Animals - PINK FLOYD***

Pigs On The Wing 1/Dogs/Pigs (Three Different Ones)/Sheep/Pigs On The Wing 2

Animals was loosely based on George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Alas, it is a rather mediocre and somewhat impenetrable release from Pink Floyd, more remembered for the distinctive cover than the contents. (US:3 UK:2)

“Animals is a little hard to get into. The lyrics are bleak, the songs are long, and the overall aesthetic is rather dreary.”

“A largely mediocre affair, Animals vaguely explores the same themes that George Orwell touched on in Animal Farm albeit in a less blunt fashion. Pink Floyd builds up a fairly interesting atmosphere but the end result is still quite unremarkable. Every segment seems to be either drawn out longer than it deserves or not long enough, and there aren’t really any high points on the album.”

“The winds of change were blowing. Reflecting the mood of unrest prevalent in the UK at the time, the established old guard of music acts had evolved into complacency, while the combination of general discontent and the cyclical nature of change meant that they were about to be swept away by something considerably more aggressive, dynamic and challenging.”

“The main body of the album consists of three multi-layered mini-suites that unfurl and develop their grandeur gradually, which is the perfect background to the bitterest and most cynical allegories ever sung in popular culture.”

“Musically, Animals is highly textured. Although generally a guitar-driven album, the keyboard features prominently in establishing the eerie, twisted psychedelic atmosphere of its three primary compositions. Dogs is an extensive tour de force comprised of chilling instrumentation to match its haunting lyrical content. Pigs and Sheep are aggressive songs that lash out against the status quo, and they have a harder sound to go along with it.”

“Definitely my favourite Floyd album, based upon George Orwell's ingenious book Animal Farm. Waters was obviously moved by the book to make an album about it and he did a fantastic job. An excellent effort from the entire band, very well thought through and performed. It doesn't get much better than this.”