an _Animals_ set. And throw in the Algie film, too. Why not?
~A disc of bonus material: I'm thinking live 1975 versions of "You've Gotta Be Crazy" and "Raving and Drooling," which featured different lyrics than any other officially released versions. I think those versions may have also made it into the studio as early recordings for the albums that would eventually become _Wish You Were Here_ and _Animals._ And, of course, you gotta have the studio recording of "Pigs on the Wing, Parts 1 and 2" featuring the Snowy White guitar solo.
I’d love to see you do an album review for one of The Doors’ albums
can't wait for the next one
I always equated Animals to Zep's Presence. Both aren't as popular as the big ones and they're alot heavier and guitar-laden. Came out the same year too. And actually my favorites from both groups.
Your videos are really good. I like what you did with The Wall. Have you ever considered doing videos on other rock operas? Like Tommy or Quadrophenia or Joe's Garage?
2:52 well it are lucky day dogs is now remixed
If you listen to some of live shows from 1975 .. PINK FLOYD 26th April 1975 Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California #PabloFlaming. you'll hear the 2 first songs. 01-Raving And Drooling and 02-You've Got to Be Crazy are basically the songs from the Animals album but its like all 3 mashed together. There are some demo's of Animals out there to be heard also. There is also 2 different verisions of "pigs on a wing" the 8 track tape version and the Album/cassette version
David was once asked about which is the solo he is most proud of having played and he didn't reply Comfortably numb but one take of Dogs that he played on the studio recording the song and Waters accidentally deleted. He said that was a pretty good solo. I can't remember where I read it...maybe in the Nick Mason's book.
With regards to "how they came up with those sounds", I think it's down to just pure unbridled creativity. I look back at some of my own early songs and recordings (and I'm by NO means comparing myself to PF here :) ) and wonder how I came up with them or even played some of the parts. I think it happens to all artists if they're given time to keep writing and experimenting - they just keep pushing and developing and getting better, coming up with more interesting and intricate ideas and being able to execute on them. There was a long time through the 90's and early 2000's where artist development was lacking and sadly a lot of bands didn't get to that really creative stage because of commercial pressure, but now with artists being able to use the internet to release their own material it's happening again.
Hi, I'm a big fan of your program. I'm a musician and music history geek also. I hope you do an episode on Pink Floyd's Meddle?
I still remember the first time I had a taste of Animals.
Me, 12, hanging out with a girl that 3 years later became my summer girlfriend. It was Pigs (three different ones), part of a CD MIX she made.
Then I heard Dogs, instantly sold. After listening to Sheep, it instantly became my favorite Pink Floyd album, sadly after Dark Side.
I purchased this album when I was 9 years old! xD It definitely shaped my outlook on life to be distrustful and suspicious at a very early age. My aunts had Dark Side and Wish You Were Here but not this one. I must have listened to this album 1000 times now over the years --- it is not my favorite but it has MOMENTS that are among The Floyd's best.
The 5.1 mix is done,and Roger wants to at least release a vinyl version, but David is steadfast on not releasing it. There is a bootleg "Best of the 1977 tour" which takes the best of all of the available bootlegs ,which includes the last performance of "Careful with that axe,Eugene",which is worth having.
My favorite pink floyd album.
Fantastic album. I just heard the 2018 remix.
Great series ! Thanks for doing the work . Cheers !!!