ANIMALS

This album is simply amazing. Bearing a concept superior to most, Animals followed both Wish You Were Here and Darkside of the Moon, and left high expectations to be filled by The Wall. Although the preceding and following releases to Animals were all amazing, I believe this album to be Floyd's finest hour. There are five tracks, but essentially four songs-Pigs on the Wing Pt 1, Dogs, Pigs (Three Different Ones), Sheep, and Pigs on the Wing Pt 2.

First of all, there's Pigs on the Wing Pt 1. A short, slow, and simple acoustic piece with wonderful lyrics that prepares you for the rest of the album. Not a very important piece, but great nonetheless.

Dogs. Here's where things start to pick up. Dogs starts out with some very impressive rhythm guitar, followed by the words "You've got to be crazy" sang beautifully by Gilmour. What follows is an extrordinary display of musical talent, not to mention lyrical genius. Aside from a few moments that some may find dull(even Roger Waters stopped to play poker in concert during some parts of this song on his In the Flesh tour), Dogs is an epic up there with the best.

Next, we have Pigs (Three Different Ones). Roger Waters at his angriest. Attacking corporate suits and displaying his disgust with the "bus stop rat bags" of the world, Roger delivers a hell of a protest song. Though, in my opinion, the weak point of the album, the song does show off some above average musical performance, and holds one of my favorite Floyd bass lines(though not played by Waters...).

Sheep, the fourth track, is my personal favorite on Animals. What stands out most to me is the great introduction, the sound effects and bass provide the perfect buildup for Waters' chilling voice. The only thing close to a flaw I can think of is Roger's unneccessary excerpt from the book of the bible, Psalms. Though relevant and meaningful, it comes off as a bit cheezy. Doesn't hurt the song much though.

The album ends with Pigs on the Wing Pt. 2, a duplicate of the first track with different lyrics. The perfect ending to the album.

In conclusion, Animals is truly a masterpiece. The lyrics and music of the album are truly remarkable, not to mention the genius concept between each of the songs that blends together so well. It is bit of an acquired taste to many, however, and naturally there will be people who just won't like this album at all. I was in love the first time I heard it, and it remains my favorite Floyd album to this day. A solid 5 stars.