Artist: PINK FLOYD
Album: ANIMALS REMASTERED (CD)

Release date: 1977/ 1994
Media type: CD

Animals is a concept album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 23 January 1977 in the UK and on 2 February 1977 in the U.S. The album proved a success in America, reaching #3 on the Billboard album charts. However, it was on the American charts for only six months even though it has continued to sell solidly, to the extent of its having gone quadruple platinum, according to the RIAA.

The album appears to be heavily inspired by George Orwell's Animal Farm as, through the central three songs, Roger Waters uses three animals as anthropomorphic metaphors for human behavior: dogs, pigs, or sheep. Dogs are used to represent the megalomaniac businessmen who think they are in control but are finished by being dragged down by "the weight [they] used to need to throw around". Pigs refers to and is an attack upon those who are really/would be in control, politicians and opinion leaders, with direct references to Mary Whitehouse, who at the time was leading a campaign to "clean up TV". Those who do not fall into either of these two categories are sheep, who follow blindly, without any self-thought – though hope is perhaps provided when they rebel and at least kill one of the dogs persecuting them.

While singer and guitarist David Gilmour is only credited for the music of one track, the epic "Dogs", which was previously known as "You Gotta Be Crazy", was actually a band composition with Waters writing the lyrics. This song and "Raving and Drooling" which would later become "Sheep" was also a band composition from around 1974, originally destined for the Wish You Were Here album. The discrepancies with the credits and actual writing is directly related to the increasing tensions in the band.

Each song on the album reflects Waters' socialist beliefs about the class system found in capitalistic societies. The anthropomorphic symbols of the 'dog', the 'pig', and the 'sheep', shift in meaning throughout the album which often leads to some confusion as to Waters' intended meaning in the lyrics. The 'dog', for instance, changes from a symbol for the heartless businessman in "Dogs" to the object of an irrational fear put forward by the pigs (politicians) in the song "Sheep" to scare the sheep (common people)[citation needed]. The meaning of the three symbols changes from song to song[citation needed], so the lyrics of each song should be interpreted independently.

The three core songs are bookended by a pair of love songs written by Waters for his then-wife Caroline: "Pigs on the Wing, Part 1" and "Pigs on the Wing, Part 2". Both are in stark contrast to the misanthropic middle three songs, and suggest that companionship can help us overcome our flaws – though the final line suggests the singer admits he is/was once one of the dogs. For the 8-track cartridge release, which looped, Parts 1 and 2 were linked by a guitar bridge performed by Snowy White (subsequently available on White's 1996 album "Goldtop: Groups & Sessions"), and the 17:08 song "Dogs" was cut into two tracks.

The giant, helium-filled pig seen on the cover was actually flown over Battersea Power Station for the photo shoot (under the direction of Storm Thorgerson). On the first day of shooting, a marksman was on hand in case the pig broke free. However, according to Thorgerson, this was considered an "insurance problem", and he was not hired for the second day of shooting. Ironically, on December 3, 1976, during the second day, a gust of wind broke the pig free of its moorings. Because there was no one to shoot the pig down, it sailed away into the morning sky. A passenger plane reported seeing the pig, causing all the flights at London Heathrow Airport to be delayed. A police helicopter was sent up to track the pig, but was forced to return after following the pig to an altitude of 5,000 feet. A warning was sent out to pilots that a giant, flying pink pig was loose in the area. The CAA lost radar contact on the pig near Chatham in Kent, at a height of 18,000 feet and flying East. It finally landed in a farmer's field (without much damage). They then repaired the pig, and flew it up for a third time. The resulting pictures were not deemed suitable on their own (as the clear, blue sky from day three was thought to be much less evocative), and the final image was made as a composite of the power station picture from day one and the pig from day three.

The album had custom picture labels, using drummer Nick Mason's handwriting as a typeface, as did the lyrics on the liner sleeve. Side one's label depicted a fish-eye lens view of a dog and the English countryside. Side two's was similar, but featured a pig and sheep instead of the dog.

Originally released on Columbia Records in the U.S. and Harvest Records in the UK, Animals was then re-released as a digitally remastered CD in 1994 in the UK on EMI.

TRACKLIST:

"Pigs on the Wing 1" (Roger Waters) – 1:24
"Dogs" (David Gilmour/Roger Waters) – 17:06
"Pigs (Three Different Ones)" (Roger Waters) – 11:28
"Sheep" (Roger Waters) – 10:21
"Pigs on the Wing 2" (Roger Waters) – 1:27

All lead vocals performed by Roger Waters, except "Dogs" with lead vocals by David Gilmour and Waters.

LINE-UP:

Roger Waters – vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, vocoder, tape effects, sleeve design
David Gilmour – guitars, bass, vocals, talkbox, synthesizer
Richard Wright – Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes piano, Yamaha piano, ARP synthesizer, backing vocals
Nick Mason – drums, percussion, tape effects, sleeve graphics