Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel. I used to think this album was mawkish, sentimental and disjointed . Now I think it is a collection of sincere, emotive and lyrically clever songs
David Bowie Pinups I thought it would a bland covers album where the originals are better but no Bowie does covers very well where See Emily Play and Sorrow are awesome tracks
When I was a schoolboy, any Pink Floyd album seemed boring to me, like symphonies, because I loved Creedence Clearwater Revival. But then I grew up and realized that good music can be different. Now I love CCR and PF both. And symphonies too.
Among others, "Smiley Smile." For years, I was influenced by Carl Wilson's "a bunt instead of a grand slam" assessment and heard it as a disappointing semi-"Smile" rather than listening to and appreciating it on its own (utterly brilliant) terms.
Yes! The best track off from Animals (since i'm re-listening to it later after watching her video). No matter if you play this song on a road trip (which I did 2 weekends ago while me and family were staying at Niagara Falls for the day) and DOSTM too (which I played it on a long road trip to Montreal on the last week of June).
David Gilmour’s solo in comfortably numb is widely recognized as his best . But there’s something about the solo in dogs that I say is my fav Gilmour solo .
Yeah, there's a terse urgency to Gilmore's work on Animals that really fits the subject matter, theme, tone and spirit of the album. I think in a great way the music stands as strong rhythmic statements, with the lyrics only occasionally taking prominence, and very effectively so. They've done better "songs" on other albums, but I appreciate this one more so as music: Compositions & orchestrations. It's my favorite with headphones.
@@abigaildevoeTime hits hard, but Dogs emotes like no other Dave solo, possibly excepting the colossal brevity of C Numb. At the end of the day though, that cascading harmonized sliding arpeggio drop at the end of Dogs is just sick
What Roger wrote alone would have made maybe a 15 minute album. The whole band should have been credited with the writing because the arrangements and band interplay are what makes up most of the running time. Or at least Rick should have gotten a writing credit for Sheep for his intro alone, which is a self contained composition.
Yeah, but the concept and relevance don't really matter much without the great music. And I'd credit the mood equally amongst the band. Just think about that long, scary, sad instrumental section of dogs where it's just synths and Nick keeping time. You can't really say Roger and Dave wrote that. It's pretty much all Rick and it's the moodiest part of the album. And if you want the concept and relevance alone, you can just go read Animal Farm.
Agree. Waters is all concept, at times brilliant lyrics.... but sad to say, mediocre (to put it mildly) musical talent. Without A Little Help From His Friends he'd be nowhere, which his solo work proves. Half an hour of going back and forth between 2 simple minor chords only gets you so far.....
Props to Abby for diving headfirst into the utter despair that is late 70s british politics in order to fully get this album. Undying hatred of Margaret Thatcher is a normal side effect. Also "you radiate cold shafts of broken glass" is probably the best insult I ever heard in a song
@@FormulaProg Nope she was leader of the opposition from '75 to 79 when she became Prime Minister. She was already a polarising political figure before being Prime Minister.
@@ralphmckenzie8802 say what you want about her she was a strong leader and one of the best this country ever had. All powerful leaders are polarising, perks of the job, she didn't let anyone bring her down hence her legacy as the iron lady and she didn't even need feminists backing her making it all about the fact she was a woman. These days you haven't got any female leaders that can stand their ground without hating on men.
Listening to Pink Floyd around this time (1975-1979) really shows you have how much the Syd Barrett visit really affected them, you can feel the anger and frustration they had with the music industry and even the guilt the members felt about the situation - hence why Rogers was getting so irritated with the crowds at the time for "making too much noise". If only mental health was treated better back then like it is today, things would've been different for Pink Floyd.
Idk, I think the talk box adds more flavour to an already gritty track that is Pigs, its dirty and mad and I love it. I genuinely love all the quirks of the Animals album, without those quirks, I dont think Animals, would be Animals!
@@chrismcgovern1647I understand where you and abi by default are coming from but I’m sorry the garbage that is Jovi but I’m sorry I strong disagree but I like frampton so there ya go
I like Animals more than The Wall, but a lot of PF fans don't dive deep enough into Animals to understand why it's so good. Glad you are reconsidering your opinion! BTW love the Sheep reciting the "Lord's Prayer"!
I guess I am still one of those. Actually, I don’t hate it. And like it way more than THE FINAL CUT. I like it more than I did when it came out. it’s just way down below my favorites.
To be fair, even though I don’t love ANIMALS, I think I agree with you. I’m even less of a fan of THE WALL. And while I don’t generally listen to either one of them, I’d sooner revisit ANIMALS than THE WALL. And probably will based on Abby’s video essay here.
God, _Animals_ is so damn good. Even after the remix, the original version is still a kickass record. "Dogs" is a freakin' masterpiece that would be on every Best Prog Songs CD if it weren't 20 minutes long. I see where you're coming from with the TalkBox comments. Hardly any artist uses it well, but I think Floyd is an exception. On "Pigs," it's mostly a neato sound effect because it sounds kinda squealy or oinky. But its use on "Keep Talking" from _The Division Bell_ is brilliant, the musical equivalent of saying "blah, blah, blah" in a song about communication breakdown.
"Best Prog songs CD if it weren't 20 minutes long" Not sure I buy this statement; "Supper's Ready" by Genesis, "Close to the Edge"/"Gates of Delirium" by Yes, "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" by Van Der Graaf Generator, Dark Star(the proggiest the Dead ever got), the Nine Feet Underground suite by Caravan, not to mention the prog epics by Opeth, IQ, Spocks Beard or Porcupine Tree released during the CD era. Any list of the greatest prog tracks could be filled with songs that are close to or greater than 20 minutes.
Although Pink Floyd ‘ The Wall ‘ is the album that ultimately woke me up to those guys, it would actually be Animals that converted me into an eternal fan. I knew Floyd was a dark band, but I never really knew just HOW dark until I discovered the ominous depths of Animals. It may not be regarded as their greatest work, but I’m glad to see that you’re starting to grow more of a fondness for it. And as with many of us fans, ‘ Wish You Were Here ‘ will always be my personal favorite forever. It’ll never be topped.
I would argue that ANIMALS is their greatest album, artistically speaking. DOGS being the greatest Floyd-song in that argument ever, SHEEP also up there. Ok, if I was allowed to only keep one Floyd-album, it would be WYWH because I can endlessly listen to it. Favorite pantheon list subjectively: WYWH, Animals, DSOTM, Amused to Death (yes I know, Waters), Meddle, The Wall …
This album changed my life. Hearing Sheep for the first time on a radio got me into Pink Floyd and into prog entirely. It even got me loving the animal itself. I don't think I would be the person I am today without listening to this album.
I grew up in the 70's and have always considered DSOTM, Wish You Were Here and Animals as my Pink Floyd meat and potatoes. All else before and after is pure gravy on the fixin's
Pink Floyd was pilloried for this during the Satanic Panic in the '80's. The 700 Club-type of tv shows would play "The lord is my shepard..." lyrics along with "Highway to Hell," "My name is Lucifer...," and the backwards "Stairway to Heaven" to distressed audiences to tell them where their children were headed. And to pry some more bucks out of them, of course.
I love listening to the famous lecture by the Pastor who goes through all the bands pointing out satanic references and backwards messages. It fascinating, hilarious, and totally entertaining. If you have never heard, it's on YT. An 80's classic.
I'm from Montreal. People here tend to go a little crazy when something big comes over, cause they don't come very often, and also it's kind of foreign to us, since we're french canadian and tend to get stuck inside our own cultural bubble until a big american act comes to town
❤❤❤ Great job! I was about 10 when this came out. I probably had my first listen at 13. I probably wore out 5 cassette tapes of this. Flash forward 50 more years, I learned to play the guitar on Pigs on the wing 1 and 2 and understood the minute differences in playing them. To me, this is the greatest work Pink Floyd ever produced. But I absolutely love your take on it! Please don’t stop what you’re doing!❤❤❤
I'm old enough to remember an original Animals review in NME, and the phrases "drumming like machine gun fire" and "barn yard animal noises", sticks in my mind after all these years, but your review is actually sensational. After all these years, Roger Waters was right about a lot of things, he's also wrong about a lot of stuff, BUT Animals, without a doubt, is Pink Floyds best album. Period.
The Damned mention, released the first british punk single and album, and had the balls to go against other punk bands, by not hating the music that came before them (the B Side for first single "New Rose"being a cover of the Beatles "Help"). Very underrated in both their genres, punk and goth alike.
One thing I really notice these days is the ferocious Hammond playing on Sheep and parts of Dogs; any time I play a Hammond I absolutely have to slam my palms on the keys and do fast glissandos; some of the greatest and most timeless noises you can make.
Animals is has always been and will always be Pink Floyds greatest work for me. My all time fav. The Wall is great, DSOTM is great, honestly most of thier records are great.... But Animals for me i cannot listen to one track ever. Got to go through it all... Drugs in my youth may have helped but whatever i absolutely love it. Pigs(Three Different Ones) is my fav Pink Floyd song of all time.
No worries, Abbs - I didn't like Animals for the longest time, but it's definitely a favorite of mine now. What happened was I went to see Brit Floyd in Chicago a few years ago, they did "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" and I really loved it and wanted to hear it again when I got home that night. So I played the whole Animals album and fell in love with it. "Momentary Lapse of Reason" has also turned out to be a much stronger album than I'd originally thought.
The Later Years mix of Momentary Lapse (available as a stand-alone) restores Nick and Rick's contributions to that album (the 1987 mix has studio musicians). The true PF version not to be missed!
Your photoshopping skills are getting better and better with each video. This might be my favorite thumbnail you did for any video on your channel. Anyway, I'd listened to Animals over the weekend to prepare for this video and was blown away by it. Its themes of capitalistic greed and societal degradation are more important today than ever.
seems timely to me, as well. along with the disappointment the song "sorrow" just radiates, for me. i'm a chronic pain patient that can no longer access proper care due to a "crisis" the govt is lying about. climate change is so obvious i don't even need to argue the point these days...we seem to be regressing despite the rush to technology which has created or added to some big societal issues. yet without it, some of these young ppl would never have heard of PF. we NEED good protest music in this lost world.
It’s interesting, used to feel very similar. While I do agree with the idea it wasn’t exactly a response to the punk movement, I think the more loose, messy nature of the album feels pretty punk in spirit. In a way, it feels like Floyd’s most risky album with some of the more odd moments, and that’s why I love it so much. It’s kinda like the white album for me in that way. Great video as always though!
I haven't watched this whole video yet but I just gotta say that your HUGE hands in the thumbnail are freakin' me out. Your Waters-brand black t-shirt is both spot-on appropriate and respectably simple and frugal. Brava!
I never had a problem with the mix, and I'm fussy about these things. I love Dave's occasional talk box guitar. He does it proud. This is a great album, I remember saying it was my favourite Floyd album back in the 80s, when I was still a teenager. Good enjoyable discussion here. Well done.
One of my friends described this album as its own “pocket universe “, which I think is apt. It is album I can get lost in. And one of few albums that I only listen to as a complete album.
I have a fun story about the Animals Album. In 1980 My Air Force friends and I worked on big Sikorsky CH-53 Helicopters when I was stationed in Germany (Deutschland). On some missions we mechanics got to fly with the Flight Crews to support maintenance, pre & post flight inspections and so on. On one mission we flew up to England low level all the way! After crossing the channel we flew along the white cliffs of Dover. We landing at a base and did our post flight & Inspections. We then had 4 days free of no missions. S❤o my friends and I took the train South to London, for 1-1/2 days then down South to Salisbury and then onto the Isle of Wight which was such a really great trip. On our way back through London on the train, my friend start yelling and pointing Pink Floyd!!! Pink Pink Floyd!!! we turned around to look and we yelled Holy 💩it’s the Animals Album Cover Battersea Power Station!!! However, 😢 we didn’t see a pig. It was still big time the coolest thing to see for the first time ever, even compared to Stonehenge!!!
I think I started listening to Pink Floyd around mid 1980s when I was 9-10 years old. The Wall was initially my favorite and i didn't like Animals at all. Then Dark Side became the favorite. By college, Wish You Were Here became my favorite and I started to warm up to Animals. It wasn't until sometime in my mid 30s that Animals finally became my favorite. Give Western Capitalism a few more years to grind you down.
As an added note the documentary Squaring the Circle about Hipnosis and the friendship of Strom and Aubrey has been streaming via Netflix for the past six months. The tale behind the Animals covershoot as well as many others is detailed within. Highly recommended viewing
That was a delightful watch. "Pig Floyd" was good, but "Oink Floyd" (not as random as it seems!) was excellent. My favorite track is "Dogs", not so much for the lyrics as for the chords, which are very unusual for a rock song.
As one of the people behind the Pink Floyd comic books (I co-founded Rock 'N' Roll Comics) and as the longtime music writer for the nation's biggest circulation alt-newspaper the San Diego Reader, I heartily approve of your rethink on this album! I'm 64 years old and just discovered your channel and spent the weekend playing your videos - it's astonishing that someone so young can have such INFORMED passion about the music old guys like me were buying new off record store racks in the 70s/80s. You remind me of when I was in my late teens and, instead of being out job hunting, all I did was read books about music at the library and buy/play record! I didn't realize I was training for my eventual career - keep up the great work!
And with Animals covered, that’s the last of The Big 4 Pink Floyd albums covered. It’s an album I’ve only listened to for the first quite recently & I did really enjoy it. I do think it’s the weakest of The Big 4, but with it competing against Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here & The Wall, that’s not something to be ashamed of. It’ll very interesting to see which of the lesser mainstream Pink Floyd albums will be covered next. Personally, I’d love to see Saucerful Of Secrets next because: A). It’s just an amazing underrated album in my opinion, B). It has a good amount of cut content from it, like Vegetable Man, Scream Thy Last Scream, In The Beechwoods and the 4 single songs released before hand, and C). It would the last chapter to cover of Syd Barrett’s time with Pink Floyd before his brief solo career & exit from the music industry all together. Jugband Blues is a masterpiece of a song & a candidate for my favourite Pink Floyd song ever. Hauntingly tragic
Barcodes were added to vinyl records in the early 80's so if your copy of a 70's lp has a barcode, it was pressed in the 80's! the first few pressings had no upc
Barcodes weren't universal in the industry until 1980, but they were creeping in slowly. In 1978 I bought (and still own) my first barcoded LP, More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads, on Sire Records. Seeing that ugly badge for the first time felt a bit sacrilegious to cover art. Probably Sire Records' parent conglomerate was slipping them onto other smaller-label records they owned as well in 1978.
Abby, you amaze me. Your insights and analysis of albums of my era are excellent. I grew up with Pink Floyd and always loved them. I did think that their early albums were guilty of some noodling, but with the release of Dark Side, everything changed. Funnily enough, 'Animals' was the last album that I heard. I consider it to be one of the big three, Dark Side, Wish You Were Here and Animals. The latter being spoiled by its excessive length imho. As usual, I learn so much from your analyses. And I do consider myself knowledgeable in this things cos I grew up with them. As an onwith, I must be the only person in the world that likes the Dark Side Redux. In no way is it a contender for the original and I think that Waters made a bug mistake in releasing it as a studio album. Had he toured it and realised it as a live album, many more people would have accepted it. In the same way that people accept Nick Mason's live shiws now. Anyway, keep up the good work Abbey, you time and effort is much appreciated.
One quick note: It's a common misconception that The Spitting Incident occurred during the Montreal performance of "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" when it actually happened during the encore performance of "Money." This makes more sense when one looks at a setlist timeline and compares the timing of when David got too upset to play the final encore: *Set 1 -* _Animals_ Sheep Pigs on the Wing, Part 1 Dogs Pigs on the Wing, Part 2 [including Snowy's guitar solo] Pigs (Three Different Ones) *Intermission* *Set 2 -* _Wish You Were Here_ Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5 Welcome to the Machine Have a Cigar Wish You Were Here Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 6-9 *Short Break* *Encore* Money [Spitting Incident] Us and Them [David Gilmour refuses to play and walks to the sound booth.] Drift Away Blues
Abi - this is exactly what i went through. its taken me 30 years to appreciate this album. it is absolute genius but i still cant listen to it end to end. Dark, sparse and bitter. LIke the UK at that moment in history. Love that you say DSOTM is one of humanity's greatest achievements. Agree.
OK, I used to think -when I was a teen- that Animals was a "boring" album. Pink Floyd fans used to say it was the lamest of them all. Then I realized the album was actually Floyd moving on a different subject: Brutal capitalism. It was supposed to be dark and depressing, for this is Waters' point of view, and he was the self-appointed leader of the band. I wrote something about Animals back in 2008... Gonna look for it. Thanks Abby for this one!
I was 17 when this album came out and enjoyed it thoroughly and got it's social commentary straight off from the quips about Mary Whitehouse through to things are not what they seem. I always found the sound scape through headphones a new experience everytime I heard it as to favourite tracks sheep and pigs especially as I am learning the intricacies of playing that track on guitar. My favourite album is Meddle
"...and I lack the self-awareness to understand that I'm a useful idiot for Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping." -- Roger Waters, enjoying his lead role in a _Russia Today_ cage
Animals is an album I never really appreciated until my late 20's seeing all the dystopian like rhetoric of current governments and countries. I think you need to realize the dark side of the world to fully appreciate this album's dark dystopian warnings. I guess that's why a lot of people just write this album off as depressing & nihilistic. Animals is my Favorite Pink Floyd album hands down. (Although not by much since they are all great in their own way) I don't care what anybody says, without Roger's amazing poignant lyrical ability it wont sound like Pink Floyd. The same way Pink Floyd would not be the same without David, Nick or Rick. They are all equally important to what made that band great in the first place.
Waters wasn't just lyrics though. He was the main songwriter. To have success, you need to be able to write hits. Roger became prolific at it, the others never were. They were best at adding their instruments to Waters' songs. The sickeningly ignorant Gilmour and Wright fanboys try to push this nonsense that Roger only wrote lyrics. They should just get on their knees and service Gilmour and get it over with.
Interesting take on Animals. Yes, Roger thought if Floyd needed a “star” in the band, it should be him. Wright should’ve gotten credit on the 3 core songs. Gilmour deserved credit on Pigs and Sheep. I guess everyone deserved credit musically on Pigs and Dogs musically. Sometimes, I play Pigs at work on days when we have uninvited auditors who scowl at our actions, switch things around just because they can and get on everyone’s nerves. Of course, I know better than to tell them I’m dedicating it to them! As for me, it was an album I too have mixed feelings about. I tried getting into it. I liked Gilnour’s vocals and guitar work on Dogs. The synthesized dog barking is pretty cool. Pigs is my favorite as well. The pigs snort as soon as you’ve put the needle down. What can I say about Sheep? I love the jazzy Fender Rhodes electric piano played as you hear the sheep going “Baaaaaahhhh!” I can do without the parody of Psalm 23, though I understand why Waters did it. It ends in a 12 bar blues sounding like everyone taking Roger’s advice and running for cover. Oh and the bookcased themes of Pigs On The Wing- simple and not much to them. They offer hope. I guess that’s what they were supposed to do. And by the way, I’m glad you didn’t state the obvious, Abigail. No offense but we know you have lots of records! Have a great day! Since you have a lot of records, can you please do a show on the late great John Mayall some time? I’m also certain you have Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton.
I always thought of Animals as Waters being farcical. The premise of a community of talking animals has a rather absurd aspect to it, even as a harsh commentary on our pathetic society. There's a certain tongue in cheek quality to Roger's lyrics, as evidenced by his wonderfully satirical Psalm 23 take off. I think Waters' contempt & disgust are SO raw and raging on this album that he drove himself into an ironic head space. It's meant to be extreme, over the top, almost comically so. I mean, I always appreciated Animals for it's nearly silly excessive emotional urgency, which by way of contrast only makes the abstract qualities of the orchestrations that much more potent & sublime, which I believe is the intended effect. I think...
This is the first review of yours I had recommended. So rare for reviewers to tackle this rollercoaster of a record with enthusiasm and not just become fixated on explaining the intricacies of the composition . Really hope you will take on some more KC stuff in the future . Consider pushing Red USA and Discipline into you que. Go and listen to Bowie's original recordings of Heroes and Fashion you can't unhere how Fripp's distinct guitar playing almost takes over the songs.
Well at least we can agree on the abomination known as the talk box..... Animals was, and always will be a diivisive Floyd album, great in depth review!
Lots of thoughts: I can sympathize with anyone who thinks the concept of Animals was more forced by Waters than the concepts of Dark Side and Wish that developed more organically. Sheep is my second favorite PF song after Time, from Rick's wonderful intro, to the vocoder bit, to that exhilarating coda. I first heard Sheep when 98 Rock here in Baltimore played A Collection of Great Dance Songs on their Midnight Album Special. I was supposed to be asleep (I was in 7th grade) so I had the portable radio under my pillow, and I thought the sheep sounds at the beginning were cows, so I assumed it was something off of Atom Heart Mother. 😀 Animals has always been a favorite cover of mine. Another cool album cover from the same year taken at Battersea Power Station was Quark Strangeness and Charm by Hawkwind. I have that Soldier Field poster on my wall. Until I found out about the spitting incident and how it tied into The Wall, I always wondered why a song title from the next album was on that poster.
Roger wrote most of Wish You Were Here as well so his songwriting dominance began there. He always wrote more songs than the others so he was always the dominant post-Barrett songwriter. On a few albums they did split it up more evenly, but Roger was always dominant. There's even video of concerts in '69 where Waters is telling both Gilmour and Wright what they will be doing during the show and what they should be playing. He was always the leader of that group. There was never a time where they all had an equal say in the direction.
@@abigaildevoe thanks! I’ve always found this album rather dreamlike, the 2018 mix really helps sell the tone as well, it’s not as bright and cheery in sound.
I saw them live in madison Square garden. The pig was flown over the audience. Mind blowing. You had to be at a live concert on the right drugs to really get it.😅😅
This is why many don't like him, they don't like his politics. The other guys in the band don't know about anything so they have opinions on nothing. All they ever wanted was to keep touring so they could make more money. People have a strange way of behaving around people with brains that care about issues. This doesn't mean I agree with Waters' political thoughts on everything, but I have respect for him. There's nothing to respect about a Gilmour who has no thoughts, but calls Roger anti-semitic. That is pathetic.
I’m laughing. You criticized Roger’s lyrics around 31:10, which happen to be my absolute favorite lines in their entire catalog! Tremendous video. Well done.
I stayed in an AirBnB about a mile from Battersea Power Station, the building on the cover, last December. It's remodeled now into restaurants, shops and expensive flats, ruin to trendy in other words. Anyway, a museum within relays the history of the power plant including the significance of "Animals," scenes from one of the Batman movies filmed there and other pop culture references. Best of all a round glass elevator, er lift, installed in one of the smokestacks. Rises to the top it does and sticks out affording a 360 degree London view. Cheaper than the Eye too, which by the way can be seen across the way. Quite a fun experience. I asked one of the museum guides if anyone from Floyd had stopped in to see the museum or ride the elevator.. Not as yet she said.
Animals was my first introduction to Pink Floyd. It was my Dad's and I started listening to it because it had the lyrics with it. It was so mysterious that I was hooked instantly.
When Animals was first out, a classmate told me that Animals is about a controversial PF concert in which a lot of the audience members had to be taken to the hospital because of the bad drugs being floated around. I remember seeing it on the news. My classmate told me that Dogs is about those at the concert who took the drugs, Pigs is about the cops and security who were there and Sheep is about those who only wanted to see PF and not interested in taking drugs.
Love Love Love your show Abby!!!! I have to comment on the wonderful rapport you and your Mom have with each other when discussing various album topics, it was endearing ❤. Thanks for the Great album reviews, you have some fantastic knowledge about the bands and their music. I have always loved albums and was heart broken when my collection was stollen in 1990. I lost some real treasures like the European release of Electric Lady Land that is banned in the US. I kept my albums in these beautiful wooden german bier cases after drinking my most favorite Beer of all time called Altenmünster Brauer Biere that I discovered (off duty) when in Heidelberg, De. I was stationed in Deutschland working on the flight-line in the USAF. When CD’s entered the market in the 80’s it wrecked the album market for the longest time. I call it the Dark Ages. Thankfully they are around and building my collection back has been slow due to money So glad albums have been back and my vintage 1980 Kenwood direct drive turntable is no longer lonely has an oldfound purpose again. Keep those shows coming Abby! You are doing a great job.
Dog's has to be my favorite Floyd track. That four chord sequence that serves Gilmour's 3 verses from the start (and the one towards the end with Roger singing) is magnificent! I like that it forces Gilmour to play guitar melodies that deviate from his usual pentatonic leanings
2 things!First,as a 10th anniversary to the band’s debut album,”Piper at the Gates of Dawn”,this album was a contrast to the debut album whereas “Piper” was based on one chapter of the book,” The Wind and the Willows”,”Animals” is based on the whole book of “Animal Farm.” The second thing is this,Roger(hopefully) was taking notes on what drugs had done to Syd Barrett after just what he himself was experiencing during the 1977 tour that helped to promote the album.Either way you look at it,Syd was probably with the band despite having to drop any tributes or thoughts.Anyways,excellent video as usual Abby!!!
This album is tied firmly to my time as a working teenage actor in NYC in 1984. My GF and I had given each other Sony Walkmans (Walkmen?), which were brand new tech at the time and this cassette was maybe my most played album as I roamed the city via dirty subway with my trusty one-hitter in my parachute pants pockets delivering scripts to agencies and collecting headshots (I was also the assistant stage manager in my little off-off-off Broadway productions so I had gopher duties when I wasn't in rehearsal.) The cheap, Caribbean weed, the human detritus occupying the streets and subway cars, and "Sheep" blaring into my earholes on my new sound toy was a magical combination that I can still feel viscerally today. This is a well thoughtful appraisal. It's far from Pink Floyd's best work (WYWH is my favorite too,) but I'm so, so thankful that it exists. It's Water's whole goofy, ultra-cynical worldview on full display, with some of his loveliest couplets that are somehow also his most stupid. Shit, 'HA HA, CHARADE YOU ARE!' has even become South Park canon, and that's no mean feat.
Hey Abby! First time on your channel....I'm 20 seconds in, and I have to put you on pause, and go listen to Animals, while my monthly data holds up!!🤣🤣💞💞🙏🙏🤦🏻♂️😜😘
I'm glad you brought up a fact that all of the Roger haters like to ignore, which is that Dave and Rick simply didn't contribute much to the writing. As much as they like to go on and on about how Rogers ego took over the band (which never made sense to me anyway, because he was one member out of four and presumably could have been outvoted at any time on any issue), the fact is no one else was writing anything. Just look at the two albums they did without Waters - I don't think there's a single track on either of them that didn't have three or four outside writers, and seven or eight guest musicians. Gilmour and Wright were great at playing, but they just weren't songwriters the way Waters was.
I'm sure something in their released solo albums which they wrote could have been worked into Animals. It's clearly the visible start of Roger thinking he's Pink, culminating with the dreadful Final Cut.
@@glerp10000000000 It actually IS a fact that Gilmour used multiple songwriters on every track of the Floyd albums he did without Waters, as well as many, many musicians outside of the band. It's also a fact that one of Gilmour's only writing credits on The Wall - Run Like Hell - is just a reused guitar riff from his first album.
@@seijunsejuki So, what you are saying, is musically, David didn't contribute anything but a reused guitar riff on Run Like Hell? I mean, the wiki refutes both your points, but I'm just asking if that's what you are saying? The additional musician list on The Wall is Longer than Momentary Lapse of Reason. Floyd has plenty of history of hiring other musicians. Unless you think Waters played saxophone on money. You might though, give that you think Waters wrote all the guitar parts of the Wall.
I completely agree. Took me a loooong time to really apreciate this album. I even took myself liking The Final Cut more than Animals. However, the 2018 Remix, kinda made me pick it up more often. It brings a very special, undifinable feeling when diving into it properly. A bit like Atom Heart Mother, tbh. But yeah. The bad production and mixing really did this album dirty.
Now that we're talking about animals; Can we please discuss the Invisible Goat (tm)? On the cover of Pet Sounds. Dennis is doing a "hey I'm feeding a goat" pose, just like the others. But there is No Goat there, so I have come up with the only possible solution: Invisible Goat (tm)
This was by far one of the most interesting reviews I've ever seen. You are very talented in your video editing and all the hours of research that had to be done to give your audience an overview of what had transpired before, during, and after the release of such an epic album, one that I've listened to literally hundreds, if not thousands of times, beginning with its release when I was 16, and which I still enjoy immensely today. Your in-depth talk about the band, where they were during that period, and all the mishaps that truly brought to light the start of their downfall. From start to finish you had me focused on your take of the events because of how you put it all together. I've watched many of your videos, but this one had me fully engaged because this is my second or third favorite band ever, Led Zeppelin being #1, and I just can't decide between Pink Floyd and The Beatles for number 2 and 3. I want you to know how appreciative we are of all the work you put into these videos. Most people wouldn't have the patience it takes to make this kind of video. Thank you for what you do and how you present it, you've made it an art
what album were you wrong about? comment below!
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel.
I used to think this album was mawkish, sentimental and disjointed .
Now I think it is a collection of sincere, emotive and lyrically clever songs
David Bowie Pinups
I thought it would a bland covers album where the originals are better
but no Bowie does covers very well where See Emily Play and Sorrow are awesome tracks
Yes his cover of ' See Emily Play ' retains the eccentricity and individuality of the original.
Bowie is on sublime form on 'Sorrow '
When I was a schoolboy, any Pink Floyd album seemed boring to me, like symphonies, because I loved Creedence Clearwater Revival. But then I grew up and realized that good music can be different. Now I love CCR and PF both. And symphonies too.
Among others, "Smiley Smile." For years, I was influenced by Carl Wilson's "a bunt instead of a grand slam" assessment and heard it as a disappointing semi-"Smile" rather than listening to and appreciating it on its own (utterly brilliant) terms.
Abigail: I don't like Animals
Animals: Ha, ha, charade you are
@@МаксимИльин-с4ъ Ha! Clever!
I've never been a huge fan of it, either. But, at least it's better than, "The Wall"!!
Ok Eric! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Good one.
dangit you made my comment first
After all these years, Animals is probably my favorite Pink Floyd album.
@@rogerschnack my fav by far
I think "Wish You Were Here" edges it our for me, but just barely. "Dogs" is awesome.
Animals is my favorite too for whatever reason I can't exactly explain.
The one I play most regularly, for sure.
same here.
“Dogs” is so good. Gilmour’s best work, IMO
Finally someone gets 'Dogs'
@@wahid-lg1kk it’s my favorite go-to Floyd album, although DSOTM is the objective “best” album
@@marcsullivan7987 we are on the same page..
Agreed.
Yes! The best track off from Animals (since i'm re-listening to it later after watching her video). No matter if you play this song on a road trip (which I did 2 weekends ago while me and family were staying at Niagara Falls for the day) and DOSTM too (which I played it on a long road trip to Montreal on the last week of June).
David Gilmour’s solo in comfortably numb is widely recognized as his best . But there’s something about the solo in dogs that I say is my fav Gilmour solo .
i always thought time cleared both
@@abigaildevoeI won’t argue with you there . Time solo is great too. All 3 songs have 3 great solos .
@@abigaildevoe shine on you crazy diamond ftw
Yeah, there's a terse urgency to Gilmore's work on Animals that really fits the subject matter, theme, tone and spirit of the album. I think in a great way the music stands as strong rhythmic statements, with the lyrics only occasionally taking prominence, and very effectively so.
They've done better "songs" on other albums, but I appreciate this one more so as music: Compositions & orchestrations. It's my favorite with headphones.
@@abigaildevoeTime hits hard, but Dogs emotes like no other Dave solo, possibly excepting the colossal brevity of C Numb. At the end of the day though, that cascading harmonized sliding arpeggio drop at the end of Dogs is just sick
What Roger wrote alone would have made maybe a 15 minute album. The whole band should have been credited with the writing because the arrangements and band interplay are what makes up most of the running time. Or at least Rick should have gotten a writing credit for Sheep for his intro alone, which is a self contained composition.
Agreed
Exactly
Sure, the band plays and comes up with things...but the mood, concept and relevance is all Roger Waters
Yeah, but the concept and relevance don't really matter much without the great music. And I'd credit the mood equally amongst the band. Just think about that long, scary, sad instrumental section of dogs where it's just synths and Nick keeping time. You can't really say Roger and Dave wrote that. It's pretty much all Rick and it's the moodiest part of the album. And if you want the concept and relevance alone, you can just go read Animal Farm.
Agree. Waters is all concept, at times brilliant lyrics.... but sad to say, mediocre (to put it mildly) musical talent. Without A Little Help From His Friends he'd be nowhere, which his solo work proves. Half an hour of going back and forth between 2 simple minor chords only gets you so far.....
My favorite Floyd album.
Same here.
What really endeared me to Animals was learning that Pigs was the origin of Cartman's very random "Haha, charade you are" line in South Park
Props to Abby for diving headfirst into the utter despair that is late 70s british politics in order to fully get this album. Undying hatred of Margaret Thatcher is a normal side effect. Also "you radiate cold shafts of broken glass" is probably the best insult I ever heard in a song
And the whole verse about Mary Whitehouse is just cold perfection.
Also "Jose" such an English name, thatcher was 80s, not 70s 👍🏼
@@FormulaProg Nope she was leader of the opposition from '75 to 79 when she became Prime Minister. She was already a polarising political figure before being Prime Minister.
@@ralphmckenzie8802 say what you want about her she was a strong leader and one of the best this country ever had. All powerful leaders are polarising, perks of the job, she didn't let anyone bring her down hence her legacy as the iron lady and she didn't even need feminists backing her making it all about the fact she was a woman. These days you haven't got any female leaders that can stand their ground without hating on men.
Fun fact: if you play this video on mute and play "Animals" simultaneously, the visuals and audio sync up perfectly 😊😂
I love Animals. Favorite Floyd album. The songs, the cover, the sound, the sparseness.
I was 17 when it came out, and it was my favorite album for many years.
Animals is my favorite Pink Floyd album. Dogs is my favorite Pink Floyd song. Respect that you admitted you were wrong.
Listening to Pink Floyd around this time (1975-1979) really shows you have how much the Syd Barrett visit really affected them, you can feel the anger and frustration they had with the music industry and even the guilt the members felt about the situation - hence why Rogers was getting so irritated with the crowds at the time for "making too much noise". If only mental health was treated better back then like it is today, things would've been different for Pink Floyd.
Idk, I think the talk box adds more flavour to an already gritty track that is Pigs, its dirty and mad and I love it.
I genuinely love all the quirks of the Animals album, without those quirks, I dont think Animals, would be Animals!
I agree, I love the sound of the talk box.
yes to the talk box!!!!! I love it
The year is 2060, I am spending Monday morning at the retirement home watching a 5 hour video of Abigail talking about a 15 minute punk ep
"8 minutes in it gets good" what is this Grateful Dead 😂😂
@@nathanielvalla6142 The Dead sometimes expect people to stick with it for a hour before there's anything resembling a climax
@@chrismcgovern1647 that sounds like a show I would enjoy listening to do you have a date you can point to as an example
"Bon Jovi ass nonsense that I will not stand for" is probably the hardest I laughed watching these videos
Bon Jovi ruined the talkbox for me
I feel your pain
@@chrismcgovern1647I understand where you and abi by default are coming from but I’m sorry the garbage that is Jovi but I’m sorry I strong disagree but I like frampton so there ya go
@@Anorak1795 I'm guessing she's not a Stillwater fan.
@@Anorak1795 I like Frampton, too. Non-plussed by Bon.
Animals is their best. After Darkside and Meddle. Love it so much
It's number one for me..
So wish you were hear is at best 4th wow.
Where does that put The Wall?
@@wahid-lg1kk nice!
@@chrismcgovern1647 it's at about #5 for me.
Usually go
Dark Side
Meddle
Animals
WYWH
Wall
Obscured
Saucerful of Secrets
I like Animals more than The Wall, but a lot of PF fans don't dive deep enough into Animals to understand why it's so good. Glad you are reconsidering your opinion! BTW love the Sheep reciting the "Lord's Prayer"!
I guess I am still one of those. Actually, I don’t hate it. And like it way more than THE FINAL CUT. I like it more than I did when it came out. it’s just way down below my favorites.
To be fair, even though I don’t love ANIMALS, I think I agree with you. I’m even less of a fan of THE WALL. And while I don’t generally listen to either one of them, I’d sooner revisit ANIMALS than THE WALL. And probably will based on Abby’s video essay here.
@@RabbiSteve1 tbf the Final Cut is like, Pretty bad. Not as dreadful as what came after but still pretty miserable to listen to.
Not the “Lords Prayer”, it is the 23rd Psalm
@@RabbiSteve1 Animals is the best PF album. I’d rather s### in my hands and clap than ever here The Final Puke ever again. Total horses###
You can tell Abby’s covering Pink Floyd just based on the iconic plain black t shirt alone
@@artbyisaiahmonteiro we’ve come a long way from having to turn an aerosmith shirt inside out
Roger: "Whoz setting off the f*ckin fireworks. Quiet! Maybe I want to hear the song?!"
Mr. Carlson: "Is that dogs I hear??" Johnny Fever: " Don't touch that"...
Actually it wen't like this.
Carlson: "Do I hear dogs on that thing?"
Johnny: "I do..."
@@inhumanmusic1411 you are correct
@@kristofftaylovoski60it.
God, _Animals_ is so damn good. Even after the remix, the original version is still a kickass record. "Dogs" is a freakin' masterpiece that would be on every Best Prog Songs CD if it weren't 20 minutes long.
I see where you're coming from with the TalkBox comments. Hardly any artist uses it well, but I think Floyd is an exception. On "Pigs," it's mostly a neato sound effect because it sounds kinda squealy or oinky. But its use on "Keep Talking" from _The Division Bell_ is brilliant, the musical equivalent of saying "blah, blah, blah" in a song about communication breakdown.
"Best Prog songs CD if it weren't 20 minutes long" Not sure I buy this statement; "Supper's Ready" by Genesis, "Close to the Edge"/"Gates of Delirium" by Yes, "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" by Van Der Graaf Generator, Dark Star(the proggiest the Dead ever got), the Nine Feet Underground suite by Caravan, not to mention the prog epics by Opeth, IQ, Spocks Beard or Porcupine Tree released during the CD era. Any list of the greatest prog tracks could be filled with songs that are close to or greater than 20 minutes.
Now that would be some record. Like an omnibus.
Why only released during the CD era? You don't think Dignity, or Herd Culling could make the cut?
Ah, twenty minutes-ish. So Herd Culling's out. How long is Dignity again? Erm...
I tried out the remix and was not a fan at all. The original sounds so much better imo no need to mess with perfection
David did play bass on Pigs. I'm a bass player and can tell the difference.
By the way, some guys say it's a fretless bass. It is not,
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA it ABSOLUTELY is David on a fretless bass
@@jameskinstle6874 It's not. If you listen closely you can listen to the notes going chromatically.
@@manlioyllades except that David has confirmed it is him on a fretless, just like hey you
@@jameskinstle6874 Give me a link to that
@@jameskinstle6874 ruclips.net/video/_jvTSCSFl1k/видео.htmlsi=FMo5dykEEMxUIhG0
I audibly gasped when I saw the thumbnail and the title.
You didn't know what it was a week beforehand when hinted?!?
Although Pink Floyd ‘ The Wall ‘ is the album that ultimately woke me up to those guys, it would actually be Animals that converted me into an eternal fan. I knew Floyd was a dark band, but I never really knew just HOW dark until I discovered the ominous depths of Animals. It may not be regarded as their greatest work, but I’m glad to see that you’re starting to grow more of a fondness for it. And as with many of us fans, ‘ Wish You Were Here ‘ will always be my personal favorite forever. It’ll never be topped.
I would argue that ANIMALS is their greatest album, artistically speaking. DOGS being the greatest Floyd-song in that argument ever, SHEEP also up there. Ok, if I was allowed to only keep one Floyd-album, it would be WYWH because I can endlessly listen to it. Favorite pantheon list subjectively: WYWH, Animals, DSOTM, Amused to Death (yes I know, Waters), Meddle, The Wall …
This album changed my life. Hearing Sheep for the first time on a radio got me into Pink Floyd and into prog entirely. It even got me loving the animal itself. I don't think I would be the person I am today without listening to this album.
I grew up in the 70's and have always considered DSOTM, Wish You Were Here and Animals as my Pink Floyd meat and potatoes. All else before and after is pure gravy on the fixin's
Adding Abby to the guest list for my all talk-box Floyd tribute band.
had to take my glasses off and put my head in my hands for this one
Pink Floyd was pilloried for this during the Satanic Panic in the '80's. The 700 Club-type of tv shows would play "The lord is my shepard..." lyrics along with "Highway to Hell," "My name is Lucifer...," and the backwards "Stairway to Heaven" to distressed audiences to tell them where their children were headed. And to pry some more bucks out of them, of course.
I love listening to the famous lecture by the Pastor who goes through all the bands pointing out satanic references and backwards messages. It fascinating, hilarious, and totally entertaining. If you have never heard, it's on YT.
An 80's classic.
Animals is one of the few records that get 10/10 in each one of this five songs. One of the five better records in music history.
I'm from Montreal. People here tend to go a little crazy when something big comes over, cause they don't come very often, and also it's kind of foreign to us, since we're french canadian and tend to get stuck inside our own cultural bubble until a big american act comes to town
I'm a first generation French Canadian American and I can attest that statement!😅
It's funny I actually played DOSTM while me and my family were on a long road trip to Montreal on the last week of June.
Used to dislike animals. Then I really really listened to it and it’s now one of the most relistenable albums.
I still remember the day I discovered Animals back as a teenager back in 1997.
Still So Epic.
Funny, I am old old and remember hearing "Time" like it was yesterday. Weird how music can hit you.
Stayed up late for this one, glad I did
❤❤❤ Great job! I was about 10 when this came out. I probably had my first listen at 13. I probably wore out 5 cassette tapes of this. Flash forward 50 more years, I learned to play the guitar on Pigs on the wing 1 and 2 and understood the minute differences in playing them. To me, this is the greatest work Pink Floyd ever produced. But I absolutely love your take on it! Please don’t stop what you’re doing!❤❤❤
I'm old enough to remember an original Animals review in NME, and the phrases "drumming like machine gun fire" and "barn yard animal noises", sticks in my mind after all these years, but your review is actually sensational.
After all these years, Roger Waters was right about a lot of things, he's also wrong about a lot of stuff, BUT Animals, without a doubt, is Pink Floyds best album. Period.
The Damned mention, released the first british punk single and album, and had the balls to go against other punk bands, by not hating the music that came before them (the B Side for first single "New Rose"being a cover of the Beatles "Help"). Very underrated in both their genres, punk and goth alike.
Well, I subscribed. This is the first of yours I've seen, and the amount of effort and research goes into them is bloody wonderful. Now to binge..
One thing I really notice these days is the ferocious Hammond playing on Sheep and parts of Dogs; any time I play a Hammond I absolutely have to slam my palms on the keys and do fast glissandos; some of the greatest and most timeless noises you can make.
Animals is has always been and will always be Pink Floyds greatest work for me. My all time fav. The Wall is great, DSOTM is great, honestly most of thier records are great.... But Animals for me i cannot listen to one track ever. Got to go through it all... Drugs in my youth may have helped but whatever i absolutely love it. Pigs(Three Different Ones) is my fav Pink Floyd song of all time.
No worries, Abbs - I didn't like Animals for the longest time, but it's definitely a favorite of mine now. What happened was I went to see Brit Floyd in Chicago a few years ago, they did "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" and I really loved it and wanted to hear it again when I got home that night. So I played the whole Animals album and fell in love with it. "Momentary Lapse of Reason" has also turned out to be a much stronger album than I'd originally thought.
The Later Years mix of Momentary Lapse (available as a stand-alone) restores Nick and Rick's contributions to that album (the 1987 mix has studio musicians). The true PF version not to be missed!
@@jamesireland1584 Can't stand the remix, just doesn't sound right. Nothing wrong with the original, its an 80's classic.
Your photoshopping skills are getting better and better with each video. This might be my favorite thumbnail you did for any video on your channel. Anyway, I'd listened to Animals over the weekend to prepare for this video and was blown away by it. Its themes of capitalistic greed and societal degradation are more important today than ever.
seems timely to me, as well. along with the disappointment the song "sorrow" just radiates, for me. i'm a chronic pain patient that can no longer access proper care due to a "crisis" the govt is lying about. climate change is so obvious i don't even need to argue the point these days...we seem to be regressing despite the rush to technology which has created or added to some big societal issues. yet without it, some of these young ppl would never have heard of PF. we NEED good protest music in this lost world.
It’s interesting, used to feel very similar. While I do agree with the idea it wasn’t exactly a response to the punk movement, I think the more loose, messy nature of the album feels pretty punk in spirit. In a way, it feels like Floyd’s most risky album with some of the more odd moments, and that’s why I love it so much. It’s kinda like the white album for me in that way. Great video as always though!
I haven't watched this whole video yet but I just gotta say that your HUGE hands in the thumbnail are freakin' me out.
Your Waters-brand black t-shirt is both spot-on appropriate and respectably simple and frugal. Brava!
6:31wish you were here is my favorite Pink Floyd record. ❤
I never had a problem with the mix, and I'm fussy about these things.
I love Dave's occasional talk box guitar. He does it proud. This is a great album, I remember saying it was my favourite Floyd album back in the 80s, when I was still a teenager. Good enjoyable discussion here. Well done.
One of my friends described this album as its own “pocket universe “, which I think is apt. It is album I can get lost in. And one of few albums that I only listen to as a complete album.
I have a fun story about the Animals Album. In 1980 My Air Force friends and I worked on big Sikorsky CH-53 Helicopters when I was stationed in Germany (Deutschland). On some missions we mechanics got to fly with the Flight Crews to support maintenance, pre & post flight inspections and so on. On one mission we flew up to England low level all the way! After crossing the channel we flew along the white cliffs of Dover. We landing at a base and did our post flight & Inspections. We then had 4 days free of no missions. S❤o my friends and I took the train South to London, for 1-1/2 days then down South to Salisbury and then onto the Isle of Wight which was such a really great trip. On our way back through London on the train, my friend start yelling and pointing Pink Floyd!!! Pink Pink Floyd!!! we turned around to look and we yelled Holy 💩it’s the Animals Album Cover Battersea Power Station!!! However, 😢 we didn’t see a pig. It was still big time the coolest thing to see for the first time ever, even compared to Stonehenge!!!
I think I started listening to Pink Floyd around mid 1980s when I was 9-10 years old. The Wall was initially my favorite and i didn't like Animals at all. Then Dark Side became the favorite. By college, Wish You Were Here became my favorite and I started to warm up to Animals. It wasn't until sometime in my mid 30s that Animals finally became my favorite. Give Western Capitalism a few more years to grind you down.
As an added note the documentary Squaring the Circle about Hipnosis and the friendship of Strom and Aubrey has been streaming via Netflix for the past six months. The tale behind the Animals covershoot as well as many others is detailed within. Highly recommended viewing
That was a delightful watch. "Pig Floyd" was good, but "Oink Floyd" (not as random as it seems!) was excellent. My favorite track is "Dogs", not so much for the lyrics as for the chords, which are very unusual for a rock song.
As one of the people behind the Pink Floyd comic books (I co-founded Rock 'N' Roll Comics) and as the longtime music writer for the nation's biggest circulation alt-newspaper the San Diego Reader, I heartily approve of your rethink on this album! I'm 64 years old and just discovered your channel and spent the weekend playing your videos - it's astonishing that someone so young can have such INFORMED passion about the music old guys like me were buying new off record store racks in the 70s/80s. You remind me of when I was in my late teens and, instead of being out job hunting, all I did was read books about music at the library and buy/play record! I didn't realize I was training for my eventual career - keep up the great work!
Animals is the best. Each member at there most creative. My favourite album of all time 🐕🐈🐖🐖🐑🐏
And with Animals covered, that’s the last of The Big 4 Pink Floyd albums covered. It’s an album I’ve only listened to for the first quite recently & I did really enjoy it. I do think it’s the weakest of The Big 4, but with it competing against Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here & The Wall, that’s not something to be ashamed of. It’ll very interesting to see which of the lesser mainstream Pink Floyd albums will be covered next. Personally, I’d love to see Saucerful Of Secrets next because: A). It’s just an amazing underrated album in my opinion, B). It has a good amount of cut content from it, like Vegetable Man, Scream Thy Last Scream, In The Beechwoods and the 4 single songs released before hand, and C). It would the last chapter to cover of Syd Barrett’s time with Pink Floyd before his brief solo career & exit from the music industry all together. Jugband Blues is a masterpiece of a song & a candidate for my favourite Pink Floyd song ever. Hauntingly tragic
Barcodes were added to vinyl records in the early 80's so if your copy of a 70's lp has a barcode, it was pressed in the 80's! the first few pressings had no upc
Barcodes weren't universal in the industry until 1980, but they were creeping in slowly. In 1978 I bought (and still own) my first barcoded LP, More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads, on Sire Records. Seeing that ugly badge for the first time felt a bit sacrilegious to cover art. Probably Sire Records' parent conglomerate was slipping them onto other smaller-label records they owned as well in 1978.
Abby, you amaze me. Your insights and analysis of albums of my era are excellent. I grew up with Pink Floyd and always loved them. I did think that their early albums were guilty of some noodling, but with the release of Dark Side, everything changed. Funnily enough, 'Animals' was the last album that I heard. I consider it to be one of the big three, Dark Side, Wish You Were Here and Animals. The latter being spoiled by its excessive length imho. As usual, I learn so much from your analyses. And I do consider myself knowledgeable in this things cos I grew up with them. As an onwith, I must be the only person in the world that likes the Dark Side Redux. In no way is it a contender for the original and I think that Waters made a bug mistake in releasing it as a studio album. Had he toured it and realised it as a live album, many more people would have accepted it. In the same way that people accept Nick Mason's live shiws now. Anyway, keep up the good work Abbey, you time and effort is much appreciated.
One quick note:
It's a common misconception that The Spitting Incident occurred during the Montreal performance of "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" when it actually happened during the encore performance of "Money."
This makes more sense when one looks at a setlist timeline and compares the timing of when David got too upset to play the final encore:
*Set 1 -* _Animals_
Sheep
Pigs on the Wing, Part 1
Dogs
Pigs on the Wing, Part 2 [including Snowy's guitar solo]
Pigs (Three Different Ones)
*Intermission*
*Set 2 -* _Wish You Were Here_
Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5
Welcome to the Machine
Have a Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 6-9
*Short Break*
*Encore*
Money [Spitting Incident]
Us and Them
[David Gilmour refuses to play and walks to the sound booth.]
Drift Away Blues
Abi - this is exactly what i went through. its taken me 30 years to appreciate this album. it is absolute genius but i still cant listen to it end to end. Dark, sparse and bitter. LIke the UK at that moment in history. Love that you say DSOTM is one of humanity's greatest achievements. Agree.
OK, I used to think -when I was a teen- that Animals was a "boring" album. Pink Floyd fans used to say it was the lamest of them all. Then I realized the album was actually Floyd moving on a different subject: Brutal capitalism. It was supposed to be dark and depressing, for this is Waters' point of view, and he was the self-appointed leader of the band. I wrote something about Animals back in 2008... Gonna look for it. Thanks Abby for this one!
cacaorockonlineradio.blogspot.com/2008/12/dragged-down-by-stone.html
I was 17 when this album came out and enjoyed it thoroughly and got it's social commentary straight off from the quips about Mary Whitehouse through to things are not what they seem. I always found the sound scape through headphones a new experience everytime I heard it as to favourite tracks sheep and pigs especially as I am learning the intricacies of playing that track on guitar. My favourite album is Meddle
"Do I hear dogs barking on that thing?" -- Arthur Carlson
Animals is probably the favorite one.
I still love the wall, i went through a "the wall is overrated" pharse but now im back to loving the wall
"MY DAD DIED AND WE ARE FLYING MY FUCKING PIG AND IT WILL BE EVERYONES PROBLEM"
and it literally was everyone’s problem, heathrow had to ground flights over a giant pig balloon
"...and I lack the self-awareness to understand that I'm a useful idiot for Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping." -- Roger Waters, enjoying his lead role in a _Russia Today_ cage
One of the funniest vinyl Mondays yet, great job AD
Animals is an album I never really appreciated until my late 20's seeing all the dystopian like rhetoric of current governments and countries. I think you need to realize the dark side of the world to fully appreciate this album's dark dystopian warnings. I guess that's why a lot of people just write this album off as depressing & nihilistic. Animals is my Favorite Pink Floyd album hands down. (Although not by much since they are all great in their own way) I don't care what anybody says, without Roger's amazing poignant lyrical ability it wont sound like Pink Floyd. The same way Pink Floyd would not be the same without David, Nick or Rick. They are all equally important to what made that band great in the first place.
Waters wasn't just lyrics though. He was the main songwriter. To have success, you need to be able to write hits. Roger became prolific at it, the others never were. They were best at adding their instruments to Waters' songs. The sickeningly ignorant Gilmour and Wright fanboys try to push this nonsense that Roger only wrote lyrics. They should just get on their knees and service Gilmour and get it over with.
@@BaronVonMunch Roger is amazing loved seeing him live on the last 2 tours!
Interesting take on Animals. Yes, Roger thought if Floyd needed a “star” in the band, it should be him. Wright should’ve gotten credit on the 3 core songs. Gilmour deserved credit on Pigs and Sheep. I guess everyone deserved credit musically on Pigs and Dogs musically. Sometimes, I play Pigs at work on days when we have uninvited auditors who scowl at our actions, switch things around just because they can and get on everyone’s nerves. Of course, I know better than to tell them I’m dedicating it to them!
As for me, it was an album I too have mixed feelings about. I tried getting into it. I liked Gilnour’s vocals and guitar work on Dogs. The synthesized dog barking is pretty cool. Pigs is my favorite as well. The pigs snort as soon as you’ve put the needle down. What can I say about Sheep? I love the jazzy Fender Rhodes electric piano played as you hear the sheep going “Baaaaaahhhh!” I can do without the parody of Psalm 23, though I understand why Waters did it. It ends in a 12 bar blues sounding like everyone taking Roger’s advice and running for cover. Oh and the bookcased themes of Pigs On The Wing- simple and not much to them. They offer hope. I guess that’s what they were supposed to do.
And by the way, I’m glad you didn’t state the obvious, Abigail. No offense but we know you have lots of records! Have a great day!
Since you have a lot of records, can you please do a show on the late great John Mayall some time? I’m also certain you have Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton.
I always thought of Animals as Waters being farcical. The premise of a community of talking animals has a rather absurd aspect to it, even as a harsh commentary on our pathetic society. There's a certain tongue in cheek quality to Roger's lyrics, as evidenced by his wonderfully satirical Psalm 23 take off.
I think Waters' contempt & disgust are SO raw and raging on this album that he drove himself into an ironic head space. It's meant to be extreme, over the top, almost comically so. I mean, I always appreciated Animals for it's nearly silly excessive emotional urgency, which by way of contrast only makes the abstract qualities of the orchestrations that much more potent & sublime, which I believe is the intended effect. I think...
This is the first review of yours I had recommended. So rare for reviewers to tackle this rollercoaster of a record with enthusiasm and not just become fixated on explaining the intricacies of the composition . Really hope you will take on some more KC stuff in the future . Consider pushing Red USA and Discipline into you que. Go and listen to Bowie's original recordings of Heroes and Fashion you can't unhere how Fripp's distinct guitar playing almost takes over the songs.
Well at least we can agree on the abomination known as the talk box.....
Animals was, and always will be a diivisive Floyd album, great in depth review!
Dogs is my favorite Pink Floyd song. The guitar work is absolutely stellar, the lyrics are some of the best. Its really a quintessential PF song.
Thank you for helping me see this album in a new light.
Lots of thoughts:
I can sympathize with anyone who thinks the concept of Animals was more forced by Waters than the concepts of Dark Side and Wish that developed more organically.
Sheep is my second favorite PF song after Time, from Rick's wonderful intro, to the vocoder bit, to that exhilarating coda. I first heard Sheep when 98 Rock here in Baltimore played A Collection of Great Dance Songs on their Midnight Album Special. I was supposed to be asleep (I was in 7th grade) so I had the portable radio under my pillow, and I thought the sheep sounds at the beginning were cows, so I assumed it was something off of Atom Heart Mother. 😀
Animals has always been a favorite cover of mine. Another cool album cover from the same year taken at Battersea Power Station was Quark Strangeness and Charm by Hawkwind.
I have that Soldier Field poster on my wall. Until I found out about the spitting incident and how it tied into The Wall, I always wondered why a song title from the next album was on that poster.
I Wanna Get Drunk At Karaoke And Kill The Vibe By Singing Pigs - And Play Cowbell!!
Brilliant Review Abby
Roger wrote most of Wish You Were Here as well so his songwriting dominance began there. He always wrote more songs than the others so he was always the dominant post-Barrett songwriter. On a few albums they did split it up more evenly, but Roger was always dominant. There's even video of concerts in '69 where Waters is telling both Gilmour and Wright what they will be doing during the show and what they should be playing. He was always the leader of that group. There was never a time where they all had an equal say in the direction.
Ain't Nothing wrong with Animals other than the fact that there could have been more songs in it eventhough *Dogs* is like 15 minutes
This is my favorite Floyd album. I love how brutal this album is, dark and sinister while still silky and Floyd-esque
silky is a great descriptor, i'm mad i didn't think of it first!
@@abigaildevoe thanks! I’ve always found this album rather dreamlike, the 2018 mix really helps sell the tone as well, it’s not as bright and cheery in sound.
The intro of Sheep is Richard Wrights magnum opus on this album.
I saw them live in madison Square garden. The pig was flown over the audience. Mind blowing.
You had to be at a live concert on the right drugs to really get it.😅😅
Roger isn’t the greatest guy ever but at least he’s been right for years about 🇵🇸 ❤
does the recent ICJ Judgement vindicate his Gaza position?
All in all he's just another...... antisemite
This is why many don't like him, they don't like his politics. The other guys in the band don't know about anything so they have opinions on nothing. All they ever wanted was to keep touring so they could make more money. People have a strange way of behaving around people with brains that care about issues. This doesn't mean I agree with Waters' political thoughts on everything, but I have respect for him. There's nothing to respect about a Gilmour who has no thoughts, but calls Roger anti-semitic. That is pathetic.
I’m laughing. You criticized Roger’s lyrics around 31:10, which happen to be my absolute favorite lines in their entire catalog! Tremendous video. Well done.
"Are we not men, we are Devoe."
came within a hair's width of making this joke in the weezer vid
I stayed in an AirBnB about a mile from Battersea Power Station, the building on the cover, last December. It's remodeled now into restaurants, shops and expensive flats, ruin to trendy in other words. Anyway, a museum within relays the history of the power plant including the significance of "Animals," scenes from one of the Batman movies filmed there and other pop culture references. Best of all a round glass elevator, er lift, installed in one of the smokestacks. Rises to the top it does and sticks out affording a 360 degree London view. Cheaper than the Eye too, which by the way can be seen across the way. Quite a fun experience. I asked one of the museum guides if anyone from Floyd had stopped in to see the museum or ride the elevator.. Not as yet she said.
As someone from the greater Manchester area i liked the way you said Birmingham 😂😂😂
Animals was my first introduction to Pink Floyd. It was my Dad's and I started listening to it because it had the lyrics with it. It was so mysterious that I was hooked instantly.
When Animals was first out, a classmate told me that Animals is about a controversial PF concert in which a lot of the audience members had to be taken to the hospital because of the bad drugs being floated around. I remember seeing it on the news. My classmate told me that Dogs is about those at the concert who took the drugs, Pigs is about the cops and security who were there and Sheep is about those who only wanted to see PF and not interested in taking drugs.
that sounds like a very 70s theory haha
That's as valid as any other theory!😁
I love when someone admits that they made a mistake. It is such a sign of good character. ❤️✌️
Also, Ummagumma is pretty damned underrated, imo
Love Love Love your show Abby!!!! I have to comment on the wonderful rapport you and your Mom have with each other when discussing various album topics, it was endearing ❤. Thanks for the Great album reviews, you have some fantastic knowledge about the bands and their music. I have always loved albums and was heart broken when my collection was stollen in 1990. I lost some real treasures like the European release of Electric Lady Land that is banned in the US. I kept my albums in these beautiful wooden german bier cases after drinking my most favorite Beer of all time called Altenmünster Brauer Biere that I discovered (off duty) when in Heidelberg, De. I was stationed in Deutschland working on the flight-line in the USAF. When CD’s entered the market in the 80’s it wrecked the album market for the longest time. I call it the Dark Ages. Thankfully they are around and building my collection back has been slow due to money So glad albums have been back and my vintage 1980 Kenwood direct drive turntable is no longer lonely has an oldfound purpose again. Keep those shows coming Abby! You are doing a great job.
Dog's has to be my favorite Floyd track. That four chord sequence that serves Gilmour's 3 verses from the start (and the one towards the end with Roger singing) is magnificent! I like that it forces Gilmour to play guitar melodies that deviate from his usual pentatonic leanings
2 things!First,as a 10th anniversary to the band’s debut album,”Piper at the Gates of Dawn”,this album was a contrast to the debut album whereas “Piper” was based on one chapter of the book,” The Wind and the Willows”,”Animals” is based on the whole book of “Animal Farm.” The second thing is this,Roger(hopefully) was taking notes on what drugs had done to Syd Barrett after just what he himself was experiencing during the 1977 tour that helped to promote the album.Either way you look at it,Syd was probably with the band despite having to drop any tributes or thoughts.Anyways,excellent video as usual Abby!!!
This album is tied firmly to my time as a working teenage actor in NYC in 1984. My GF and I had given each other Sony Walkmans (Walkmen?), which were brand new tech at the time and this cassette was maybe my most played album as I roamed the city via dirty subway with my trusty one-hitter in my parachute pants pockets delivering scripts to agencies and collecting headshots (I was also the assistant stage manager in my little off-off-off Broadway productions so I had gopher duties when I wasn't in rehearsal.) The cheap, Caribbean weed, the human detritus occupying the streets and subway cars, and "Sheep" blaring into my earholes on my new sound toy was a magical combination that I can still feel viscerally today. This is a well thoughtful appraisal. It's far from Pink Floyd's best work (WYWH is my favorite too,) but I'm so, so thankful that it exists. It's Water's whole goofy, ultra-cynical worldview on full display, with some of his loveliest couplets that are somehow also his most stupid. Shit, 'HA HA, CHARADE YOU ARE!' has even become South Park canon, and that's no mean feat.
You're so lucky to have had this experience. I love it.
You summed up my thoughts on Roger perfectly. The most frustrating rocker of all time and I just can’t quit him.
Hey Abby! First time on your channel....I'm 20 seconds in, and I have to put you on pause, and go listen to Animals, while my monthly data holds up!!🤣🤣💞💞🙏🙏🤦🏻♂️😜😘
I'm glad you brought up a fact that all of the Roger haters like to ignore, which is that Dave and Rick simply didn't contribute much to the writing. As much as they like to go on and on about how Rogers ego took over the band (which never made sense to me anyway, because he was one member out of four and presumably could have been outvoted at any time on any issue), the fact is no one else was writing anything. Just look at the two albums they did without Waters - I don't think there's a single track on either of them that didn't have three or four outside writers, and seven or eight guest musicians. Gilmour and Wright were great at playing, but they just weren't songwriters the way Waters was.
There is a huge lack of facts in that comment. There are some opinions. Those are not facts.
I'm sure something in their released solo albums which they wrote could have been worked into Animals. It's clearly the visible start of Roger thinking he's Pink, culminating with the dreadful Final Cut.
@@glerp10000000000 It actually IS a fact that Gilmour used multiple songwriters on every track of the Floyd albums he did without Waters, as well as many, many musicians outside of the band. It's also a fact that one of Gilmour's only writing credits on The Wall - Run Like Hell - is just a reused guitar riff from his first album.
@@seijunsejuki So, what you are saying, is musically, David didn't contribute anything but a reused guitar riff on Run Like Hell? I mean, the wiki refutes both your points, but I'm just asking if that's what you are saying? The additional musician list on The Wall is Longer than Momentary Lapse of Reason. Floyd has plenty of history of hiring other musicians. Unless you think Waters played saxophone on money. You might though, give that you think Waters wrote all the guitar parts of the Wall.
Well , then you could look at the absolute steaming turd that is The Final Cut,so…
I completely agree. Took me a loooong time to really apreciate this album. I even took myself liking The Final Cut more than Animals. However, the 2018 Remix, kinda made me pick it up more often. It brings a very special, undifinable feeling when diving into it properly. A bit like Atom Heart Mother, tbh. But yeah. The bad production and mixing really did this album dirty.
Now that we're talking about animals;
Can we please discuss the Invisible Goat (tm)? On the cover of Pet Sounds. Dennis is doing a "hey I'm feeding a goat" pose, just like the others. But there is No Goat there, so I have come up with the only possible solution: Invisible Goat (tm)
Don't you dare say I'm wrong, the white goat is being fed by al
This was by far one of the most interesting reviews I've ever seen. You are very talented in your video editing and all the hours of research that had to be done to give your audience an overview of what had transpired before, during, and after the release of such an epic album, one that I've listened to literally hundreds, if not thousands of times, beginning with its release when I was 16, and which I still enjoy immensely today. Your in-depth talk about the band, where they were during that period, and all the mishaps that truly brought to light the start of their downfall. From start to finish you had me focused on your take of the events because of how you put it all together. I've watched many of your videos, but this one had me fully engaged because this is my second or third favorite band ever, Led Zeppelin being #1, and I just can't decide between Pink Floyd and The Beatles for number 2 and 3. I want you to know how appreciative we are of all the work you put into these videos. Most people wouldn't have the patience it takes to make this kind of video. Thank you for what you do and how you present it, you've made it an art
The band is just fantastic, that is really what I dig, oh by the way : which one's Pig 🐖🐷 ???
Showed my dad this video today, he loved it (so do I) love this album so I’m glad to hear that you changed your mind on it.