ANIMALS

This is probably, (with the exception of 'The Final Cut') the most depressing of Floyd's output. Not my favourite disc by them, I have tried, over the years, to like it, but never quite managed to rate it on a par with the likes of 'The Wall', 'Meddle' or 'Dark Side'. The songs are not really representative of the band. Gilmour's guitar work is quite rough, and not up to the usual standard. Wright's keyboard work seems to me to take a step backward here, to some of his not so impressive work on Atom Heart Mother or Ummagumma. Mason is about the same as usual, but Waters again suffers with too much angst and not enough melody. Sorry this is not a good review, and I know there are Floyd fans out there who rate this their best. But for me it isn't. I remember when it was released, and it was considered, after the two year wait (in those days, two years was considered a self-indulgent waste of time) to be a disappointment. There is pointless dog barking here, unmusical sound effects, and the whole package, to me, is sloppy. I give this three stars, the same score I gave 'Wish You Were Here', yet that album is clearly superior to this one, and the following masterpiece, 'The Wall' confirms that this is, indeed, a thorn between two roses. Not a bad record, but nothing to write home about.